HomeMy WebLinkAbout7 Professional Services with GEI Consultantsio: hoard of ®irectors
From: Steven Poncelet
®ate: December 06, 2017
Subject: Consideration of a Contract for Professional Services with GEI
Consultants
•. • approval is required for expendituresgreater than $15,000.
The District, along with the other Mortis Valley Groundwater Basin (MVGB) Local
Sustainable Groundwater Management Act (SGMA) Agencies - Northstar Community
Services District, Placer County Water Agency, Town of Truckee, Nevada County,
and Placer County have been investigating how best to comply with SGMA. The
MVGB Local SGMA Agencies, due to the unnecessary costs and regulatory burdens
of forming a Groundwater Sustainability Agency (GSA) and completing a Groundwater
Sustainability Plan (GSP), decided to pursue an alternative submittal and the District
has taken the lead on this regulatory compliance effort.
All affected agencies executed a Memorandum of Agreement (MOA} to define the
compliance project and to establish cost limits Cl" sharing amongst the six MVGB
Local SGMA Agencies for three anticipated activities; SGMA Alternative Submittal
preparation, SGMA Alternative Submittal conditional approval, and SGMA Alternative
Submittal 1st -year annual report. The District took action adopting the MVGB Local
SGMA Agencies MOA and approving the MVGB SGMA Alternative Submittal on
December 7, 2016, The Mortis Valley Groundwater Basin (MVGB) SGMA Alternative
Submittal was submitted on December 22, 2016 before the January 1, 2017 deadline
and the California Department of Water Resources (DWR) has up to 2 years to review
anrd rPsnonrd to the .quhmittal_
3. NEW INFORMATION
DWR is still reviewing all alternative submittals and is nearly half way through the 2
year window in which they must respond. There has been very little communication
regarding the status of the MVGB SGMA Alternative Submittal but it appears that this
submittal has a chance of being accepted but, more likely, to be conditionally
accepted. What DWR may ask for in conditional acceptance remains unknown. The
latest information is that DWR hopes to respond to the alternative submittals by
mid-2018.
As part of the SGMA regulations, alternative submittals must submit annual reports to
DWR by April 1st of each year. Despite the unknown status of the MVGB SGMA
Alternative Submittal, the first annual report is due on April 1, 2018. To comply with
this requirement, the MVGB Local SGMA Agencies as per the MCA have allocated
$30,000 for this effort to be split equally between the six agencies (i.e. $5,000 per
agency). The District, as the lead agency, is responsible to hire a consultant to
prepare the annual report and submit before the deadline. GEI Consultants, who has
supported the MVGB Local SGMA Agencies efforts to date including the preparation
of the MVGB Alternative Submittal, is uniquely qualified to perform this work. The
District, and other local water agencies, have a long history of working with GEI
Consultants and they have performed well. District staff has contacted the other
MVGB Local SGMA Agencies and all are in agreement to have GEI Consultants
support the annual report preparation as per the terms of the MOA.
4. FI�Ce4L INIP,ACT
The professional services agreement for GEI Consultants is for a total amount not to
exceed $30,000 with an equal cost -share of $5,000 for the MVGB Local SGMA
Agencies including the District.
Authorize the General Manger to execute a contract with GEl Consultants for the
Martis Valley Groundwater Basin SGMA Alternative Submittal annual report, in
substantially the same form and as approved by District Counsel, for a total amount
not to exceed $30,000.
Steven Poncelet
Public Information & Strategic Affairs Manag(
Michael D. Holley
General Manager