HomeMy WebLinkAbout09-10-2018 Legislative Committee Meeting Agenda09/10/2018 Legislative and Public Affairs Committee Page 1 of 2
Orange County Sanitation District
Meeting of the LEGISLATIVE AND PUBLIC AFFAIRS COMMITTEE
Monday, September 10, 2018 12:00 P.M. Administration Building Board Room
10844 Ellis Avenue Fountain Valley, CA (714) 593-7433
AGENDA
PLEDGE OF ALLEGIANCE:
DECLARATION OF QUORUM:
PUBLIC COMMENTS: If you wish to address the Committee on any item, please complete a Speaker’s
Form (located at the table at the back of the room) and submit it to the Clerk of the Board or notify the Clerk of
the Board the item number on which you wish to speak. Speakers will be recognized by the Chairman and are requested to limit comments to three minutes.
REPORTS: The Committee Chair and the General Manager may present verbal reports on miscellaneous
matters of general interest to the Committee Members. These reports are for information only and require no action by the Committee.
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 Any items withdrawn from the Consent Calendar for separate discussion will be considered in the regular order of business. 1.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)
RECOMMENDATION: Approve minutes for the Committee meeting held on
July 9, 2018. INFORMATION ITEMS:
2. PRESENTATION ON PAST AND CURRENT CALIFORNIA PROPOSITIONS (Jennifer Cabral) 3. LEGISLATIVE AFFAIRS UPDATE (Rebecca Long)
4. PUBLIC AFFAIRS UPDATE (Jennifer Cabral)
09/10/2018 Legislative and Public Affairs Committee Page 2 of 2
OTHER BUSINESS AND COMMUNICATIONS OR SUPPLEMENTAL AGENDA ITEMS, IF ANY: ADJOURNMENT:
The next Legislative and Public Affairs Committee meeting is scheduled for Monday, October 8, 2018 at 3:30 p.m.
Accommodations for the Disabled: Meeting Rooms are wheelchair accessible. If you require any special disability related accommodations, please contact the Orange County Sanitation District Clerk of the Board’s office at (714) 593-7433 at least 72 hours prior to the scheduled meeting. Requests must specify the nature of the disability and the type of accommodation requested. Agenda Posting: In accordance with the requirements of California Government Code Section 54954.2, this agenda has been posted outside the main gate of the Sanitation District’s Administration Building located at 10844 Ellis Avenue, Fountain Valley, California, and on the Sanitation District’s website at www.ocsd.com, not less than 72 hours prior to the meeting date and time above. All public records relating to each agenda item, including any public records distributed less than 72 hours prior to the meeting to all, or a majority of the Board of Directors, are available for public inspection in the office of the Clerk of the Board. Agenda Description: The agenda provides a brief general description of each item of business to be considered or discussed. The recommended action does not indicate what action will be taken. The Board of Directors may take any action which is deemed appropriate. NOTICE TO DIRECTORS: To place items on the agenda for the Committee Meeting, items must be submitted to the Clerk of the Board 14 days before the meeting. Kelly A. Lore, MMC Clerk of the Board (714) 593-7433 Klore@ocsd.com For any questions on the agenda, Committee members may contact staff at: General Manager James D. Herberg (714) 593-7300 jherberg@ocsd.com Assistant General Manager Rob Thompson (714) 593-7310 rthompson@ocsd.com
Assistant General Manager Lorenzo Tyner (714) 593-7550 ltyner@ocsd.com Director of Environmental Services James Colston (714) 593-7450 jcolston@ocsd.com Public Affairs Supervisor Jennifer Cabral (714) 593-7581 jjcabral@ocsd.com Senior Public Affairs Specialist Rebecca Long (714) 593-7444 rlong@ocsd.com
07/09/2018 Legislative and Public Affairs Committee Minutes Page 1 of 4
MINUTES OF THE LEGISLATIVE AND PUBLIC AFFAIRS COMMITTEE
Orange County Sanitation District Monday, July 9, 2018 at 3:30 p.m.
