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HomeMy WebLinkAbout12-14-2016 Legislative Committee MinutesMINUTES OF THE LEGISLATIVE AND PUBLIC AFFAIRS COMMITTEE Orange County Sanitation District Wednesday , December 14, 2016 at 4:30 p.m. A meeting of the Legislat ive and Public Affairs Committee was called to order by Chair Sebourn on Wednesday , December 14 , 2016 at 4 :31 p .m . in the Administration Building of the Orange County Sanitation District. Chair Sebourn led the pledge of allegiance. A quorum was declared present , as follows : COMMITTEE MEMBERS PRESENT: Greg Sebourn , Board Chair Tom Beamish , Director Peter Kim , Director Lucille Kring , Di rector John Withers , Director COMMITTEE MEMBERS ABSENT : VACANT , Member-At-Large VACANT , Member-At-Large PUBLIC COMMENTS: None . STAFF PRESENT: Jim Herberg , General Manager Bob Ghirelli , Assistant General Manager Celia Chandler , Director of Human Resources Rob Thompson , Director of Engineering Ed Torres , Director of Operations and Maintenance Lo renzo Tyner , Di rector of Fi nance & Administrative Services Tina Knapp , Deputy Clerk of the Board Jennifer Cabral Tanya Chong Alfredo Garcia Mark Manzo Kelly Newell OTHERS PRESENT: Brad Hagin , General Counsel Eric O'Donnell , Townsend Public Affairs Eric Sapirstein , ENS Resources (via Teleconference) Cori Williams , Townsend Public Affairs 12/14/2016 Leg is lative and P ublic Affairs Committee Minutes Pa ge 1 of 4 REPORTS: The Committee Chair and the General Manager may present verbal reports on miscellaneous matters of gene r al interest to the Committee Members . These reports are for information only and require no action by the Committee . No reports were given. CONSENT CALENDAR: Consent Calendar Items are considered to be routine and will be enacted, by the Committee , after one motion , without discussion . Any items withdrawn from the Consent Calendar for separate discussion will be considered in the regular order of business. 1. APPROVAL OF MINUTES (Clerk of the Board) MOVED , SECONDED, and DULY CARRIED TO: Approve minutes for the regular Legislative and Public Affairs Committee meeting held on November 8 , 2016. AYES: NOES: ABSTENTIONS: ABSENT: Beamish , Kim , Kring , Sebourn , and Withers None None None NON-CONSENT CALENDAR: 2. AB 2022 BOTTLING OF GROUNDWATER REPLENISHMENT SYSTEM WATER (Bob Ghirelli) Principal Public Affairs Specialist Jennifer Cabral provided an overview of this item and answered questions from the Committee regarding specifics of the cost breakdown , types of bottles to be used , and logistics of testing and bottling the water. MOVED, SECONDED, and DULY CARRIED TO : Recommend to the Board of Directors to: A. Authorize up to $15 ,000 for the initial testing and bottling of Groundwater Replenishment System water, with the cost of the bottling and testing to be equally shared between the Orange County Sanitation District and Orange County Water District ; and B . Authorize the General Manager to approve the label for the first-run of GWRS water bottles . AYES: NOES: ABSTENTIONS: ABSENT: 12 /1 4/2016 Beamish , Kim, Kring, Sebourn , and Withers None None None Legislative and Pub lic Affa irs Comm ittee Minutes Page 2 of 4 3 . APPROVAL OF 2017 LEGISLATIVE & REGULATORY PLAN (Bob Ghirelli) Principal Public Affairs Specialist Jennifer Cabral provided an overview of this item indicating that the 2017 Legislative Plan was developed keeping in mind what industry partners , like the Orange County Water District , California Assoc iation of Sanitation Agencies , Association of Ca lifornia Cities-Orange County , and the County of Orange , might view as key issues . The 2017 Legislative Plan was developed around three guiding principles : funding assistance for Sanitation District projects through grants , appropriations , or other means ; maintaining local control over governance of special d istricts , and other local entit ies ; and opposing any additional , or redundant , regulatory requirements . Staff responded to questions from the Committee regarding what specific funding/grants we may be seeking in 2017 . Director Withers requested that financial information deta iling grants that might be pursued be identified to establish measurable targets . Staff will develop this information and bring the information back to the Committee at the next meeting . Staff also responded to questions regarding whether or not the Sanitation District has received grants for infrastructure and the possibility of developing a plan for which project timing would coincide with the availability of funding. MOVED , SECONDED , AND DULY CARRIED TO : Recommend to the Board of Directors to : Approve the Orange County Sanitation District 2017 Legislative & Regu latory Plan. AYES: NOES: ABSTENTIONS: ABSENT: INFORMATION ITEMS: Beamish , Kim , Kring , Sebourn , and Withers None None None 4 . LEGISLATIVE AFFAIRS UPDATE (Rebecca Long) Eric Sapirstein , ENS Resources , provided an update on Water Resources Development Act (WRDA) legislation , which includes the Water Infrastructure Improvements for the Nation (WllN) Act. Mr. Sapirstein also provided a brief overv iew of WRDA legislation as it currently stands , including funding programs for water supply and alternative recycling programs , drought provisions , and water education . Cori Williams , Townsend Public Affairs (TPA), provided an update on activities in the State government over the past month and indicated that legislation has 12/14/2016 Legisl ative and Public Affairs Committee M inutes Page 3 of 4 not yet been seen pertaining to water , wi t h the exception of the water funding language seen in the parks bond that was introduced in the prio r session . In response to a question from the Committee regarding whether or not the passage of Proposition 64 will affect wastewater , staff indicated that the passage of Proposition 64 should not affect wastewater . 5 . PUBLIC AFFAIRS UPDATE (Jennifer Cabral) No Public Affairs Update was provided . OTHER BUSINESS AND COMMUNICATIONS OR SUPPLEMENTAL AGENDA ITEMS, IF ANY: None . ADJOURNMENT: Chair Sebourn declared the meeting adjourned at 5 :00 p.m . to the next Legislative and Public Affairs Committee meeting , Monday, February 6 , 2017 at 8 :00 a .m . Submitted by: r~~ Tina Knapp Deputy C lerk of the Board ,.. -_,. 12/14/2016 Legisl ativ e and Publ ic Affairs Com mittee M inutes Page 4 of 4