RESOLUTION NO.
A RESOLUTION OF THE BOARD OF DIRECTORS OF THE ESTERO MUNICIPAL IMPROVEMENT DISTRICT APPROVING TIER 2 DROUGHT RESPONSE
IMPLEMENTATION PLAN PURSUANT TO SECTION 3.11.C OF THE AMENDED AND
RESTATED WATER SUPPLY AGREEMENT AND FINDING THE AMENDMENT
EXEMPT FROM REVIEW UNDER THE CALIFORNIA ENVIRONMENTAL QUALITY ACT (CEQA) 15378(b)(5), 15060(c)(2), 15301, AND 15162(a)
ESTERO MUNICIPAL IMPROVEMENT DISTRICT
WHEREAS, The Estero Municipal Improvement District is one of twenty-six (26) agencies in San Mateo, Santa Clara and Alameda Counties (Wholesale Customers) which purchase water from the City and County of San Francisco (San Francisco) pursuant to a Water Supply Agreement entered into in 2009, and recently amended in 2018, 2021 and 2025 (the Agreement or WSA). Collectively these 26 agencies are referred to in the Agreement as Wholesale Customers; and WHEREAS, Section 3.11 of the Agreement addresses situations when insufficient water is available in the San Francisco Regional Water System (RWS) to meet the full demands of all users. Section 3.11.C provides that during periods of water shortage caused by drought, the San Francisco Public Utilities Commission (SFPUC) will allocate available water between its retail customers and the Wholesale Customers collectively, in accordance with a schedule contained in the Water Shortage Allocation Plan set forth in Attachment H to the Agreement (Tier 1 Plan); and WHEREAS, Section 3.11.C authorizes the Wholesale Customers to adopt a Drought Allocation Plan, including a methodology for allocating the available water among the individual Wholesale Customers (Tier 2 Plan). The WSA also commits the SFPUC to honor allocations of water unanimously agreed to by all Wholesale Customers or, if unanimous agreement cannot be achieved, water allocations that have been adopted by the Board of Directors of the Bay Area Water Supply and Conservation Agency (BAWSCA). The Agreement also provides that the SFPUC can allocate water supplies as necessary during a water shortage emergency if no agreed upon plan for water allocation has been adopted by the 26 Wholesale Customers or the BAWSCA Board of Directors; and
WHEREAS, Commencing in January 2022, representatives appointed by the managers of each of the Wholesale Customers began meeting monthly to develop a set of principles to serve as guidelines for an equitable allocation methodology, and to develop formulas and procedures, in order to implement those principles. These discussions, and supporting technical analyses, have been conducted with the assistance of BAWSCA; and
WHEREAS, the Tier 2 Plan, attached to this resolution as Exhibit A, has been endorsed by all of the Wholesale Customer representatives who participated in the formulation process and they have each recommended that it be formally adopted by the governing body of their respective agencies; and
WHEREAS, the Tier 2 Plan allocates the collective Wholesale Customer share of RWS supply made available by the SFPUC among each of the 26 Wholesale Customers through December 31, 2034 and is coordinated with the term of the Agreement, and extension and renewal terms; and
WHEREAS, the Tier 2 Plan considered now is not a "project" for the purposes of CEQA as it involves an administrative activity that does not result in a direct change to the environment (see 14 CCR Section 15378(b)(5)), and would not result in a direct or reasonably foreseeable indirect physical change in the environment (see 14 CCR Section 15060(c)(2)); and
WHEREAS, in the event the Tier 2 Plan t is considered a "project," it would be subject to the categorical exemption for operation, repair, and maintenance of existing facilities (see 14 CCR Section 15301) and the amendment does not implicate substantial changes that involve a new significant environmental effect (see 14 CCR Section 15162(a)).
NOW THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED by Board of Directors of the Estero Municipal Improvement District as follows:
1. The Tier 2 Drought Response Implementation Plan, as attached as Exhibit A (Tier 2 Plan), is approved.
2. This approval is conditioned upon all of the other twenty-five Wholesale Customers approving the Tier 2 Plan, such approvals being evidenced through adoption of similar resolutions or, in the case of private-sector organizations, by other equivalently binding written commitments signed by an executive officer acting within the scope of delegated authority, and all such approvals occurring on or before December 31, 2025.
PASSED AND ADOPTED as a Resolution of the Board of Directors of the Estero Municipal Improvement District at the Regular Meeting held on the 2nd day September, 2025, by the following vote:
AYES:
NOES:
ABSENT:
ABSTAIN:
STACY JIMENEZ, PRESIDENT
ATTEST:
PRISCILLA SCHAUS, DISTRICT SECRETARY