1 STAFF REPORT
DATE: March 19, 2024
TO: Justin Hess, City Manager
FROM: Joseph Lillio, Interim General Manager, Burbank Water and Power VIA: Richard Wilson, Assistant General Manager, Water Systems BY: Asif Sheikh, Manager Water Engineering and Planning
SUBJECT: Approval for the Interim General Manager of Burbank Water and Power to Enter into Amendment No. 2 to the Cost Sharing Agreement by and Among the Los Angeles Department of Water and Power, Crescenta Valley Water District, and Cities of Glendale, Burbank, and San Fernando Regarding the Allocation of Costs of Watermaster Services and Watermaster’s Legal Services for the Upper Los Angeles River Area Groundwater Basins
RECOMMENDATION
Approve and authorize the Interim General Manager of Burbank Water and Power (BWP), as designee of the City Manager, to enter into Amendment No. 2 to the Cost Sharing Agreement by and among the Los Angeles D epartment of Water and Power, Crescenta Valley Water District, and Cities of Gl endale, Burbank, and San Fernando regarding the allocation of costs of watermaster services and watermaster’s legal services for the Upper Los Angeles River Area (ULARA) groundwater basins (the “Cost Sharing Agreement”, Attachment 1); and execute any ancillary doc uments necessary to implement the Cost Sharing Agreement.
BACKGROUND
The San Fernando Valley ground water basin is adjudicated pursuant to the Judgment, City of Los Angeles v. City of San Fernando, et al., County of Los Angeles Superior Court Case No. 650076 (“Judgment”). Under the Judgment, the court appoints a watermaster to manage the ground water basin and r equires each public agency named in the Judgment to appoint a representative who se rves on an administrat ive committee that assists in oversight of the groundwater basin.
The Los Angeles Department of Water and Po wer, Crescenta Valley Water District, and the cities of Glendale, Burbank, and San Fernando entered into a cost sharing agreement
WATER AND
POWER
2 regarding the ULARA groundwater basins, that incl udes an agreement for the watermaster’s services and an agreement for legal services provided to the watermaster.
DISCUSSION
The sharing of costs is defined within the Cost Sharing Agreement in accordance with the requirements of the Judgement, which states in paragraph 8.4.1 that, “The total for each basin shall be allocated between the public agencies in proportion to their use of ground water from such basin during the preceding water year.”
The watermaster is responsible for assist ing the Court in its administration and enforcement of the terms of the Judgement, attend court hearings, analyze groundwater production data for parties that produce wa ter within ULARA, prepare and publish the annual report, prepare and publish the pumping and spreading plan, attend meetings, interface with the public and outside agencies, and respond to information requests, among other duties. The current watermaster is Richard C. Slade of Richard C. Slade and Associates.
Legal services are provided to the watermaster to assist with legal advice, as requested by the ULARA watermaster, on matters of concern regarding administration and enforcement of the San Fer nando Judgment including, without lim itation, issues related to conjunctive use, storage rights, and amendments to the policies and procedures to the San Fernando Judgment. Attorneys shall al so represent the UL ARA watermaster in proceedings related to the San Fernando Judgm ent. Legal services for the watermaster are currently provided by Best, Best and Kreiger.
For administrative purposes, the two prof essional services agreements (PSAs) for watermaster and watermaster legal services are executed between one of the entities and the watermaster or law firm. The current watermaster’s PSA is between the City of Glendale and Richard C. Slade and Associates. T he watermaster legal services PSA is between Crescenta Valley Water District and Best, Best and Krieger (BB&K). The City of Burbank is a listed party on each of these PSAs, both of which are covered under one cost sharing agreement amongst all parties.
The initial term of the Cost Sharing Agreement was approved for three years, commencing on January 1, 2018, through December 31, 2020. In 2023, upon agreement by all involved parties, Council approved an amendment to the Cost Sharing Agreement extending to the term for an additional three years, through December 31, 2023. As part of this amendment, the watermaster serv ices agreement and the legal services agreements were also approved through De cember 31, 2023. The proposed second amendment to the Cost Shar ing Agreement extends the term for cost sharing, watermaster services, and watermaster legal services for another three years, through December 31, 2026.
FISCAL IMPACT
There is no fiscal impact associated with approval of the proposed second amendment to the Cost Sharing Agreement. Burbank’s share of watermaster and watermaster legal services costs were $77,923, $60,904, and $69,150 in 2021, 2022, and 2023 respectively.
Watermaster costs have been stable and are ex pected to remain stable. Funding to 3 support Burbank’s share of watermaster costs is available in the water production cost center (PS51B) under account 62775 for purchase water expenses.
ENVIRONMENTAL REVIEW
This amendment extends an existing cost sharing agreement and should not constitute a project under the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA). The creation of government funding mechanisms or other gov ernment fiscal activities which do not involve any commitment to any specific "pro ject" which may result in a potentially significant physical impact on the environmen t are not projects under CEQA (14 CCR § 15378(b)(4)). In addition, the professional serv ices rendered are to support activities to comply with the Judgment, and therefore this activity should be covered by the “common sense” exemption CEQA (14 CCR § 15061(b)(3)) since there is no possibility that the activity in question may have a significant negative effect on the environment. As a result, the activity should not be subject to CEQA.
CONCLUSION
Staff recommends that Council approve and authorize the Interim General Manager of BWP, as designee of the Cit y Manager, to enter into Am endment No. 2 to the Cost Sharing Agreement by and am ong the Los Angeles Departm ent of Water and Power, Crescenta Valley Water District, and Cit ies of Glendale, Burbank, and San Fernando regarding the allocation of costs of watermaster services and watermaster’s legal services for the Upper Los Angeles River Area (ULARA) groundwater basins.
ATTACHMENTS
Attachment 1 – Amendment No. 2 to the Cost Sharing Agreement Attachment 2 – Cost Sharing Agreement