Title
Consider recommendation from EAA staff to approve Voluntary Irrigation Suspension Program Option (VISPO) forbearance agreements with Briscoe Ranch, Inc.; Ralph Hesse and wife, Connie Hesse; and Mary E. Pettibon; for Edwards groundwater withdrawal rights in the total amount of not less than $1,231,562.34 and not to exceed $4,880,635.94 for the Voluntary Irrigation Suspension Program Option in support of the Edwards Aquifer Habitat Conservation Plan.
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RECOMMENDED MOTION:
Move the board adopt Resolution and Order No. 06-19-937 of the Edwards Aquifer Authority Board of Directors to approve VISPO forbearance agreements for permitted Edwards groundwater rights between the EAA and the permit holders listed below, in the total amount of not less than $1,231,562.34 and not to exceed $4,880,635.94 for the Voluntary Irrigation Suspension Program Option in support of the Edwards Aquifer Habitat Conservation Plan and authorizing the General Manager to execute the Agreements.
SUMMARY:
The purpose of this agenda item is for the board to consider an EAA staff recommendation to approve VISPO forbearance agreements (Agreements) for permitted Edwards groundwater rights for the Voluntary Irrigation Suspension Program Option in support of the Edwards Aquifer Habitat Conservation Plan (EAHCP). The EAHCP includes several measures intended to minimize and mitigate the impact of the use of Edwards groundwater on federally-listed threatened and endangered species associated with the Edwards Aquifer. A significant component of the EAHCP as a conservation and springflow protection measure is the use of VISPO as a long-term conservation measure to reduce pumping from the Edwards Aquifer during severe droughts and to help maintain a minimum springflow at Comal and San Marcos springs. The VISPO is a voluntary program through which the EAA is attempting to enroll and maintain 41,795 acre-feet of permitted irrigation rights annually into “forbearance agreements” so that the r...
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