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03-17-22 CPRL&L Committee Packet
OTAY WATER DISTRICT CONSERVATION, PUBLIC RELATIONS, LEGAL & LEGISLATIVE COMMITTEE MEETING and SPECIAL MEETING OF THE BOARD OF DIRECTORS BY TELECONFERENCE 2554 SWEETWATER SPRINGS BOULEVARD SPRING VALLEY, CALIFORNIA THURSDAY March 17, 2022 12:00 P.M. This is a District Committee meeting. This meeting is being posted as a special meeting in order to comply with the Brown Act (Government Code Section §54954.2) in the event that a quorum of the Board is present. Items will be deliberated, however, no formal board actions will be taken at this meeting. The committee makes recommendations to the full board for its consideration and formal action. UAGENDA 1.ROLL CALL 2.PUBLIC PARTICIPATION – OPPORTUNITY FOR MEMBERS OF THE PUBLIC TO SPEAK TO THE COMMITTEE ON ANY SUBJECT MATTER WITHIN THE COMMITTEE’S JURISDICTION INCLUDING AN ITEM ON TODAY'S AGENDA This meeting is being held via teleconference. Members of the public may sub- mit their comments on agendized and non-agendized items by either of the fol- lowing two methods: a)If you wish to provide public comment directly - that is, live during the “Public Participation” portion of the meeting - please complete and submit a 24TURequest to Speak FormU24T via email to BoardSecretary@otaywater.gov be- fore the start of the meeting. Your request to speak will be acknowledged during the “Public Participation” portion of the meeting when the Commit- tee will hear your comment. When called to speak, please state your Name and the City in which you reside. You will be provided three minutes to speak. The Committee is not permitted to enter into a dialogue with the speaker during this time. OR b)If you wish to have your comment read to the Committee during the “Pub- lic Participation” portion of the meeting, please email your comment to BoardSecretary@otaywater.gov at least thirty minutes prior to the start of 2 the meeting, and it will be read aloud during the “Public Participation” por- tion of the meeting. Please provide your Name and the City in which you reside, with your comment. Your comment must not take more than three minutes to read. The Committee is not permitted to respond to written public comment during this time. The District’s meeting is live streamed. Information on how to watch and listen to the District’s meeting can be found at this link: https://otaywater.gov/board-of- directors/agenda-and-minutes/committee-meetings/ DISCUSSION ITEMS 3.ADOPT THE 2022 OTAY WATER DISTRICT LEGISLATIVE PROGRAM POLI- CY GUIDELINES AND TOP 10 LEGISLATIVE PRIORITIES (OTERO) RECESS TO CLOSED SESSION 4.CLOSED SESSION a)EVALUATION OF GENERAL COUNSEL Pursuant to Government Code §54954.5 RETURN TO OPEN SESSION 5.REPORT ON ANY ACTIONS TAKEN IN CLOSED SESSION 6.ADJOURNMENT BOARD MEMBERS ATTENDING: Gary Croucher, Chair Jose Lopez All items appearing on this agenda, whether or not expressly listed for action, may be deliberated and may be subject to action by the Board. The Agenda, and any attachments containing written information, are available at the District’s website at www.otaywater.gov. Written changes to any items to be considered at the open meeting, or to any attachments, will be posted on the District’s website. Copies of the Agenda and all attachments are also available by contacting the District Secretary at (619) 670-2253. If you have any disability that would require accommodation in order to enable you to participate in this meeting, please call the District Secretary at 670-2253 at least 24 hours prior to the meeting. 3 Certification of Posting I certify that on March 11, 2022 I posted a copy of the foregoing agenda near the regular meeting place of the Board of Directors of Otay Water District, said time being at least 24 hours in advance of the meeting of the Board of Directors (Government Code Section §54954.2). Executed at Spring Valley, California on March 11, 2022. /s/ Tita Ramos-Krogman, District Secretary 1 STAFF REPORT TYPE MEETING: Regular Board Meeting MEETING DATE: April 6, 2022 SUBMITTED BY: Tenille M. Otero PROJECT: Various DIV. NO. All APPROVED BY: Jose Martinez, General Manager SUBJECT: 2022 Legislative Program Policy Guidelines and Top 10 Legislative Priorities GENERAL MANAGER’S RECOMMENDATION: That the Board of Directors adopt the 2022 Otay Water District Legislative Program Policy Guidelines and 2022 Top 10 Legislative Priorities. COMMITTEE ACTION: See Attachment A. PURPOSE: To provide direction to staff and the Otay Water District’s legislative advocates in the formulation of the District’s response to legislative initiatives on prominent issues that could impact the District and/or other local water agencies. To present to the Board of Directors the 2022 Legislative Program Priorities, which staff and legislative advocates will proactively monitor and/or act on during the 2022 legislative session and throughout the year. ANALYSIS: The Otay Water District maintains a set of legislative policy guidelines to direct staff and its legislative advocates on issues important to the District. Staff updates the legislative guidelines annually and/or as needed with the proposed updates presented to the District’s Board of Directors for review, comment, and adoption. The 2022 Legislative Program represents policy guidelines on legislation for the Board’s consideration. Normally, representatives to the California Legislature introduce 2,000 or more bills or significant resolutions. While many bills fail to make it out of their house of origin, many others move on to be signed by the governor and become law. These new laws can AGENDA ITEM 3 2 fundamentally affect special districts. The same is true with each session of the House of Representatives and the U.S. Senate. The 2022 Legislative Program establishes guidelines and policy direction that staff and the District’s legislative advocates can use when monitoring legislative activity to facilitate actions quickly in response to proposed bills or issues. The guidelines provide a useful framework for staff and legislative advocates when evaluating the potential impact of state or federal legislation on the District. This is particularly helpful when a timely response is necessary to address last-minute amendments to legislation, District participation in coalitions on issues, and should calls or letters of support or opposition be needed. Legislation that does not meet the guidelines as set forth or that has potentially complicated or varied implications, will not be acted upon by staff or the District’s legislative advocates, and will instead be presented to the Board directly for guidance in advance of any position being taken. The San Diego County Water Authority has its own set of legislative policy guidelines that is a comprehensive program at a wholesale and regional level. District staff has evaluated policies and issues from the Water Authority’s guidelines that may have a direct or indirect impact on the District. Staff has incorporated these policies and issues into the District’s guidelines. Although the District is a retail agency and is focused on its local service area, if there are issues or polices incorporated in the Water Authority’s Legislative Policy Guidelines that could benefit or impact the District, the General Manager, District staff, and the District’s legislative advocates may act on those issues, respectively. The 2022 Legislative Program Policy Guidelines presents staff’s recommendations for the Board’s review and seeks the Board’s feedback for any additional modifications. Staff will then incorporate the Board’s recommendations into the final document. In general, the guidelines look to protect the District’s interest in a reliable, diverse, safe, and affordable water supply. Moreover, they seek to maintain local control over special district actions to protect the Board’s discretion and ratepayers’ interests and maintain the ability to manage District operations effectively and efficiently. In addition, they express the District’s ongoing support for financial assistance to water agencies and customers regarding nonpayment due to financial hardships related to the pandemic, water-use efficiency, recycled water, seawater desalination, capital improvement project development, organization-wide safety and security, binational cooperation, climate change, and funding, including the equitable distribution of water bond proceeds. These guidelines also demonstrate the District’s strong and collaborative 3 support and efforts to advocate against a “one-size-fits-all” approach and any unfunded mandates by legislation or regulation. The proposed redlined 2022 Legislative Program Policy Guidelines are included in Attachment C. Revisions, updates, and recommended additions are underlined, while deletions are reflected by strikethroughs. A clean copy of the proposed changes is included in Attachment D. When the Board adopts the updated guidelines, staff will incorporate recommended changes by the Board into the final document. In the proposed redlined 2022 guidelines, staff made slight modifications to various sections. Also, staff added “Affordability” to the Financial Issues section as this has been a key issue for the public and water agencies in the last few years. Water rate affordability is imperative to equitable water access. The consequences of a lack of water could result in lost economic opportunity, health issues, homelessness, and lost revenue for water agencies. In addition, staff is presenting the District’s anticipated Top 10 Legislative Priorities for the year (Attachment D). This list highlights, in no order, specific legislation or issues that District staff and/or the Water Authority is currently monitoring and/or may take or has already taken a position on. The deadline for bill introduction was Feb. 18, 2022. Typically, lobbyists and legislative staff wait until the last couple of days leading up to the deadline, and then hundreds of bills will be introduced. Based on the bills/issues that legislators introduced by this year’s deadline, staff worked with the District’s legislative consultant to develop a list of priority issues for 2022. Staff and the District’s consultant will continue to monitor those bills and issues that may affect the District. Staff will update the Board as necessary throughout the year to provide updates on legislative issues impacting the District. District staff continues to proactively work with the Water Authority’s government relations staff, the District’s legislative consultant, the Association of California Water Agencies, California Special Districts Association, California Water Efficiency Partnership, California Municipality Utilities Association, and other related coalitions, associations, and organizations to monitor legislative issues that affect the District and its ratepayers. It is critical that District and its staff remain engaged in these issues as they could have an impact on how the District conducts day-to-day operations and operates and maintains its facilities, thus affecting its ratepayers. FISCAL IMPACT: Joe Beachem, Chief Financial Officer 4 None. STRATEGIC GOAL: Execute and deliver services that meet or exceed customer expectations, and increase customer engagement in order to improve District Services. Enhance and build awareness and engagement among the District’s customers and stakeholders and within the San Diego Region about the District’s strategies, policies, projects, programs, and legislative/regulatory issues. LEGAL IMPACT: None. Attachments: A) Committee Action B) Presentation – Brownstein, Hyatt, Farber and SchreckC)Proposed 2022 Otay Water District Legislative Program PolicyGuidelines (Redlined)D) Proposed 2022 Otay Water District Legislative Program PolicyGuidelines (Clean Copy) E) Top 10 Legislative Priorities for 2022 5 ATTACHMENT A SUBJECT/PROJECT: 2022 Legislative Program Policy Guidelines and Top 10 Legislative Priorities COMMITTEE ACTION: The Conservation, Public Relations, Legal and Legislative Committee is scheduled to review these items on March 17, 2022. The attachment will be updated with notes from the committee’s discussion. Otay Water District Anticipated Top 10 Legislative Priorities for 2022 Presented by: Gianna Setoudeh Policy Advisor March 17, 2022 Attachment B Top 10 Legislative Priorities 2022 2 © 2021 Brownstein Hyatt Farber Schreck, LLP www.bhfs.com | Legislative Update •Legislature reconvened on January 3, 2022 •In 2022, as of March 9, 2153 bills, resolutions and constitutional amendments have been introduced •Key Legislative Deadlines: —January 10 –Governor’s Budget Proposal —January 31 –House of Origin deadline —February 18 –Bill Introduction deadline —May 14 –May Revision of the January Budget (“May Revise”) —June 7 –Primary Election —June 15 –Budget must be passed by midnight —August 31 –Final Recess upon Adjournment of Session —September 30 –Last day for Governor to sign or veto bills passed on or before September 1 —November 8 –General Election •Remote testimony option continues in most committees, with option for in-person testimony available –some committees with transition to in-person testimony only •In-person meetings allowed but space limited; members meet on a case-by-case basis •No lobby days for foreseeable future •Mask mandate in Legislature lifted on March 7, however approximately 70% still masking 3 © 2021 Brownstein Hyatt Farber Schreck, LLP www.bhfs.com | 1. Drought Response •Governor’s Executive Order N-10-21 which calls on Californians to voluntarily reduce water use by 15% compared to 2020 levels. —Further modified to accelerate water conservation efforts —Provided State Water Board authority to adopt regulations to prohibit specific wasteful water uses •Governor’s Statewide Drought Emergency Proclamation —All counties in California are under the drought emergency proclamation effective October 2021 •State Water Board regulations prohibiting wasteful water use practices statewide —Effective January 18, 2022 —Will remain in effect for 1 year from effective state, unless ended, modified or readopted •DWR continues to advocate for water conservation in communities not reaching 15% voluntary conservation goals —DWR reported second driest water year on record, for water year ending September 30 —Storage below 2019 levels —Dry January 2022 —Very little precipitation on horizon 4 © 2021 Brownstein Hyatt Farber Schreck, LLP www.bhfs.com | 2. Affordability •California Water and Wastewater Arrearage Payment Program —SB 129 (Skinner) and AB 148 (Committee on Budget) –allocated nearly $1 billion in federal funding and established the California Water and Wastewater Arrearage Payment Program (Program) within the State Water Board to provide relief to community water and wastewater systems for unpaid bills related to the pandemic. —Funding covers water debt from residential and commercial customers accrued between March 4, 2020 and June 15, 2021. —The Program initially prioritized drinking water residential and commercial arrearages. Funding to community water systems was disbursed through January 31, 2022. —If the Program still had funding available, it would then be extended to wastewater residential and commercial arrearages by February 2022. —Approximately $600 million is available for wastewater debt accrued March 4, 2020, through June 15, 2021. The program will likely be able to cover 100% of the debt that wastewater agencies request in their applications. —Applications are open for the Wastewater Arrearage Program now through April 1, 2022. •Low Income Household Water Assistance Program (LIHWAP) —New federally funded program to provide financial assistance to low-income Californians with residential water utility costs and debt repayment —California has been allocated $116 million in one-time funding to provide LIHWAP assistance —Administering Agency –Department of Community Services and Development (CSD) —Draft Program Guidelines released in February —Funds must be expended by September 2023 5 © 2021 Brownstein Hyatt Farber Schreck, LLP www.bhfs.com | 3. Water Use and Efficiency •February 2021 –AB 1434 (Friedman) was introduced in 2021 which would have established, beginning January 1, 2023 until January 1, 2025, a standard for indoor residential water use goal of 48 gallons per capita daily (GPCD); beginning January 1, 2025, a standard of 44 GPCD; and, beginning January 1, 2030, a GPCD of 40. •November 2021 –DWR and the State Water Board submitted its final report to the Legislature recommending an indoor water use efficiency standard of 55 GPCD by 2023, declining to 47 GCPD by 2025, and 42 GCPD by 2030 and beyond. •January 2022 –AB 1434 (Friedman) was amended to mirror the recommendations in this report. However, the bill failed to move forward. •February 2022 –SB 1157 (Hertzberg) was introduced which also mirrors the recommendations in the report and the language that was in AB 1434 (Friedman). 6 © 2021 Brownstein Hyatt Farber Schreck, LLP www.bhfs.com | 4. Water Quality •MCL Compliance Periods –State Water Board/ACWA determined that legislation was not needed to establish compliance periods for MCLs; State Water Board to use its existing authority; expect to see a compliance framework from the State Water Board in Spring 2022. •SB 230 (Portantino) –would require the State Water board to establish, maintain, and direct a dedicated CEC Program to assess the state of information and recommend areas for further study on the occurrence of CECs in drinking water, and establish the CEC Action Fund. •AB 1001 (C. Garcia) –would require all public agencies to “act consistently with the principles of environmental justice” when implementing CEQA and requires projects that impact a disadvantaged community’s air or water quality to mitigate those effects directly in that impacted community. •AB 2016 (Bauer-Kahan) –would require the State Water Board to undertake a comprehensive feasibility study of the potential impact of desalination plants within the state. The bill would require the board to prepare and present to the Legislature, on or before January 1, 2025, a prescribed report about the feasibility study. 7 © 2021 Brownstein Hyatt Farber Schreck, LLP www.bhfs.com | 5. Water Industry Workforce Advocacy •Water Industry Workforce Advocacy —Continue to enhance efforts to increase the talented pool of the skilled water workforce through education and advocacy. —Seek options that provide an adequate supply of clean water, as well as reduce the demand on water resources. —Continue to monitor the work of the State Water Board’s Drinking Water Operator Certificate Program Advisory Committee. •Legislative Efforts to Address California’s Workforce Challenges —AB 2088 (Cooper) Career technical education: California Pilot Paid Internship Program —AB 2342 (Cervantes) Community Economic Resilience Fund Program —SB 1197 (Caballero) Water Innovation and Drought Resiliency Act of 2022 •State Budget Funding to Address California’s Workforce Challenges —$500 million over 2 years for college students to explore career pathways through learning-aligned employment opportunities. —$472.5 million one-time federal funds and $27.5 million in the 2021 budget for grants to displaced workers for education and training programs to facilitate their ability to reskill or upskill into new careers. —$30 million to expand the English Language Learner pilots in the Integrated Education and Training programs to combine contextualized English language instruction with vocational skills training for in-demand occupations. —$20 million to expand workplace literacy training to enable employers to build skilled workforces, increase employee retention, and provide pathways to higher wages and better jobs for immigrants. 8 © 2021 Brownstein Hyatt Farber Schreck, LLP www.bhfs.com | 6. State Budget/Infrastructure Funding •The Governor’s 2022-23 proposed budget allocates $750M to address immediate drought support needs including: $500M for water conservation, water efficiency, groundwater recharge, and assistance for small farmers and $250M drought contingency support. •Specifically: —Water Conservation Programs—$180 million —Urban and Small Community Drought Relief—$145 million —On-Farm Water Conservation—$20 million —Fish and Wildlife Protection—$75 million —Multibenefit Land Repurposing—$40 million —Groundwater Recharge—$30 million —Technical Assistance and Drought Relief for Small Farmers—$10 million —Drought Contingency—$250 million as a drought contingency set aside to be allocated as part of the spring budget process •AB 2387 (E. Garcia) –If passed and approved by the voters, the measure would authorize a $7.43 billion bond to finance projects for safe drinking water, wildfire prevention, drought preparation, flood protection, extreme heat mitigation, and workforce development programs. 9 © 2021 Brownstein Hyatt Farber Schreck, LLP www.bhfs.com | 7.Advanced Clean Fleets Rulemaking •Executive Order N-79-20 accelerates the state’s transition to carbon neutrality by setting a course to end sales of internal combustion passenger vehicles by 2035. •CARB is tasked with transitioning fleets to zero-emission vehicles (ZEVs) to meet the state’s goals. •The Advanced Clean Fleets proposed rulemaking for Public Fleets would require —100 percent zero-emission drayage trucks by 2035 —100 percent zero-emission off-road vehicles and equipment by 2035, where feasible —100 percent zero-emission medium and heavy-duty vehicles by 2045, where feasible •Otay Water District submitted comments to CARB and met with CARB staff, seeking an exemption for emergency response vehicles. •CARB may release a new draft regulation for public comment prior to board adoption in mid to late 2022. •The Governor’s proposed 2022-23 budget includes: —$1.1B for zero-emission trucks, buses, and off-road equipment and fueling infrastructure —$900M to expand affordable and convenient ZEV infrastructure access in low-income neighborhoods with Level 2 and DC fast chargers —$256M for low-income consumer purchases of ZEVs 10 © 2021 Brownstein Hyatt Farber Schreck, LLP www.bhfs.com | 8. Recycled Water •AB 2387 (E. Garcia) –The proposed $7.43 billion bond would provide $300 million for water recycling projects including: —1) Treatment, storage, conveyance, and distribution facilities for potable and nonpotable recycling projects; —2) Dedicated distribution infrastructure to serve residential, commercial, agricultural, and industrial end-user retrofit projects to allow use of recycled water; and —3) Multiple-benefit recycled water projects that improve water quality. •Additionally, ACWA is advocating for $450 million in the 2022-23 state budget to be provided for water recycling. —$300 million for water recycling and reuse projects —$150 million for brackish and sea water desalination projects 11 © 2021 Brownstein Hyatt Farber Schreck, LLP www.bhfs.com | 9.Climate Resiliency •Climate resiliency will remain a top priority for the Governor, his Administration and the Legislature in 2022. •Governor’s proposed January budget, the 2022-23 budget proposal includes an additional $22.5 billion in one-time investment from various fund sources over 5 years to provide equitable climate solutions to prepare and protect communities from intensifying climate emergencies such as drought, extreme heat, wildfires, flooding and sea level rise. —Builds on the $15 billion climate resilience investments in the 2021 budget 12 © 2021 Brownstein Hyatt Farber Schreck, LLP www.bhfs.com | 10.State Water Project/Delta Conveyance •State Water Project —January 2022 SWP allocation of 15%, reflecting California’s drought conditions; final allocation to be determined in May or June. •Delta Conveyance —Draft Environmental Impact Report (EIR), evaluating the proposed Delta Conveyance Project under the California Environmental Quality Act, for public review and comment in mid-2022. 