Lassen County Building and Planning Services

critical programs. The Honey Lake Valley Resource Conservation District (RCD) does not agree that the Watermaster program in its current form is dysfunctional, and jeopardizes other critical programs. The Honey Lake Valley Resource Conservation District (RCD) agrees that during FY14-15, under a different Board of Directors, there was a certain amount of dysfunction associated with the Watermaster program and that the negative attention and energy that this created detracted from other important positive programs and accomplishments that the RCD has completed during this fiscal year, including: Acting as lead agency for the development of the Lahontan Basins Integrated Regional Water Management (IRWM) Plan that will assist Lassen County agencies and organizations to obtain millions of dollars in State Water Bond funds to address public water and wastewater infrastructure issues as well as water quality and water quantity issues related to agricultural production and natural resource management. Taking the lead to treat unnatural fuel loads and forest health issues that subject Lassen County residents in the Diamond Mountains to the potential risk of catastrophic wildfire. Through the implementation of the Diamond Mountain Forest and Meadow Restoration Project, the RCD has treated over 1,000 acres of forest and meadow habitat on a landscape scale that will allow local fire resources to safely treat a wildland fire within the Wildland Urban Interface (WUI) between the Lassen National Forest and the communities of Susanville, Johnstonville, and Janesville. Assisting the Natural Resource Conservation Service (NRCS) to conduct outreach and provide technical support to Lassen County agricultural producers to improve soil and water quality, address noxious weed issues, and improve productivity. 4. Reestablishment of the Lassen County Special Weed Action Team (SWAT), a multi- agency coalition with the mission of controlling and eradicating noxious weed infestations in Lassen County. It is unfortunate that Lassen County residents and others read and hear little regarding the accomplishments of the RCD, but are provided with regular updates regarding the difficulties that the RCD, a small agency with limited staff, are having in administering a complicated program adopted from the Department of Water Resources (DWR), a large complex state bureaucracy with engineers, lawyers, hydrologists, and other professional staff. Nevertheless, the RCD sees the merits and benefits of continuing to administer the Watermaster program. In 2007, DWR threatened to raise the rates of water rights holders in the Susan River Watermaster Area four fold. Since then, the RCD has been able to administer the Watermaster service at a budget consistently lower or equal to what DWR charged prior to 2007 and this has saved local water rights holders and agricultural producers in the community hundreds of thousands of dollars. The RCD has taken steps to address the dysfunction of the Watermaster program and the negative energy this dysfunction generates. The RCD has hired an Interim District Manager and advertised for a permanent District Manager as well as made the Deputy Watermaster position an employee position of the District (now referred to as the Watermaster Technician) rather than a consultant in order to improve accountability and transparency. The RCD continues to work with the Watermaster Advisory Committee (WAC), made up of water users and agricultural producers, to seek advice on how we can learn from the failures of the past to improve this locally lead program into the future. The chairperson has difficulty maintaining order during the public comment portions

of the HLVRCD meetings. The public speaks out of turn and for long periods of time, failing to follow the agenda notification of a five-minute limitation for public comment. The RCD does not agree that the current Chairperson has difficulty maintaining order during public comment portions of the HLVRCD meetings. The RCD agrees that public comment portions of RCD meetings during FY14-15 have at times been quite unruly with certain members of the public using the public comment period to conduct personal attacks and promote their own agendas in an unproductive and uncivil manner.

Reestablishment of the Lassen County Special Weed Action Team (SWAT), a multi- agency coalition with the mission of controlling and eradicating noxious weed infestations in Lassen County. It is unfortunate that Lassen County residents and others read and hear little regarding the accomplishments of the RCD, but are provided with regular updates regarding the difficulties that the RCD, a small agency with limited staff, are having in administering a complicated program adopted from the Department of Water Resources (DWR), a large complex state bureaucracy with engineers, lawyers, hydrologists, and other professional staff. Nevertheless, the RCD sees the merits and benefits of continuing to administer the Watermaster program. In 2007, DWR threatened to raise the rates of water rights holders in the Susan River Watermaster Area four fold. Since then, the RCD has been able to administer the Watermaster