Peace River Basin Board Information and Budget Notebook Friday, August 4, 2006 9:30 a.m. Paynes Creek Bartow Service Office 170 Century Boulevard Bartow, Florida (863) 534-1448 PEACE RIVER BASIN BOARD C. A. "Neil" Combee, Jr., Co-Chair Ex Officio Patsy C. Symons, Co-Chair Ex Officio J. Kenneth Harrison, Vice Chair Ann W. Dunlap, Secretary Rufus C. Lazzell, Member James L. Hageman, Member Paul G. Samuels, Member Fred W. Trippensee, III, Member Committee Members: Basin Board Land Resources Committee: Ken Harrison - primary Rufus Lazzell - alternate Basin Board Education Committee: Ann Dunlap - primary Paul Samuels/Fred Trippensee - alternates Charlotte Harbor National Estuary Program Policy Committee: Rufus Lazzell Agenda Bartow, Florida August 4, 2006 9:30 a.m. Item Presenter 1. Call to Order and Roll Call Neil Combee/Phyllis Young 2. Pledge of Allegiance to the American Flag and a Moment of Silence Neil Combee 3. Additions and Deletions to the Agenda Lou Kavouras 4. Consent Items: a. June 9, 2006, Meeting Minutes Lou Kavouras b. Facilitating Agricultural Resource Management Systems – Diner Eric DeHaven Citrus & Cattle Company and OSS, LLC c. Facilitating Agricultural Resource Management Systems Eric DeHaven Program – Board Encumbrance d. Alligator Creek Wetland Restoration Project – Board Encumbrance Mark Hammond e. Lake Hancock Lake Level Modification Project – Board Encumbrance Mark Hammond f. Peace Creek Canal Watershed Management Project – Mark Hammond Board Encumbrance g. Lake Fannie Berm Rehabilitation – Board Encumbrance Mike Holtkamp h. Water Protection and Sustainability Program Trust Funds – Gregg Jones Board Encumbrance 5. Discussion Items: a. Status of Evaluation of Aquifer Storage and Recovery Systems Project Gregg Jones b. Review of FY2006 Media Messaging Melissa Roe c. Funding Support for the Highlands County Soil and Water Eric DeHaven Conservation District – Agricultural and Urban Mobile Irrigation Lab d. Fiscal Year 2007 Budget Discussion and Approval of Final Bruce Wirth Millage Rate and Budget 6. Reports: a. Basin Board Education Committee Fred Trippensee b. Basin Board Land Resources Committee Ken Harrison c. Chair Ex Officio Report on Governing Board Activities Neil Combee 7. Announcements: Lou Kavouras a. Annual Conference on Water Management: September 6-8, 2006, Innisbrook, Palm Harbor b. Next Basin Board Meeting and Workshop: Friday, October 6, 2006, 9:30 a.m., Bartow Service Office c. Public Land Acquisition and Management Partnership Conference: November 1-3, 2006, Hyatt Regency Hotel, Jacksonville d. Partners in Watershed Education Awards/Field Trip: Wednesday, November 8, 2006, 11:30 a.m., Mirror Lake Complex, Lakeland e. Other 8. Adjournment Neil Combee ***Information Items are included in the Summary Agenda*** Summary Agenda PEACE RIVER BASIN BOARD MEETING Bartow, Florida August 4, 2006 9:30 a.m. 1. Call to Order and Roll Call Presenters: Neil Combee, Co-Chair Ex Officio Peace River Basin Board Phyllis Young, Senior Administrative Assistant Boards and Executive Services 2. Pledge of Allegiance to the American Flag and a Moment of Silence Presenter: Neil Combee 3. Additions and Deletions to the Agenda Presenter: Lou Kavouras, Deputy Executive Director Outreach, Planning and Board Services 4. Consent Items: a. June 9, 2006, Meeting Minutes Board members were provided minutes of the June 2006 minutes for review. Staff Recommendation: Approve the June minutes, as presented. Presenter: Lou Kavouras b. Facilitating Agricultural Resource Management Systems – Diner Citrus & Cattle Company and OSS, LLC The purpose of this item is to request approval for a Facilitating Agricultural Resource Management Systems (FARMS) Project with Diner Citrus & Cattle Company and OSS, LLC. The proposed project is located in the Shell Creek watershed, a designated priority area for the FARMS Program. The project is estimated to reduce groundwater withdrawals up to 197,000 gallons per day (gpd). Staff also requests approval to reimburse FARMS eligible costs up to a not-to-exceed limit of $90,000. Of this amount, the 2006 State Appropriations will be used for $45,000 of the reimbursement, the Governing Board is requested to fund $22,500 and the Peace River Basin Board is requested to fund $22,500. Total project costs are estimated at $120,000. Upon approval, the Governing Board and Peace River Basin Board will have $675,323 and $521,016 respectively, remaining in their FARMS budgets. FARMS is an agricultural Best Management Practice (BMP) cost-share reimbursement program that involves both water quantity and water quality aspects. It is intended to expedite the implementation of production-scale agricultural BMPs that provide water resource benefits. The FARMS Program, developed by the District and