13 Questions? CONTACT Gianna Setoudeh gsetoudeh@bhfs.com (916) 594-9719 Teresa Cooke tcooke@bhfs.com (916) 594-9715 Otay Water District Legislative Program 20212022 1 | P a g e Effective Date: 04/067/20221 Legislative Program Policy Guidelines Purpose The Otay Water District’s legislative policy guidelines reflect policy positions adopted by the Board of Directors through 20221. The guidelines provide direction to staff and the legislative advocates when they evaluate proposed legislation that may affect the District, other local water agencies, or regional water management and use. Legislation that meets or fails to meet, the principles set forth in the guidelines may be supported or opposed accordingly. The guidelines permit the General Manager, District staff, and the District’s legislative advocates to act in a timely fashion between Board meetings on issues that are clearly within the guidelines. While the title of this document suggests these policy guidelines are applicable solely to state and federal legislative issues reviewed by the San Diego County Water Authority (Water Authority), the District and other state and other local water agencies, increasingly state and federal regulatory and administrative bodies are developing rules, guidelines, white papers, and regulations that can significantly affect the District, its wholesale supplier, and other local agencies. District staff, including the District’s legislative teamconsultant, often utilize these Legislative Policy Guidelines to provide guidance on emerging and active regulatory and administrative issues. Legislation that does not meet the principles set forth in the guidelines or that has potentially complicated or varied implications will not be acted upon by staff or the legislative advocates in between Board meetings and will instead be presented to the Board directly for guidance in advance of any position being taken. The Water Authority has its own set of legislative guidelines that is a comprehensive program at a wholesale and regional level. District staff has evaluated and selected policies and issues from the Water Authority’s guidelines that may have a direct impact on the District. These policies and issues have been incorporated into the District’s guidelines. Although the District is a retail agency and is focused on its local service area, if there are issues or polices contained in the Water Authority’s Legislative Policy Guidelines that could benefit or impact the District, the General Manager, District staff, and the District’s legislative advocates may act on those issues, respectively. Attachment C Otay Water District Legislative Program 20212022 2 | P a g e Table of Contents The Otay Water Legislative Policy Program Guidelines for 2021 includes the following categories: I.Binational Issues…………………………………………....……………... Page 3 II.Biological and Habitat Preservation…………………………………….. Page 3 III.Desalination……………………………………………………………….. Page 4 IV.Drought Response………………………………………………………… Page 4 V.Energy……………………………………………………………………… Page 5 VI.Financial Issues…………………………………………………………… Page 6 A.Fees, Taxes, and Charges………………………….......................... Page 6 B.Funding…………………………………………………………….. Page 8 C.Rates………………………………………………………………... Page 10 D.Water Bonds……………………………………………………….. Page 10 D.E. Affordability……………………………………………………. Page 11 VII.Governance and Local Autonomy……………………………………….. Page 112 VIII.Imported Water Issues……………………………………………………. Page 13 A.Bay-Delta……………………………………………………………… Page 13 i.Co-equal Goals……………………………………………………. Page 13 ii.Bay-Delta Conveyance Project…………………………………… Page 134 B.Metropolitan Water District…………………………………………… Page 145 C.Colorado River………………………………………………………… Page 154 D.State Water Project…………………………………………………….. Page 156 IX.Optimize District Effectiveness……………………...…………....………. Page 16 X.Safety, Security, and Information Technology……………....................... Page 167 XI.Water Quality Issues………………………………………………………. Page 178 XII.Water Recycling and Potable Reuse……………………………………… Page 189 XIII.Water Service and Facilities……………………………………………… Page 1920 XIV.Water-Use Efficiency……………………………………………………… Page 243 XV.Workforce Development………………………………………………….. Page 256 Otay Water District Legislative Program 20212022 3 | P a g e I.Binational Issues Support initiatives that: 1.Promote and provide funding for cross-border water supply and infrastructure development projects such as water pipelines, desalination plants or water treatment facilities to serve the San Diego/Baja California border region while protecting local interests. 2.Encourage enhanced cooperation between entities in San Diego and Baja California in development of supply and infrastructure projects that will benefit the entire border region. 3.Encourage state and federal funding to support collaborative binational projects to improve water quality and protect human health and the environment within the broader San Diego region. 4.Develop and enhance communications and understanding of the interdependence of communities on both sides of the border with the goal of improved cross-border cooperation. Oppose initiatives that: 1.Would usurp local control over the financing and construction of water supply and infrastructure projects in the San Diego/Baja California region. II.Biological and Habitat Preservation Support initiatives that: 1.Support development of comprehensive multispecies habitat conservation plants that anticipate and mitigate project development impacts while preserving representative ecosystem, rather than individual species. 2.Exempt operation, maintenance, ad repair of water system facilities from endangered species and other habitat conservation regulations because they provide beneficial cyclical habitat values to declining species and foster biological diversity in California. 3.Provide environmental regulatory certainty for implementation of existing and proposed long- term water supply programs. 4.Streamline filing of CEQA notices of determination for multicounty water projects by making those notices available on the CEQAnet website through the Governor’s office of Planning and Research. 5.Incorporate an emergency exemption for “take” of a listed species listed under the state or federal Endangered Species Acts when necessary to mitigate or prevent loss of or damage to life, health, property, or essential public services. 6.Encourage species listings, critical habitat designation, and recovery plans developed pursuant to the state or federal Endangered Species Acts to be consistent with existing interstate compacts, tribal treaties, and other state and federal agreements. Oppose initiatives that: 1.Reduce or limit the use of existing water rights or supplies, 2.Restrict the development of future water supplies. 3.Impose endangered species or habitat conservation requirements that restrict the operation, maintenance, or repair of public water supply, conveyance, treatment, or storage facilities. Otay Water District Legislative Program 20212022 4 | P a g e III. Desalination Support initiatives that: 1. Provide funding for seawater desalination studies and facilities. 2. Recognize and support the development of seawater desalination as critical new water supply for the state, including San Diego County. 3. Streamline permitting of desalination facilities. 4. Preserve and protects potential seawater desalination sites and existing coastal facilities including intake and discharge infrastructure that could be used or reused by a seawater desalination facility. 5. Ensure that desalination intake and discharge regulations are science-based, considering site- specific conditions, and recognizing that not all technologies or mitigation strategies are feasible or cost-effective at every site. IV. Drought Response Support initiatives that: 1. Ensure the District and other local agencies including the Water Authority and San Diego County water agencies receive the water supply benefits of its investments in local water supply sources. 2. Allow local agencies to achieve compliance with emergency or non-emergency drought regulations or objectives through a combination of water conservation measures and development and implementation of local water supply sources that are not derived from the Delta. 3. Allow for local agencies to account for all water supplies available during droughts and other events when calculating the water supply shortage level. 4. Create a process for development and implementation of emergency drought declarations and regulations that recognizes variations among communities, regions, and counties with respect to their abilities to withstand the impacts and effects of drought. 5. Recognize variations among communities, regions, and counties with respect to their abilities to withstand the impacts and effects of droughts and ensure that any temporary or permanent statutory or regulatory direction for improving water-use efficiency to meet statutory or regulatory goals or standards is focused on regional achievement of objectives rather than a one-size-fits-all approach. Oppose initiatives that: 1. Disincentivize or impede water agencies from making investments to maximize the potential for recycled water, potable reuse, desalination, and other drought-resilient local water supplies. 2. Create a “one-size-fits-all” approach to emergency drought declarations and regulations that ignores variations among communities, regions, and counties with respect to their ability to withstand the impacts and effects of drought. Otay Water District Legislative Program 20212022 5 | P a g e V.Energy Support initiatives that: 1.Provide opportunities for reduced energy rates under tariff schedules for the District. 2.Provide protection to the District from energy rate increases and provides rate relief for the District. 3.Provide funding, including state and federal grants, for in-line hydro-electric, solar, wind, battery storage, biogas, cogeneration, nanogrids, microgrids, closed-loop pumped storage facilities and other renewable energy generation or storage technology as means of reducing greenhouse gas emissions and energy cost. 4.Promote funding for use of renewable energy in the operation of District facilities. 5.Prohibit investor-owned utilities from implementing rate changes that undercut the financial viability of renewable energy facilities obligated under long-term Power Purchase Agreements. 6.Provide greater flexibility in the utilization of the District’s facilities for generation and acquisition of electrical and natural gas power. 7.Provide the District with greater flexibility in the licensing, permitting, interconnection, construction, and the operation of its existing and potential in-line hydroelectric, solar, wind, battery, nanogrid, microgrid, closed-loop pumped-energy storage projects, and other renewable generation or storage technology. 8.Make SWP power available for all water projects. 9.Promote the classification of electricity generated by in-line hydroelectric and closed-loop pumped-energy storage facilities as environmentally sound. 10.Promote the expansion of closed-loop pumped-energy storage facilities to provide clean and environmentally sound energy resource that provides electric and reliability and resiliency, especially during times of potential blackouts. 11.Promote the expansion of in-line hydroelectric energy recovery systems at treatment facility discharge systems. 12.Promote the production, purchase, delivery, and use of alternative sources of energy on a wholesale basis. 13.Provide clear statutory, regulatory, or administrative authority for the San Diego County Water Authority to wheel acquired or produced power to itself, the District, or entities with which the Water Authority is under contract for the purchase, treatment, transport, or production of water. 14.Recognize and monetize all grid ancillary services that pumped hydro-energy storage provides and supports fair compensation in the wholesale energy market for such services. 15.Provides timely, efficient, and cost-effective interconnection of new energy resources such as solar, inline hydroelectric, pumped-energy storage, and other renewable energy generation or storage technologies to the electric distribution and transmission grid. Otay Water District Legislative Program 20212022 6 | P a g e 16. Recognize the value of large-scale hydropower and pumped-energy storage facilities in assisting the state to meet its renewable and zero-carbon emission goals of 100 percent by 2045. Oppose initiatives that: 1. Adversely affect the cost of energy needed to operate MWD’s facilities, SWP facilities, or the facilities of the Water Authority and the District. 2. Impose greenhouse gas reduction obligations on a public water agency for electricity purchased or produced for the sole purpose of operating its system. 3. Adversely affect the ability of the District or other water agencies in the county to own, operate, and/or construct work for supplying its own facilities with natural gas and electricity. 4. Impede the District or other water agencies in the county, the ability to contract for, deliver, and use the purchase of natural gas and electricity from the United States, the State of California, and any other public agency or private entity and sell the gas and electricity to any public agency or private entity engaged in retail sales of electricity and gas. 5. Reduce the District’s ability to always maintain high operational efficiency. 6. Restrict the District’s ability to expand or improve infrastructure or facilities. 7. Restrict or caps future energy demands needed for possible expansion of recycled water, potable reuse, and desalination projects. 8. Adversely affect the District’s ability to expand cogeneration or polygeneration at planned or existing facilities. 9. Inhibit the scientific advancement of energy and water efficient/conserving technologies that may be implemented at the District or other agency facilities. 10. Prevent the District from enhancing energy reliability and independence for its facilities. 11. Do not count or credit qualified renewable energy projects toward accomplishment and satisfaction of the California Renewables Portfolio Standard objectives. 12. Prohibit the Water Authority from wheeling - or securing statutory, regulatory, or administrative authority necessary to wheel - acquired or produced power to itself, the District, or other entities with which the Water Authority is under contract of the purchase, treatment, transport, or production of water. 13. Result in a lengthy, more complicated, or more costly interconnection of new energy resources, such as solar, inline-hydroelectric, pumped-energy storage, and other renewable energy generation or storage technologies to the electric distribution and transmission grid. VI. Financial Issues A. Fees, Taxes, and Charges Support initiatives that: 1. Require the federal government and State of California to reimburse special districts for all mandated costs or regulatory actions. 2. Give special districts the discretion to cease performance of unfunded mandates. Otay Water District Legislative Program 20212022 7 | P a g e 3. Provide for fiscal reform to enhance the equity, reliability, and certainty of special district funding. 4. Provide incentives for local agencies to work cooperatively, share costs or resources. 5. Provide for the stable, equitable and reliable allocation of property taxes. 6. Continue to reform workers compensation. 7. Promote competition in insurance underwriting for public agencies. 8. Produce tangible results, such as water supply reliability or water quality improvement. 9. Require the Metropolitan Water District of Southern California (MWD) to refund or credit to its member agencies revenues collected from them that result in reserve balances greater than the maximum reserve levels established pursuant to state legislation. Oppose initiatives that: 1. Impose mandated costs or regulatory constraints on local agencies and their customers without providing subventions to reimburse local agencies for such costs. 2. Pre-empt the Water Authority’s or its member agencies’ ability to impose or change rates, charges, fees, or assessments. 3. Weaken the protections afforded the Water Authority or its member agencies under California’s Proposition 1A (November 2, 2004). 4. Reallocate special districts reserves in an effort to balance the state budget. 5. Reallocate special district revenues or reserves to fund infrastructure improvements or other activities in cities or counties. 6. Establish funding mechanisms that put undue burdens on local agencies or make local agencies de facto tax collectors for the state. 7. Adversely affect the cost of gas and electricity or reduce an organization’s flexibility to take advantage of low peak cost periods. 8. Add new reporting criteria, burdensome, unnecessary, or costly reporting mandates to Urban Water Management Plans. 9. Add new mandates to the Department of Water Resources (DWR) to review and approve Urban Water Management Plans beyond those already addressed in DWR guidelines. 10. Mandate that water agencies include an embedded energy calculation for their water supply sources in Urban Water Management Plans or any other water resources planning or master-planning document. 11. Weaken existing project retention and withholding provisions that limit the ability of public agencies to drive contractor performance. 12. Establish change order requirements that place an unreasonable burden on local agencies, or raise financial risk associated with public works contracts. 13. Impair the San Diego County Water Authority or its member agencies’ ability to provide reasonable service at reasonable costs to member agencies or to charge all member agencies the same rate for each class of service consistent with cost-of-service requirements of the law. 14. Impair the local water agencies’ ability to maintain reasonable reserve funds and obtain and retain reasonable rates of return on its reserve accounts. 15. Mandate a specific rate structure for retail water agencies. 16. Impose a water user fee on water agencies or water users that does not provide a commensurate and directly linked benefit in the local area or region from which the water user fee is collected. Otay Water District Legislative Program 20212022 8 | P a g e 17. Impose a water user fee for statewide projects or programs, for which the projects or programs are not clearly defined, the beneficiaries identified, and reasonable costs identified. 18. Impose a water user fee in order toto create a state fund that can be used to finance undefined future projects and programs. 19. Allow the state to retain more than five percent of water user fees for administrative costs. 20. Do not restrict the use of water user fees to only the specific purposes for which they are imposed, without any possibility of diversion to meet other fiscal needs of the state. 21. Impose a “public goods charge” or “water tax” on public water agencies or their ratepayers. 22. Impose a fee on water users to repay the principal and interest on a statewide general obligation bond. 23. Establish regulatory or permit fees that lack a nexus to the costs of oversight. 24. Establish a broad-based user fee that does not support a specific program activity; any fee must provide a clear nexus to the benefit the fee would provide. B. Funding Support initiatives that: 1. Require the federal and state governments to provide subvention to reimburse local governments for all mandated costs or regulatory actions. 2. Provide the Water Authority and its member agencies with additional forms of cost- effective financing for public facilities. 3. Revitalize the Title XVI federal funding program by converting new authorizations to a competitive grant program with congressional oversight while protecting existing Title XVI authorizations for the San Diego region. 4. Provide the Water Authority and its member agencies with grant funding for public facilities, including developing local water resources and rehabilitation and repair of aging infrastructure, such as pipelines. 4.5.Provide the District, other local water agencies, and water ratepayers with post-COVID-19 financial relief through a variety of means, including but not limited to, direct financial assistance and flexibility in debt management to assist water ratepayers and water suppliers. 5.6.Authorize financing of water quality, water security, and water supply infrastructure improvement programs. 6.7.Establish spending caps on State of California overhead when administering voter approved grant and disbursement programs. 7.8.Require disbursement decisions in a manner appropriate to the service in question. 8.9.Encourage funding infrastructure programs that are currently in place and that have been proven effective. 9.10. Provide financial incentives for energy projects that increase reliability, diversity, and reduce greenhouse gasses. Otay Water District Legislative Program 20212022 9 | P a g e 10.11. Continue energy rate incentives for the utilization of electricity during low-peak periods. 11.12. Provide loan or grant programs that encourage water conservation for water users who are least able to pay for capital projects. 12.13. Provide for population-based distribution of IRWM funds to ensure adequate distribution of grant funding throughout the state. 13.14. Provide for the use of state grant funds for binational projects where the projects benefit water supply or water quality in the San Diego region. 14.15. Improve and streamline the state’s reimbursement process to ensure timely remittance of IRWM funds. 15.16. Promote the ability of the Regional Water Management Group to more directly administer state grant funds specifically identified more directly for IRWM Programs. 16.17. Require the state to rely on the local process for selection and ranking of projects included in an approved IRWM plan. 17.18. Provide funding or other incentives for conservation, peak management programs, water recycling, potable reuse, groundwater recovery and recharge, surface water development and management projects, including reservoir management, source water protection and watershed planning studies and facilities that sustain long-term reliable water resources. 18.19. Provide financial incentives to assist in the disposal of concentrate, sludge, and other byproducts created in the water treatment process. 19.20. Authorize, promote, and provide incentives or credits for development of local drought-resilient water supply projects such as desalination, non-potable recycling, and potable reuse projects. 20.21. Provide funding for potable reuse demonstration projects and studies. 21.22. Authorize federal and state funding to develop and implement regional or subregional conservation programs, including but not limited to property acquisition, revegetation programs, and watershed plans. 22.23. Provide state and/or federal funding for the restoration of the Salton Sea. 23.24. Provide federal and/or state funding to implement actions that address the ecological and water supply management issues of the Lower Colorado River from Lee's Ferry to the southerly international border with Mexico. 24.25. Provide federal and/or state funding to implement actions that address the ecological and water supply management issues of the Sacramento-San Joaquin River Delta. 25.26. Permit the use of grant funding for projects implemented under public-private partnerships where the grant provides funding for a public benefit. 26.27. Require the state agencies responsible for preparing the IRWM grant program guidelines to conduct a comprehensive public outreach process that ensures stakeholders have an opportunity to provide adequate input on preparation of the guidelines and that the state agencies consider and respond to comments received through the outreach process. Oppose initiatives that: 1. Impose additional administrative requirements and/or restrict the Water Authority’s or its member agencies’ ability to finance public facilities through the issuance of long-term debt. Otay Water District Legislative Program 20212022 10 | P a g e 2. Interfere with the responsibility of a region, operating under an Integrated Regional Water Management Plan, for setting priorities and generating projects to be paid from any IRWM accounts and grants. 3. Interfere with the control exercised by the San Diego funding subregion over the use and expenditure of any water-user fee revenues that may be dedicated to the region. 4. Establish IRWM funding criteria that limits local discretion in project selection. 5. Provide for after-the-fact reduction in quantity or quality of a public water supply due to new restrictions on the operation or use of water supply facilities unless funding for alternate sources of water is provided. 6. Impose a "utility user fee" or "surcharge" on water for the purposes of financing open space/habitat preservation, restoration, or creation. C. Rates Support initiatives that: 1. Maintain the authority of water agencies to establish water rates locally, consistent with cost-of-service requirements of the law. 2. Maximize the ability of water agencies to design rate structures to meet local water supply goals and that conform to cost-of-service requirements of the law. Oppose initiatives that: 1. Impair the Water Authority’s or its member agencies’ ability to provide reliable service at reasonable costs to member agencies or to charge all member agencies the same or similar rate for each class of service consistent with cost-of-service requirements of the law. 2. Undermine or weaken cost-of-service rate-making requirements in existing law. 3. Impair the District’s ability to maintain reasonable reserve funds and obtain and retain reasonable rates of return on its reserve accounts. 4. Mandate a specific rate structure for retail water agencies. 5. Prescribe mandatory conservation-based rate structures that override the authority of the boards of directors of local water agencies to set rate structures according to the specific needs of the water agencies. 6. Usurp special district funds, reserves, or other state actions that force special districts to raise rates, fees, or charges. D. Water Bonds Support initiatives that: 1. Provide an equitable share of funding to San Diego County, with major funding categories being divided by county and funded on a per-capita basis to ensure bond proceeds are distributed throughout the state in proportion to taxpayers’ payments on the bonds. 