Legal actions

Of course, you can't have an issue of this magnitude without a little controversy. Besides the various CPUC filings, here's some of the other legal stuff that's going on.

The Water Supply Charge

The Water Supply Charge (added to property tax bills to pay for GWR and other projects) was instituted by the MPWMD under Ordinance 152. Following public review and discussion with community groups, several changes were made to the ordinance:

• provision for a Citizen Oversight Panel,
• a sunset clause,
• restrictions on the ability to make further changes to the ordinance, and
• strict limits on expenditures for overhead.

The MPWMD contends that the Monterey Peninsula Taxpayers Association (MPTA) demanded these changes and agreed to drop any opposition to the ordinance if they were added.
MPTA says that the characterization of the Water Supply Charge as a "fee" is incorrect, and that it is actually a "tax", which must be approved by voters. According to MPTA, it always wanted a public vote,and that the changes noted above were suggestions to improve the ordinance before it went to a vote, not demands in exchange for for a vote.

The MPTA initiated a referendum petition to overturn the ordinance and collected enough signatures to put the issue on the ballot. The MPWMD Board rejected the referendum petition as invalid; it's position is that it is not required to subject the ordinance to a public vote. It voted to enact the charge without an election.
In June 2013, MPTA filed a lawsuit to stop the Water Supply Charge, or alternatively, to require that it be put to a vote. The issue is pending.

Stephen Collins

A former consultant to the failed Regional Desalination Project,, Collins has been charged with felony conflict-of-interest, relating to payments he received while a Water Board member. This contributed, if not directly led, to the collapse of the RDP.
More to come...

The Ballot Initiative (public ownership)

The public has spoken. Cal-Am ownership of any desalination plant, which the ratepayers are paying for, has always been contentious. Even though a county ordinance requires public ownership of any such facility, Cal-Am managed to obtain an exception. Several community action groups collected signatures and the MPWMD has agreed to place the issue on the June 3, 2014 ballot. In a nutshell, a public agency such as the MPWMD would purchase all Cal-Am assets and infrastructure on the peninsula. And if Cal-Am doesn't want to sell? Then there's the power of eminent domain. The text of the ballot initiative can be found here.

The $1M environmental review money

DeepWater Desal LLC has also proposed a desalination plan. As a backup, the Monterey Peninsula Water Management District (MPWMD) contributed one million dollars towards environmental review of that project. Community action organization WaterPlus has filed suit to stop it, alleging favoritism and violation of the California Environmental Quality Act.