A meeting of the Legislative and Public Affairs Committee was called to order by Chair Sebourn on Monday, July 9, 2018 at 3:32 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 David Shawver, Board Vice-Chair
Allan Bernstein, Member-At-Large
Peter Kim, Member-At-Large John Withers, Member-At-Large Donald P. Wagner, Member-At-Large
COMMITTEE MEMBERS ABSENT: Chad Wanke, Member-At-Large
STAFF PRESENT: Bob Ghirelli, Assistant General Manager Rob Thompson, Assistant General Manager
Celia Chandler, Director of Human Resources
Jim Colston, Director of Environmental Services Ed Torres, Director of Operations & Maintenance Lorenzo Tyner, Director of Finance &
Administrative Services
Kelly Lore, Clerk of the Board Jennifer Cabral Tanya Chong Daisy Covarrubias
Rebecca Long
Kelly Lore Mark Manzo Kelly Newell
OTHERS PRESENT: Brad Hogin, General Counsel Eric Sapirstein, ENS Resources (via teleconference) Eric O’Donnell, Townsend Public Affairs
Cori Williams, Townsend Public Affairs
PUBLIC COMMENTS:
None.
REPORT OF COMMITTEE CHAIR:
Board Chair Sebourn did not provide a report.
ITEM NO. 1
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REPORT OF GENERAL MANAGER:
Assistant General Manager Bob Ghirelli did not provide a report. CONSENT CALENDAR:
1. APPROVAL OF MINUTES (Clerk of the Board)
MOVED, SECONDED, and DULY CARRIED TO: Approve minutes for the Committee meeting held on June 11, 2018.
AYES: Bernstein, Kim, Sebourn, Shawver, Wagner and
Withers
NOES: None
ABSTENTIONS: None ABSENT: Wanke NON-CONSENT CALENDAR:
2. LEGISLATIVE AND PUBLIC AFFAIRS COMMITTEE (Bob Ghirelli) Mr. Ghirelli provided a brief overview of the item explaining the options for possible restructuring of the Committee as requested.
MOVED, SECONDED, and DULY CARRIED TO: Recommend to the Board of Directors to: Change the structure of the Legislative and Public Affairs Committee to include a Committee Chairperson and Vice-Chairperson who are not already in a leadership position on any committee or the Board of Directors.
AYES: Bernstein, Kim, Sebourn, Shawver, Wagner and Withers
NOES: None
ABSTENTIONS: None ABSENT: Wanke
Item No. 3 was pulled from consideration.
3. OPPOSE ASSEMBLY BILL 327 (Bob Ghirelli) MOVED, SECONDED, and DULY CARRIED TO: Approve letter of Opposition for Assembly Bill 327 - South Coast Air Quality Management District: Fleets
(Assemblyman Gipson).
Item No. 6 was moved forward and heard out of order. 6. LEGISLATIVE AFFAIRS UPDATE (Rebecca Long)
Rebecca Long, Senior Public Affairs Specialist, introduced Eric Sapirstein, ENS
Resources, who updated the Committee on the following items: Testimony by OCWD for the WIIN Grant; NPDES permitting with a joint letter signed by
07/09/2018 Legislative and Public Affairs Committee Minutes Page 3 of 4
Representatives Alan Lowenthal and John Garamendi, and transmitted to the
Committee on Transportation & Infrastructure; EPA funding measures; and
today’s resignation of EPA chief Scott Pruitt. Ms. Long reported that staff had received 15 letters of support for the WIIN grant; and announced that the State of the District is tentatively set for October
12th at Mile Square golf course.
Eric O’Donnell, Townsend Public Affairs (TPA), provided an informative PowerPoint presentation reviewing the current legislative session and bills that are still alive. The presentation also provided Cap and Trade expenditures;
November Ballot Initiatives namely Proposition 3, 5, and 6 with a focus on SB
212 and SB 1440; and an overview of bill advocacy. Questions and comments were responded to regarding the Propositions. Vice-Chair Shawver requested a presentation of the breakdown of the bond allocation over the last few years. Chair Sebourn directed staff to provide the presentation at the August Steering
Committee meeting. Questions regarding the process of the required 2/3 vote
to pass SB 623, the water tax bill, were addressed. 4. SUPPORT SENATE BILL 1440 (Bob Ghirelli)
MOVED, SECONDED, and DULY CARRIED TO: Approve letter of Support for
Senate Bill 1440 - Biomethane Procurement Program (Senator Hueso). AYES: Bernstein, Kim, Sebourn, Shawver, Wagner and Withers
NOES: None
ABSTENTIONS: None
ABSENT: Wanke
INFORMATION ITEMS: 5. PUBLIC AFFAIRS UPDATE (Jennifer Cabral)
Public Affairs Supervisor Jennifer Cabral provided information regarding her recent attendance at the CSDA Conference where she presented information on the Transparency of Special Districts. She further reported on OCSD’s partnership with the Inside the Outdoors program and that the effort has reached
over 2700 students this year.
