South Truckee Meadows General Improvement District

Minutes of the Washoe County Well Mitigation Hearing Board, March 16,2006 Page 2 of 12
BUSINESS OF TIIE DAY
1. Review and possible approval of revised criteria and procedure for determining what
constitutes a reasonable lowering of the water level, and what constitutes an unreasonable affect
on a domestic well caused by municipal uses, and possible direction to staff.
Chairman Jacobson reported that this item had been postponed until Mr. Carlson could be present. John
Rhodes distributed handouts. He apologized for not providing the documents in advance and summarized
the details. He referred to the "Role of the Well Mitigation Hearing Board" and explained it was created
as a result of the workshop held during the October meeting with Hugh Ricci, State Engineer. The three
main points of the Board's role are:
r To hear and consider evidence regarding whether there are unreasonable adverse affects on a
domestic well caused by municipal pumping
. To determine the portion of the total lowering of the static water level caused by municipal
pumping that is reasonable and if applicable, to consider what portion is considered
unreasonable considering what portions of the total are due to drought, other domestic wells,
other permitted pumping and other causes
o To make findings and provide recommendations to the water purveyor as to the percentage of
unreasonable adverse affects beyond a reasonable lowering of the static water level that is
atbibutable to municipal pumping
Mr. Modes next referred to the o'Factors to Consider", which he explained are factors determined by this
Board in organizational meetings as items to be reviewed in terms of evidence. He next referred to
"Analysis", which he prepared as requested by this Board to provide assistance with defining what is
"reasonable". The next document is entitled, "Forms of Motions" that could be used by the Board. Mr.
Rhodes explained that it is a revised document that the Board has not yet seen.
Mr. Rhodes referred to the handout on motions and explained the changes that were made. He explained
that the Role of the Board is the document that needs approval; the remaining documents are to provide
informational assistance. Mr. Morros stated he would be comfortable adopting the document as a
guideline rather than being locked into it. Mr. Rhodes clarified that the document had been approved by
this Board previously; however, the document was revised based on the workshop with the State
Engineer. He added that the document could be adopted as a guideline if desired and the name could be
changed to "Guidelines of the Well Mitigation Hearing Board". Chairman Jacobson stated he thought the
document was a good modification.
Mr. Morros stated he would never be comfortable with identifoing specifically by number the
unreasonable lowering of the water table. Mr. Morros made a motion to adopt the guidelines as general
guidelines while allowing the Board to make independent judgments on each case. Mr. Carlson seconded
the motion.
Theresa Shannon stated she is speaking as a member of the public and added that in the past she
represented domestic well owners through a group called the Mt. Rose Well and Water Protection. She
reported that she is an applicant on tonight's agenda. She stated she is not uncomfortable with the
language; however, she was concerned that the policies of this Board (even though it was approved well
over a year ago) are still in the process of being defined on the very night that a decision would be made
on her particular issue. She stated she hoped there would be some consistency and added that if you read
through the minutes, it appears that the policies regarding mitigation have changed almost monthly. She
went on to say that she hopes if this document is adopted, that the Board finds medium ground and is able
to use the guidelines consistently on a case-by-case basis.
Item 3
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