Title
Consider recommendation from the Permits/Enforcement Committee to approve a Voluntary Irrigation Suspension Program Option forbearance agreement with Craig K. Garnett and Melissa N. Garnett, for Edwards groundwater withdrawal rights in the total amount of not less than $4,860.00 and not to exceed $19,260.00 for the Voluntary Irrigation Suspension Program Option in support of the Edwards Aquifer Habitat Conservation Plan.
Body
RECOMMENDED MOTION:
Move the board approve a VISPO forbearance agreement for permitted Edwards groundwater rights between the EAA and Craig K. Garnett and Melissa N. Garnett, in the total amount of not less than $4,860.00, and not to exceed $19,260.00, for the Voluntary Irrigation Suspension Program Option in support of the Edwards Aquifer Habitat Conservation Plan and authorizing the General Manager to execute the Agreement.
SUMMARY:
The purpose of this agenda item is for the board to consider a Permits/Enforcement Committee recommendation to approve a VISPO forbearance agreement 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 rights will go un-pumped in years of severe drought, thereby reducing demand on the aquifer at the most critical ti...
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