TITLE
Recommendation to authorize City Manager to approve amendments for three separate Memoranda of Understanding with the Los Angeles Gateway Region Integrated Regional Water Management Joint Powers Authority for the Watershed Management Programs for the Lower Los Angeles River, Los Cerritos Channel, and Lower San Gabriel River Watersheds. (Citywide)
DISCUSSION
A majority of area within the City of Long Beach is situated in three watersheds, the Lower Los Angeles River Watershed, the Los Cerritos Channel Watershed and the Lower San Gabriel River Watershed. This results in the City’s storm drain system discharging into all three watersheds. The operation of this storm drain system is regulated through the National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System (NPDES) Permit that is issued by the California Regional Water Quality Control Board (CRWQCB). This Permit is renewed approximately every five years by the CRWQCB, with each subsequent permit becoming more stringent and costly to implement.
The current permits for the City of Long Beach and the Los Angeles County Region, require Long Beach, along with other participating cities located within the watersheds mentioned above, to implement and maintain plans for the WMP for each of the watersheds. The permits mandate stringent storm water quality regulatory requirements and the primary goal of the watershed groups is to reduce the overall cost of compliance through a multi-agency cooperative effort, rather than each city addressing these mandated regulatory requirements separately at a much greater cost. These WMPs provide a comprehensive analysis of pollutant sources within the watershed areas, strategies for reducing or treating pollutants from those sources, and computer modeling to substantiate the strategies.
On March 11, 2014, City Council authorized the City Manager to approve three separate MOUs with the Los Angeles Gateway Region Integrated Regional Water Management Joint Powers Authority (GWMA) to develop Watershed Management Programs (WMP) for the three watersheds. Participating cities in each watershed were assessed their share through cost sharing formulas based on land areas among all the participating cities. At the time of the original action in 2014, the aggregate project participation cost for the City was stated as $428,700, consisting of $228,000 for the Lower Los Angeles River Watershed, $168,000 for the Los Cerritos Channel Watershed and $32,700 for the Lower San Gabriel River Watershed. The $428,700 cost was provided pending the completion of the Reasonable Assurance Analsis (RAA) model being developed to calculate the actual costs needed to implement each WMP plan. Calculations based on the completed RAA model were completed in the summer of 2015, and resulted in an additional cost to the City in an amount of $135,346. The total FY 16 project participation cost to the City is $564,046, which consists of $305,923 for the Lower Los Angeles River Watershed, $222,439 for the Los Cerritos Channel Watershed and $35,684 for the Lower San Gabriel River Watershed. The City’s ongoing participation costs for the remaining four years of the WMP, FY 17 - FY 20, will not exceed $250,000 per watershed.
This matter was reviewed by Deputy City Attorney Amy R. Webber, and by Budget Management Officer Victoria Bell on January 25, 2016.
SUSTAINABILITY
Various Total Maximum Daily Loads have been established for setting a maximum limit for metals, bacteria, hydrocarbons and trash that can be discharged into a water body without exceeding water quality standards and impairing beneficial uses. Participation in these MOUs and implementation of the subsequent capital improvement projects will help to isolate and abate these pollutants, which will lead to improved water quality.
TIMING CONSIDERATIONS
City Council action on this item is requested on February 9, 2016, to secure the City’s participation in the implementation and maintenance of the WMP to reduce the amount of pollutants and improve water quality in Long Beach.
FISCAL IMPACT
The City’s FY 16 WMP MOU cost will be $564,046. Funding for this activity is budgeted in the General Fund (GF) in the Public Works Department (PW). Annual ongoing costs for WMP MOU participation for the period of FY 17 through FY 20 will be $250,000 per watershed, and will be addressed as part of the annual budget process. There is no local job impact associated with this recommendation.
SUGGESTED ACTION
Approve recommendation.
Respectfully Submitted,
CRAIG A. BECK
INTERIM DIRECTOR OF PUBLIC WORKS
APPROVED:
PATRICK H. WEST
CITY MANAGER