Title
Consider recommendation from the Permits/Enforcement Committee to approve a settlement counter-offer from Dos Ninas, LP, related to exceeding authorized groundwater withdrawals during 2015.
Body
RECOMMENDED MOTION:
Move the board accept the proposed counter-offer from Dos Ninas, LP, regarding the pending enforcement matter presented below.
SUMMARY:
The purpose of this agenda item is for the board to consider a Permits/Enforcement Committee recommendation to accept a revised counter-offer from Dos Ninas, LP, (“Dos Ninas”) in response to an EAA settlement offer to resolve an enforcement matter related to exceeding 2015 annual authorized withdrawal amounts. The enforcement matter and proposed counter-offer received from the permit holder are summarized herein for board consideration.
Dos Ninas, LP
Dos Ninas was identified as exceeding annual authorized irrigation groundwater withdrawal amounts during 2015 on Permit P101-741. Dos Ninas was permitted to withdraw 1,703.312 acre-feet; however, required CPM withdrawal interruptions established the annual authorized groundwater withdrawal amount at 1,355.836 acre-feet. While the 2015 Annual Groundwater Withdrawal Report for Agricultural Users (“annual use report”) submitted by Dos Ninas reported a total of 1,064.670 acre-feet withdrawn, EAA staff identified reporting form discrepancies and a possible compliance issue during processing of the annual use report, and notified the entity accordingly in an April 7, 2016, program letter. EAA staff worked with Dos Ninas representatives to clarify the readings, and once the discrepancies were addressed and the reporting form corrected, EAA staff determined a total of 1,673.217 acre-feet was pumped in 2015, resulting in a total of 317.381 acre-feet withdrawn in excess of authorization (over-pumped).
In conversations with EAA meter staff, the Dos Ninas permit holder, Mr. David Jones, believed that one of the meters (W101-503) must be malfunctioning because of the ...
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