Hunter Ranch – Installation and Operation of up to Five Agricultural Wells and One Support Well

Hunter Ranch – Installation and Operation of up to Five Agricultural Wells and One Support Well

The Project includes converting and operating two existing 400- and 500-foot-deep test wells as agricultural supply wells, converting and operating one 500-foot-deep test well as a supply well for incidental water needs (e.g., crop spraying, equipment washing), and installing and operating up to three new agricultural supply wells (approximately 400 – 500 feet deep) to support almond orchard activities. Each well will be completed with a small concrete pad at the surface and an electrical line-shaft turbine pump. Electrical service will be extended to each well location. The proposed Project will be implemented in phases. Phase I of the Project will consist of converting and operating the test well for the incidental water needs (<2 acre-feet per year [AFY]) and converting and operating the two existing test wells to supply the water demand of approximately 175 acres of orchard for a period up to approximately 20 years. Phase II will be implemented after a period of Phase I groundwater drawdown monitoring and evaluation to confirm allowable groundwater extraction rates and upon County approval. Phase II will consist of installing and operating up to three additional irrigation wells to supply the water demand for up to an additional 175 acres of orchard for a period up to approximately 20 years. The estimated pumping rates for the Phase II wells will be between 500 and 1,000 AFY. Estimated groundwater extraction will be approximately 683 AFY for Phase I and 1,366 AFY for Phase II. The estimated pumping rate for each well is between 500 and 1,000 gallons per minute.

Stanislaus

Northern California, Unincorporated

California Air Resources Board (ARB), California Department of Conservation (DOC), California Department of Fish and Wildlife, Bay Delta Region 3 (CDFW), California Department of Fish and Wildlife, Central Region 4 (CDFW), California Department of Fish and Wildlife, Habitat Conservation Planning (CDFW), California Department of Fish and Wildlife, North Central Region 2 (CDFW), California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection (CAL FIRE), California Department of Parks and Recreation, California Department of Transportation, District 10 (DOT), California Department of Water Resources (DWR), California Governor's Office of Emergency Services (OES), California Highway Patrol (CHP), California Native American Heritage Commission (NAHC), California Natural Resources Agency, Central Valley Flood Protection Board, Department of Toxic Substances Control, Office of Historic Preservation, State Water Resources Control Board, Division of Drinking Water, State Water Resources Control Board, Division of Water Rights, California Regional Water Quality Control Board, Central Valley Sacramento Region 5 (RWQCB)

California Regional Water Quality Control Board, Central Valley Sacramento Region 5 (RWQCB)

Other (Agriculture)

Well permit

Aesthetics, Agriculture and Forestry Resources, Air Quality, Biological Resources, Cultural Resources, Cumulative Effects, Drainage/Absorption, Energy, Flood Plain/Flooding, Geology/Soils, Greenhouse Gas Emissions, Hazards & Hazardous Materials, Hydrology/Water Quality, Land Use/Planning, Mandatory Findings of Significance, Mineral Resources, Noise, Population/Housing, Public Services, Recreation, Schools/Universities, Transportation, Tribal Cultural Resources, Utilities/Service Systems, Wetland/Riparian, Wildfire