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CALFED Finance Planning. Need for Finance Planning. Status quo approach to rely so heavily on State bond funds unlikely in the future Existing funding significantly declining Legislative direction on new water user fee Benefits-based financing principle in ROD
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Need for Finance Planning • Status quo approach to rely so heavily on State bond funds unlikely in the future • Existing funding significantly declining • Legislative direction on new water user fee • Benefits-based financing principle in ROD • Avoid piecemeal finance planning
Finance PlanningReports Finance Options Report • Expand understanding of benefits and costs • Develop financing options Ten Year Finance Plan • Develop specific funding targets • ID unmet needs • ID financing strategy
Finance PlanningReports Draft Finance Options Report provides Foundation for 10 year plan discussion: • Annual funding targets for each element and task/project • Schedule and readiness of projects • Potential benefits and beneficiaries • Possible finance strategies for each element and task/project
Finance Planning Outreach • Stakeholder and agency workgroups & informal meetings • Legislative hearings & meetings • Public meetings and workshops • Independent Review Panel • 8 member panel of academics and practitioners
Analysis For Developing Finance Plan • What are the reasonable funding needs/targets? • What are the benefits? • Who are the beneficiaries? • How should costs be allocated? • What are the finance tools?
What are the Benefits? • Water supply (yield & reliability) • Drinking Water Quality • Ecosystem Improvement • Flood Protection • Hydropower • Recreation
Measuring “Economic” Benefits • More Easily Measured: Water supply, water quality and flood protection • More Difficult to Measure: ecosystem improvements
Finance Tools For the Public Share • State General Obligation Bonds • General Funds • Federal appropriations For the User Share • Self Liquidating GO Bonds • State Revenue Bonds • SWP & CVP contractor charges • JPA Revenue Bonds • Local matching contributions • New State Administered Fees
New State Administered Fees Fee versus Tax: • Need a Nexus between level of benefits and amount paid in fees • Each program in CALFED has different set of beneficiaries that would result in varying fee levels among water users
New Benefits Based Water User Fee Finance Options Report suggests that a water user fee is best suited to programs with diffuse water user benefits & not able to identify individual beneficiaries such as: • Ecosystem Restoration • Environmental Water Account • Drinking Water Quality • Delta Levees • Watershed
Surface Storage Construction Groundwater Storage WUE (Conservation, Recycling, & Desalination) Ecosystem Restoration Program Example Finance Strategies Financing negotiated project by project based on willing beneficiaries GW and WUE Grant Programs – Primarily local funding, Public share for broader statewide benefits • Public share - Future State bonds & Fed appropriations, • Water User share - fee possible, • Local cost shares
10 Year Finance PlanNext Steps Before mid-October • Refine funding targets and available funds • Develop proposed cost sharing plan • Continue outreach with agencies and stakeholders
Finance Planning Issues /Challenges • Measuring or understanding benefits to support cost sharing • Philosophical differences--property right vs. public trust • Ensuring balance & linkages across Programs • Large gap, no easy money, numerous interest groups & timeframe condensed