2. Focus on statewide priorities, including restoration of fish and wildlife habitat, construction of an improved method of conveyance of water through or around the Delta that provides water supply reliability to Delta water users, promotion of greater regional and local self-sufficiency, surface storage, and promotion of water-use efficiency. 3. Ensures funding from various propositions for local and regional water-related projects. Otay Water District Legislative Program 20212022 11 | P a g e 4. Include within IRWM funding money that a region may use over time to develop and refine its plan and to develop institutional structures necessary to establish and implement the plan. 5. Give primary consideration to funding priorities established by local and regional entities through their IRWM planning process. 6. Ensure the application process for funding is not unnecessarily burdensome and costly, with an emphasis on streamlining the process. 7. Limit state overhead to no more than five percent of bond funding amounts. 8. Place as much emphasis and provides at least as much funding for surface storage as for groundwater storage. 9. Define the “San Diego sub-region” and “San Diego county watersheds” as “those portions of the westward-flowing watershed of the South Coast hydrologic region situated within the boundaries of San Diego County.” 10. Fund emergency and carryover storage projects including those in San Diego County. 11. Consolidate administration of all voter-approved water-related bond funding in one place, preserves existing expertise within the state bureaucracy to manage bond-funding processes, and provide consistent application and evaluation of bond funding applications. 12. Provide the state’s share of funding for projects that advance the achievement of the co- equal goals of water supply reliability and Delta ecosystem restoration. 13. Provide funding for water infrastructure that resolve conflicts in the state’s water system and provide long-term benefits to statewide issues including water supply, reliability, water quality, and ecosystem restoration. Oppose initiatives that: 1. Do not provide an equitable share of funding to San Diego County based on the San Diego County taxpayers’ proportional contribution to repayment of the bonds. 2. Do not provide funding for infrastructure that resolves statewide or regional conflicts of water supplies. 3. Do not provide funding that result in net increases in real water supply and water supply reliability. 4. Commit a significant portion of bond funding to projects that do not result in net increases in real water supply or water supply reliability. E. Affordability Support initiatives that: 1. Abides by the Human Right to Water (AB 685, 2012) as set forth in Section 106.3 of the California Water Code which reads that, “every human being has the right to safe, affordable, and accessible water adequate for human consumption, cooking, and sanitary purposes.” The State Water Resources Control Board also has a resolution supporting this program. 2. Meets the required standards under Proposition 218 in the California Constitution regarding proportionality of water rates and the cost-of-service provisions. 3. Relies on data-driven analysis of water affordability, including considerations such as census data and economically disadvantaged communities. As such, the District supports the continued implementation of AB 2334 (2012) that requires the Department of Water Resources to provide this analysis and place it in California’s Water Plan. Otay Water District Legislative Program 20212022 12 | P a g e 4. Supports the creation of a low-income water rate assistance program that targets providing financial assistance to low-income ratepayers using existing resources within either the state General Fund or cap-and-trade dollars. 2.5.Does not burden water districts with excessive or overly prescriptive state mandates including the collection of water taxes or water rate and boundary data. Oppose initiatives that: 1. Is not targeted appropriately: Any low-income water rate assistance program must be limited in scope to those individuals. By seeking to do too much, effectiveness could be limited. Examples of this could include extending program resources to domestic wells or water-use efficiency programs. 2. Does not have a funding source: Any low-income water rate assistance program needs to identify specific sources of sustainable funding and does not include a water tax or water surcharge. 3. Does not reinvent the wheel: Any low-income water rate assistance program should be built upon and use the resources of an existing benefit distribution organization or system, such as CalFresh, rather than requiring water agencies to add the operating expense of creating and administering a new method. VII. Governance and /Local Autonomy Support initiatives that: 1. Expand local autonomy in governing special district affairs. 2. Promote comprehensive long-range planning. 3. Assist local agencies in the logical and efficient extension of services and facilities to promote efficiency and avoid duplication of services. 4. Streamline the Municipal Service Review Process or set limits on how long services reviews can take or cost. 5. Reaffirm the existing “all-in” financial structure or protect the Water Authority voting structure based on population. 6. Promote measures that increase broader community and water industry representation/appointments on State decision making bodies. 7. Ensure an open and transparent process for adoption of regulations, policies, and guidelines. 8. Preserve the District and other local water agencies’ ability to establish local priorities for water resources planning decisions. Oppose initiatives that: 1. Assume the state legislature is better able to make local decisions that affect special district governance. 2. Create one-size-fits-all approaches to special district reform. 3. Unfairly target one group of local elected officials. 4. Usurp local control from special districts regarding decisions involving local special district finance, operations, or governance. 5. Diminish the power or rights of the District’s governing body to govern the District’s affairs. 6. Diminish the power or rights of the District to govern relations with its employees. Otay Water District Legislative Program 20212022 13 | P a g e 7. Modify the committee or board voting structure or District and member agency board representation on the Water Authority Board of Directors unless such changes have been expressly authorized by the District’s Board. 8. Create unfunded local government mandates. 9. Create costly, unnecessary, or duplicative oversight roles for the state government of special district affairs. 10. Create new oversight roles or responsibility for monitoring special district affairs. 11. Change the San Diego County Water Authority Act regarding voting structure unless it is based on population. 12. Shift the liability to the public entity and relieve private entities of reasonable due diligence in their review of plans and specifications for errors, omissions, and other issues. 13. Place a significant and unreasonable burden on public agencies, resulting in increased cost for public works construction or their operation. 14. Impair the ability of water districts to acquire property or property interests required for essential capital improvement projects. 15. Increase the cost of property and right-of-way acquisition or restricts the use of right-of- ways. 16. Work to silence the voices of special districts and other local government associations on statewide ballot measures impacting local government policies and practices, including actions that could prohibit special districts and associations from advocating for positions on ballot measures by severely restricting the private resources used to fund those activities. 17. Prescribe mandatory conservation-based or other rate structures that override the authority of the board of directors to set its rate structure. 18. Circumvent the legislative committee process, such as the use of budget trailer bills, to advance policy issues including impacting special districts without full disclosure, transparency, or public involvement. 19. Restrict the District’s ability to utilize a demand forecasting methodology that is best suited locally and for the region. 20. Impose mandates requiring specific water resources be developed by water agencies that fail to consider local factors such as water reliability, hydrologic and geographic characteristics, and the economic, political, public acceptance, social environment, which can influence selection of resources and/or fails to consider or conflicts with existing local and regional planning policies and implementation priorities. 21. Limit the District’s ability to establish local priorities for water resources planning decisions. VIII. IX.VIII. Imported Water Issues A. Bay-Delta i. Co-Equal Goals Support initiatives that: 1. Require the Delta Stewardship Council or DWR to provide periodic analyses of the cost of the proposed Delta improvements to the Legislature and the public. Otay Water District Legislative Program 20212022 14 | P a g e 2.Provides conveyance and storage facilities that are cost-effective for the San Diego region’s ratepayers, improve the reliability and quality of the San Diego region’s water supplies, and protect the Bay-Delta’s ecosystem. 3.Continue to support the co-equal goals of water supply reliability and environmental restoration embodied in the 2009 Delta bill package. 4.Improve the ability of water-users to divert water from the Delta during wet periods, when impacts on fish and the ecosystem are lower and water quality is higher. 5.Encourage the development of a statewide water transfer market that will improve water management and allow more efficient use of available resources. 6.Support improved coordination of Central Valley Project and State Water Project (SWP) operations and implementation of voluntary agreement that are fair to the users of both projects and do not unfairly shift costs to SWP contractors. 7.Support continued state ownership and operation of the SWP, including project facilities, as a public resource. 8.Ensure that any reorganization of the State Water Project, including operations and management, preserves the ability for non-State Water Project contractors to access the facility for transportation of water to a non-State Water Project contractor. 9.Authorize and appropriate the federal share of funding for the long-term Bay-Delta solution, including for the EcoRestore Program. 10.Provide the ongoing state share of funding for the EcoRestore Program. 11.Provide state funding for aquatic toxicity monitoring in the Bay-Delta. Such legislation should not place a surcharge on water supply exports, nor should it substantively reduce funding for other measures that protect the environment and public health. Oppose efforts that: 1.Impose water user fees to fund ecosystem restoration and other public purpose, nonwater- supply improvements in the Delta that benefit the public at large. 2.Transfer operational control of the State Water Project or any of its facilities to the Metropolitan Water District of Southern California (MWD), the State Water Contractors, the Central Valley Project Contractors, the State and Federal Contractors Water Agency, or any entity comprised of MWD or other water project contractors, or any other special interest group. ii.Bay-Delta Conveyance Project Support initiatives that: 1.Are consistent with the Water Authority’s Board of Directors’ July 25, 2019 adopted Bay- Delta project policy principles, including the following: a.On April 29, 2019, Governor Newsom signed Executive Order N-10-19, directing the preparation of a water resilience portfolio approach that meets the needs of California’s communities, economy, and environment through the 21st century, including consideration of multi-benefit approaches that meet multiple needs at once, and a single-user tunnel Bay-Delta project. b.The Water Authority’s Board supports Governor Newsome’s Executive Order N-10- 19 and directs staff to inform the Newsome Administration that its support for a single-tunnel Bay-Delta project is expressly conditioned upon the project costs being Otay Water District Legislative Program 20212022 15 | P a g e characterized by the Department of Water Resources (DWR) as conservation, or supply charges, as similar facilities historically have been defined in the Metropolitan Water District’s (MWD) SWP contract with DWR. c. As reflected in Table 2 of DWR’s Appendix B to Bulletin 132-17, Data and Computation Used to Determine Water Charges, and for which costs are recovered in Article 22(a) of Delta Water Charge of MWD’s SWP Contract; allow for the exemption of north-of-Delta SWP contractors. 2. Support the establishment of an independent and transparent oversight function to monitor and provide regular updates on project implementation progress, including expenditure tracking, construction progress, project participants’ contributions, and all other relevant activities and developments. 3. Allow access to all SWP facilities, including project facilities, to facilitate water transfers. B. Metropolitan Water District Support initiatives that: 1. Provide an appropriate level of accountability and cost control over MWD spending. 2. Protect and safeguard the Water Authority’s Preferential Rights in the Metropolitan Water District Act. 3. Require MWD to refund or credit to its member agencies revenues collected from them that result in reserve balances greater than the maximum reserve levels established pursuant to state legislation. 4. Require MWD to implement actions that advance and support its long-term financial stability, fiscal sustainability, and that moderate fluctuations in rates and charges for its member agencies from year to year, in a publicly transparent manner. 5. Amend the Metropolitan Water District Act to change voting allocation on its Board of Directors based on a member agency’s total financial contribution to MWD, and in a manner similar to the voting allocation method of the County Water Authority Act. C. Colorado River Support initiatives that: 1. Supports implementation and funding of the California Colorado River Water Use Plan, including the Lower Colorado River Multi-Species Conservation Program 2. Provide funding for Colorado River salinity control projects and other water quality management efforts. 3. Provide for state and federal authorizations and appropriations of non-fee-based funds to implement Salton Sea mitigation and the State’s phased approach to restoration in the form of the Salton Sea Management Program consistent with its obligations under Chapters 611, 612, and 613 of the Statutes of 2003. 4. Limit the Quantification Settlement Agreement mitigation costs imposed on funding parties to the amount committed in accordance with the original QSA legislation. 5. Provide a governing structure and/or specified managing office over the state's Salton Sea Management Program to provide guidance and oversight of restoration activities. 6. Support the sustainability of the Colorado River and provide operational flexibility through the development of storage, including Lake Mead and additional storage opportunities Otay Water District Legislative Program 20212022 16 | P a g e regionally, and through the renegotiation of the new interim shortage guidelines for continued operation of the River. 7. Allow for the option to create an alternate conveyance route, when technically and financially feasible, for reliable delivery of the Water Authority’s Independent Colorado River water supplies and integration of compatible partnership projects along the proposed conveyance routes as a model of the Governor’s Water Resilience Portfolio approach to water management. 8. Support the State’s Salton Sea Management Program under the guidelines of the revised Water Order (Stipulated Order) adopted by the State Water Resources Control Board in November 2017. 9. Preserve the California Colorado River Board 10. Ensure the interests of the members of the California Colorado River Board continue to be addressed in any state government reorganization. 11. Allow for storage of the Water Authority’s Colorado River water supplies to provide enhanced flexibility with annual transfer volumes, support drought contingency planning, and align with the Governor’s Water Resilience Portfolio approach to water management. Oppose initiatives that: 1. Impose additional mitigation costs or obligations for the Salton Sea on the non-state parties to the Quantification Settlement Agreement. 2. Eliminate the California Colorado River Board without providing a comparable structure or forum that ensures the Water Authority's interests in the Colorado River are preserved. D. State Water Project Support initiatives that: 1. Provide for development of a comprehensive state water plan that balances California's competing water needs and results in a reliable and affordable supply of high-quality water for the San Diego region. Oppose initiatives that: 1. Make urban water supplies less reliable or substantially increases the cost of imported water without also improving the reliability and/or quality of the water. 2. Revise the Central Valley Project Improvement Act to Jeopardize the Act's environmental integrity, compromise State Water Project supply reliability a n d/or limit the ability of urban agencies to transfer and/or bank CVP water for use both within and outside the CVP service area. 3. Transfer operational control of the State Water Project or any of its facilities to MWD, the State Water Project contractors, Central Valley Project contractors, the State and Federal Contractors Water Agency, any entity comprised of MWD or other water project contractors, or any other special interest group. IX. Optimize District Effectiveness Support initiatives that: 1. Manage District resources in a transparent and fiscally responsible manner. Otay Water District Legislative Program 20212022 17 | P a g e 2.Give utilities the ability to avoid critical peak energy pricing or negotiate energy contracts that save ratepayers money. 3.Develop reasonable Air Pollution Control District engine permitting requirements. 4.Reimburse or reduce local government mandates. 5.Allow public agencies to continue offering defined benefit plans. 6.Result in predictable costs and benefits for employees and taxpayers. 7.Eliminate abuses. 8.Retain local control of pension systems. 9.Are constitutional, federally legal, and technically possible. Oppose initiatives that: 1.Restrict the use of, or reallocate, district property tax revenues to the detriment of special districts. 2.Create unrealistic ergonomic protocol. 3.Micromanage special district operations. 4.Balance the state budget by allowing regulatory agencies to increase permitting fees. 5.Tax dependent benefits. 6.Require new reporting criteria on energy intensity involved in water supply. X.Safety, Security, and Information Technology Support initiatives that: 1.Provide funding for information security upgrades to include integrated alarms, access/egress, and surveillance technology. 2.Provide incentives for utilities and other local agencies to work cooperatively, share costs or resources. 3.Provide funding for communication enhancements, wireless communications, GIS, or other technological enhancements. 4.Encourage or promote compatible software systems. 5.Fund infrastructure and facility security improvements that include facility roadway access, remote gate access, and physical security upgrades. 6.Protect state, local, and regional drinking water systems from terrorist attack or deliberate acts of destruction, contamination, or degradation. 7.Provide funds to support training or joint training exercises to include contingency funding for emergencies and emergency preparedness. 8.Equitably allocate security funding based on need, threats and/or population. 9.Encourage or promote compatible communication systems. 10.Encourage and promote funding of Department of Homeland Security Risk Mitigation programs. 11.Recognizes water agencies as emergency responders in the event of a sudden, unexpected occurrence that poses a clear and imminent danger, requiring immediate action to prevent and mitigate loss or impairment of life, health, property, or essential public services due to natural disasters (e.g., wildfires, earthquakes), power outages as well as terrorist and other criminal activities. 12.Provide state grant or other funding opportunities to support seismic risk assessment and mitigation plans, or to mitigate vulnerabilities. Otay Water District Legislative Program 20212022 18 | P a g e 13.Provide funding for projects that enhance security against terrorist acts or other criminal threats to water operation, services, facilities, or supplies. 14.Provide funding for projects that improve the security of the District facilities and operations. 15.Provide funding to support technologies that support remote working, when necessary to prevent loss of or damage to life, health, property, or essential public services. Oppose initiatives that: 1.Create unnecessary, costly, or duplicative security or safety mandates. 2.Require expanded water system descriptions or additional public disclosure of public water systems details for large water suppliers in Urban Water Management Planning documents, potentially compromising public water systems, and creating a conflict with the Department of Homeland Security’s recommendation to avoid reference to water system details in plans available to the general publicpublic. XI.Water Quality Issues Support initiatives that: 1.Assure cost-effective remediation and cleanup of contaminates of concern that have impacted groundwater and surface water. 2.Incorporate sound scientific principals in adopting drinking water standards for drinking water concerns. 3.Revise NPDES standards and procedures to facilitate inland discharge and use of recycled water. 4.Establish appropriate quality standards, testing procedures, and treatment processes for emerging contaminants. 5.Alter the definition of “lead free” to reduce the permissible amount of lead in fixtures, plumbing, and pipe fittings to be installed for the delivery of drinking water. 6.Exempt purified wastewater from regulation as a discharge under the Clean Water Act. 7.Protect child public health by requiring schools to undertake lead testing in school drinking water systems. 8.Implement source control for management prevention of contamination by constituents of emerging concern. 9.Provide the necessary funding for research on the occurrence, treatment, health effects, and environmental cleanup related to contamination drinking water sources. 10.Implement and fund the San Diego Regional Water Quality Control Board’s triennial review of water quality standards. 11.Provide funding and support for Colorado River salinity control projects and other water quality management efforts. 12.Direct the state’s participation or assistance in water quality issues related to or threatening the Colorado River water source. 13.Streamline permitting of facilities constructed for the purpose of improving water quality. 14.Ensure consistent application of the law by the State Water Resources Control Board and the nine regional water quality control boards. Oppose initiatives that: Otay Water District Legislative Program 20212022 19 | P a g e 1. Eliminate the State Water Resources Control Board and/or the nine regional water quality control boards without ensuring the functions and expertise of the boards is maintained in any reorganized entity. XII. Water Recycling and Potable Reuse Support initiatives that: 1. Reduce restrictions on recycled water usage or promote consistent regulation of recycled water projects to reduce impediments to the increased use of recycled water. 2. Reduce restrictions on injecting recycled water into basins where there is no direct potable use. 3. Advocate for direct potable reuse. 4. Advocate for recycled water use upstream of lakes and reservoirs if protected by urban water runoff protection systems. 5. Provide financial incentives for recharge of groundwater aquifers using recycled water. 6. Make recycled water regulations clear, consolidated, and understandable to expedite related project permitting. 7. Promote recycled water as a sustainable supplemental source of water. 8. Allow the safe use of recycled water. 9. Facilitate development of technology aimed at improving water recycling. 10. Increasing funding for water recycling projects. 11. Support continued funding of the Title XVI Water Reclamation and Reuse Program including Water Reclamation and Reuse Projects, the WaterSMART Program, and the Desalination and Water Purification Research Program. 12. Increase awareness of the ways recycled water can help address the region’s water supply challenges. 13. Create federal and state incentives to promote recycled water use and production. 14. Establish federal tax incentives to support U.S. companies in the development of new water technologies that can lower productions costs, address by products such as concentrates, and enhance public acceptance of recycled water. 