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HomeMy WebLinkAboutAgreement A-17-075-3 with Central Delta-Mendota Region Services.pdf FOURTH AMENDMENT TO CENTRAL DELTA-MENDOTA REGION SUSTAINABLE GROUNDWATER MANAGEMENT ACT SERVICES ACTIVITY AGREEMENT AND CONSENT OF SS-MOA PARTICIPANTS RECITALS A. WHEREAS, the San Luis & Delta-Mendota Water Authority ("Authority") and its members Eagle Field Water District, Mercy Springs Water District, Pacheco Water District, Panoche Water District, San Luis Water District, Oro Loma Water District, Tranquillity Irrigation District, and Fresno Slough Water District(the "Activity Agreement Members") have executed that certain Central Delta-Mendota Region Sustainable Groundwater Management Act ("SGMA") Services Activity Agreement("Activity Agreement"), made effective as of February 15, 2017, that certain First Amendment, made effective as of November 17, 2017 (the "First Amendment"), that certain Second Amendment,made effective November 1, 2018 (the "Second Amendment"), and that certain Third Amendment, made effective August 30, 2021 (the "Third Amendment"); and B. WHEREAS, the County of Fresno, the County of Merced, Santa Nella County Water District,Widren Water District and the Central Delta-Mendota GSA(the "SS-MOA Participants"), are non-members of the Authority and have executed Memoranda of Agreement to participate in the Activity Agreement as SS-MOA Participants; and C. WHEREAS, effective August 28, 2019, Eagle Field Water District, County of Fresno, Fresno Slough Water District, County of Merced, Mercy Springs Water District, Pacheco Water District, Panoche Water District, San Luis Water District, Santa Nella County Water District, and Tranquillity Irrigation District formed a joint power authority known as the Central Delta-Mendota Groundwater Sustainability Agency; and D. WHEREAS, the Central Delta-Mendota Groundwater Sustainability Agency replaced the multi-agency Groundwater Sustainability Agencies ("GSAs") formed pursuant to a prior memorandum of agreement amongst the same Parties; and E. WHEREAS, Oro Loma Water District and Widren Water District are each GSAs within the Delta-Mendota Subbasin; and F. WHEREAS, the GSAs in the Delta-Mendota Groundwater Subbasin ("Subbasin")have historically worked with disadvantaged communities to improve drinking water access; and G. WHEREAS, the Coordination Committee for the Subbasin developed a Domestic Well Mitigation Policy(the "Policy"), which was approved by all of the GSAs in the Subbasin as part of the adoption of a single Groundwater Sustainability Plan ("GSP"); and H. WHEREAS, the purpose of the Policy is to mitigate the effects that may be felt by domestic water users whose wells have gone dry or are in imminent threat of going dry due to groundwater levels dropping as a result of groundwater management in the Subbasin; and 3564566v6/21603.0005 7 I. WHEREAS, the Policy is intended to serve as a last line of defense to protect domestic groundwater users in the unlikely event that the Subbasin GSAs' efforts fail to maintain those Minimum Threshold("MT") groundwater levels set in the single GSP; and J. WHEREAS, the Parties desire to enter into this Fourth Amendment to the Activity Agreement to establish the authority to create a Joint Cost Sharing Account to fund the Policy; and K. WHEREAS, Section 19.1 of the Activity Agreement authorizes the amendment of the Activity Agreement if completed in writing by the Authority and the Activity Agreement Members,with approval from the SS-MOA Participants. AGREEMENT NOW, THEREFORE, in consideration of the true and correct facts recited above,which are hereby incorporated herein, the Activity Agreement Members and the Authority agree as follows: 1. The Activity Agreement Members hereby agree to establish a Joint Cost Sharing Account maintained in trust by the Authority and funded based on the Activity Participants'Participation Percentages as set forth in the Activity Agreement. 2. The terms of the Activity Agreement as modified by the First Amendment, Second Amendment, and the Third Amendment remain in full force and effect, except as modified by this Fourth Amendment. 