City of Sacramento
City Council - 2PM Report
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File ID: 2024-00883 4/30/2024 Consent Item 20.
Authority to Apply for the Department of the Interior, Bureau of Reclamation’s Central Valley Project Habitat & Facility Improvements Grant
File ID: 2024-00883
Location: Citywide
Recommendation: Adopt a Resolution authorizing the City Manager, or the City Manager’s designee to: 1) apply for grant funding from the Department of Interior, Bureau of Reclamation for the Central Valley Project Habitat & Facility Improvement Grant; and, if awarded, 2) execute all agreements and documents of compliance related to the grant on behalf of the City; 3) Create a new project CV Habitat and Facility Grant (G14250200); and 4) establish revenue and expenditures budgets for the CV Habitat and Facility Grant Project (G14240200, fund 7105) for an amount not-to- exceed $10,000,000, or the amount awarded.
Contact: Jessica Law, Executive Director, (916) 808-1998, [email protected], Water Forum; Erica Bishop, Program Manager, (916) 808-1997, [email protected], Water Forum; Emily Lee, Administrative Analyst, (916) 808-1248, [email protected], Water Forum; Penny Buchman, Supervising Financial Analyst, (916) 808-1481, [email protected], Department of Utilities.
Presenter: None.
Attachments:
1-Description/Analysis
2-Resolution
Description/Analysis
Issue Detail: The Water Forum is seeking approval to apply for the Department of Interior, Bureau of Reclamation’s Central Valley Project Habitat & Facility Improvement Grant for an amount up to $10,000,000 as authorized pursuant to the Federal Central Valley Project Improvement Act (CVPIA) Section 3406 (b)(13) of 1992.
Since 2008, the Water Forum has partnered with Federal and State agencies to implement vitally important salmonid habitat improvements in the Lower American River (LAR). The habitat projects serve Water Forum’s coequal objective to “Preserve and protect the fishery, wildlife, aesthetic and recreational resources of the Lower American River”. These improvements also support the potential funding agency’s (Reclamation) goals as directed by CVPIA Section 3406 (b)(13), as described below:
Relevant purposes of the CVPIA include:
File ID: 2024-00883 4/30/2024 Consent Item 20.
· To protect, restore, and enhance fish, wildlife, and associated habitats in the Central Valley and Trinity River basins of California;
· To address impacts of the Central Valley Project (CVP) on fish, wildlife and associated habitats;
· To improve the operational flexibility of the CVP;
· To achieve a reasonable balance among competing demands for use of CVP water, including the requirements of fish and wildlife, agricultural, municipal and industrial, and power contractors.
The Grant solicitation supports entities, like the Water Forum, aiming to plan and construct habitat improvements to the rivers of the Central Valley of California populations of fall run chinook, spring run chinook, and winter run chinook salmon (Oncorhynchus Tshawytscha) and Steelhead Trout ( Oncorhynchus Mykiss). Water resources development, stream channel manipulations, and other anthropogenic actions have drastically reduced and modified historical salmonid habitats. Gravel is regularly transported from spawning sites on the river and there is less utilizable rearing habitat.
In the past 5 years, Water Forum has leveraged almost $13 million in State/Federal grant funding to implement 32 acres of spawning habitat and 21 acres of instream rearing habitat improvements.
These activities serve Water Forum goals under the Habitat Management Element (HME) and also the goals of our funding partners. Past projects support 30%-50% of natural spawning that takes place on the entire LAR. However, even well-designed projects require maintenance and monitoring.
The LAR is a dynamic river, and due to natural processes, and heavy utilization of improved sites by salmonids, there is a need to maintain past investments in habitat areas, while the Water Forum continues to plan for the future.
The goal of activities funded under this agreement would be to leverage previous habitat construction, programmatic regulatory compliance, and ongoing fisheries and physical habitat conditions monitoring data to plan and continue to maintain a high-level of habitat spawning and rearing function and effectiveness, as close to optimal conditions as possible, for the target salmonid life stages, and to monitor these activities for effectiveness per CVPIA SIT Tier 1 Data Policy standards (spawning, rearing, genetics, physical habitat conditions and 5-year LiDAR and 2D model update), in service of CVPIA Near-term restoration Strategy Action 4: Juvenile habitat restoration in LAR and Action 9: Maintain existing spawning habitats in the LAR.
If awarded, project activities would take place from October 2024 - September 2029. The general project sequence would consist of annual planning, maintenance implementation, and monitoring activities to support ongoing habitat effectiveness at up to 6 previously constructed sites, which would consist of up to 21.6 acres of previously restored spawning habitat and up to 8.5 acres of previously restored rearing habitat that has been constructed since 2018 and is in need of maintenance to maintain optimal function. The project would also add up to 4.7 acres of vital cover features to rearing habitat areas.
