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HomeMy WebLinkAbout10.b Water Bond PropositionCentral Contra Costa Sanitary District D ' BOARD OF DIRECTORS POs/ TION PAPER Board Meeting Date: August 5, 2010 Type of Action: ADOPT RESOLUTION Subject: ADOPT RESOLUTION OPPOSING THE "SAFE, CLEAN, AND RELIABLE DRINKING WATER SUPPLY ACT OF 2010" WHICH HAS BEEN PLACED ON THE NOVEMBER 2, 2010 BALLOT Submitted By: Initiating Dept./Div.: Ann E. Farrell, Director of Engineering Engineering REVIEWED AND RECOMMENDED FOR BOARD ACTION: ~~~ A. Farrell K. Alm mes M. elly enera anager ISSUE: When a formal position on significant State or Federal Legislation or a Bond Measure is taken by the Board, a resolution is adopted. RECOMMENDATION: Adopt a resolution opposing the California Water Bond Proposition entitled "Safe, Clean, and Reliable Drinking Water Supply Act of 2010," which has been placed on the November 2, 2010 ballot. FINANCIAL IMPACTS: No direct financial impacts are expected, although bond payments taken from already limited State funds could exacerbate the State budget situation creating more pressure to borrow funds from local government. ALTERNATIVES/CONSIDERATIONS: The Board could direct staff to modify the resolution. BACKGROUND: The State of California has historically suffered from water shortages in 3 out of 10 years. More recently, shortages have occurred in 7 out of 10 years due to environmental restrictions, population growth, climate change and other water supply impacts. In late 2009, a special legislative session was called by the Governor to discuss and address water supply issues. During this session, the Governor and State lawmakers crafted a comprehensive plan. This plan was signed on November 4, 2009 and consists of four policy bills and an $11.14 billion bond proposal. The four policy bills provide a comprehensive plan for the Delta and recognize the co-equal goals of protecting the environment and ensuring a reliable water supply. The California Water Bond Proposition will be on the November 2, 2010 ballot in California as a legislatively- referred state statue. The measure is known as the "Safe, Clean, and Reliable Drinking Water Supply Act of 2010." The Water Bond proposition is garnering a large amount of opposition for a number of reasons. First and foremost, given the State's dire economic situation, there is great concern that this measure would cost California. taxpayers approximately $20 billion C:\DOCUME-1\MPETTE-1\LOCALS-1\Temp\Water Bond Position Paper_1 AEF Rev. FINAL 5-6-10.doc POS/ T/ON PAPER Board Meeting Date: August 5, 2010 subject: ADOPT RESOLUTION OPPOSING THE "SAFE, CLEAN, AND RELIABLE DRINKING WATER SUPPLY ACT OF 2010" WHICH HAS BEEN PLACED ON THE NOVEMBER 2, 2010 BALLOT after principal and interest are paid, with an annual cost of $800 million. The bond repayment will be taken from already limited State funds and will put further pressure on reducing funding of education and other needed services. That said, the true cost of solving California's water supply and environmental issues in the Delta could far exceed the proposed amount of the bond. Second, good public policy generally dictates that the beneficiary should pay. In this case, large sums of taxpayer money will be directed to projects that will benefit a limited number of water districts and some large agricultural businesses. In addition, there are significant funds directed to projects that are funded solely to buy the support of the benefiting agency. Finally, the bond language is skewed towards building dams and other infrastructure, with limited funds provided for recycled water projects. More importantly, the underlying reasons that more recycled water projects are not built, the State laws that allow water purveyors to attempt to recover all of their sunk costs when recycled water systems that duplicate their water service are installed, are not addressed. CCCSD has more than 22,000 acre feet per year of recycled water that could be made available if State law were modified to make such a project attractive to the local water purveyor. This bond measure does not break down institutional and financial barriers which impede the implementation of recycled water projects. Without addressing these fundamental institutional issues, the $1 billion allocated for recycled water may not fund the projects with the most Statewide benefits. RECOMMENDED BOARD ACTION: Adopt a resolution opposing the California Water Bond Proposition entitled "Safe, Clean, and Reliable Drinking Water Supply Act of 2010," which has been placed on the November 2, 2010 ballot. C:\DOCUME-1\MPETTE-1\LOCALS-1\Temp\Water Bond Position Paper_1 AEF Rev. FINAL 5-6-10.doc Page 2 of 2 RESOLUTION NO. RESOLUTION OF THE BOARD OF DIRECTORS OF CENTRAL CONTRA COSTA SANITARY DISTRICT (CCCSD) IN OPPOSITION TO THE "SAFE, CLEAN, AND RELIABLE DRINKING WATER SUPPLY ACT OF 2010" WHEREAS, Governor Schwarzenegger and state lawmakers have placed a Water Bond Proposition on the November 2, 2010 ballot in California; and WHEREAS, we the Board of Directors of CCCSD appreciate the work the Governor and the state lawmakers did to craft the four policy bills that provide a comprehensive plan for the Delta and recognize the co-equal goals of protecting the environment and ensuring a reliable water supply; WHEREAS, we the Board of Directors of CCCSD are well aware of the water supply and environmental issues that have resulted in the perceived need for the funding that this Proposition would provide, but believe it is ill-conceived; and WHEREAS, this Bond would burden California taxpayers with an additional $20 billion in expenditures over its lifetime, at an annual cost of $800 million in a time of falling revenues and increased need for services; and WHEREAS, the true cost of solving California's water supply and environmental issues in the Delta could far exceed the proposed amount of the bond; and WHEREAS, this Bond would fund infrastructure improvements that would benefit a select population and business sector of our state, and should therefore be paid for by these beneficiaries; and WHEREAS, in order to garner support for this Bond, some projects have been funded without regard for their State-wide benefit, but solely to gain the votes of the beneficiaries; and WHEREAS, this Bond would provide limited funding, approximately $1 billion, for environmentally protective water recycling projects and would focus instead on large infrastructure projects. WHEREAS, this Bond and the associated water bills do not acknowledge or seek to address the institutional barriers which allow water purveyors to block large scale industrial recycled water projects due to loss of revenue. Thus, the $1 billion in bond proceeds is likely to be directed to recycling projects with less state-wide benefit, such as expensive landscaping projects, because they do not have as much of an impact on water purveyor revenues. NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED that the Board of Directors of Central Contra Costa Sanitary District formally opposes the "Safe, Clean and Reliable Drinking Water Supply Act of 2010". PASSED AND ADOPTED this 5th day of August 2010, by the Board of Directors of the Central Contra Costa Sanitary District by the following vote: AYES: Members: NOES: Members: ABSENT: Members: Michael R. McGill President of the Board of Directors Central Contra Costa Sanitary District County of Contra Costa, State of California COUNTERSIGNED: Elaine R. Boehme Secretary of the Central Contra Costa Sanitary District County of Contra Costa, State of California Approved as to form: Kenton L. Alm Counsel for the District