Securing Approval for the Monterey Peninsula Water Supply Project

The California Public Utilities Commission (CPUC) voted to allow our client, California American Water Company (Cal-Am), to proceed with its Monterey Peninsula Water Supply Project (MPWSP).

This approval will enable the utility to provide safe and reliable water service to its customers and meet all regulations for the safe operation of its facilities.

This is a significant victory for our client and is the result of extensive efforts by Nossaman’s Public Utilities Regulatory, Water, and Public Policy Groups.  With CPUC approval, the company can move forward to implement a permanent long-term water supply solution for the Monterey Peninsula.  We were able to provide Cal-Am with the benefit of our knowledge of the CPUC, its regulations, our long-term relationships, as well as the Firm’s deep roots within the California water sector.

The Project will replace and augment existing water supplies in Cal-Am's Monterey District service area.  The District had been constrained by legal decisions affecting the Carmel River and Seaside Groundwater Basin, areas from which Cal-Am currently sources its water.  The MPWSP includes a 6.4 mgd desalination plant and will use additional water from the PureWater Monterey groundwater replenishment project.  The total project cost is estimated to be approximately $322 million.  The effort to develop a long-term water supply solution has been going on for decades.  A key member of Nossaman’s team had been working to develop a water supply for Monterey since 2001, and acting as the lead attorney for the CPUC proceeding related to this project since its inception in 2012.  The CPUC proceeding involved multiple evidentiary hearings, extensive testimony, several workshops, multiple briefs, and an oral argument in front of the CPUC.  This win represents a highly contested, and a long-fought and well-deserved victory for our client.