TO: Board of Supervisors
FROM: David Morrison, Director of Planning, Building, and Environmental Services
REPORT BY: David Morrison, Director of Planning, Building, and Environmental Services
SUBJECT: Drought Update and Request for Direction to Update the County Groundwater Ordinance and Water Availability Analysis Guidelines
RECOMMENDATION
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Director of Planning, Building and Environmental Services will provide an update on the current drought and requests the following actions to address the continuing drought emergency:
1. Direct staff to work with stakeholders to revise the Water Availability Analysis (WAA) Guidance document to: incorporate applicable provisions of the Groundwater Sustainability Plan; update the guidelines to reflect recent court decisions regarding the public trust and California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) review of wells; suspend the water use screening criterion for parcels located on the Napa Valley floor during a drought emergency; and transfer decision making authority under the WAA from the Public Works Department to the Planning, Building, and Environmental Services Department; and
2. Direct staff to work with stakeholders to update Chapter 13.04 (Approved Water Supply Systems); Chapter 13.12 (Wells); and Chapter 13.15 (Groundwater Conservation) of the Napa County Code to: incorporate applicable provisions of the Groundwater Sustainability Plan; update the County Code to reflect recent court decisions regarding the public trust and California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) review of wells; integrate applicable recommendations of the Groundwater Resources Advisory Committee (GRAC); and make other procedural and process revisions to bring these chapters into greater consistency with the County Code.
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EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
Water is fundamental to our health, environment, economy, community, and quality of life. It is also a scarce resource in California, where 40 million people live in a Mediterranean climate. Not su...
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