15. Establish a comprehensive national research and development, and technology demonstration, program to advance the public and scientific understanding of water recycling technologies to encourage reuse as an alternative source of water supply. 16. Provide incentives for local agencies to work cooperatively, share costs or resources to promote or expand the use of recycled water. 17. Further refine emergency regulations to reward local suppliers that have invested in using recycled water for landscape irrigation to maintain an incentive to continue expanding areas served by recycled water. 18. Encourage the use of recycled water in commercial, industrial, institutional, and residential settings. 19. Recognize and support the development of potable reuse as a critical new water supply. 20. Define purified recycled water as a source of water supply and not as waste. 21. Mandate the reduction of wastewater discharges to the ocean absent inclusion of funding to offset the significant costs of implementation. 22. Authorize local governmental agencies to regulate the discharge of contaminants to the sewer collection system that may adversely affect water recycling and reuse. Otay Water District Legislative Program 20212022 20 | P a g e 23. Authorize and facilitate expanded use of local water resources including water recycling, potable reuse, graywater, and rainwater harvesting (e.g., cisterns and rain barrels), and brackish groundwater. 24. Streamline regulatory processes and requirements to encourage and support the development of potable reuse and non-potable reuse as a municipal water supply. 25. Recognize the entire interconnected urban water cycle, as well as public health and safety, must be taken into consideration in long-term water use efficiency policies, particularly including the unintended consequences of declining flows on water, wastewater, potable reuse, and recycled water systems. 26. Encourage dual plumbing in new development where non-potable recycled water is likely to available to enable utilization of recycled water. 27. Promote uniform regulatory interpretation of state recycled water system standards. 28. Support beneficial revisions to the California Plumbing Code that facilitate recycled water systems. Oppose initiatives that: 1. Restrict use of recycled water for groundwater recharge. 2. Establish new water or recycled water fees solely to recover State costs without also providing some benefit. 3. Limit the ability of local governmental agencies to regulate the discharge of contaminants to the sewer collection system that may adversely affect water recycling and reuse. 4. Establish unreasonable regulatory requirements or fees to the safe use of recycled water, which may unreasonably impede or create a disincentive to its further development. 5. Mandate the reduction of wastewater discharges to the ocean absent inclusion of funding to offset the significant costs of implementation. 5.6.Water use efficiency standards (AB 1668), which do not reflect the impact that higher TDS recycled water has on the usage rates to reduce salt loading in areas of use. XIII. Water Services and Facilities Support initiatives that: 1. Provide funding to implement actions identified in the California Water Action Plan to lay a solid fiscal foundation for implementing near-term actions, including funding for water efficiency projects, wetland and watershed restoration, groundwater programs, conservation, flood control, and integrated water management and result in a reliable supply of high-quality water for the San Diego region. 2. Provide financial support to projects designed to mitigate the potential negative impacts of Global Climate Change on water supply reliability. 3. Promote the coordination and integration of local, state, and federal climate change policies and practices to the greatest extent feasible. 4. Fund or otherwise facilitate ongoing implementation of the Quantification Settlement Agreement. 5. Provide reliable water supplies to meet California’s short and long-term needs. 6. Promote desalination pilot studies and projects. 7. Encourage feasibility studies of water resource initiatives. Otay Water District Legislative Program 20212022 21 | P a g e 8.Increase funding for infrastructure and grant programs for construction, modernization or expansion of water, wastewater treatment, reclamation facilities and sewer systems including water recycling, groundwater recovery and recharge, surface water development projects and seawater desalination. 9.Fund enhancements to water treatment, recycling, and other facilities to meet increased regulations. 10.Mandate uniform or similar regulations and procedures by state agencies in the processing and administering of grants and programs. 11.Streamline grant application procedures. 12.Reduce regulations and other impediments for willing sellers and buyers to engage in water transfer agreements. 13.Promote or assist voluntary water transfers between willing buyers and willing sellers and move those transactions through without delay. 14.Streamline the permitting and approval process for desalination and other water-related facilities and implementing water transfers that will improve water management. 15.Establish reasonable statewide approaches to sewer reporting standards. 16.Generate greater efficiencies, better coordinate program delivery, and eliminate duplication in programs for source water protection without lessening the focus on public health of the state’s Drinking Water Program. 17.Target efforts to fix specific issues with water supplies within the state’s Drinking Water Program. 18.Establish federal tax incentives to support U.S. companies in the development of new desalination technologies that can lower productions costs, eliminate or reduce impingement or entrainment, reduce energy use, and enhance public acceptance of desalinated water. 19.Establish a comprehensive national research and development, and technology demonstration program to advance the scientific understanding of desalination to expand its use as an alternative source of water supply. 20.Require the State Water Resources Control Board to exercise its authority, ensure robust funding, and implement the Salton Sea mitigation and restoration plan, meet state obligations, and work with QSA stakeholders to find workable solutions to ensure the continuation of IID water transfers. 21.Support solutions to water supply issues that address common challenges, provide a comprehensive approach that is fair to all users, balance the needs of urban and rural communities, and take into consideration the interests of all stakeholders as well as the impact to the environment. 22.Further refine emergency drought regulations to eliminate a cap on credits and adjustments so as not to impose undue burden, financial or otherwise, on communities that have already invested in water conservation, development of new water sources, storage, or loss prevention. 23.Provide funding for water infrastructure development, infrastructure security, and rehabilitation and replacement projects that benefit ratepayers. 24.Provide funding for habitat preservation programs that address impacts resulting from construction or operation of water system facilities. 25.Provide funding for projects that enhance security against terrorist acts or other criminal threats to water operation, services, facilities, or supplies. Otay Water District Legislative Program 20212022 22 | P a g e 26.Provide incentives that encourage contractors to recycle or reduce waste associated with construction of water facilities. 27.Improve the local agencies’ efforts to maintain and protect its property, rights of way, easements, pipelines, and related facilities and minimizes liability to local agencies and the District. 28.Protect the local agencies’ properties from restrictions when surrounding properties are incorporated into preservation areas. 29.Encourage the use of current and emerging technologies for monitoring and assessing the condition of large diameter pipelines. 30.Encourage water supplier to develop and execute asset management programs that include visual inspections, internal/external inspections, asset condition assessments, corrosion mitigation, and reis analysis in a manner that recognizes the individuality and uniqueness of each water supplier and its systems. 31.Improve the District’s efforts to maintain and protect its property, rights of way, easements, pipelines, and related facilities and minimizes liability to the District. 32.Protect the District, other agencies and the Water Authority properties from restrictions when surrounding properties are incorporated into preservation areas. 33.Provide funding to water agencies for the voluntary retrofit of facilities for on-site generation of chlorine. 34.Provide funding for water supplier asset management programs that involve the active monitoring, repair, or replacement of physical assets and infrastructure, which includes pipes, valves, facilities, equipment, and other infrastructure. 35.Provide for restrictions on price gouging during public safety power shutoff events and for at least 72 hours following restoration of power. 36.Provide that de-energization or public safety power shutoff events may be included as a condition constituting a state of emergency or local emergency. 37.Provide a tax emption for the sale of, or storage, use, or consumption of, a backup electrical resources, that is purchased for exclusive use by a city, county, special district, or other entity of local government during a de-energization or public safety power shutoff event. 38.State that the use of alternative power sources (such as generators) by essential public services during de-energization or public safety power shutoff events shall not be limited by any state or local regulations or rules. 38.39. Recognize the critical role the District, local agencies, and the Water Authority play as Public Safety Partners in Public Safety Power Shutoff events and other natural or man-made disasters. Further recognizes the importance of the agency’s ability to provide immediate and sustained response for extended periods of time. 39.40. Provide financial support to local projects designed to mitigate or adapt to potential negative impacts of climate change on water supply reliability. 40.41. Investigate and provide financial support to projects designed to mitigate potential negative impacts of climate change on water supply reliability. Oppose initiatives that: 1.Restrict local control and discretions over water facilities, asset management, and facility operations. 2.Make urban water supplies less reliable or substantially increase the cost of imported water without also improving the reliability and/or quality of the water. Otay Water District Legislative Program 20212022 23 | P a g e 3. Create unrealistic or costly water testing or reporting protocol. 4. Disproportionately apportion the cost of water. 5. Create undo hurtles for seawater desalination projects. 6. Create unreasonable or confusing sewer reporting standards. 7. Create administrative or other barriers to sales between willing buyers and willing sellers that delay water transfers. 8. Create a broad-based user fee that does not support a specific local program activity or benefit; any fee must provide a clear nexus to the benefit local ratepayers or local water supplies from the establishment that charge or fee would provide. 9. Create unrealistic or costly to obtain water quality standards for potable water, recycled water, or storm water runoff. 10. Change the focus of the state’s Drinking Water Program or weaken the parts of the program that work well. 11. Lessen the focus on public health of the state’s Drinking Water Program. 12. Impose undue burden, financial or otherwise, on communities that have already invested in water conservation, development of new water sources, storage, or loss prevention. 13. Impose additional mitigation costs or obligations for the Salton Sea on the non-state parties to the Quantification Settlement Agreement. 14. Impair the District and other local water agencies’ ability to provide and operate the necessary facilities for a safe, reliable, and operational flexible water system. 15. Limit local agencies’ sole jurisdiction over planning, design, routing, approval, construction, operation, or maintenance of water facilities. 16. Restrict local agencies’ ability to respond swiftly and decisively to an emergency that threatens to disrupt water deliveries or restricts the draining of pipelines or other facilities in emergencies for repairs or preventive maintenance. 17. Authorize state and federal wildlife agencies to control, prevent, or eradicate invasive species in a way that excessively interferes with the operations of water supplies. 18. Prohibit or in any way limit the ability of local agencies from making full beneficial use of any water, wastewater, or recycling facility and resource investments. 19. Prohibit the use of alternative contract procurement methods that can be utilized in the construction of water facilities. 20. Shift the risks of indemnity for damages and defense of claims from contractors to the District. 21. Impair local agencies’ efforts to acquire property or property interests required for essential capital improvement projects or acquisition of property to meet pipeline water drain-down needs for existing facilities. 22. Increase the cost of property and right of way acquisition. 23. Restrict the District’s use of public rights of way or increase the cost of using public rights of way. 24. Restrict the transfer of property acquired for purposes of environmental mitigation or environmental mitigation credits to other public or private entities for long-term management. 25. Establish prescriptive leak loss control requirements for the operation, maintenance, and asset management of water conveyance and distribution systems, that fail to consider full life-cycle costing. 26. Establish meter testing requirements for source water meters that fail to consider industry standards and cost-effectiveness. Otay Water District Legislative Program 20212022 24 | P a g e 27. Limit the discretion of the District from protecting security and privacy of comprehensive inventories of all assets, which includes infrastructure location, condition, performance, and useful life. 28. Impair local agencies’ ability to execute the planning, design, and construction of projects using its own employees. 29. Limit the autonomy of discretion of water supplier to develop and execute asset management inspection programs that include visual inspections, internal/external inspections, asset condition assessments, and corrosion mitigation in a manner that recognizes the individuality and uniqueness of each water supplier and its systems. 30. Authorize air quality management districts or other regulatory bodies to adopt or maintain rules that would limit or prohibit a local government entity’s use of a state and/or federally complaint natural gas-powered generator during a de-energization or public safety power shutoff event. 31. Through the CARB Advanced Clean Fleet regulation, would inhibit the District from fulfilling its critical role as a Public Safety Partner and making immediate and sustained response in a Public Safety Power Shutoff event or and other natural or man-made disasters. 30.32. Through the CARB Advanced Clean Fleet regulation, would inhibit the District from fulfilling its critical role as an essential service provider from procuring and operating fleets which meet the needs to perform routine and emergency maintenance of water and wastewater systems. 31.33. Require incorporation of climate change considerations into regional and local water management planning that does not provide flexibility to the local and regional water agencies in determining the climate change impact and identification of adaptation and mitigation measures. 32.34. Impose top-down “one-size-fits-all” climate change mandates that fail to account for hydrological, meteorological, economic, and social variation across the state and/or that fail to incorporate local and regional planning and implementation priorities and protocols. XIV. Water-Use Efficiency Support initiatives that: 1. Provide funding for incentives for water-use efficiency and water conservation programs including water-efficient devices, practices and demonstration projects and studies. 2. Encourage the installation of water-efficient fixtures in new and existing buildings. 3. Promote the environmental benefits of water-use efficiency and water conservation. 4. Enhance efforts to promote water-use efficiency awareness. 5. Offer incentives for landscape water-efficient devices including, but not limited to ET controllers and soil moisture sensors. 6. Develop landscape retrofit incentive programs and/or irrigation retrofit incentive programs. 7. Permit or require local agencies to adopt ordinances that require or promote water-efficient landscapes for commercial and residential developments. 8. Create tax incentives for citizens or developers who install water-efficient landscapes. 9. Create tax incentives for citizens who purchase high-efficiency clothes washers, dual-flush and high-efficiency toilets, and irrigation controllers above the state standards. 10. Expand community-based water-use efficiency and education programs. Otay Water District Legislative Program 20212022 25 | P a g e 11.Facilitate and encourage the use of rainwater-capture systems, i.e., rain barrels, cisterns, etc. and alternative water sources, i.e., air conditioner condensate for use in irrigation. 12.Develop incentives for developers and existing customers to install water-efficient landscape in existing developments or new construction. 13.Encourage large state users to save water by implementing water-efficient technologies in all facilities both new and retrofit. 14.Encourage large state water users to save water outdoors. 15.Educate all Californians on the importance of water, and the need to conserve, manage, and plan for the future needs. 16.Encourage technological research targeted to more efficient water use. 17.Give local agencies maximum discretion in selecting water-use efficiency and conservation programs that work for their customers and the communities they serve. 18.Require the Department of Water Resources to implement a uniform statewide turf rebate subsidy or incentive program. 19.Restrict Property Owner Associations from forbidding the use of California native plants, other low water use plants, mulch, artificial turf, or semi-permeable materials in well- maintained landscapes. 20.Restrict Property Owner Associations from forbidding retrofits of multiple unit facilities for the purpose of submetering, if feasible. 21.Ensure plumbing codes and standards that facilitate the installation and/or retrofit of water efficient devices. 22.Establish standards for the utilization of high-efficiency commercial coin-operated and residential clothes washers. 23.Provides for federal tax-exempt status for water-use efficiency rebates, consistent with income tax treatment at the state level. 24.Encourage the use of graywater where it complies with local guidelines and regulations and is cost-effective. 25.Provide incentives, funding, and assistance to water agencies so that they can meet the water demand management measure requirements in the Urban Water Management Planning Act. 26.Provide incentives, funding, and other assistance to facilitate water-use efficiency partnerships with the energy efficiency sector. 27.Provide incentives, funding, and other assistance where needed to facilitate market transformation and gain wider implementation of water efficient indoor and outdoor technologies and practices. 28.Recognize local control in determining water use efficiency criteria, such as impact of recycled water salinity on irrigation use and efficiency for the application of non-potable recycled water. 29.Encourage reasonable tracking of water use and improved efficiency in the Commercial, Industrial, and Institutional (CII) sector. 30.Recognize local control in determining how to meet an overall efficient water use goal, based on the combined efficient indoor use, outdoor use, and leak loss, as established under the criteria provided for in statute. 31.Further the statewide goal of a 20 percent reduction in per capita water use by 2020 as set forth in SBX7-7, enacted in November 2009, and preserves water agency discretion and options for achieving this objective. Otay Water District Legislative Program 20212022 26 | P a g e 32.Ensure accurate and meaningful reporting of implementation of water-use efficiency and conservation measures. 33.Promote statewide implementation of water-use efficiency best management practices and demand management measures as defined in the Urban Water Management Planning Act. Oppose efforts that: 1.Weaken federal or state water-efficiency standards. 2.Introduce additional analytical and reporting requirements that are time-consuming for local agencies to perform and result in additional costs to consumers yet yield no water savings. 3.Permit Property Owners Associations to restrict low water use plants, mulch, artificial turf, or semi-permeable materials in landscaping. 4.Repeal cost-effective efficiency standards for water-using devices. 5.Repeal cost-effective efficiency standards for water-using devices. 6.Create stranded assets by establishing long-term demand management water-use efficiency and water supply requirements that are inconsistent with the Urban Water Management Planning Act. 7.Prescribe statewide mandatory urban and agricultural water-use efficiency practices, including, but not limited to, methods, measures, programs, budget allocation, and designation of staff dedicated to water conservation programs, that override the authority of the boards of directors of local water agencies to adopt management practices that are most appropriate for the specific needs of their water agencies. 8.Mandate regulation of the CII Sector in a manner that is discriminatory, or sets unachievable Best Management Practices or compliance targets, or would otherwise impair economic activity or the viability of the CII sector. 9.Mandate that water agencies include an embedded energy calculation for their water supply sources in the Urban Water Management Plan or any other water resource planning or master planning document. XV.Workforce Development Support initiatives that: 1.Advocate for local, regional, and state programs that support a high-performing workforce and increase the talent pool for water agencies. 2.Advocate for military veterans in the water industry workforce to ensure that veterans receive appropriate and satisfactory credit towards water and wastewater treatment system certifications in California for work experience, education, and knowledge gained in military service. 3.Lower employment barriers for military veterans and transitioning military and that sustain vital water and wastewater services for the next generation. 4.Recruit and support veterans and transitioning military through internships, cooperative work experiences, and other resources. 5.Recruit and support underserved communities in the water industry through internships, cooperative work experiences, and other resources. Otay Water District Legislative Program 20212022 27 | P a g e 6.Advocate and encourage candidate outreach and recruitment in relation to mission-critical job categories in water and wastewater. 7.Ensure advanced water treatment operators and distribution system operators of potable reuse and recycled water facilities have a career advancement path as certified water and/or wastewater treatment plant operators. 8.Increase the number of educational institutions that provide water-industry related training and related program criteria including but not limited to trades, certifications, and degrees. 9.Increase the talent pool of future water industry workers through educational programs, internships, and other resources. 10.Provide funding to educational institutions, water agencies, and workforce students regarding careers in the water industry. 11.Develop qualified candidates for positions in the water industry. 12.Build awareness of water industry-related jobs through student outreach including but not limited to K-12, community colleges, universities, and other educational institutions as well as outreach to the general publicpublic. Oppose initiatives that: 1.Hinder military veterans from using previous experience, education, and knowledge toward a career in water. 