Desal test well up for review
Coastal panel to meet in Watsonville
Jim Johnson
Monterey Herald
07/21/2011
A coastal development permit for the entire regional seawater desalination project won't make the agenda for the state Coastal Commission meeting next month. But a piece of the project probably will.
A permit for a slant test well for the project will probably be slated for review during the Coastal Commission's three-day session Aug. 10-12 at Watsonville City Hall, according to Coastal Commission planner Mike Watson. Additionally, Watson said test well permits for the project, including both slant and vertical wells, are now contained in separate applications and the latter would likely be considered at a later date.
Watson said progress on a coastal development permit for the entire project has slowed since the commission staff sent a follow-up letter to project manager RMC Water and Environment after initial correspondence in late April. He said staff is still waiting for answers to a series of questions and requests for additional information included in communication with the project manager.
Watson said a decision hasn't been made whether to combine all the required coastal development permits involving various local jurisdictions into a single application.
California American Water, the county Water Resources Agency and the Marina Coast Water District are backing the $400 million desal project designed to provide a replacement water source for the Peninsula customers facing a state-ordered reduction in pumping from the Carmel River. The project includes
brackish water wells north of Marina owned by water resources agency, a desal plant owned by Marina Coast, and a delivery pipeline owned by Cal Am.
In its April letter, commission staff asked RMC to answer a number of questions about the project proposal ranging from water rights and the viability of the source water to plans for public review and the potential impact on other local resources and infrastructure, among others. The staff letter gave RMC six months, through the end of October, to respond while the "incomplete" application was kept open.
According to Cal Am spokeswoman Catherine Bowie, the project partners are still working on responses to the commission staff's second round of requests. Bowie said the overall project permit and vertical test well applications have been held up by the land acquisition process, but they are expected to go before the commission within six months. That, she said, would still keep the project on track for completion in 2015.
Bowie and county water resources general manager Curtis Weeks had earlier said they hoped the commission would consider the entire project by August.
RMC President Lyndel Melton did not return a phone call from The Herald.
In other developments, county officials have rejected former county water agency director Steve Collins' request for legal costs associated with the ongoing conflict of interest investigations into his dual role with the desal project. Collins was paid about $160,000 by RMC for work on behalf of the desal project while he was a water agency director. RMC, which was working for Marina Coast at the time, later won a $28 million contract to manage the project.
In a letter to Collins' attorney Mike Lawrence, County Counsel Charles McKee outlined the reasons why the county, and the water resources agency, were declining his request.
McKee argued in the letter that no civil or criminal action, administrative proceeding or action to penalize had occurred, and said the county is not aware of any acts or omissions, or public statements, by Collins, or allegations against him, that would "bring the matter within the scope of his employment" under state tort claim law.
The letter also noted the water resources agency was precluded from defending anyone against fraud or corruption, and could only provide for defense costs if it was in the agency's best interests.
