Title
Chief Administrative Office recommending the Board:
1) Receive a presentation on the El Dorado - Sacramento Municipal Utility District (SMUD) Cooperation Agreement special revenue fund as requested at the June 17, 2019, Budget Hearing; and
2) Provide direction to staff on the need to return to the Board with any recommended revisions to the current SMUD fund expenditure practices. (Est. Time: 30 Min.)
FUNDING: SMUD Funds.
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BACKGROUND
In the late 1950’s, the County, the United States Forest Service (USFS), Michigan California Lumber Company (now Sierra Pacific Industries), and the Sacramento Municipal Utility District (SMUD) reached agreements as to the construction and maintenance of the roads within the Upper American River Project (UARP). The UARP is a network of reservoirs and powerhouses located along the American River that contain recreational facilities owned and operated by SMUD. The original agreements did not provide money for maintenance of roads or impact money to the County for the implementation of the UARP. It was thought that the tourism dollars derived from UARP users would offset County costs which ultimately did not occur.
In 2005, SMUD relicensed the UARP through the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission. As part of this relicensing, SMUD negotiated the El Dorado - SMUD Cooperation Agreement with El Dorado County. This agreement was signed by the Board on October 18, 2005 with resolution 312-2005. The agreement specified an initial payment of $2.6 million, and then an annual payment, from SMUD. The first annual payment was $590,000 and then increased annually based on an inflation adjustment. The agreement designates that the initial payment was to be “utilized by the County for capital improvements to Ice House Road and other miscellaneous capital projects related to the UARP and its impacts.” It states that annual payments are to be used “for the purposes of road maintenance, watershed management, and other miscellaneous activiti...
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