2.Regulate agencies from hiring an experienced, educated, and talented water-industry workforce. Otay Water District Legislative Program 2022 1 | Page Effective Date: 04/06/2022 Legislative Program Policy Guidelines Purpose The Otay Water District’s legislative policy guidelines reflect policy positions adopted by the Board of Directors through 2022. The guidelines provide direction to staff and the legislative advocates when they evaluate proposed legislation that may affect the District, other local water agencies, or regional water management and use. Legislation that meets or fails to meet, the principles set forth in the guidelines may be supported or opposed accordingly. The guidelines permit the General Manager, District staff, and the District’s legislative advocates to act in a timely fashion between Board meetings on issues that are clearly within the guidelines. While the title of this document suggests these policy guidelines are applicable solely to state and federal legislative issues reviewed by the San Diego County Water Authority (Water Authority), the District, increasingly state and federal regulatory and administrative bodies are developing rules, guidelines, white papers, and regulations that can significantly affect the District, its wholesale supplier, and other local agencies. District staff, including the District’s legislative consultant, often utilize these Legislative Policy Guidelines to provide guidance on emerging and active regulatory and administrative issues. Legislation that does not meet the principles set forth in the guidelines or that has potentially complicated or varied implications will not be acted upon by staff or the legislative advocates in between Board meetings and will instead be presented to the Board directly for guidance in advance of any position being taken. The Water Authority has its own set of legislative guidelines that is a comprehensive program at a wholesale and regional level. District staff has evaluated and selected policies and issues from the Water Authority’s guidelines that may have a direct impact on the District. These policies and issues have been incorporated into the District’s guidelines. Although the District is a retail agency and is focused on its local service area, if there are issues or polices contained in the Water Authority’s Legislative Policy Guidelines that could benefit or impact the District, the General Manager, District staff, and the District’s legislative advocates may act on those issues, respectively. Attachment D Otay Water District Legislative Program 2022 2 | Page Table of Contents The Otay Water Legislative Policy Program Guidelines for 2021 includes the following categories: I.Binational Issues…………………………………………....……………... Page 3 II.Biological and Habitat Preservation…………………………………….. Page 3 III.Desalination……………………………………………………………….. Page 4 IV.Drought Response………………………………………………………… Page 4 V.Energy……………………………………………………………………… Page 5 VI.Financial Issues…………………………………………………………… Page 6 A.Fees, Taxes, and Charges………………………….......................... Page 6 B.Funding…………………………………………………………….. Page 8 C.Rates………………………………………………………………... Page 10 D.Water Bonds……………………………………………………….. Page 10 E.Affordability……………………………………………………. Page 11 VII.Governance and Local Autonomy……………………………………….. Page 12 VIII.Imported Water Issues……………………………………………………. Page 13 A. Bay-Delta……………………………………………………………… Page 13 i.Co-equal Goals……………………………………………………. Page 13 ii.Bay-Delta Conveyance Project…………………………………… Page 14 B.Metropolitan Water District…………………………………………… Page 15 C.Colorado River………………………………………………………… Page 15 D.State Water Project…………………………………………………….. Page 16 IX.Optimize District Effectiveness……………………...…………....………. Page 16 X.Safety, Security, and Information Technology……………....................... Page 17 XI.Water Quality Issues………………………………………………………. Page 18 XII.Water Recycling and Potable Reuse……………………………………… Page 19 XIII. Water Service and Facilities……………………………………………… Page 20 XIV.Water-Use Efficiency……………………………………………………… Page 24 XV.Workforce Development………………………………………………….. Page 26 Otay Water District Legislative Program 2022 3 | Page I. Binational Issues Support initiatives that: 1. Promote and provide funding for cross-border water supply and infrastructure development projects such as water pipelines, desalination plants or water treatment facilities to serve the San Diego/Baja California border region while protecting local interests. 2. Encourage enhanced cooperation between entities in San Diego and Baja California in development of supply and infrastructure projects that will benefit the entire border region. 3. Encourage state and federal funding to support collaborative binational projects to improve water quality and protect human health and the environment within the broader San Diego region. 4. Develop and enhance communications and understanding of the interdependence of communities on both sides of the border with the goal of improved cross-border cooperation. Oppose initiatives that: 1. Would usurp local control over the financing and construction of water supply and infrastructure projects in the San Diego/Baja California region. II. Biological and Habitat Preservation Support initiatives that: 1. Support development of comprehensive multispecies habitat conservation plants that anticipate and mitigate project development impacts while preserving representative ecosystem, rather than individual species. 2. Exempt operation, maintenance, ad repair of water system facilities from endangered species and other habitat conservation regulations because they provide beneficial cyclical habitat values to declining species and foster biological diversity in California. 3. Provide environmental regulatory certainty for implementation of existing and proposed long-term water supply programs. 4. Streamline filing of CEQA notices of determination for multicounty water projects by making those notices available on the CEQAnet website through the Governor’s office of Planning and Research. 5. Incorporate an emergency exemption for “take” of a listed species listed under the state or federal Endangered Species Acts when necessary to mitigate or prevent loss of or damage to life, health, property, or essential public services. 6. Encourage species listings, critical habitat designation, and recovery plans developed pursuant to the state or federal Endangered Species Acts to be consistent with existing interstate compacts, tribal treaties, and other state and federal agreements. Oppose initiatives that: 1. Reduce or limit the use of existing water rights or supplies, 2. Restrict the development of future water supplies. 3. Impose endangered species or habitat conservation requirements that restrict the operation, maintenance, or repair of public water supply, conveyance, treatment, or storage facilities. Otay Water District Legislative Program 2022 4 | Page III. Desalination Support initiatives that: 1. Provide funding for seawater desalination studies and facilities. 2. Recognize and support the development of seawater desalination as critical new water supply for the state, including San Diego County. 3. Streamline permitting of desalination facilities. 4. Preserve and protects potential seawater desalination sites and existing coastal facilities including intake and discharge infrastructure that could be used or reused by a seawater desalination facility. 5. Ensure that desalination intake and discharge regulations are science-based, considering site-specific conditions, and recognizing that not all technologies or mitigation strategies are feasible or cost-effective at every site. IV. Drought Response Support initiatives that: 1. Ensure the District and other local agencies including the Water Authority and San Diego County water agencies receive the water supply benefits of investments in local water supply sources. 2. Allow local agencies to achieve compliance with emergency or non-emergency drought regulations or objectives through a combination of water conservation measures and development and implementation of local water supply sources that are not derived from the Delta. 3. Allow for local agencies to account for all water supplies available during droughts and other events when calculating the water supply shortage level. 4. Create a process for development and implementation of emergency drought declarations and regulations that recognizes variations among communities, regions, and counties with respect to their abilities to withstand the impacts and effects of drought. 5. Recognize variations among communities, regions, and counties with respect to their abilities to withstand the impacts and effects of droughts and ensure that any temporary or permanent statutory or regulatory direction for improving water-use efficiency to meet statutory or regulatory goals or standards is focused on regional achievement of objectives rather than a one-size-fits-all approach. Oppose initiatives that: 1. Disincentivize or impede water agencies from making investments to maximize the potential for recycled water, potable reuse, desalination, and other drought-resilient local water supplies. 2. Create a “one-size-fits-all” approach to emergency drought declarations and regulations that ignores variations among communities, regions, and counties with respect to their ability to withstand the impacts and effects of drought. Otay Water District Legislative Program 2022 5 | Page V. Energy Support initiatives that: 1. Provide opportunities for reduced energy rates under tariff schedules for the District. 2. Provide protection to the District from energy rate increases and provides rate relief for the District. 3. Provide funding, including state and federal grants, for in-line hydro-electric, solar, wind, battery storage, biogas, cogeneration, nanogrids, microgrids, closed-loop pumped storage facilities and other renewable energy generation or storage technology as means of reducing greenhouse gas emissions and energy cost. 4. Promote funding for use of renewable energy in the operation of District facilities. 5. Prohibit investor-owned utilities from implementing rate changes that undercut the financial viability of renewable energy facilities obligated under long-term Power Purchase Agreements. 6. Provide greater flexibility in the utilization of the District’s facilities for generation and acquisition of electrical and natural gas power. 7. Provide the District with greater flexibility in the licensing, permitting, interconnection, construction, and the operation of its existing and potential in-line hydroelectric, solar, wind, battery, nanogrid, microgrid, closed-loop pumped-energy storage projects, and other renewable generation or storage technology. 8. Make SWP power available for all water projects. 9. Promote the classification of electricity generated by in-line hydroelectric and closed-loop pumped-energy storage facilities as environmentally sound. 10. Promote the expansion of closed-loop pumped-energy storage facilities to provide clean and environmentally sound energy resource that provides electric and reliability and resiliency, especially during times of potential blackouts. 11. Promote the expansion of in-line hydroelectric energy recovery systems at treatment facility discharge systems. 12. Promote the production, purchase, delivery, and use of alternative sources of energy on a wholesale basis. 13. Provide clear statutory, regulatory, or administrative authority for the Water Authority to wheel acquired or produced power to itself, the District, or entities with which the Water Authority is under contract for the purchase, treatment, transport, or production of water. 14. Recognize and monetize all grid ancillary services that pumped hydro-energy storage provides and supports fair compensation in the wholesale energy market for such services. 15. Provides timely, efficient, and cost-effective interconnection of new energy resources such as solar, inline hydroelectric, pumped-energy storage, and other renewable energy generation or storage technologies to the electric distribution and transmission grid. Otay Water District Legislative Program 2022 6 | Page 16. Recognize the value of large-scale hydropower and pumped-energy storage facilities in assisting the state to meet its renewable and zero-carbon emission goals of 100 percent by 2045. Oppose initiatives that: 1. Adversely affect the cost of energy needed to operate MWD’s facilities, SWP facilities, or the facilities of the Water Authority and the District. 2. Impose greenhouse gas reduction obligations on a public water agency for electricity purchased or produced for the sole purpose of operating its system. 3. Adversely affect the ability of the District or other water agencies in the county to own, operate, and/or construct work for supplying its own facilities with natural gas and electricity. 4. Impede the District or other water agencies in the county, the ability to contract for, deliver, and use the purchase of natural gas and electricity from the United States, the State of California, and any other public agency or private entity and sell the gas and electricity to any public agency or private entity engaged in retail sales of electricity and gas. 5. Reduce the District’s ability to always maintain high operational efficiency. 6. Restrict the District’s ability to expand or improve infrastructure or facilities. 7. Restrict or caps future energy demands needed for possible expansion of recycled water, potable reuse, and desalination projects. 8. Adversely affect the District’s ability to expand cogeneration or polygeneration at planned or existing facilities. 9. Inhibit the scientific advancement of energy and water efficient/conserving technologies that may be implemented at the District or other agency facilities. 10. Prevent the District from enhancing energy reliability and independence for its facilities. 11. Do not count or credit qualified renewable energy projects toward accomplishment and satisfaction of the California Renewables Portfolio Standard objectives. 12. Prohibit the Water Authority from wheeling - or securing statutory, regulatory, or administrative authority necessary to wheel - acquired or produced power to itself, the District, or other entities with which the Water Authority is under contract of the purchase, treatment, transport, or production of water. 13. Result in a lengthy, more complicated, or more costly interconnection of new energy resources, such as solar, inline-hydroelectric, pumped-energy storage, and other renewable energy generation or storage technologies to the electric distribution and transmission grid. VI. Financial Issues A. Fees, Taxes, and Charges Support initiatives that: 1. Require the federal government and State of California to reimburse special districts for all mandated costs or regulatory actions. 2. Give special districts the discretion to cease performance of unfunded mandates. Otay Water District Legislative Program 2022 7 | Page 3. Provide for fiscal reform to enhance the equity, reliability, and certainty of special district funding. 4. Provide incentives for local agencies to work cooperatively, share costs or resources. 5. Provide for the stable, equitable and reliable allocation of property taxes. 6. Continue to reform workers compensation. 7. Promote competition in insurance underwriting for public agencies. 8. Produce tangible results, such as water supply reliability or water quality improvement. 9. Require the Metropolitan Water District of Southern California (MWD) to refund or credit to its member agencies revenues collected from them that result in reserve balances greater than the maximum reserve levels established pursuant to state legislation. Oppose initiatives that: 1. Impose mandated costs or regulatory constraints on local agencies and their customers without providing subventions to reimburse local agencies for such costs. 2. Pre-empt the Water Authority’s or its member agencies’ ability to impose or change rates, charges, fees, or assessments. 3. Weaken the protections afforded the Water Authority or its member agencies under California’s Proposition 1A (November 2, 2004). 4. Reallocate special districts reserves in an effort to balance the state budget. 5. Reallocate special district revenues or reserves to fund infrastructure improvements or other activities in cities or counties. 6. Establish funding mechanisms that put undue burdens on local agencies or make local agencies de facto tax collectors for the state. 7. Adversely affect the cost of gas and electricity or reduce an organization’s flexibility to take advantage of low peak cost periods. 8. Add new reporting criteria, burdensome, unnecessary, or costly reporting mandates to Urban Water Management Plans. 9. Add new mandates to the Department of Water Resources (DWR) to review and approve Urban Water Management Plans beyond those already addressed in DWR guidelines. 10. Mandate that water agencies include an embedded energy calculation for their water supply sources in Urban Water Management Plans or any other water resources planning or master-planning document. 11. Weaken existing project retention and withholding provisions that limit the ability of public agencies to drive contractor performance. 12. Establish change order requirements that place an unreasonable burden on local agencies, or raise financial risk associated with public works contracts. 13. Impair the Water Authority or its member agencies’ ability to provide reasonable service at reasonable costs to member agencies or to charge all member agencies the same rate for each class of service consistent with cost-of-service requirements of the law. 14. Impair the local water agencies’ ability to maintain reasonable reserve funds and obtain and retain reasonable rates of return on its reserve accounts. 15. Mandate a specific rate structure for retail water agencies. 16. Impose a water user fee on water agencies or water users that does not provide a commensurate and directly linked benefit in the local area or region from which the water user fee is collected. Otay Water District Legislative Program 2022 8 | Page 17. Impose a water user fee for statewide projects or programs, for which the projects or programs are not clearly defined, the beneficiaries identified, and reasonable costs identified. 18. Impose a water user fee to create a state fund that can be used to finance undefined future projects and programs. 19. Allow the state to retain more than five percent of water user fees for administrative costs. 20. Do not restrict the use of water user fees to only the specific purposes for which they are imposed, without any possibility of diversion to meet other fiscal needs of the state. 21. Impose a “public goods charge” or “water tax” on public water agencies or their ratepayers. 22. Impose a fee on water users to repay the principal and interest on a statewide general obligation bond. 23. Establish regulatory or permit fees that lack a nexus to the costs of oversight. 24. Establish a broad-based user fee that does not support a specific program activity; any fee must provide a clear nexus to the benefit the fee would provide. B. Funding Support initiatives that: 1. Require the federal and state governments to provide subvention to reimburse local governments for all mandated costs or regulatory actions. 2. Provide the Water Authority and its member agencies with additional forms of cost- effective financing for public facilities. 3. Revitalize the Title XVI federal funding program by converting new authorizations to a competitive grant program with congressional oversight while protecting existing Title XVI authorizations for the San Diego region. 4. Provide the Water Authority and its member agencies with grant funding for public facilities, including developing local water resources and rehabilitation and repair of aging infrastructure, such as pipelines. 5. Provide the District, other local water agencies, and water ratepayers with post-COVID-19 financial relief through a variety of means, including but not limited to, direct financial assistance and flexibility in debt management to assist water ratepayers and water suppliers. 6. Authorize financing of water quality, water security, and water supply infrastructure improvement programs. 7. Establish spending caps on State of California overhead when administering voter approved grant and disbursement programs. 8. Require disbursement decisions in a manner appropriate to the service in question. 9. Encourage funding infrastructure programs that are currently in place and that have been proven effective. 10. Provide financial incentives for energy projects that increase reliability, diversity, and reduce greenhouse gasses. 11. Continue energy rate incentives for the utilization of electricity during low-peak periods. Otay Water District Legislative Program 2022 9 | Page 12.Provide loan or grant programs that encourage water conservation for water users who areleast able to pay for capital projects.13.Provide for population-based distribution of IRWM funds to ensure adequate distribution of grant funding throughout the state.14.Provide for the use of state grant funds for binational projects where the projects benefitwater supply or water quality in the San Diego region.15.Improve and streamline the state’s reimbursement process to ensure timely remittance ofIRWM funds. 16. Promote the ability of the Regional Water Management Group to administer state grantfunds specifically identified more directly for IRWM Programs.17. Require the state to rely on the local process for selection and ranking of projects includedin an approved IRWM plan.18. Provide funding or other incentives for conservation, peak management programs, water recycling, potable reuse, groundwater recovery and recharge, surface water developmentand management projects, including reservoir management, source water protection andwatershed planning studies and facilities that sustain long-term reliable water resources.19. Provide financial incentives to assist in the disposal of concentrate, sludge, and otherbyproducts created in the water treatment process. 20. Authorize, promote, and provide incentives or credits for development of local drought-resilient water supply projects such as desalination, non-potable recycling, and potablereuse projects.21. Provide funding for potable reuse demonstration projects and studies.22. Authorize federal and state funding to develop and implement regional or subregional conservation programs, including but not limited to property acquisition, revegetationprograms, and watershed plans.23.Provide state and/or federal funding for the restoration of the Salton Sea.24.Provide federal and/or state funding to implement actions that address the ecological and water supply management issues of the Lower Colorado River from Lee's Ferry to the southerly international border with Mexico.25.Provide federal and/or state funding to implement actions that address the ecological andwater supply management issues of the Sacramento-San Joaquin River Delta.26. Permit the use of grant funding for projects implemented under public-private partnerships where the grant provides funding for a public benefit. 27.Require the state agencies responsible for preparing the IRWM grant program guidelinesto conduct a comprehensive public outreach process that ensures stakeholders have anopportunity to provide adequate input on preparation of the guidelines and that the stateagencies consider and respond to comments received through the outreach process. Oppose initiatives that: 1.Impose additional administrative requirements and/or restrict the Water Authority’s or itsmember agencies’ ability to finance public facilities through the issuance of long-termdebt. 2. Interfere with the responsibility of a region, operating under an Integrated Regional Water Management Plan, for setting priorities and generating projects to be paid from anyIRWM accounts and grants. Otay Water District Legislative Program 2022 10 | Page 3. Interfere with the control exercised by the San Diego funding subregion over the use and expenditure of any water-user fee revenues that may be dedicated to the region. 4. Establish IRWM funding criteria that limits local discretion in project selection. 5. Provide for after-the-fact reduction in quantity or quality of a public water supply due to new restrictions on the operation or use of water supply facilities unless funding for alternate sources of water is provided. 6. Impose a "utility user fee" or "surcharge" on water for the purposes of financing open space/habitat preservation, restoration, or creation. C. Rates Support initiatives that: 1. Maintain the authority of water agencies to establish water rates locally, consistent with cost-of-service requirements of the law. 2. Maximize the ability of water agencies to design rate structures to meet local water supply goals and that conform to cost-of-service requirements of the law. Oppose initiatives that: 1. Impair the Water Authority’s or its member agencies’ ability to provide reliable service at reasonable costs to member agencies or to charge all member agencies the same or similar rate for each class of service consistent with cost-of-service requirements of the law. 2. Undermine or weaken cost-of-service rate-making requirements in existing law. 3. Impair the District’s ability to maintain reasonable reserve funds and obtain and retain reasonable rates of return on its reserve accounts. 4. Mandate a specific rate structure for retail water agencies. 