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Despite lacking his fellow board members’ support, Sunnyslope County Water District Director Jerry Buzzetta is forging ahead with seeking a reimbursement from San Benito County Water District stemming from a “reliability fee” and additional operating costs he says are illegal.
Buzzetta claims Sunnyslope is owed about $2 million by the county water district.
Buzzetta said he is now using social media to build support among Sunnyslope customers and pressure on the board to recover these funds, arguing that San Benito Water charged the fee without getting approval from Sunnyslope Water
He also contends Sunnyslope Water incurred additional operating costs between January 2023 and March 2024 after San Benito Water directed Sunnyslope to accept more water than its board had approved in its budget. He said San Benito Water does not have the authority to force Sunnyslope Water to take more water than was previously agreed.
However, Sunnyslope Water general manager Drew Lander said while the fee was charged without his board’s approval, he and the rest of the board believe the issue was addressed in the San Benito Urban Area Water Supply and Treatment Agreement. Lander also said that while the board was not happy about taking on additional water, it agreed to do so.
“I get his concerns, but it’s not the smoking gun he thinks it is,” Lander said.
The agreement, which now includes the reliability fee, was approved by all jurisdictions in September and October.
The fee, according to the agreement, is intended for San Benito Water to recoup costs associated with the Accelerated Drought Response Project (ADRoP) from the Hollister City Water District, Sunnyslope Water and the San Juan Bautista Water Department.
The agreement outlines how water is allocated between Hollister, San Juan Bautista and Sunnyslope, as well as each agency’s share of the costs for the ADRoP project. San Benito Water owns both water treatment plants and contracts with Sunnyslope to operate them.
ADRop is a project that aims to store water in underground aquifers during wet years and pump the water for use during drought years. It includes expanding the West Hills Treatment Plant and building up to five aquifer storage and recovery wells.
San Benito Water General Manager Dana Jacobson said he believed all board members agreed on the additional fee because the state wanted to ensure a revenue source was present to cover the ADRoP costs not covered by the grants.
He said an advisory committee made up of the three water districts’ general managers and an additional representative from each entity got together and agreed upon the fee.
“Jerry claims that was done illegally, but that is untrue,” Jacobson said. “It’s something we agreed to at that time.”
Lander said the fee was not approved by the committee, but initiated by former San Benito Water general manager Steve Wittry.
Lander said Sunnyslope Water originally brought up its concern about the fee to San Benito Water but continued to pay it under “protest” because the funds were going into an account tied to ADRoP, which they supported, and the there was an understanding that a new agreement needed to be negotiated.
He said the ADRoP account is used to match the grants totalling $20 million that San Benito Water secured for the project. The project is estimated to cost $55 million.
Buzzetta said even if Sunnyslope needs to repay into the ADRoP account, he is pushing to follow the steps in the original 2013 contract for transparency.
The contract includes a three-step process for disputes. The first step gives representatives of the districts a 10-day window to find a solution to any disputes. The second step is for the parties to submit to nonbinding mediation, which is what Buzzetta is pushing for. He said it was approved by the board but never implemented.
With regard to running more water through the plants, Buzzetta said the district incurred additional costs during an approximately 14-month period beginning in early 2023. He said the costs are associated with water treatment processes, such as more chemicals and power.
“It’s like extortion,” he said, pointing at reports from an October 2024 board meeting that showed an increase in month-to-month costs of treating surface and ground water and an increase in use of surface water.
However, Lander said the Sunnyslope Water board members were informed and agreed to take the water, though they weren’t pleased about it, because they were told if they didn’t it could reduce the water allocation to the area in the future.
He said Wittry directed Sunnyslope and Hollister to take more water because the state gave the area full allocation, following a run of drought years.
Lander said the district used reserve funds to cover the extra costs.
He said the new agreement includes language that codifies Sunnyslope County’s right to deny water the district did not request.
Lacking any traction with his board, Buzzetta said he is considering a class action lawsuit “on behalf of the constituents.”
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