File ID: 2024-00883 4/30/2024 Consent Item 20.
Policy Considerations: Council Resolution 2023-0205 requires City Council approval to apply for operating grants of more than $250,000.
Economic Impacts: None.
Environmental Considerations: California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA): The activity to apply for grant funds and execute all agreements and documents of compliance related to the grant is not a project pursuant to California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) Guidelines 15378(b)(4). The activity is the creation of a government funding mechanisms which do not involve any commitment to any specific project which may result in a potentially significant physical impact on the environment and is not subject to CEQA. CEQA Guidelines 15060©(3).
Sustainability: Implementation of salmonid habitat improvement projects that benefit the LAR ecosystem is a fundamental element of the Water Forum Agreement and a central component of the Water Forum’s Habitat Management Element, which is supported by the City’s General Plan Goals, specifically Natural and Open Space Protection (E.R. 2.1).
Commission/Committee Action: Not applicable.
Rationale for Recommendation: Since 2008, Water Forum has partnered with Federal and State agencies to implement vitally important salmonid habitat improvements in the Lower American River.
The habitat projects serve Water Forum’s coequal objective to “Preserve and protect the fishery, wildlife, aesthetic and recreational resources of the Lower American River”. These improvements also support the potential funding agency’s (Reclamation) goals as directed by CVPIA Section 3406 (b)(13), as the operator of Folsom and Nimbus dams, Reclamation must develop and implement a continuing program for restoring and enhancing, as needed, salmonid spawning gravel and rearing habitat areas lost due to the construction and operation of Central Valley Project (CVP) dams, and other actions, that have reduced availability of spawning gravel and rearing habitat in the LAR.
Since 2008, Water Forum has partnered with Reclamation to plan, design, permit, and construct CVPIA-funded restoration activities in the LAR. To date, over 30 acres of spawning habitat and almost 2 miles of side channel and floodplain habitat have been restored or enhanced, with demonstrated success. Application for this funding would facilitate the Water Forum’s ability to continue this partnership and improve and maintain conditions on the LAR through 2029. There is no cost match requirement for this grant opportunity.
Financial Considerations: If awarded, the Water Forum could receive up to $10,000,000 from its grant agreement with the Department of Interior, Bureau of Reclamation with no City matching funds required. However, the Water Forum will provide an in-lieu match of $250,000 for project management. Staff recommends, if awarded, opening a new project CV Habitat & Facility Grant (G14240200) and establish revenue and expenditure budgets in the City-County Office of Metropolitan Water Planning (CCOMWP) Reimbursable Fund (fund 7105) for an amount up to $10,000,000, or the grant award.
There are no general fund obligations for this project.
Local Business Enterprise (LBE): Not applicable.
RESOLUTION NO. 2024-
Adopted by the Sacramento City Council
April 30, 2024
Authority to Apply for the Department of the Interior, Bureau of Reclamation’s Central Valley Project Habitat & Facility Improvements Grant, Manage the Grant, Open the Project, and Establish Revenue and Expenditure Budgets
BACKGROUND
A. The Department of Interior, Bureau of Reclamation has announced the Central Valley Project Habitat & Facility Improvement Grant for up to $10 million, to be awarded in Fiscal Year 2024. Applications will be solicited in each of the three fiscal years. The maximum award for any single entity is $10,000,000.
B. The Water Forum seeks approval to apply for the Central Valley Project Habitat & Facility Improvement Grant and if awarded work with the granting agency or their designee to meet established deadlines for entering into a grant or cooperative agreement.
C. If awarded, staff recommend opening the CV Habitat and Facility Grant (G14240200) and adjusting revenue and expense budget in the project for a not- to-exceed amount of $10,000,000, or the grant award. There is no cost match requirement for this funding. However, the Water Forum will provide an in-lieu match of $250,000 for project management.
BASED ON THE FACTS SET FORTH IN THE BACKGROUND, THE CITY COUNCIL RESOLVES AS FOLLOWS:
Section 1. The City Manager or the City Manager’s designee is authorized to:
A. Apply for grant funding through the Department of Interior, Bureau of Reclamation for the Central Valley Project Habitat & Facility Improvement Grant.
B. If awarded, work with the granting agency or their designee to establish deadlines for entering into a grant or cooperative agreement, sign the funding agreement, prepare the necessary data, and execute all reporting, payment requests, and
documentation of compliance applicable to the grant and completion of the project.
C. If awarded, create the CV Habitat & Facility Project (G14240200).
D. If awarded, establish revenue and expenditure budgets for the grant award in the City-County Office of Metropolitan Water Planning (CCOMWP) Reimbursable Fund (Fund 7105), for a not-to- exceed amount of $10,000,000 or the awarded amount.