ADMINISTRATIVE REPORT
MEETING DATE: July 23, 2025 AGENDA CATEGORY: Public Hearings TO: Honorable Mayor and City Council
FROM: Matthew S. Collom, Deputy City Attorney
DATE: July 9, 2025
SUBJECT: Mitigated Negative Declaration (MND) pertaining to the consolidation of South Kern and Old River Mutual Water Companies (MWC) into the City of Bakersfield Water System.
RECOMMENDATION:
City Staff , and the Planning Commission , recommend approval of the Mitigated Negative Declaration (“MND”).
BACKGROUND:
This MND is submitted to the City Council for its review and approval in connection to the mandatory consolidation of the Old River Mutual Wate r Company (“ORMWC”) and the South Kern Mutual Water Company (“SKMWC”). In November 2016, the State Water Resources Control Board (“SWRCB”) order the City of Bakersfield (“City”) to “negotiate consolidation” with ORMWC and SKMWC. In September 2018, SWRCB issued two consolidation orders requiring the City to consolidate both ORMWC and SKMWC into City’s municipal water system (the “Project”). The State of California has collaborated with the City as this Project has progressed. Moreover, the State of California has borne all financial costs associated with this Project
No public comments were received during the designated comment period from April 09, 2025 to May 09, 2025.
ENVIRONMENTAL REVIEW AND PUBLIC NOTIFICATION:
Pursuant to the California Environm ental Quality Act (“CEQA”), the City is th is Project’s Lead Agency. It determined that preparation of a MND was required for the Project to adequately analyze the potential impacts of the of the Project to the existing environment.
In accord with CEQA s ection 15082, City, as Lead Agency, filed a Notice of Preparation (“NOP”) with the California Office of Planning and Research (State Clearinghouse) and the Kern County Clerk, to indicate that a MND would be prepared to evaluate the Project’s potential to i mpact the environment. The NOP was also distributed to potential responsible and trustee agencies and other interested parties for a 30 - day public revie period that commenced on April 09, 2025. The purpose of distributing the NOP was to solicit response s to assist the Le ad Agency in identifying the full scope and range or potential environmental concerns associated with the Project, so that the issues could be fully examined in the MND.
Effects Found to Have No Impact . Based on the findings of the Init ial Study/Notice of Preparation and the results of the scoping process, the Project was determined to have no impact to several subject areas.
The following subject areas were therefore not analyzed by the MND:
Aesthetics
Agricultural and Forestry Resources
Air Quality
Energy
Greenhouse Gas Emissions
Land Use and Planning
Mineral resources
Noise
Population and Housing
Public Services
Recreation
Transportation
Wildfire
Less Than Significant Impacts (Including Significant Impacts That Can be Mitigate d, Avoided, or Substantially Lessened). The MND addresses the Project’s potentially significant environmental impacts identified by the Lead Agency during the Notice of Preparation and scoping process. After further study and environmental review in the MND, it was determined that threshold impacts to the following subject areas would have no impact, be less than significant, and/or could be reduced to a less than significant level with the incorporation of mitigation measures:
Biological Resources (Mitigation Measure)
Cultural Resources (Mitigation Measure)
Geology and Soils (Mitigation Measure)
Hazards and Hazardous Materials (Mitigation Measure)
Hydrology and Water Quality (Mitigation Measure)
Tribal Cultural Resources (Mitigation Measure)
Utilities and Service Systems
Mandatory Findings of Significance
Mitigation Monitoring and Reporting Program. The MND contains six (6) mitigation measures t hat reduce significant impacts from the Project to less than significant levels. Further, a Mitigation Monitoring and Reporting Program (MMRP) has been included within the MND.
Findings.
1. All required public notices have been given. Hearing notices regarding the Project were published in the Bakersfield Californian, a local newspaper of general circulation, 10 days prior to the hearing.
2. The proposed Mitigated Negative Declaration for the Project was submitted to the State Clearinghouse (SCH # 2025040525)and advertised for a 30-day public review period from April 9, 2025 to May 9, 2025.
