Water Update - Part 3
The State Water Resources Control Board (SWRCB) heard from numerous Monterey Peninsula interest groups and stakeholders during the nearly six hour Cal-Am Cease and Desist Order (CDO) Workshop in Sacramento yesterday.
Supervisor Dave Potter was the first to comment after Cal-Am’s legal team challenged the validity and authority of the Board to impose the order. The Supervisor requested more time be allowed before issuance of the CDO, given the unique circumstances of our area and the timeline of upcoming water projects suited to address the needs of our communities.
The health and safety concerns relating to any additional cutbacks were the common theme amongst most of those who opposed ratification of the order. The California Public Utilities Commission (CPUC) representative requested that more time be granted in light of the water projects currently being evaluated by their board and echoed the potential health and safety challenges associated with the water cutbacks.
Upon conclusion of comments, the Board deliberated briefly on appropriate legal procedures and offered little insight as to the direction they would be taking. Nothing was shared with the attending audience that would indicate a specific course, though Board Member Tam D. Doduc did reveal a desire to see the Order adopted as drafted, at a bare minimum (indicating a desire to see stronger language incorporated within the order). Ms. Doduc was the only Member who spoke to that effect.
The Draft CDO will now go back to the Board for review and potential modification. We were told yesterday that a revised CDO should be out within the next couple of weeks and that a two week comment period would then follow, setting up an October Board meeting in which final consideration would be given.
We will update the membership upon review of the revised CDO as soon as it’s released to the public - sometime within the next couple of weeks. Stay tuned…
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I guess I cannot believe that the state water resources board can have the authority to make an arbitrary decision that will impact so many people here on the Peninsula, and there is no oversight of them!! Can their CDO be appealed and to whom, if the decision remains as it has been? How do we challenge their authority? Are they appointed by the governor, elected or members for life?? There must be something we can do as a force - a County that can not be ignored - we need to get people aroused over the potential crisis brewing - this is not about realtors - it is about all of us!!