5. Prescribe mandatory conservation-based rate structures that override the authority of the boards of directors of local water agencies to set rate structures according to the specific needs of the water agencies. 6. Usurp special district funds, reserves, or other state actions that force special districts to raise rates, fees, or charges. D. Water Bonds Support initiatives that: 1. Provide an equitable share of funding to San Diego County, with major funding categories being divided by county and funded on a per-capita basis to ensure bond proceeds are distributed throughout the state in proportion to taxpayers’ payments on the bonds. 2. Focus on statewide priorities, including restoration of fish and wildlife habitat, construction of an improved method of conveyance of water through or around the Delta that provides water supply reliability to Delta water users, promotion of greater regional and local self-sufficiency, surface storage, and promotion of water-use efficiency. 3. Ensures funding from various propositions for local and regional water-related projects. 4. Include within IRWM funding money that a region may use over time to develop and refine its plan and to develop institutional structures necessary to establish and implement the plan. Otay Water District Legislative Program 2022 11 | Page 5. Give primary consideration to funding priorities established by local and regional entities through their IRWM planning process. 6. Ensure the application process for funding is not unnecessarily burdensome and costly, with an emphasis on streamlining the process. 7. Limit state overhead to no more than five percent of bond funding amounts. 8. Place as much emphasis and provides at least as much funding for surface storage as for groundwater storage. 9. Define the “San Diego sub-region” and “San Diego county watersheds” as “those portions of the westward-flowing watershed of the South Coast hydrologic region situated within the boundaries of San Diego County.” 10. Fund emergency and carryover storage projects including those in San Diego County. 11. Consolidate administration of all voter-approved water-related bond funding in one place, preserves existing expertise within the state bureaucracy to manage bond-funding processes, and provide consistent application and evaluation of bond funding applications. 12. Provide the state’s share of funding for projects that advance the achievement of the co-equal goals of water supply reliability and Delta ecosystem restoration. 13. Provide funding for water infrastructure that resolve conflicts in the state’s water system and provide long-term benefits to statewide issues including water supply, reliability, water quality, and ecosystem restoration. Oppose initiatives that: 1. Do not provide an equitable share of funding to San Diego County based on the San Diego County taxpayers’ proportional contribution to repayment of the bonds. 2. Do not provide funding for infrastructure that resolves statewide or regional conflicts of water supplies. 3. Do not provide funding that result in net increases in real water supply and water supply reliability. 4. Commit a significant portion of bond funding to projects that do not result in net increases in real water supply or water supply reliability. E. Affordability Support initiatives that: 1. Abides by the Human Right to Water (AB 685, 2012) as set forth in Section 106.3 of the California Water Code which reads that, “every human being has the right to safe, affordable, and accessible water adequate for human consumption, cooking, and sanitary purposes.” The State Water Resources Control Board also has a resolution supporting this program. 2. Meets the required standards under Proposition 218 in the California Constitution regarding proportionality of water rates and the cost-of-service provisions. 3. Relies on data-driven analysis of water affordability, including considerations such as census data and economically disadvantaged communities. As such, the District supports the continued implementation of AB 2334 (2012) that requires the Department of Water Resources to provide this analysis and place it in California’s Water Plan. 4. Supports the creation of a low-income water rate assistance program that targets providing financial assistance to low-income ratepayers using existing resources within either the state General Fund or cap-and-trade dollars. Otay Water District Legislative Program 2022 12 | Page 5. Does not burden water districts with excessive or overly prescriptive state mandates including the collection of water taxes or water rate and boundary data. Oppose initiatives that: 1. Is not targeted appropriately: Any low-income water rate assistance program must be limited in scope to those individuals. By seeking to do too much, effectiveness could be limited. Examples of this could include extending program resources to domestic wells or water-use efficiency programs. 2. Does not have a funding source: Any low-income water rate assistance program needs to identify specific sources of sustainable funding and does not include a water tax or water surcharge. 3. Does not reinvent the wheel: Any low-income water rate assistance program should be built upon and use the resources of an existing benefit distribution organization or system, such as CalFresh, rather than requiring water agencies to add the operating expense of creating and administering a new method. VII. Governance and Local Autonomy Support initiatives that: 1. Expand local autonomy in governing special district affairs. 2. Promote comprehensive long-range planning. 3. Assist local agencies in the logical and efficient extension of services and facilities to promote efficiency and avoid duplication of services. 4. Streamline the Municipal Service Review Process or set limits on how long services reviews can take or cost. 5. Reaffirm the existing “all-in” financial structure or protect the Water Authority voting structure based on population. 6. Promote measures that increase broader community and water industry representation/appointments on State decision making bodies. 7. Ensure an open and transparent process for adoption of regulations, policies, and guidelines. 8. Preserve the District and other local water agencies’ ability to establish local priorities for water resources planning decisions. Oppose initiatives that: 1. Assume the state legislature is better able to make local decisions that affect special district governance. 2. Create one-size-fits-all approaches to special district reform. 3. Unfairly target one group of local elected officials. 4. Usurp local control from special districts regarding decisions involving local special district finance, operations, or governance. 5. Diminish the power or rights of the District’s governing body to govern the District’s affairs. 6. Diminish the power or rights of the District to govern relations with its employees. 7. Modify the committee or board voting structure or District and member agency board representation on the Water Authority Board of Directors unless such changes have been expressly authorized by the District’s Board. Otay Water District Legislative Program 2022 13 | Page 8. Create unfunded local government mandates. 9. Create costly, unnecessary, or duplicative oversight roles for the state government of special district affairs. 10. Create new oversight roles or responsibility for monitoring special district affairs. 11. Change the San Diego County Water Authority Act regarding voting structure unless it is based on population. 12. Shift the liability to the public entity and relieve private entities of reasonable due diligence in their review of plans and specifications for errors, omissions, and other issues. 13. Place a significant and unreasonable burden on public agencies, resulting in increased cost for public works construction or their operation. 14. Impair the ability of water districts to acquire property or property interests required for essential capital improvement projects. 15. Increase the cost of property and right-of-way acquisition or restricts the use of right-of- ways. 16. Work to silence the voices of special districts and other local government associations on statewide ballot measures impacting local government policies and practices, including actions that could prohibit special districts and associations from advocating for positions on ballot measures by severely restricting the private resources used to fund those activities. 17. Prescribe mandatory conservation-based or other rate structures that override the authority of the board of directors to set its rate structure. 18. Circumvent the legislative committee process, such as the use of budget trailer bills, to advance policy issues including impacting special districts without full disclosure, transparency, or public involvement. 19. Restrict the District’s ability to utilize a demand forecasting methodology that is best suited locally and for the region. 20. Impose mandates requiring specific water resources be developed by water agencies that fail to consider local factors such as water reliability, hydrologic and geographic characteristics, and the economic, political, public acceptance, social environment, which can influence selection of resources and/or fails to consider or conflicts with existing local and regional planning policies and implementation priorities. 21. Limit the District’s ability to establish local priorities for water resources planning decisions. VIII. Imported Water Issues A. Bay-Delta i. Co-Equal Goals Support initiatives that: 1. Require the Delta Stewardship Council or DWR to provide periodic analyses of the cost of the proposed Delta improvements to the Legislature and the public. 2. Provides conveyance and storage facilities that are cost-effective for the San Diego region’s ratepayers, improve the reliability and quality of the San Diego region’s water supplies, and protect the Bay-Delta’s ecosystem. 3. Continue to support the co-equal goals of water supply reliability and environmental restoration embodied in the 2009 Delta bill package. Otay Water District Legislative Program 2022 14 | Page 4. Improve the ability of water-users to divert water from the Delta during wet periods, when impacts on fish and the ecosystem are lower and water quality is higher. 5. Encourage the development of a statewide water transfer market that will improve water management and allow more efficient use of available resources. 6. Support improved coordination of Central Valley Project and State Water Project (SWP) operations and implementation of voluntary agreement that are fair to the users of both projects and do not unfairly shift costs to SWP contractors. 7. Support continued state ownership and operation of the SWP, including project facilities, as a public resource. 8. Ensure that any reorganization of the State Water Project, including operations and management, preserves the ability for non-State Water Project contractors to access the facility for transportation of water to a non-State Water Project contractor. 9. Authorize and appropriate the federal share of funding for the long-term Bay-Delta solution, including for the EcoRestore Program. 10. Provide the ongoing state share of funding for the EcoRestore Program. 11. Provide state funding for aquatic toxicity monitoring in the Bay-Delta. Such legislation should not place a surcharge on water supply exports, nor should it substantively reduce funding for other measures that protect the environment and public health. Oppose efforts that: 1. Impose water user fees to fund ecosystem restoration and other public purpose, nonwater-supply improvements in the Delta that benefit the public at large. 2. Transfer operational control of the State Water Project or any of its facilities to the Metropolitan Water District of Southern California (MWD), the State Water Contractors, the Central Valley Project Contractors, the State and Federal Contractors Water Agency, or any entity comprised of MWD or other water project contractors, or any other special interest group. ii. Bay-Delta Conveyance Project Support initiatives that: 1. Are consistent with the Water Authority’s Board of Directors’ July 25, 2019 adopted Bay- Delta project policy principles, including the following: a. On April 29, 2019, Governor Newsom signed Executive Order N-10-19, directing the preparation of a water resilience portfolio approach that meets the needs of California’s communities, economy, and environment through the 21st century, including consideration of multi-benefit approaches that meet multiple needs at once, and a single-user tunnel Bay-Delta project. b. The Water Authority’s Board supports Governor Newsome’s Executive Order N-10-19 and directs staff to inform the Newsome Administration that its support for a single-tunnel Bay-Delta project is expressly conditioned upon the project costs being characterized by the Department of Water Resources (DWR) as conservation, or supply charges, as similar facilities historically have been defined in the Metropolitan Water District’s (MWD) SWP contract with DWR. c. As reflected in Table 2 of DWR’s Appendix B to Bulletin 132-17, Data and Computation Used to Determine Water Charges, and for which costs are recovered in Otay Water District Legislative Program 2022 15 | Page Article 22(a) of Delta Water Charge of MWD’s SWP Contract; allow for the exemption of north-of-Delta SWP contractors. 2. Support the establishment of an independent and transparent oversight function to monitor and provide regular updates on project implementation progress, including expenditure tracking, construction progress, project participants’ contributions, and all other relevant activities and developments. 3. Allow access to all SWP facilities, including project facilities, to facilitate water transfers. B. Metropolitan Water District Support initiatives that: 1. Provide an appropriate level of accountability and cost control over MWD spending. 2. Protect and safeguard the Water Authority’s Preferential Rights in the Metropolitan Water District Act. 3. Require MWD to refund or credit to its member agencies revenues collected from them that result in reserve balances greater than the maximum reserve levels established pursuant to state legislation. 4. Require MWD to implement actions that advance and support its long-term financial stability, fiscal sustainability, and that moderate fluctuations in rates and charges for its member agencies from year to year, in a publicly transparent manner. 5. Amend the Metropolitan Water District Act to change voting allocation on its Board of Directors based on a member agency’s total financial contribution to MWD, and in a manner similar to the voting allocation method of the County Water Authority Act. C. Colorado River Support initiatives that: 1. Supports implementation and funding of the California Colorado River Water Use Plan, including the Lower Colorado River Multi-Species Conservation Program 2. Provide funding for Colorado River salinity control projects and other water quality management efforts. 3. Provide for state and federal authorizations and appropriations of non-fee-based funds to implement Salton Sea mitigation and the State’s phased approach to restoration in the form of the Salton Sea Management Program consistent with its obligations under Chapters 611, 612, and 613 of the Statutes of 2003. 4. Limit the Quantification Settlement Agreement mitigation costs imposed on funding parties to the amount committed in accordance with the original QSA legislation. 5. Provide a governing structure and/or specified managing office over the state's Salton Sea Management Program to provide guidance and oversight of restoration activities. 6. Support the sustainability of the Colorado River and provide operational flexibility through the development of storage, including Lake Mead and additional storage opportunities regionally, and through the renegotiation of the new interim shortage guidelines for continued operation of the River. 7. Allow for the option to create an alternate conveyance route, when technically and financially feasible, for reliable delivery of the Water Authority’s Independent Colorado River water supplies and integration of compatible partnership projects along the proposed conveyance Otay Water District Legislative Program 2022 16 | Page routes as a model of the Governor’s Water Resilience Portfolio approach to water management. 8. Support the State’s Salton Sea Management Program under the guidelines of the revised Water Order (Stipulated Order) adopted by the State Water Resources Control Board in November 2017. 9. Preserve the California Colorado River Board 10. Ensure the interests of the members of the California Colorado River Board continue to be addressed in any state government reorganization. 11. Allow for storage of the Water Authority’s Colorado River water supplies to provide enhanced flexibility with annual transfer volumes, support drought contingency planning, and align with the Governor’s Water Resilience Portfolio approach to water management. Oppose initiatives that: 1. Impose additional mitigation costs or obligations for the Salton Sea on the non-state parties to the Quantification Settlement Agreement. 2. Eliminate the California Colorado River Board without providing a comparable structure or forum that ensures the Water Authority's interests in the Colorado River are preserved. D. State Water Project Support initiatives that: 1. Provide for development of a comprehensive state water plan that balances California's competing water needs and results in a reliable and affordable supply of high-quality water for the San Diego region. Oppose initiatives that: 1. Make urban water supplies less reliable or substantially increases the cost of imported water without also improving the reliability and/or quality of the water. 2. Revise the Central Valley Project Improvement Act to Jeopardize the Act's environmental integrity, compromise State Water Project supply reliability a n d/or limit the ability of urban agencies to transfer and/or bank CVP water for use both within and outside the CVP service area. 3. Transfer operational control of the State Water Project or any of its facilities to MWD, the State Water Project contractors, Central Valley Project contractors, the State and Federal Contractors Water Agency, any entity comprised of MWD or other water project contractors, or any other special interest group. IX. Optimize District Effectiveness Support initiatives that: 1. Manage District resources in a transparent and fiscally responsible manner. 2. Give utilities the ability to avoid critical peak energy pricing or negotiate energy contracts that save ratepayers money. 3. Develop reasonable Air Pollution Control District engine permitting requirements. 4. Reimburse or reduce local government mandates. 5. Allow public agencies to continue offering defined benefit plans. Otay Water District Legislative Program 2022 17 | Page 6. Result in predictable costs and benefits for employees and taxpayers. 7. Eliminate abuses. 8. Retain local control of pension systems. 9. Are constitutional, federally legal, and technically possible. Oppose initiatives that: 1. Restrict the use of, or reallocate, district property tax revenues to the detriment of special districts. 2. Create unrealistic ergonomic protocol. 3. Micromanage special district operations. 4. Balance the state budget by allowing regulatory agencies to increase permitting fees. 5. Tax dependent benefits. 6. Require new reporting criteria on energy intensity involved in water supply. X. Safety, Security, and Information Technology Support initiatives that: 1. Provide funding for information security upgrades to include integrated alarms, access/egress, and surveillance technology. 2. Provide incentives for utilities and other local agencies to work cooperatively, share costs or resources. 3. Provide funding for communication enhancements, wireless communications, GIS, or other technological enhancements. 4. Encourage or promote compatible software systems. 5. Fund infrastructure and facility security improvements that include facility roadway access, remote gate access, and physical security upgrades. 6. Protect state, local, and regional drinking water systems from terrorist attack or deliberate acts of destruction, contamination, or degradation. 7. Provide funds to support training or joint training exercises to include contingency funding for emergencies and emergency preparedness. 8. Equitably allocate security funding based on need, threats and/or population. 9. Encourage or promote compatible communication systems. 10. Encourage and promote funding of Department of Homeland Security Risk Mitigation programs. 11. Recognizes water agencies as emergency responders in the event of a sudden, unexpected occurrence that poses a clear and imminent danger, requiring immediate action to prevent and mitigate loss or impairment of life, health, property, or essential public services due to natural disasters (e.g., wildfires, earthquakes), power outages as well as terrorist and other criminal activities. 12. Provide state grant or other funding opportunities to support seismic risk assessment and mitigation plans, or to mitigate vulnerabilities. 13. Provide funding for projects that enhance security against terrorist acts or other criminal threats to water operation, services, facilities, or supplies. 14. Provide funding for projects that improve the security of the District facilities and operations. 15. Provide funding to support technologies that support remote working, when necessary to prevent loss of or damage to life, health, property, or essential public services. Otay Water District Legislative Program 2022 18 | Page Oppose initiatives that: 1. Create unnecessary, costly, or duplicative security or safety mandates. 2. Require expanded water system descriptions or additional public disclosure of public water systems details for large water suppliers in Urban Water Management Planning documents, potentially compromising public water systems, and creating a conflict with the Department of Homeland Security’s recommendation to avoid reference to water system details in plans available to the public. XI. Water Quality Issues Support initiatives that: 1. Assure cost-effective remediation and cleanup of contaminates of concern that have impacted groundwater and surface water. 2. Incorporate sound scientific principals in adopting drinking water standards for drinking water concerns. 3. Revise NPDES standards and procedures to facilitate inland discharge and use of recycled water. 4. Establish appropriate quality standards, testing procedures, and treatment processes for emerging contaminants. 5. Alter the definition of “lead free” to reduce the permissible amount of lead in fixtures, plumbing, and pipe fittings to be installed for the delivery of drinking water. 6. Exempt purified wastewater from regulation as a discharge under the Clean Water Act. 7. Protect child public health by requiring schools to undertake lead testing in school drinking water systems. 8. Implement source control for management prevention of contamination by constituents of emerging concern. 9. Provide the necessary funding for research on the occurrence, treatment, health effects, and environmental cleanup related to contamination drinking water sources. 10. Implement and fund the San Diego Regional Water Quality Control Board’s triennial review of water quality standards. 11. Provide funding and support for Colorado River salinity control projects and other water quality management efforts. 12. Direct the state’s participation or assistance in water quality issues related to or threatening the Colorado River water source. 13. Streamline permitting of facilities constructed for the purpose of improving water quality. 14. Ensure consistent application of the law by the State Water Resources Control Board and the nine regional water quality control boards. Oppose initiatives that: 1. Eliminate the State Water Resources Control Board and/or the nine regional water quality control boards without ensuring the functions and expertise of the boards is maintained in any reorganized entity. Otay Water District Legislative Program 2022 19 | Page XII. Water Recycling and Potable Reuse Support initiatives that: 1.Reduce restrictions on recycled water usage or promote consistent regulation of recycledwater projects to reduce impediments to the increased use of recycled water.2. Reduce restrictions on injecting recycled water into basins where there is no direct potableuse. 3.Advocate for direct potable reuse. 4.Advocate for recycled water use upstream of lakes and reservoirs if protected by urban waterrunoff protection systems.5.Provide financial incentives for recharge of groundwater aquifers using recycled water.6.Make recycled water regulations clear, consolidated, and understandable to expedite related project permitting. 7.Promote recycled water as a sustainable supplemental source of water.8.Allow the safe use of recycled water.9.Facilitate development of technology aimed at improving water recycling.10. Increasing funding for water recycling projects. 