TO: Parties on the Bay-Delta Mailing List
EXTENSION OF DEADLINE TO FILE NOTICE OF INTENT TO APPEAR FOR BAY-DELTA WATER RIGHTS HEARING
In response to requests received by the State Water Resources Control Board (SWRCB), the deadline for submitting a Notice of Intent to Appear for the Bay-Delta Water Rights Hearing has been extended until May 7, 1998. Parties who previously filed a Notice of Intent to Appear do not need to refile. The SWRCB issued the hearing notice on December 2, 1997. The hearing was originally scheduled to commence on March 9, 1998, but was rescheduled. No new dates for the hearing will be set until after the SWRCB's workshop on April 21, 1998; however, the parties are advised that the hearing will commence as soon after April 21, 1998 as possible. Notice of the April 21st workshop is enclosed with this letter. The SWRCB intends to mail a supplemental hearing notice for the rescheduled hearing to the parties immediately following the workshop. Please call Renee Frazier at (916) 657-1361 to request copies of previous SWRCB notices.
This letter supersedes certain instructions that were specified by the December 2, 1997 hearing notice. Anyone who only wishes to present a policy statement is not required to submit a Notice of Intent to Appear. The SWRCB requests, however, that notices be submitted for policy statements in order to aid in scheduling the hearing. Also, parties who intend to present expert witness testimony at the hearing should submit the statements of qualifications for their expert witnesses with their exhibits.
If they have not already done so, parties who wish to appear at the hearing must submit twenty copies of their Notices of Intent to Appear to the SWRCB. The copies must be received by the SWRCB by 5:00 p.m. on May 7, 1998. Copies sent by fax will not be accepted. Parties who submit Notices of Intent to Appear after 5:00 p.m. on May 7, 1998 may be excluded from participating in the hearing. A sample Notice of Intent to Appear form is enclosed for your use. You are not required to use the form; however, you should provide all requested information.
Notices of Intent to Appear should be mailed to the following address:
Victoria Whitney, Chief, Bay/Delta Unit
State Water Resources Control Board, Division of Water Rights
P.O. Box 2000, Sacramento, CA 95812-2000
Notices of Intent to Appear delivered by courier should be delivered to the Division of Water Rights Mail Room (not to the security guard) at the following address:
Division of Water Rights Mail Room, 901 P Street, 3rd floor, Sacramento, CA 95814
The SWRCB has prepared two draft EIRs for this hearing. The deadline for submitting comments on the draft EIRs is April 1, 1998. (Copies of the draft EIRs can be obtained from Renee Frazier at the phone number above.) However, SWRCB staff is presently revising portions of Chapter V, VI, and XIII of the draft EIR for Implementation of the 1995 Bay/Delta Water Quality Control Plan. These chapters analyze the water supply and environmental effects of implementation of the 1995 Bay/Delta Plan flow alternatives and of approval of the petition for combined points of diversion filed by the Department of Water Resources and the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation. The purpose of the revisions is to incorporate an environmental analysis of the Vernalis Adaptive Management Plan (VAMP) into the draft EIR. The revised chapters will be released in May 1998. The SWRCB will provide a comment period of a least 30 days for these revised chapters.
If you have any questions regarding this letter or regarding hearing procedures, you may contact either Victoria Whitney, Chief of the Bay/Delta Unit at (916) 653-2516 or Barbara Leidigh, Senior Staff Counsel at (916) 657-2102.
Sincerely,
/s/
Edward C. Anton, Chief, Division of Water Rights
DATE: March 16, l998
NOTICE OF PUBLIC WORKSHOP ON
(1) Hearing Procedures and
(2) Proposed Settlement AgreementsConcerning the Bay-Delta Water Rights Hearing Regarding Consideration of:
(1) Alternatives to Implement Water Quality Objectives for the San Francisco Bay/Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta Estuary,
(2) a Petition to Change Points of Diversion of the State Water Project and the Central Valley Project in the Southern Delta, and
(3) a Petition to Change Purposes of Uses and Place of Uses of the Central Valley Project.
On April 21, 1998 and, if necessary, on April 22, 1998* at 9:00 am
and additional days as may be necessary.
*The SWRCB will convene on this day only if there is insufficient time for all participants to comment on the previous day.
FIRST-FLOOR AUDITORIUM
RESOURCES BUILDING
1416 NINTH STREET, SACRAMENTO
SUBJECT OF WORKSHOP
The State Water Resources Control Board (SWRCB) is seeking comments and discussion on two subjects: (1) how the Bay-Delta water rights hearing should be structured, and (2) the status and content of settlement agreements being negotiated by the parties.