Ms. Cabral announced upcoming events including: Westminster Safety Day on July 18; Association of Women in Water, Energy & Environment (AWWEE) meeting; speaking engagements for the General Manager at the La Habra
Rotary Club; Assistant General Manager Rob Thompson at the OC Water
Association; and a presentation provided by Acting Human Resources and Risk Manager, Laura Maravilla, and the General Manager at OCBC.
07/09/2018 Legislative and Public Affairs Committee Minutes Page 4 of 4
Ms. Cabral informed the Committee of the upcoming tour for the North Orange
County Chamber of Commerce this Friday; and provided an update on the State
College sewer construction project. Vice-Chair Shawver restated his idea of an OCSD Special District Foundation to assist with Public Outreach; and requested that the District’s list of awards
and accomplishments be listed more predominantly on our website.
OTHER BUSINESS AND COMMUNICATIONS OR SUPPLEMENTAL AGENDA ITEMS, IF ANY:
None.
ADJOURNMENT: Chair Sebourn declared the meeting adjourned at 4:14 p.m. to the next Legislative and
Public Affairs Committee meeting, Monday, September 10, 2018 at 12:00 p.m.
Submitted by:
_____________________ Kelly A. Lore, MMC Clerk of the Board
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LEGISLATIVE AND PUBLIC AFFAIRS COMMITTEE Meeting Date 09/10/18 To Bd. of Dir. --
AGENDA REPORT Item Number 2 Item Number --
Orange County Sanitation District FROM: James D. Herberg, General Manager SUBJECT: PRESENTATION ON PAST AND CURRENT CALIFORNIA PROPOSITIONS
GENERAL MANAGER'S RECOMMENDATION Information Only.
BACKGROUND During the July 9, 2018 Legislative and Public Affairs Committee meeting, staff was directed to provide an informational briefing and report on the past and current California propositions including how much the Orange County Sanitation District (Sanitation
District) received, if any, and what the Sanitation District could be eligible for.
RELEVANT STANDARDS
• Maintain a culture of improving efficiency to reduce the cost to provide the current service level or standard
• Ensure the public’s money is wisely
• Secure outside funding (grants) for recycled water or other capital programs PROBLEM
N/A PROPOSED SOLUTION
Provide a report and presentation on the past and present propositions. TIMING CONCERNS The Legislative and Public Affairs Committee has directed staff and the consultants to
provide an informational presentation. RAMIFICATIONS OF NOT TAKING ACTION N/A
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PRIOR COMMITTEE/BOARD ACTIONS Townsend Public Affairs provided a presentation at the July 9 Legislative and Public
Affairs Committee that briefly covered present and upcoming propositions. ADDITIONAL INFORMATION The Sanitation District has an established 20-year Capital Improvement Program along
with the funding strategy to meet the needs for safe collection, treatment, and recycling
for the Sanitation District’s service area. The Sanitation District carefully considers each and every funding opportunity to ensure eligibility, compliance obligations, and project availability.