11. Support continued funding of the Title XVI Water Reclamation and Reuse Program including Water Reclamation and Reuse Projects, the WaterSMART Program, and the Desalination andWater Purification Research Program.12.Increase awareness of the ways recycled water can help address the region’s water supplychallenges. 13.Create federal and state incentives to promote recycled water use and production. 14. Establish federal tax incentives to support U.S. companies in the development of new watertechnologies that can lower productions costs, address by products such as concentrates, andenhance public acceptance of recycled water.15.Establish a comprehensive national research and development, and technology demonstration, program to advance the public and scientific understanding of water recycling technologies to encourage reuse as an alternative source of water supply.16. Provide incentives for local agencies to work cooperatively, share costs or resources topromote or expand the use of recycled water.17.Further refine emergency regulations to reward local suppliers that have invested in using recycled water for landscape irrigation to maintain an incentive to continue expanding areas served by recycled water.18. Encourage the use of recycled water in commercial, industrial, institutional, and residentialsettings.19. Recognize and support the development of potable reuse as a critical new water supply. 20.Define purified recycled water as a source of water supply and not as waste. 21.Mandate the reduction of wastewater discharges to the ocean absent inclusion of funding tooffset the significant costs of implementation.22.Authorize local governmental agencies to regulate the discharge of contaminants to the sewercollection system that may adversely affect water recycling and reuse. 23.Authorize and facilitate expanded use of local water resources including water recycling, potable reuse, graywater, and rainwater harvesting (e.g., cisterns and rain barrels), andbrackish groundwater. Otay Water District Legislative Program 2022 20 | Page 24. Streamline regulatory processes and requirements to encourage and support the development of potable reuse and non-potable reuse as a municipal water supply. 25. Recognize the entire interconnected urban water cycle, as well as public health and safety, must be taken into consideration in long-term water use efficiency policies, particularly including the unintended consequences of declining flows on water, wastewater, potable reuse, and recycled water systems. 26. Encourage dual plumbing in new development where non-potable recycled water is likely to available to enable utilization of recycled water. 27. Promote uniform regulatory interpretation of state recycled water system standards. 28. Support beneficial revisions to the California Plumbing Code that facilitate recycled water systems. Oppose initiatives that: 1. Restrict use of recycled water for groundwater recharge. 2. Establish new water or recycled water fees solely to recover State costs without also providing some benefit. 3. Limit the ability of local governmental agencies to regulate the discharge of contaminants to the sewer collection system that may adversely affect water recycling and reuse. 4. Establish unreasonable regulatory requirements or fees to the safe use of recycled water, which may unreasonably impede or create a disincentive to its further development. 5. Mandate the reduction of wastewater discharges to the ocean absent inclusion of funding to offset the significant costs of implementation. 6. Water use efficiency standards (AB 1668), which do not reflect the impact that higher TDS recycled water has on the usage rates to reduce salt loading in areas of use. XIII. Water Services and Facilities Support initiatives that: 1. Provide funding to implement actions identified in the California Water Action Plan to lay a solid fiscal foundation for implementing near-term actions, including funding for water efficiency projects, wetland and watershed restoration, groundwater programs, conservation, flood control, and integrated water management and result in a reliable supply of high-quality water for the San Diego region. 2. Provide financial support to projects designed to mitigate the potential negative impacts of Global Climate Change on water supply reliability. 3. Promote the coordination and integration of local, state, and federal climate change policies and practices to the greatest extent feasible. 4. Fund or otherwise facilitate ongoing implementation of the Quantification Settlement Agreement. 5. Provide reliable water supplies to meet California’s short and long-term needs. 6. Promote desalination pilot studies and projects. 7. Encourage feasibility studies of water resource initiatives. 8. Increase funding for infrastructure and grant programs for construction, modernization or expansion of water, wastewater treatment, reclamation facilities and sewer systems including water recycling, groundwater recovery and recharge, surface water development projects and seawater desalination. Otay Water District Legislative Program 2022 21 | Page 9. Fund enhancements to water treatment, recycling, and other facilities to meet increased regulations. 10. Mandate uniform or similar regulations and procedures by state agencies in the processing and administering of grants and programs. 11. Streamline grant application procedures. 12. Reduce regulations and other impediments for willing sellers and buyers to engage in water transfer agreements. 13. Promote or assist voluntary water transfers between willing buyers and willing sellers and move those transactions through without delay. 14. Streamline the permitting and approval process for desalination and other water-related facilities and implementing water transfers that will improve water management. 15. Establish reasonable statewide approaches to sewer reporting standards. 16. Generate greater efficiencies, better coordinate program delivery, and eliminate duplication in programs for source water protection without lessening the focus on public health of the state’s Drinking Water Program. 17. Target efforts to fix specific issues with water supplies within the state’s Drinking Water Program. 18. Establish federal tax incentives to support U.S. companies in the development of new desalination technologies that can lower productions costs, eliminate or reduce impingement or entrainment, reduce energy use, and enhance public acceptance of desalinated water. 19. Establish a comprehensive national research and development, and technology demonstration program to advance the scientific understanding of desalination to expand its use as an alternative source of water supply. 20. Require the State Water Resources Control Board to exercise its authority, ensure robust funding, and implement the Salton Sea mitigation and restoration plan, meet state obligations, and work with QSA stakeholders to find workable solutions to ensure the continuation of IID water transfers. 21. Support solutions to water supply issues that address common challenges, provide a comprehensive approach that is fair to all users, balance the needs of urban and rural communities, and take into consideration the interests of all stakeholders as well as the impact to the environment. 22. Further refine emergency drought regulations to eliminate a cap on credits and adjustments so as not to impose undue burden, financial or otherwise, on communities that have already invested in water conservation, development of new water sources, storage, or loss prevention. 23. Provide funding for water infrastructure development, infrastructure security, and rehabilitation and replacement projects that benefit ratepayers. 24. Provide funding for habitat preservation programs that address impacts resulting from construction or operation of water system facilities. 25. Provide funding for projects that enhance security against terrorist acts or other criminal threats to water operation, services, facilities, or supplies. 26. Provide incentives that encourage contractors to recycle or reduce waste associated with construction of water facilities. 27. Improve the local agencies’ efforts to maintain and protect its property, rights of way, easements, pipelines, and related facilities and minimizes liability to local agencies and the District. Otay Water District Legislative Program 2022 22 | Page 28. Protect the local agencies’ properties from restrictions when surrounding properties are incorporated into preservation areas. 29. Encourage the use of current and emerging technologies for monitoring and assessing the condition of large diameter pipelines. 30. Encourage water supplier to develop and execute asset management programs that include visual inspections, internal/external inspections, asset condition assessments, corrosion mitigation, and reis analysis in a manner that recognizes the individuality and uniqueness of each water supplier and its systems. 31. Improve the District’s efforts to maintain and protect its property, rights of way, easements, pipelines, and related facilities and minimizes liability to the District. 32. Protect the District, other agencies and the Water Authority properties from restrictions when surrounding properties are incorporated into preservation areas. 33. Provide funding to water agencies for the voluntary retrofit of facilities for on-site generation of chlorine. 34. Provide funding for water supplier asset management programs that involve the active monitoring, repair, or replacement of physical assets and infrastructure, which includes pipes, valves, facilities, equipment, and other infrastructure. 35. Provide for restrictions on price gouging during public safety power shutoff events and for at least 72 hours following restoration of power. 36. Provide that de-energization or public safety power shutoff events may be included as a condition constituting a state of emergency or local emergency. 37. Provide a tax emption for the sale of, or storage, use, or consumption of, a backup electrical resources, that is purchased for exclusive use by a city, county, special district, or other entity of local government during a de-energization or public safety power shutoff event. 38. State that the use of alternative power sources (such as generators) by essential public services during de-energization or public safety power shutoff events shall not be limited by any state or local regulations or rules. 39. Recognize the critical role the District, local agencies, and the Water Authority play as Public Safety Partners in Public Safety Power Shutoff events and other natural or man-made disasters. Further recognizes the importance of the agency’s ability to provide immediate and sustained response for extended periods of time. 40. Provide financial support to local projects designed to mitigate or adapt to potential negative impacts of climate change on water supply reliability. 41. Investigate and provide financial support to projects designed to mitigate potential negative impacts of climate change on water supply reliability. Oppose initiatives that: 1. Restrict local control and discretions over water facilities, asset management, and facility operations. 2. Make urban water supplies less reliable or substantially increase the cost of imported water without also improving the reliability and/or quality of the water. 3. Create unrealistic or costly water testing or reporting protocol. 4. Disproportionately apportion the cost of water. 5. Create undo hurtles for seawater desalination projects. 6. Create unreasonable or confusing sewer reporting standards. Otay Water District Legislative Program 2022 23 | Page 7. Create administrative or other barriers to sales between willing buyers and willing sellers that delay water transfers. 8. Create a broad-based user fee that does not support a specific local program activity or benefit; any fee must provide a clear nexus to the benefit local ratepayers or local water supplies from the establishment that charge or fee would provide. 9. Create unrealistic or costly to obtain water quality standards for potable water, recycled water, or storm water runoff. 10. Change the focus of the state’s Drinking Water Program or weaken the parts of the program that work well. 11. Lessen the focus on public health of the state’s Drinking Water Program. 12. Impose undue burden, financial or otherwise, on communities that have already invested in water conservation, development of new water sources, storage, or loss prevention. 13. Impose additional mitigation costs or obligations for the Salton Sea on the non-state parties to the Quantification Settlement Agreement. 14. Impair the District and other local water agencies’ ability to provide and operate the necessary facilities for a safe, reliable, and operational flexible water system. 15. Limit local agencies’ sole jurisdiction over planning, design, routing, approval, construction, operation, or maintenance of water facilities. 16. Restrict local agencies’ ability to respond swiftly and decisively to an emergency that threatens to disrupt water deliveries or restricts the draining of pipelines or other facilities in emergencies for repairs or preventive maintenance. 17. Authorize state and federal wildlife agencies to control, prevent, or eradicate invasive species in a way that excessively interferes with the operations of water supplies. 18. Prohibit or in any way limit the ability of local agencies from making full beneficial use of any water, wastewater, or recycling facility and resource investments. 19. Prohibit the use of alternative contract procurement methods that can be utilized in the construction of water facilities. 20. Shift the risks of indemnity for damages and defense of claims from contractors to the District. 21. Impair local agencies’ efforts to acquire property or property interests required for essential capital improvement projects or acquisition of property to meet pipeline water drain-down needs for existing facilities. 22. Increase the cost of property and right of way acquisition. 23. Restrict the District’s use of public rights of way or increase the cost of using public rights of way. 24. Restrict the transfer of property acquired for purposes of environmental mitigation or environmental mitigation credits to other public or private entities for long-term management. 25. Establish prescriptive leak loss control requirements for the operation, maintenance, and asset management of water conveyance and distribution systems, that fail to consider full life-cycle costing. 26. Establish meter testing requirements for source water meters that fail to consider industry standards and cost-effectiveness. 27. Limit the discretion of the District from protecting security and privacy of comprehensive inventories of all assets, which includes infrastructure location, condition, performance, and useful life. Otay Water District Legislative Program 2022 24 | Page 28. Impair local agencies’ ability to execute the planning, design, and construction of projects using its own employees. 29. Limit the autonomy of discretion of water supplier to develop and execute asset management inspection programs that include visual inspections, internal/external inspections, asset condition assessments, and corrosion mitigation in a manner that recognizes the individuality and uniqueness of each water supplier and its systems. 30. Authorize air quality management districts or other regulatory bodies to adopt or maintain rules that would limit or prohibit a local government entity’s use of a state and/or federally complaint natural gas-powered generator during a de-energization or public safety power shutoff event. 31. Through the CARB Advanced Clean Fleet regulation, would inhibit the District from fulfilling its critical role as a Public Safety Partner and making immediate and sustained response in a Public Safety Power Shutoff event or and other natural or man-made disasters. 32. Through the CARB Advanced Clean Fleet regulation, would inhibit the District from fulfilling its critical role as an essential service provider from procuring and operating fleets which meet the needs to perform routine and emergency maintenance of water and wastewater systems. 33. Require incorporation of climate change considerations into regional and local water management planning that does not provide flexibility to the local and regional water agencies in determining the climate change impact and identification of adaptation and mitigation measures. 34. Impose top-down “one-size-fits-all” climate change mandates that fail to account for hydrological, meteorological, economic, and social variation across the state and/or that fail to incorporate local and regional planning and implementation priorities and protocols. XIV. Water-Use Efficiency Support initiatives that: 1. Provide funding for incentives for water-use efficiency and water conservation programs including water-efficient devices, practices and demonstration projects and studies. 2. Encourage the installation of water-efficient fixtures in new and existing buildings. 3. Promote the environmental benefits of water-use efficiency and water conservation. 4. Enhance efforts to promote water-use efficiency awareness. 5. Offer incentives for landscape water-efficient devices including, but not limited to ET controllers and soil moisture sensors. 6. Develop landscape retrofit incentive programs and/or irrigation retrofit incentive programs. 7. Permit or require local agencies to adopt ordinances that require or promote water-efficient landscapes for commercial and residential developments. 8. Create tax incentives for citizens or developers who install water-efficient landscapes. 9. Create tax incentives for citizens who purchase high-efficiency clothes washers, dual-flush and high-efficiency toilets, and irrigation controllers above the state standards. 10. Expand community-based water-use efficiency and education programs. 11. Facilitate and encourage the use of rainwater-capture systems, i.e., rain barrels, cisterns, etc. and alternative water sources, i.e., air conditioner condensate for use in irrigation. 12. Develop incentives for developers and existing customers to install water-efficient landscape in existing developments or new construction. Otay Water District Legislative Program 2022 25 | Page 13. Encourage large state users to save water by implementing water-efficient technologies in all facilities both new and retrofit. 14. Encourage large state water users to save water outdoors. 15. Educate all Californians on the importance of water, and the need to conserve, manage, and plan for the future needs. 16. Encourage technological research targeted to more efficient water use. 17. Give local agencies maximum discretion in selecting water-use efficiency and conservation programs that work for their customers and the communities they serve. 18. Require the Department of Water Resources to implement a uniform statewide turf rebate subsidy or incentive program. 19. Restrict Property Owner Associations from forbidding the use of California native plants, other low water use plants, mulch, artificial turf, or semi-permeable materials in well-maintained landscapes. 20. Restrict Property Owner Associations from forbidding retrofits of multiple unit facilities for the purpose of submetering, if feasible. 21. Ensure plumbing codes and standards that facilitate the installation and/or retrofit of water efficient devices. 22. Establish standards for the utilization of high-efficiency commercial coin-operated and residential clothes washers. 23. Provides for federal tax-exempt status for water-use efficiency rebates, consistent with income tax treatment at the state level. 24. Encourage the use of graywater where it complies with local guidelines and regulations and is cost-effective. 25. Provide incentives, funding, and assistance to water agencies so that they can meet the water demand management measure requirements in the Urban Water Management Planning Act. 26. Provide incentives, funding, and other assistance to facilitate water-use efficiency partnerships with the energy efficiency sector. 27. Provide incentives, funding, and other assistance where needed to facilitate market transformation and gain wider implementation of water efficient indoor and outdoor technologies and practices. 28. Recognize local control in determining water use efficiency criteria, such as impact of recycled water salinity on irrigation use and efficiency for the application of non-potable recycled water. 29. Encourage reasonable tracking of water use and improved efficiency in the Commercial, Industrial, and Institutional (CII) sector. 30. Recognize local control in determining how to meet an overall efficient water use goal, based on the combined efficient indoor use, outdoor use, and leak loss, as established under the criteria provided for in statute. 31. Further the statewide goal of a 20 percent reduction in per capita water use by 2020 as set forth in SBX7-7, enacted in November 2009, and preserves water agency discretion and options for achieving this objective. 32. Ensure accurate and meaningful reporting of implementation of water-use efficiency and conservation measures. 33. Promote statewide implementation of water-use efficiency best management practices and demand management measures as defined in the Urban Water Management Planning Act. Otay Water District Legislative Program 2022 26 | Page Oppose efforts that: 1. Weaken federal or state water-efficiency standards. 2. Introduce additional analytical and reporting requirements that are time-consuming for local agencies to perform and result in additional costs to consumers yet yield no water savings. 3. Permit Property Owners Associations to restrict low water use plants, mulch, artificial turf, or semi-permeable materials in landscaping. 4. Repeal cost-effective efficiency standards for water-using devices. 5. Repeal cost-effective efficiency standards for water-using devices. 6. Create stranded assets by establishing long-term demand management water-use efficiency and water supply requirements that are inconsistent with the Urban Water Management Planning Act. 7. Prescribe statewide mandatory urban and agricultural water-use efficiency practices, including, but not limited to, methods, measures, programs, budget allocation, and designation of staff dedicated to water conservation programs, that override the authority of the boards of directors of local water agencies to adopt management practices that are most appropriate for the specific needs of their water agencies. 8. Mandate regulation of the CII Sector in a manner that is discriminatory, or sets unachievable Best Management Practices or compliance targets, or would otherwise impair economic activity or the viability of the CII sector. 9. Mandate that water agencies include an embedded energy calculation for their water supply sources in the Urban Water Management Plan or any other water resource planning or master planning document. XV. Workforce Development Support initiatives that: 1. Advocate for local, regional, and state programs that support a high-performing workforce and increase the talent pool for water agencies. 2. Advocate for military veterans in the water industry workforce to ensure that veterans receive appropriate and satisfactory credit towards water and wastewater treatment system certifications in California for work experience, education, and knowledge gained in military service. 3. Lower employment barriers for military veterans and transitioning military and that sustain vital water and wastewater services for the next generation. 4. Recruit and support veterans and transitioning military through internships, cooperative work experiences, and other resources. 5. Recruit and support underserved communities in the water industry through internships, cooperative work experiences, and other resources. 6. Advocate and encourage candidate outreach and recruitment in relation to mission-critical job categories in water and wastewater. 7. Ensure advanced water treatment operators and distribution system operators of potable reuse and recycled water facilities have a career advancement path as certified water and/or wastewater treatment plant operators. Otay Water District Legislative Program 2022 27 | Page 8.Increase the number of educational institutions that provide water-industry related training and related program criteria including but not limited to trades, certifications, and degrees. 9.Increase the talent pool of future water industry workers through educational programs, internships, and other resources. 10. Provide funding to educational institutions, water agencies, and workforce students regarding careers in the water industry. 11. Develop qualified candidates for positions in the water industry. 