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
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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 Any items withdrawn from the Consent Calendar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
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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
,..
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