Florida Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services, is a public/private partnership. Reimbursement cost-share rates are dependent on both water quantity and water quality BMPs. Resource benefits of the FARMS Program include reduced Floridan aquifer withdrawals, water quality improvement and/or conservation, restoration, and augmentation of the area’s water resources and ecology. Summary Agenda August 4, 2006 Peace River Basin Board Page 2 of 13 FARMS Program staff received a project proposal for Diner Citrus & Cattle Company and OSS, LLC, located in northern Charlotte County. Myrtle and Cypress Slough run through the property into Shell Creek, located just south of the property. The farm is approximately 12 miles upstream of the City of Punta Gorda's drinking water reservoir. The existing Water Use Permit authorizes an annual average groundwater withdrawal of 393,400 gpd, for the irrigation of sod, pasture, and melons. The primary goal of the project is to reduce upper Floridan groundwater withdrawals through the use of an existing 12-acre surface water reservoir to irrigate 140 acres of sod. FARMS project components include one pump station, filtration, piping, and infrastructure necessary to connect the reservoir to the sod production area. The grower is furthering water conservation by installing a center pivot system with hanging, low-flow microjets. The proposed project will reduce upper Floridan groundwater withdrawals and improve water quality used for irrigation. Therefore, the project qualifies for a 75 percent cost-share reimbursement rate under the FARMS Program. Using an estimated 50 percent savings of permitted quantities, or approximately 197,000 gpd, yields a daily cost of $0.38 per thousand gallons of groundwater reduced over the proposed five-year contract term and $0.12 per thousand gallons of groundwater reduced over a thirty-year term. Both values are below the model farm average cost of $0.40 per thousand gallons saved, developed for sod production irrigated with a semi- closed seepage system, detailed in the District's Regional Water Supply Plan. Staff Recommendation: 1) Approve the Diner Citrus & Cattle Company and OSS, LLC, FARMS Project for a not-to-exceed project reimbursement of $90,000, with $22,500 provided by the Peace River Basin, $22,500 provided by the Governing Board, and $45,000 provided from State Appropriations; 2) Authorize the transfer of $67,500 from H017, the FARMS Program, with $22,500 from the Peace River Basin and $45,000 from the 2005 State Appropriations allocated to the Peace River Basin, to H534 Diner Citrus & Cattle Company and OSS, LLC project fund; 3) Authorize the Executive Director to sign the agreement, contingent upon approval of the Peace River Basin Board and Governing Board. Presenter: Eric C. DeHaven, P.G., Director Resource Conservation & Data Department c. Facilitating Agricultural Resource Management Systems Program – Board Encumbrance The purpose of this request is to encumber funds, without an agreement, for use in contracting with agricultural operations within the Southern Water Use Caution Area (SWUCA) to achieve water quality and water use resource benefits through the FARMS Program. The FARMS Program is an agricultural Best Management Practice (BMP) cost-share reimbursement program that involves both water quantity and water quality aspects. It is intended to expedite the implementation of production-scale, field demonstration agricultural BMPs that will provide water resource benefits. The FARMS Program utilizes a public/private partnership developed by the District and the Florida Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services to provide resource benefits that include water quality improvement; reduced upper Floridan aquifer withdrawals; and/or conserve, restore, or augment the area's water resources and ecology. FARMS directly assists in the implementation of the District's Regional Water Supply Plan, the SWUCA Recovery Strategy, and in the Shell and Prairie Creek Watershed Management Plan (Reasonable Summary Agenda August 4, 2006 Peace River Basin Board Page 3 of 13 Assurance Documentation to address Total Maximum Daily Load issues in these watersheds). The FARMS Program has shown good success to date. A total of 26 projects are Board approved that will result in approximately 8.4 mgd of groundwater offset with a corresponding improvement in surface water quality within the vicinity of several project areas. The Peace River Basin Board has approved 18 FARMS projects with additional FARMS projects anticipated to be presented for approval over the next year. In fiscal year (FY) 2006, a total of $800,000 was budgeted by the Peace River Basin to provide funding for FARMS projects. This amount represents the FY2006 State appropriation allocated to