3. The provisions o f CEQA, the State CEQA Guidelines, and the City of Bakersfield CEQA Implementation Procedures have been followed. Staff determined that the proposal is a project under CEQA, and an initial study was completed. A Mitigated Negative Declaration was prepared and properly noticed for public review.
4. A Mitigated Negative Declaration for the Project is the appropriate environmental document to accompany its approval. In accordance with CEQA, staff prepared an initial study and indicated that because mitigation measures relating to those impacts identified in the initial study have been incorporated into the Project, the Project will not significantly impact the physical environment.
Project Objectives. CEQA Guidelines Section 15124(b) requires a statement of Project objectives.
ORMWC and SKMWC currently provide water service to residential and commercial customers located in the community of Old River in unincorporated Kern County. Each MWC operates using a single well located within its respective service area providing water to adjacent parcels and nearby customers.
ORMWC provides water to 46 residents via 14 connections in its 10.7-acre service area. Water is provided by a single well, located within the service area. ORMWC’s well was constructed in 1962 and has a ten - inch diameter steel casing perforated from 189 to 291 feet below ground surface (bgs). Water delivered by the ORMWC system contained uranium levels exceeding the maximum contaminant level (“MCL”) of 30 micrograms per liter (μg/L) established by State and Federal regulations. Water from this well also exceeds the 1, 2, 3-trichloropropane (TCP) MCL of 0.005 μg/L. ORMWC’s single well lacks source reliability and storage capacity to serve the customers; ORMWC lacks technical, managerial, and financial capacity.
SKMWC provides water to 32 residents via 15 service connections in its 9.7 -acre service area. Water is provided by a single well in the northeast corner of its service area. The SKMWC well was constructed in 1959 and has a ten -inch diameter steel casing perforated from 230 to 337 feet bgs. The well currently produces water exceeding the uranium MCL of 30 μg/L. Water from this well also exceeds the 1, 2, 3- TCP MCL of 0.005 μg/L. SKMWC ’s single well also lacks source reliability and storage capacity to serve the customers; SKMWC also lacks technical, managerial, and financial capacity.
The proposed Project would abandon the ORMWC well and the SKMWC well and extend the City of Bakersfield’s water system to serve the areas previously served by these two MWCs, thereby consolidating both MWCs into the City of Bakersfield’s water system. Based on water supply information provided by the City and predicted MWC demands, the City has sufficient capacity to service the MWCs.
PLANNING COMMISSION ACTION:
On June 05, 2025, this Project was considered by City’s Planning Commission. No public comments were received at the meeting; no individuals or agencies were present at the hearing that opposed the Project nor its MND.
PUBLIC NOTIFICATION:
Public notice for the proposed Project and environmental determination was advertised in The Bakersfield Californian and posted on the bulletin board in the City of Bakersfield Development Services Building, 1715 Chester Avenue, Bakersfield, California.
Comments Received. No public comments concerning the Project were received from any individual or agency.
Tribal Consultation. On August 01, 2024, in accordance with Senate Bill (SB) 18, the Lead Agency mailed nineteen (19) letters to the below listed tribal entities. City received responses from two (2) tribes listed below; neither tribe requested consultation with City.
• Jairo F. Avila, Tribal Historic Preservation Officer; Fernandeño Tataviam Band of Mission Indians • Jessica Mauck, Director – CRM Department for the San Manuel Band of Mission Indians
CONCLUSIONS:
The MND has been finalized, no public comments have been submitted regarding this Project, nor have any groups or individuals voiced their opposition to the MND. City Staff recommend that the City Council approve the MND.
FISCAL IMPACT:
The MND itself is not anticipated to result in any financial costs to the City.
COUNCIL GOAL:
Reliable Infrastructure
ATTACHMENTS:
1. Mitigated Negative Declaration
2. Resolution w/Exhibits
3. Exhibit A. Mitigation Monitoring and Reporting Program
4. Exhibit B. Location Map