3. This Fourth Amendment shall become effective once it has been executed by an authorized representative of the Authority and a majority of the Activity Agreement Members with the consent of the SS-MOA Participants, which consent may be accomplished by execution of the form attached hereto as Exhibit"A." 4. AMENDMENT TO SECTION 2. The Parties hereby agree to add the following three definitions to Section 2 of the Activity Agreement: "`Coordination Committee" shall mean the seven-member Delta-Mendota Subbasin Coordination Committee composed of the Northern Delta-Mendota GSA Group, the Central Delta-Mendota GSA Group, the San Joaquin River Exchange Contractors Water Authority GSA Group, the Grassland GSA Group, the Farmers Water District GSA Group, the Fresno County GSA Group, and the Aliso Water District GSA Group, created to provide overall guidance and resolve conflicts among the GSAs. "Domestic Well Mitigation Policy" shall mean the Policy adopted by the Delta- Mendota Subbasin GSAs as part of the single GSP for the Delta-Mendota Subbasin, to mitigate the effects that may be felt by domestic water users whose wells have gone dry or are in imminent threat of going dry due to groundwater levels dropping as a result of groundwater management in the Delta-Mendota Subbasin. 3564566v6/21603.0005 8 "Joint Cost Sharing Account" shall mean an account maintained in trust by the Authority funded by Activity Participants based on their corresponding Participation Percentage, specifically to fund activities in accordance with the Delta-Mendota Subbasin Domestic Well Mitigation Policy.' 5. AMENDMENT TO SECTION 2. All definitions within Section 2 of the Activity Agreement, including the newly added definitions, are hereby renumbered sequentially to reflect the proper order.Any references to definition numbers throughout the Activity Agreement shall be deemed to refer to the appropriate renumbered definition. 6. AMENDMENT TO SECTION 4.2 The Parties hereby agree to add the following to Section 4.2 of the Activity Agreement: "(i) To establish, manage, and maintain a Joint Cost Sharing Account funded by the Delta-Mendota Subbasin GSAs, including members of this Activity Agreement, specifically to create a prudent reserve to fund activities in accordance with the Domestic Well Mitigation Policy. The total amount to be deposited into the Joint Cost Sharing Account shall be $300,000, funded over three years ($100,000 per year for the first three years). Procedures for funding and use of the Joint Cost Sharing Account shall be developed as part of a separate procedures document." 7. AMENDMENT TO SECTION 5.2 The Parties hereby agree to add the following to Section 5.2 of the Activity Agreement: "(g) To conduct all necessary research and investigations in accordance with the Delta- Mendota Subbasin Domestic Well Mitigation Policy." 8. AMENDMENT TO SECTION 8 The Parties hereby agree to add the following to Section 8 of the Activity Agreement: "8.4 Domestic Well Mitigation Policy Funding. To fund the Domestic Well Mitigation Program, the Coordination Committee GSA groups agree to fund, according to their Participation Share, a total of$300,000 into an interest-bearing Joint Cost Sharing Account. This account shall be funded with $100,000 per year, for the first three years. Thereafter, the Coordination Committee shall annually review this Policy to determine if that fund is adequate or if additional funds are required. In the event additional funds are needed, a unanimous vote of the Coordination Committee will be required to increase the funding beyond$300,000. GSAs may request use of the funds pursuant to the Domestic Well Mitigation Policy. Thereafter, the account shall be reimbursed by the GSA in whose jurisdiction the funds were expended for mitigation pursuant to the Domestic Well Mitigation Policy." 9. AMENDMENT TO SECTION 9. The Parties hereby agree to delete Section 9 of the Activity Agreement in its entirety and replace Section 9 with the following: 3564566v6/21603.0005 9 "9. ACCOUNTABILITY, REPORTS AND AUDITS 9.1. Full books and accounts for this Activity Agreement, including the Joint Cost Sharing Account, shall be maintained by the Authority in accordance with practices established by, or consistent with, those utilized by the Controller of the State of California for public entities. The books and records shall be open to inspection by the Activity Participants at all reasonable times, and by bondholders and lenders as and to the extent provided by resolution or indenture. 