TITLE
Recommendation to authorize City Manager to approve a Memorandum of Agreement (MOA) with the Los Angeles Gateway Region Integrated Regional Water Management Joint Powers Authority (LA Gateway Authority) for the preparation of the Los Cerritos Channel Metals Total Maximum Daily Load (TMDL) Coordinated Implementation Plan, monitoring program, and special studies. (Districts 3,4,5,7,8,9)
DISCUSSION
In 1972, the Federal Clean Water Act (Act) was signed into law with the purpose of improving water quality in rivers, streams and lakes primarily through regulation of point source discharges. One aspect of the Act requires that State regulatory agencies implement Total Maximum Daily Loads (TMDL) for specific impaired water bodies. Essentially, a TMDL establishes a maximum threshold for certain pollutants that can enter the water body and requires that agencies tributary to these waters monitor the pollutants entering the water body, develop an implementation plan to reduce the pollutants, and conduct special studies to control the sources of these pollutants.
One of these impaired water bodies is the Los Cerritos Channel located just west of the San Gabriel River, which carries run-off from the cities of Bellflower, Cerritos, Downey, Lakewood, Long Beach, Paramount, and Signal Hill through the Los Cerritos wetlands to Marine Stadium. According to the United States Environmental Protection Agency (USEPA), the levels of copper, lead and zinc in the runoff from these cities is adversely impacting beneficial uses of the Los Cerritos Channel. In March 2010, the USEPA approved and issued the Los Cerritos Channel Total Maximum Daily Loads for Metals. This regulation sets limits on the amount of copper, lead and zinc that will be allowed to enter the Los Cerritos Channel from urban runoff.
To comply with this TMDL, the cities of Bellflower, Cerritos, Downey, Lakewood, Long Beach, Paramount and Signal Hill (Cities) and Caltrans propose to enter an MOA with the LA Gat...
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