Amador County – About 20 people attended a public hearing Wednesday in Jackson Civic Center to hear staff of East Bay Municipal Utility District explain recommendations to remove plans to expand Pardee Dam and reservoir in Amador and Calaveras Counties.

East Bay MUD Director of Water & Natural Resources Richard Sykes said the Revised Program Environmental Impact Report was released in December, and included recommendations to East Bay Municipal’s board of directors to remove the planned expansion of Pardee.

Manager of Water Supply Improvements Mike Tognolini said scoping meetings last July in Amador and Calaveras counties on the 2040 Plan included 114 comments from the public and organizations, and 4 comments from elected officials. Tognolini said the primary comment was to remove the plans for a Pardee enlargement by cooperating in the Los Vaqueros Reservoir expansion project. He said the Revised Program EIR was available for comment.

East Bay Municipal’s Thomas B. Francis said comments on the new document would be released in a workshop Feb. 28 with the East Bay Municipal board of directors. The board will then make its final decision on the 2040 Water Supply Management Program at a meeting tentatively scheduled for March 27. Francis said the Utility’s staff can only recommend contents of the 2040 plan, but decisions are made by the board.

In public comment, Tom Infusino, representing Calaveras Planning Coalition, gave thanks to East Bay Municipal staff, saying Christmas had come early with the 2040 program’s draft EIR release in mid-December. Infusino said: “We strongly encourage your … Board to adopt the staff recommendation to drop Pardee expansion from the 2040 plan.”

He noted the celebration of the Christian Feast of the Epiphany last week, of the wise men coming to Bethlehem “to witness the dawn of the salvation of mankind.” He said “we still await the salvation of our beloved Mokelumne River, through Wild & Scenic Designation.” He urged the East Bay board to “take the next intuitive step to support Wild & Scenic Designation on the Mokelumne River down to the existing high pool of Pardee Reservoir.” Chris Wright, executive director of the Foothill Conservancy, urged the same thing, saying “8,000 people have signed on in support.”

Supervisor Brian Oneto said: “I am opposed to that Wild & Scenic Designation” because it would have too many constraints to the water and land. Oneto said people have been circulating petitions around asking: “Do you want to save the Mokelumne River? That’s kind of like saying do you want to save an old lady?”

Oneto said: “I’m opposed to it completely,” and if East Bay MUD’s Board of Directors was going to support it, they should support it from the headwaters all the way to the end, otherwise it would be self-serving to save only part of it, from the high pool and upstream.

Story by Jim Reece This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.