To: Sonoma County Board of Supervisors, Board of Directors, Sonoma County Water Agency
Department or Agency Name(s): Sonoma County Sonoma Water
Staff Name and Phone Number: Susan Haydon 547-1937
Vote Requirement: Majority
Supervisorial District(s): Third, Fourth Fifth
Title:
Title
North Coast Resource Partnership Plan, Phase IV, 2020 Update
End
Recommended Action:
Recommended action
A) In an ongoing effort to manage regional water resources in a collaborative way across jurisdictional, watershed, and political boundaries,
B) Adopt a Concurrent Resolution Adopting the 2020 Update to the North Coast Regional Partnership Plan Phase IV.
(Third, Fourth, and Fifth Districts)
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Executive Summary:
The North Coast 2020 Plan is a planning process and document that identifies North Coast water challenges and opportunities and describes how water resources management agencies and communities can work together to plan for and manage the whole lifecycle of this essential resource for the benefit of the region’s 675,000 residents, its ecosystem and its wildlife. The region qualifies and can compete for specific state funding when the state approves its plan. The region also becomes part of a statewide network of integrated regional water management planning regions.
This item requests the Board of Supervisors and the Board of Directors of the Sonoma County Water Agency (Sonoma Water) to adopt a concurrent resolution adopting the 2020 update to the North Coast Resource Partnership Plan Phase IV (North Coast 2020 Plan).
Discussion:
Integrated Regional Water Management plans are used to set priorities for water-related programs in each of the state’s identified hydrologic regions. The plans are required for eligibility for funding under state grant programs established in the Propositions 1, 84 and 1E Water Bond and other state and federal funding sources. The North Coast 2020 Plan covers seven north coast counties as well as Siskiyou and Modoc counties. The North Coast Integrated Regional Water Management Plan was first completed and adopted by this Board in 2005 (Original Plan); and updated and adopted by this Board in 2007 and 2014. This North Coast 2020 Plan further updates and expands upon the 2014 Plan, incorporating public safety strategies related to flood impacts and wildfire.
In this updated edition, the North Coast 2020 Plan has significantly broadened its scope to prioritize strategies to adaptively manage for climate and community resilience. It also serves as a key, foundational platform to secure future state and federal funding and its update and adoption are required by agencies with projects currently funded by Propositions 1, 84 and 1E water bond monies. The North Coast 2020 Plan also incorporates by reference the Russian River Watershed Storm Water Resource Plan which contains several Sonoma Water projects making them eligible for state funding.
By adopting the North Coast 2020 Plan, both Sonoma Water and various County departments will be eligible to apply for grant funds from a variety of sources, including Cal Fire, California Department of Natural Resources, and the California Environmental Protection Agency, through the North Coast Resource Partnership.
Since 2010, Sonoma Water has received over $1.6 million in Proposition 84 grant awards, including $1 million for the Copeland Creek Watershed Detention, Recharge, and Habitat Restoration Project, and a $649,000 planning grant for the development of the North Coast Resource Partnership Plan. If the update to the North Coast 2020 Plan is not adopted by its Board, Sonoma Water would be ineligible to receive grant money linked to Integrated Regional Water Management Plans and any other grant funding or sources linked to this regional plan and the Russian River Watershed Storm Water Resources Plan, as adopted in the North Coast 2020 Plan. If the North Coast 2020 Plan is not adopted Sonoma Water may also be unable to expend existing state grant funds provided for future regional planning and existing funded projects and programs underway.
HISTORY OF ITEM/BACKGROUND
The State electorate has approved multiple statewide bond measures since 2000, including Propositions 1, 1E, 50, and 84, to fund water and natural resource projects and programs, including Integrated Regional Water Management planning and implementation. The goal of this Integrated Regional Water Management planning and implementation effort is to manage water resources in a collaborative way and to have regions work across jurisdictional, watershed, and political boundaries. Regions are defined by Regional Water Quality Control Board boundaries and involve multiple geo-political boundaries, agencies, stakeholders, individuals, and groups. The North Coast Resource Partnership has proven to be effective in obtaining funding from these bond measures directing more than $71 million to water-related projects located in the North Coast Region over the past 15 years.
The North Coast 2020 Plan is being updated per state statute and requirements outlined by the 2016 Department of Water Resources Integrated Regional Water Management Plan (IRWMP) Guidelines and IRWM Plan Standards as well as Proposition 1, Water Quality, Supply and Infrastructure Improvement Act of 2014.
Several of the participating agencies in the North Coast, including Sonoma Water, have jointly submitted grant applications for state consideration where one condition for funding requires the North Coast 2020 Plan be adopted by April 17, 2020. An eligibility requirement of the Proposition 1 IRWM Round 1 grant funding is proof of formal adoption of the North Coast 2020 Plan, as evidenced by a resolution of the North Coast Resource Partnership Policy Review Panel as well as each project proponent named in the North Coast Resource Partnership application.
Integrated Regional Water Management Plan grant funds and other future water and climate resiliency monies will assist Sonoma Water in implementing the Sonoma Mendocino Immediate Drought Relief Program, water use efficiency programs, ongoing Santa Rosa Plain Groundwater Management Plan projects, stormwater management and flood protection projects, FireSmart Lake Sonoma program, climate research, modeling and data collection, and other projects as they are identified.
The North Coast 2020 Plan is by design a voluntary, non-regulatory, stakeholder-driven planning framework meant to emphasize shared priorities and local autonomy, authority, knowledge, and approaches to achieving state, regional, and local priorities related to North Coast water infrastructure, watersheds, public health, and economic vitality. The North Coast Integrated Regional Water Management Plan focuses on areas of common interest and concern to North Coast stakeholders and on attracting funding to the North Coast Region, and recognizes unique local solutions in different parts of the Region. The Plan is being updated per requirements outlined by the 2016 Department of Water Resources IRWMP Guidelines and IRWM Plan Standards as well as Proposition 1, Water Quality, Supply and Infrastructure Improvement Act of 2014.
Prior Board Actions:
08/19/2014: Concurrent Resolution of the Sonoma County Water Agency and the Board of Supervisors of the County of Sonoma to adopt Phase III of the North Coast Integrated Regional Water Management Plan, August 2014.
07/17/2007: Concurrent Resolution of the Sonoma County Water Agency and the Board of Supervisors of the County of Sonoma to adopt the Updated North Coast Integrated Regional Water Management Plan, July 2007.
07/12/2005: Concurrent Resolution of the Sonoma County Water Agency and the Board of Supervisors of the County of Sonoma to adopt Phase I of the North Coast Integrated Regional Water Management Plan, July 2005.
Fiscal Summary
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Narrative Explanation of Fiscal Impacts:
Adoption of the North Coast 2020 Plan does not entail a direct commitment of resources. If authorized by its Board, Sonoma Water will adopt the North Coast 2020 Plan and be eligible to receive grant money linked to Integrated Regional Water Management Plans through Propositions 1, 84 and other sources.
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Narrative Explanation of Staffing Impacts (If Required):
None
Attachments:
Resolution
Related Items “On File” with the Clerk of the Board:
2020 North Coast Resource Partnership Plan, Phase IV <https://northcoastresourcepartnership.org/site/assets/uploads/2020/02/NCRP_Plan_IV_January_2020.pdf>