BACKGROUND
On December 2, 1997, the SWRCB issued a Notice of Public Hearing for the Bay-Delta Water Rights Hearing. The Notice of Public Hearing describes the subjects of the hearing, provides background discussion, and identifies the key issues on which the parties should present evidence in the hearing. Subsequent to the release of the Notice of Public Hearing, several parties to the proceeding requested the SWRCB to postpone the hearing and related deadlines for submitting hearing evidence to the SWRCB and the other parties, to restructure the hearing process to receive evidence in phases, and to postpone the deadline for submitting comments to the two environmental impact reports prepared for the proposed actions. The parties making the requests said they needed additional time to negotiate agreements on the responsibilities of the various water right holders to meet the flow-dependent objectives in the 1995 Bay-Delta Plan.
On January 26, 1998, the SWRCB issued a Notice Postponing Public Hearing. The notice announced that the SWRCB would reschedule the hearing and deadlines for submitting evidence and that, prior to rescheduling the hearing, the SWRCB would convene a workshop to review the negotiated agreements and to discuss the organization of the proceedings.
Copies of the Notice of Public Hearing and the Notice Postponing Public Hearing may be obtained from Ms. Renee Frazier, at (916) 657-1361.
The SWRCB is aware of four negotiated agreements: (1) the Suisun Marsh Preservation Agreement (SMPA), (2) the Vernalis Adaptive Management Plan (VAMP), (3) the Memorandum of Understanding among CUWA/AG Exporters and East Bay Municipal Utility District with Respect to Bay-Delta Obligations from the lower Mokelumne River (EBMUD agreement), and (4) the Bay/Delta Settlement Agreement between Yuba County Water Agency and various exporters (YCWA agreement). Additional agreements are being negotiated by CUWA/AG (California Urban Water Association and various agricultural exports) and other parties. Copies of the existing agreements may be obtained on or after April 7, 1998 by parties wishing to participate in the workshop by contacting: (1) Kamyar Guivetchi at (916) 227-7529 for the SMPA; (2) Allen Short at (209) 526-7382 for the VAMP; (3) Jon Meyers at 510-287-1121 for the EBMUD agreement; and (4) Alan B. Lilly at (916) 446-4254 for the the YCWA agreement. The YCWA agreement can also be obtained from the internet at www.kmtg.com. Parties should contact Ed Winkler at (916) 650-2616 for information concerning additional agreements.
ISSUES
What is the status of efforts to achieve negotiated solutions to the water rights issues associated with implementation of the 1995 Bay-Delta Plan? What is the content of negotiated agreements on how to assign responsibilities for meeting the flow-dependent objectives in the 1995 Bay-Delta Plan? Do the negotiated agreements have support from the other parties who may be affected by the agreements?
How should the SWRCB organize the hearing? Should the SWRCB organize the hearing to receive evidence on specific issues in phases, or to receive all of each party's case in chief evidence at one time, while grouping the parties according to their primary interests? If the hearing is phased by issues, how many phases are needed, and what issues should be heard in each phase of the proceeding? Should the SWRCB hold more than one hearing, with a decision after each hearing?
WORKSHOP PROCEDURES
The workshop will be informal, but a court reporter will be present to provide an accurate record of the proceedings. There will be no sworn testimony or cross-examination of participants, but the SWRCB and its staff may ask clarifying questions.
Participants are requested to provide to the SWRCB by April 6, 1998, 20 hard copies of their negotiated agreements and supporting materials for the use of the SWRCB and its staff, and an electronic copy in WordPerfect, Microsoft Word, or ASCII Text (DOS) format for posting on the internet for public use. The electronic copies may be submitted either on a 3.5 inch floppy disk or by electronic mail to: wrbaydelta@waterrights.ca.gov (The subject line should be "workshop comments").
Additional copies for participants of the workshop should be provided to the SWRCB on the day of the workshop. All participants are encouraged to provide their comments and recommendations in writing and then orally summarize them. Time limits may be imposed on oral presentations. Participants with similar interests are requested to make joint presentations.
Questions concerning this notice may be directed to Victoria A. Whitney, Chief, Bay/Delta Unit, at (916) 653-2516 or Barbara J. Leidigh, Senior Staff Counsel, at (916) 657-2102.
PARKING AND ACCESSIBILITY -- map not electronically available.
/s/ Walt Pettit for
Maureen Marché
Administrative Assistant to the Board
DATE: March 16, l998