9.2. There shall be strict accountability of all funds deposited on behalf of the Activity Agreement with the Authority. The Authority shall manage and maintain a Joint Cost Sharing Account ledger detailing funds deposited and expensed in accordance with the Domestic Well Mitigation Policy. The Treasurer of the Authority, directly or acting through its Accounting Department, shall provide regular reports of Activity Agreement accounts. Funds of the Activity Agreement shall be subject to audit by the official auditor of the Authority.An Activity Participant may request an independent audit of the Activity Agreement funds, including those in the Joint Cost Sharing Account; any such audit shall be conducted at the expense of the requesting Activity Participant." 10. AMENDMENT TO SECTION 11.4. The Parties hereby agree to delete Section 11.4 of the Activity Agreement in its entirety and replace Section 11.4 with the following: "11.4. Invoicing and Payment. The Authority shall bill the Activity Participants for all Activity Agreement Expenses and Special Project Expenses, including the corresponding Joint Cost Sharing Account contribution, in their respective Participation Percentages on the same schedule as it utilizes for collecting membership dues to implement the Authority budget for each March 1 through the last day in February the following year, generally twice yearly in mid-March and August of such year. Payments are due 30 days following receipt of the Authority's invoice." 11. AMENDMENT TO SECTION 14. The Parties hereby agree to add the following to Section 14 of the Activity Agreement: "14.5 In the event of either a voluntary withdrawal or deemed withdrawal by an Activity Participant, that Activity Participant shall remain liable for all funds withdrawn from the Joint Cost Sharing Account. Within thirty (30) days of withdrawing, the withdrawing Activity Participant shall refund all such funds withdrawn from the Joint Cost Sharing Account." 12. In the event of any conflict between the terms of this Fourth Amendment and the Activity Agreement, First Amendment, Second Amendment, or Third Amendment the terms of this Fourth Amendment shall control. 13. This Fourth Amendment may be signed by the Parties in different counterparts and the signature pages combined to create one document binding on all parties. 3564566v6/21603.0005 10 IN WITNESS WHEREOF, the Members and the Authority have executed this Fourth Amendment as of the date appearing next to their respective signature lines. SAN LUIS & DELTA-MENDOTA WATER AUTHORITY BY. Name: Title: Date: ACTIVITY AGREEMENT MEMBERS Agency Name: EAGLE FIELD WATER DISTRICT BY: Name: Title: Date: Agency Name: FRESNO SLOUGH WATER DISTRICT BY: Name: Title: Date: 3564566v6/21603.0005 11 Agency Name: MERCY SPRINGS WATER DISTRICT BY: Name: Title: Date: Agency Name: ORO LOMA WATER DISTRICT BY: Name: Title: Date: Agency Name: PACHECO WATER DISTRICT BY: Name: Title: Date: 3564566v6/21603.0005 12 Agency Name: PANOCHE WATER DISTRICT BY: Name: Title: Date: Agency Name: SAN LUIS WATER DISTRICT BY: Name: Title: Date: Agency Name: TRANQUILLITY IRRIGATION DISTRICT BY: Name: Title: Date: 3564566v6/21603.0005 13 Exhibit "A" SS-MOA PARTICIPANT CONSENT TO FOURTH AMENDMENT TO THE CENTRAL DELTA-MENDOTA REGION SUSTAINABLE GROUNDWATER MANAGEMENT ACT SERVICES ACTIVITY AGREEMENT The undersigned duly authorized representative of the SS-MOA Participant that has entered into a Memorandum of Agreement for Central Delta-Mendota Region Sustainable Groundwater Management Act Services with the San Luis & Delta-Mendota Water Authority hereby consents on behalf of such SS-MOA Participant to the Fourth Amendment to the Central Delta-Mendota Region Sustainable Groundwater Management Act Services Activity Agreement. SS-MOA PARTICIPANTS Agency Name: CENTRAL DELTA-MENDOTA GSA BY: Name: Title: Date: Agency Name: COUNTY OF FRESNO BY: Name: Title: Date: 3564566v6/21603.0005 14 Agency Name: COUNTY OF MERCED BY: Name: Title: Date: Agency Name: SANTA NELLA COUNTY WATER DISTRICT BY: Name: Title: Date: Agency Name: WIDREN WATER DISTRICT GSA BY: Name: Title: Date: 3564566v6/21603.0005 15