Project Title: Point of Use/Point of Entry Ordinance Amendments

Public Notice: The County of Monterey Environmental Health Bureau (EHB) has prepared an Addendum to the Monterey County 2010 General Plan Environmental Impact Report (State Clearinghouse No. 2007121001) for the project listed above pursuant to the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) Guidelines Section 15000 et seq.

Comment Period: Anyone desiring to comment on the Draft Addendum may do so in writing within the 30‑day public review period from May 7, 2026, through 5:00 pm on June 9, 2026.

Submit Comments to:         

Ric Encarnacion, MPH, REHS, 
Bureau Chief, Director of Environmental Health
County of Monterey Environmental Health Bureau
1270 Natividad Road
Salinas, California 93906

or by email to: drinkingwaterprogram@countyofmonterey.gov

Documents:

• Draft Addendum to the 2010 Monterey County General Plan Environmental Impact Report
• Initial Study - Appendix B of the Draft EIR Addendum - Starts on Page 56
• Chapter 15.06, Monterey County Code - Proposed Amendments
• Notice of Intent

Project Location:

The project consists of the implementation of an amended Ordinance that would apply to properties on private wells and to lots in all local small, State small, and public water systems in the unincorporated area of Monterey County. The Draft Addendum identifies systems with “Subject Lots,” where some development facilitated by the Ordinance is anticipated to occur. As discussed in Section 9 of the Initial Study prepared for the project (Appendix B to the Draft Addendum), there is no specific development proposed in proximity to a hazardous materials site included on a list of hazardous material sites compiled pursuant to Government Code Section 65962.5.

 Project Description:

The project consists of adoption and implementation of an amended Ordinance by the County of Monterey that would allow the use of point of use (POU) and point of entry (POE) drinking water treatment devices for lots on private wells and in non‑compliant local small, State small, and public water systems in unincorporated Monterey County. These systems currently exceed one or more primary drinking water maximum contaminant levels for constituents such as nitrate, arsenic, fluoride, cadmium, hexavalent chromium, and/or 1,2,3‑Trichloropropane. The Ordinance would amend Chapter 15.06 of the Monterey County Code to authorize POU and POE treatment as an alternative compliance pathway to centralized treatment, well replacement, or system consolidation. The amended Ordinance would allow POU and POE treatment to serve vacant legal lots of record, and to support accessory dwelling units, within non‑compliant water systems and on private wells, subject to specified requirements. The Ordinance is intended to provide a feasible compliance option to protect public health where existing centralized solutions are impractical or infeasible.

 Environmental Determination

EHB is evaluating potential environmental effects that may occur as a result of implementation of the Ordinance through an Addendum to the certified 2010 Monterey County General Plan Environmental Impact Report (State Clearinghouse No. 2007121001), which serves as the primary environmental document. The Addendum has been prepared pursuant to CEQA Guidelines Section 15164 to evaluate whether reinstatement of the Ordinance would result in new or more severe environmental impacts beyond those previously analyzed. The 2010 General Plan Environmental Impact Report evaluated countywide buildout impacts through 2030 and provides an appropriate environmental baseline. The Draft Addendum demonstrates that the project would not result in new significant environmental effects or substantially increase the severity of previously identified impacts, and therefore no subsequent or supplemental EIR is required.