12.Build awareness of water industry-related jobs through student outreach including but not limited to K-12, community colleges, universities, and other educational institutions as well as outreach to the public. Oppose initiatives that: 1. Hinder military veterans from using previous experience, education, and knowledge toward acareer in water.2.Regulate agencies from hiring an experienced, educated, and talented water-industryworkforce. March 9, 2022 Anticipated Top 10 Legislative Priorities for 2022 1.Drought Response – In 2021, as drought conditions and record-breaking temperatures persisted throughout the state, Governor Newsom signed Executive Order N-10-21 whichcalls on Californians to voluntarily reduce water use by 15% compared to 2020 levels.Additionally, in October 2021, Governor Newsom issued a proclamation which extended thedrought emergency statewide and has modified Executive Order N-10-21 to accelerate waterconservation efforts and provide additional support where needed across the state. While this executive order did not include a water conservation mandate, it provided authority to theState Water Board to adopt regulations as it deems necessary to prohibit specific wastefulwater uses, as outlined in the order. Additionally, the proclamation required local watersuppliers to implement water shortage contingency plans that are responsive to localconditions and prepare for the possibility of a third dry year, and that Urban and Agricultural Water Management Plans are up to date and in place. Subsequently, on January 4, 2022, the State Water Board considered and adopted anemergency regulation by resolution that prohibits certain wasteful water use practicesstatewide and encourages Californians to monitor their water use more closely while building habits to use water wisely, pursuant to the authority granted in the Governor’s executiveaction. On January 18, 2022, these regulations became effective and will remain in place forone year from the effective date, unless the State Water Board acts to end, modify, or readoptit. As indicated by the Department of Water Resources (DWR), the water year that endedSeptember 30 was the second driest on record. Additionally, after two dry years, reservoirstorage is below 2019 levels, underscoring ongoing pressure for water conservation.Following substantial rain and snowfall in December, January 2022 has been extremely dry, with little precipitation on the horizon. DWR is now running campaigns in areas where communities have yet to reach 15% voluntary conservation. Additionally, some local wateragencies have put in place mandatory conservation orders proactively. While ExecutiveOrder N-10-21 promotes voluntary water conservation – without making considerableprogress towards conservation goals – a statewide mandatory water conservation order is not an impossibility in 2022. Drought response will remain a priority in 2022 and we will continue to monitor the progressof the state’s response and impacts to the Otay Water District. 2.Affordability – In 2021, the Legislature passed, and the Governor signed SB 129 (Skinner) and AB 148 (Committee on Budget), which respectively allocated nearly $1 billion in federalfunding and established the California Water and Wastewater Arrearage Payment Program(Program) within the State Water Board to provide relief to community water and wastewatersystems for unpaid bills related to the pandemic. The funding covers water debt from residential and commercial customers accrued between March 4, 2020 and June 15, 2021. The Program initially prioritized drinking water residential and commercial arrearages.Funding to community water systems was disbursed through January 31, 2022. If theProgram still had funding available, it would then be extended to wastewater residential and Attachment E 2 commercial arrearages by February 2022. According to the State Water Board’s program webpage, approximately $600 million is available for wastewater debt accrued March 4, 2020, through June 15, 2021. The program will likely be able to cover 100% of the debt that wastewater agencies request in their applications. Applications are open for the Wastewater Arrearage Program now through April 1, 2022. We have heard that there may be an effort by the California Water Association to extend the period for which the program covers arrearages – from March 4, 2020 through June 15, 2021 to March 4, 2020 through December 31, 2021. We will continue to monitor the progress of this effort and the continued implementation of the California Water and Wastewater Arrearage Program. Additionally, the new federally funded Low Income Household Water Assistance Program (LIHWAP) was established by Congress in 2020 to provide financial assistance to low-income Californians to help manage their residential water utility costs and pay down their outstanding water bills. California has been allocated $116 million in one-time funding to provide LIHWAP assistance. The Department of Community Services and Development (CSD) has been designated the administering agency for LIHWAP in California. CSD released draft program guidelines for public comment in February 2022. Funds for this program must be used as part of an overall emergency effort to prevent, prepare for, and respond to COVID-19, with the public health focus of ensuring that low-income households have access to safe and clean drinking water and wastewater services or to reduce arrearages and rates charged to households. Benefits of the program are paid directly to the owners and operators of public water systems. All funds in this program must be expended by September 2023. We will continue to monitor the above and other affordability issues as they arise in 2022. 3.Water Use and Efficiency – In February 2021, AB 1434 (Friedman) was introduced, whichwould have established, beginning January 1, 2023 until January 1, 2025, a standard forindoor residential water use goal of 48 gallons per capita daily (GPCD); beginning January 1, 2025, a standard of 44 GPCD; and, beginning January 1, 2030, a GPCD of 40. As you may recall, in November 2021, as required by AB 1668 and SB 606, DWR and theState Water Board submitted a report to the Legislature recommending that urban watersuppliers achieve an indoor water use efficiency standard of 55 gallons per capita per day by 2023, declining to 47 gallons per day by 2025, and 42 gallons by 2030 and beyond. The Legislature must now consider adopting the recommendations in this report. As you will note, AB 1434 proposed standards that differ from the recommendations in theDWR and State Water Board report released in November 2021 and was subsequently amended in January 2022 to reflect the recommendations. However, AB 1434 failed to meet its legislative deadlines and will not move forward in 2022. In early 2021, AssemblymemberFriedman’s staff indicated that new legislation would be introduced in 2022 mirroring therecommendations in the final report. On February 17, SB 1157 (Hertzberg) was introduced 3 related to indoor residential water use, which mirrors the language in AB 1434 (Friedman) as amended in January. As we have stated in our previous opposition letter to AB 1434, at this critical juncture in the implementation phase of water-use and efficiency legislation, the Legislature should carefully consider alternative recommendations and allow ample time for stakeholder input before altering indoor water use and efficiency standards. Given that the alternative recommendations now included in SB 1157 are based on the final report by DWR and the State Water Board, the Otay Water District may want to consider how the new standards will impact the District and if an alternative position is warranted. We understand that the Association of California Water Agencies (ACWA) remains concerned with the recommendations and are focused on the 2030 standard of 42 GPCD. We will continue to monitor SB 1157 and related legislation, as well as ongoing discussions related to adoption of the new standards. 4.Water Quality – For the past several years, ACWA has been working diligently onsponsored legislation to establish compliance periods for new Maximum Contaminant Levels (MCL) set by the State Water Board, with the goal of providing water providers a reasonableamount of time to comply with drinking water standards. However, no such proposal has yetto move forward in the Legislature. As discussions have continued, it has been determined byState Water Board staff that legislation may not be needed, and that the State Water Boardhas the authority in statute to establish compliance periods for new MCLs. ACWA has decided not to pursue legislation and allow the State Water Board to use their authority toestablish compliance periods for new MCLs going forward, in good faith. We expect theState Water Board to release a compliance framework in spring 2022. The MCL complianceissue is of particular interest as we anticipate the adoption of a final MCL for Chromium-6 by the first quarter of 2022. Another ongoing issue in 2022 will be Constituents of Emerging Concern (CECs). SB 230 (Portantino) continues to move forward in 2022, sponsored by Metropolitan Water District and California Municipal Utilities Association, which would require the State Water board to establish, maintain, and direct a dedicated CEC Program to assess the state of information and recommend areas for further study on the occurrence of CECs in drinking water, and establish the CEC Action Fund. Additionally, given the Otay Water District’s interest in legislation pertaining to desalination, we would like to flag AB 2016 (Bauer-Kahan), introduced on February 14, which would require the State Water Board to undertake a comprehensive feasibility study of the potential impact of desalination plants within the state. The bill would require the board to prepare and present to the Legislature, on or before January 1, 2025, a prescribed report about the feasibility study. Lastly, a bill that has gained a significant amount of attention across industry sectors, including among water agencies, is AB 1001 (C. Garcia) related to the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA). This bill would authorize mitigation measures 4 identified in an environmental impact report or mitigated negative declaration to address the adverse effects of a project on air or water quality of a disadvantaged community (DAC) to include measures for avoiding, minimizing, or compensating for the adverse impact on that community. For mitigation measures that include compensation for adverse effects on the air or water quality of a DAC, this bill would require compensating measures to mitigate directly in the affected DAC. Additionally, this bill would require all public agencies in implementing CEQA to consider the statutory principles of environmental justice, by ensuring the fair treatment and meaningful involvement of people of all races, cultures, incomes, and national origins. ACWA, California Special Districts Association, and a growing list of organizations across industries have adopted an oppose position on this bill, We will continue to monitor the above and other water quality issues as they arise in 2022. 5. Water Industry Workforce Advocacy – Water is vital, and with San Diego County residing at the end of the water pipeline, it is critical that we have a water industry workforce to sustain the operations and maintenance of a safe and reliable water supply for the community. Access to clean drinking water is necessary for public health and economic growth. Beyond household use, manufacturing, agriculture, healthcare, and many other industries rely heavily on reliable water supplies. Due to retirements and the great reshuffling, thousands of water and wastewater jobs are expected to open across San Diego County, and even more throughout the state. As a result, the District and local water agencies continue to enhance its efforts to increase the talented pool of the skilled water workforce through education and advocacy. Also, as part of these efforts, the District will continue its work on veteran water industry advocacy and education. It will continue to monitor the work of the State Water Board’s Drinking Water Operator Certificate Program Advisory Committee, which General Manager Jose Martinez was selected to be a member of, to ensure that the intent of 2019 law (AB 1588) is fulfilled by the State Water Board in 2022 and beyond. In a region reliant on imported water, the District will continue to work with policy makers to seek options that provide an adequate supply of clean water, as well as to reduce the demand on water resources. The District and other wastewater agencies are likewise continually treating water for proper release into the environment or for reclamation and recycling. This comprehensive approach to water and wastewater management requires a healthy supply of well-trained workers and may require training programs to meet changing skill requirements for the workforce. The state’s future depends on water, and the District and local agencies depend on the skill and dedication of its employees to provide a safe, reliable water supply now and for years to come. There are several bills in the Legislature that seek to increase California’s skilled and trained workforce. AB 2088 (Cooper) would establish the California Pilot Paid Internship Program to help prepare thousands of California pupils for high-skill jobs of the future in engineering, health care, mathematics, manufacturing, science, teaching, and technology. Additionally, the bill would appropriate $575 million to provide technical assistance and provide grants to school districts, charter schools, and county offices of education that establish or expand 5 existing local public-private internship programs. This would support 40,000 12th grade students per year participating in 8-week internship programs. AB 2342 (Cervantes) would require the Inter-Agency Leadership Team administering the Community Economic Resilience Fund Program to include policies for grant funds to fund business and workforce investments in multiple sectors, state and federal recognized apprenticeship and pre-apprenticeship programs, and other workforce programs that support career pathways to high road jobs, and would also require collaboratives to engage local and regional planning efforts. Lastly, SB 1197 (Caballero) recognizes the water industry’s aging workforce and would establish the Water Innovation and Drought Resiliency Fund aimed at the furtherance of innovation within the water sector. In addition to legislation, the Governor’s January budget highlighted several proposed and recent investments focused on increasing the state’s skilled and trained workforce. These investments include, but are not limited to: $500 million over two years for college students to explore career pathways through learning-aligned employment opportunities; $472.5 million one-time federal funds and $27.5 million one-time General Fund, which was provided in the 2021 budget, to enable displaced workers to receive grants for education and training programs to reskill or upskill into new careers; $30 million to expand the English Language Learner pilots in the Integrated Education and Training programs to 15 sites across the state, combining contextualized English language instruction with vocational skills training for in-demand occupations; and $20 million for the Employment Training Panel to expand workplace literacy training in contextualized English, digital skills, and technical skills training for incumbent workers. Addressing California’s workforce challenges will remain a priority in 2022 and beyond. 6. State Budget/Infrastructure Funding – The Governor’s proposed budget for the 2022-23 fiscal year proposes to allocate $750 million to address immediate drought support needs including $500 million for water conservation, water efficiency, groundwater recharge, and assistance for small farmers and $250 million drought contingency support. The proposed budget additionally provides $3.725 billion over five years in federal infrastructure funds to improve local water infrastructure. The proposed budget builds on the $5.2 billion in drought funding that was approved last year. Specifically, this budget proposes allocations in the following areas: • Water Conservation Programs—$180 million for grants to large urban and small water suppliers to improve water efficiency, address leaks, reduce demand, provide water use efficiency-related mapping and training, support turf replacement, and maintain a drought vulnerability tool. • Urban and Small Community Drought Relief—$145 million for local emergency drought assistance and grants to local water agencies facing loss of water supplies. 6 • On-Farm Water Conservation—$20 million to bolster the State Water Efficiency and Enhancement Program, which provides grants to implement irrigation systems that save water on agricultural operations. • Fish and Wildlife Protection—$75 million to mitigate immediate drought damage to fish and wildlife resources and build resilience of natural systems. • Multi-benefit Land Repurposing—$40 million to increase regional capacity to repurpose irrigated agricultural land to reduce reliance on groundwater while providing community health, economic well-being, water supply, habitat, renewable energy, and climate benefits. • Groundwater Recharge—$30 million to provide grants to water districts to fund planning, engineering, water availability analyses, and construction for groundwater recharge projects. • Technical Assistance and Drought Relief for Small Farmers—$10 million to provide mobile irrigation labs, land use mapping and imagery, irrigation education, and direct assistance to small farmers and ranchers who have experienced water cost increases of more than 50%. • Drought Contingency—$250 million as a drought contingency set aside to be allocated as part of the spring budget process, when additional water data will be available to inform additional drought needs. While there are significant investments in the Governor’s proposed budget, there are numerous opportunities for increased and new funding. ACWA has established a state infrastructure working group to determine the need for increased funding levels and advocacy strategies for new funding in priority areas such as dam safety and PFAS remediation, among others. In addition to the funding proposed in the state budget, there has also been the introduction AB 2387 (E. Garcia), which would enact the Safe Drinking Water, Wildfire Prevention, Drought Preparation, Flood Protection, Extreme Heat Mitigation, and Workforce Development Bond Act of 2022. If approved by the voters, the measure would authorize a $7.43 billion bond to finance projects for safe drinking water, wildfire prevention, drought preparation, flood protection, extreme heat mitigation, and workforce development programs. We will continue to monitor the progress of budget discussions and advocacy efforts as we enter the budget subcommittee process and approach the May Revision. Additionally, we will monitor the progress and feasibility of the proposed bond measure, AB 2387 (E. Garcia). 7. Advanced Clean Fleets Rulemaking – In accordance with Executive Order N-79-20 which recognizes the need for the state to transition to carbon neutrality by setting a course to end sales of internal combustion passenger vehicles by 2035, the California Air Resources Board 7 (CARB) is faced with the task of transitioning high priority private fleets and public fleets to zero emission vehicles to meet the state’s goals set forth by the order, as outlined in the Advanced Clean Fleets Proposed Rulemaking. The Otay Water District is seeking an exemption for emergency response vehicles under the Advanced Clean Fleets Proposed Rulemaking for public fleets to ensure that the District’s first responders in the field responding to water and wastewater utility emergencies in specialized vehicles have the resources available to them to ensure that response is not delayed. In September 2021, the District submitted formal comments to CARB, met with CARB staff to discuss our position and requested exemption, and began collaborating with regional partners including the San Diego County Water Authority and ACWA to coordinate advocacy efforts on this front. We continue to monitor public workshops and participate in conference calls with CARB staff as scheduled, to ensure progress in being made. It remains to be seen if CARB staff will release a new draft of the public fleet requirements, taking into consideration stakeholder feedback and recommendations, prior to presenting to the board for adoption in mid to late 2022. We are hearing that CARB may release another draft this month, followed by an additional public comment period, prior to a final rulemaking. This will remain a priority advocacy issue as the rulemaking develops prior to adoption. 8. Recycled Water - While recycled water remains a critical component of the state’s water supply, it remains to be seen if this will be a priority in the Legislature in 2022. The Otay Water District is committed to increase the use of recycled water in its service area to minimize overall demand for potable water. AB 2387 (E. Garcia), which would authorize a $7.43 billion bond to finance projects for safe drinking water, wildfire prevention, drought preparation, flood protection, extreme heat mitigation, and workforce development programs, includes funding for recycled water projects. Specifically, this measure would provide $300 million for water recycling projects including: 1) treatment, storage, conveyance, and distribution facilities for potable and nonpotable recycling projects, 2) dedicated distribution infrastructure to serve residential, commercial, agricultural, and industrial end-user retrofit projects to allow use of recycled water, and 3) multiple-benefit recycled water projects that improve water quality. Additionally, ACWA is advocating for $450 million in the 2022-23 state budget to be provided for water recycling. Specifically, ACWA is advocating for $300 million for water recycling and reuse projects and $150 million for brackish and sea water desalination projects. Budget negotiations are ongoing and will continue through the release of and following the May Revision. We will continue to advocate for more funding and monitor any issues related to recycled water. 9. Climate Resiliency – Climate resiliency will remain a top priority for the Governor, his Administration, and the Legislature in 2022. For example, in the Governor’s proposed 8 January budget, building on the $15 billion climate resilience investments in the 2021 budget, the 2022-23 budget proposal includes an additional $22.5 billion in one-time investments from various fund sources over five years to advance the state’s Climate and Opportunity Budget and provide equitable climate solutions to prepare and protect communities from intensifying climate emergencies such as drought, extreme heat, wildfires, flooding, and sea level rise. We will continue to monitor climate resiliency efforts by the Legislature and Administration for impacts and opportunities. 10. State Water Project (SWP)/ Delta Conveyance –Each year, DWR makes an initial SWP allocation on December 1. Allocations are updated as snowpack and runoff information are assessed, with a final allocation typically determined in May or June. In December 2021, DWR announced that the initial allocation for public water agencies is zero percent of contracted water supplies from the SWP in 2022. This includes zero water allocation for many of the communities, businesses, and farms that rely on SWP water. The DWR decision reflects California’s severe drought conditions and the State’s objectives to prioritize deliveries for health and safety needs and environmental protection. In January 2022, DWR released a subsequent notice to SWP contractors increasing the allocation slightly to 15%, based on the most recent precipitation, runoff, and current water supply condition data, following December storms which enabled increased conveyance and storage. However, even with this increase in allocation, DWR cautions that severe drought is not over and, as we noted above, dry conditions continue in January – highlighting the need to plan for a third dry year. This is one example of how DWR continues to plan for uncertainty in the wake of climate change, unprecedented heat, and ongoing drought conditions. We will continue to monitor issues pertaining to the SWP in 2022 as conditions evolve. Related to the proposed Delta Conveyance project, the stated purpose is to modernize the aging SWP infrastructure in the Delta to restore and protect the reliability of SWP water deliveries in a cost-effective manner, consistent with the State’s Water Resilience Portfolio. DWR is expected to release a Draft Environmental Impact Report (EIR), evaluating the proposed Delta Conveyance Project under the California Environmental Quality Act, for public review and comment in mid-2022. The Draft EIR will help evaluate how, and how well, the Delta Conveyance project may help address climate change and improve the resiliency of the SWP. In anticipation of the release of the Draft EIR, DWR continues to hold informational webinars providing Delta Conveyance project updates from the perspective of climate change, environmental justice, and other issue areas. We will continue to monitor the progress of the Delta Conveyance project, for the release of the Draft EIR, and for related updates of interest.