ATTACHMENT
The following attachment(s)is included in hard copy and may also be viewed on-line at the OCSD website (www.ocsd.com) with the complete agenda package:
• California Proposition Update
Past and Current Propositions
Orange County Sanitation District
Grant Opportunity Eligible Projects Application Info Deadline/Award Date Notes
Proposition 84
Integrated Regional Water Management (IRWM) Grant Program
Department of Water Resources
• Water reuse and recycling for non- potable reuse and direct and indirect potable reuse
• Local and regional surface and underground water storage, including groundwater aquifer cleanup or recharge projects
• Regional water conveyance facilities that improve integration of separate water systems
• $114 million made available to the Santa Ana funding region
• 2010-2015 • OCSD was awarded $1 million in Round 1 (Sludge Dewatering and Odor Control)
• OCSD was awarded $1 million in Round 3 (Newhope-Placentia Trunk Replacement)
Proposition 1
Integrated Regional Water Management (IRWM) Grant Program
Department of Water Resources
• Water reuse and recycling for non- potable reuse and direct and indirect potable reuse
• Local and regional surface and underground water storage, including groundwater aquifer cleanup or recharge projects
• Regional water conveyance facilities that improve integration of separate water systems
• $64 million made available to the Santa Ana funding region
• Winter 2018/2019 • No eligible projects at this time
Proposition 1
Water Recycling Funding Program
• Construction cost of recycled water treatment, storage, pump stations, and distribution pipeline systems, provided that: facilities are located as appropriate to serve best the function
• $75,000 Planning Grant max
• $15 Million Constr. Grant max
• Continuous • No eligible projects at this time
Grant Opportunity Eligible Projects Application Info Deadline/Award Date Notes
State Water Resources Control Board
of the funded recycled water system, including on a use site.
• Recycled water distribution pipeline systems, from the source of supply to
the reuse sites.
Proposition 68
Regional Sustainability for Drought and Groundwater, and Water Recycling
Multiple Funding Agencies
• TBD • $390 million in Proposition 68 • TBD • Eligible projects will be determined upon grant guideline development
Proposition 3
Water Recycling Projects
Funding Agency TBD
• TBD • $400 million in Proposition 3 • TBD • Eligible projects will be determined upon grant guideline development
Proposition 3
Protection and Restoration of Watersheds of Los Angeles, Venture and Orange Counties
Funding Agency TBD
• TBD • $180 million in Proposition 3
• TBD • Eligible projects will be determined upon grant guideline development
Proposition 84 - Status of Funds
Proposition 84 in 2006, The Safe Drinking Water, Water Quality and Supply, Flood Control, River and Coastal Protection Bond Act, authorized $5.388 billion in general obligation bonds to fund safe drinking water, water quality and supply, flood control, waterway and natural resource protection, water pollution and contamination control, state and local park improvements, public access to natural resources, and water conservation efforts. Below is a summary table that describes the money remaining in Proposition 84 (2006): Proposition 84 (2006)
Chapter of the Bond Adjusted
Allocation ($1000s)
Committed ($1000s) Balance ($1000s)
Ch. 2 Safe Drinking Water and Water Quality Projects $1,495,281 $1,466,833 $28,448
Ch. 3 Flood Control $784,410 $752,247 $32,163
Ch. 4 Statewide Water Planning and Design $63,733 $62,299 $1,435
Ch. 5 Protection of Rivers, Lakes and Streams $909,915 $847,219 $62,696
Ch. 6 Forest and Wildlife Conservation $441,231 $446,667 ($5,436)
Ch. 7 Protection of Beaches, Bays and Coastal Waters $529,477 $488,841 $40,635
Ch. 8 Parks and Nature Education Facilities $490,256 $453,901 $36,355
Ch. 9 Sustainable Communities and Climate Change Reduction $568,697 $552,859 $15,838
Ch. 10/11 Statewide Bond Cost $0 $83,580 ($83,580)
Reallocated to Proposition 1 $0 $105,000 $0
Totals: $5,388,000 $5,259,446 $128,554
Proposition 1 – Status of Funds
Since the passage of The Water Quality, Supply, and Infrastructure Improvement Act of 2014 (Proposition 1), State agencies have been developing programs and funding projects across the State that aim to increase water supply, restore habitat, improve drought preparedness, and combat drought. The State has so far appropriated approximately $6.6 billion out of the $7.545 billion bond. This
funding includes money that was appropriated in the June 2017 budget for the 2017-2018 fiscal year. Only $928 million remains for future appropriation by the Legislature, with the majority allocated to Flood Management, Integrated Regional Water Management (IRWM) programs, and watershed protection and restoration.
Below is a brief breakdown of several programs funded by Proposition 1 (2014):
Proposition 1 (2014)
Chapter of the Bond Adjusted Allocation ($1000s)
Committed ($1000s) Balance ($1000s)
Ch. 5 Clean, Safe and Reliable Drinking Water $520,000 $480,451 $39,549
Ch. 6 Protecting Rivers, Lakes, Streams, Coastal Waters and Watersheds $1,495,000 $1,161,661 $333,339
Ch. 7 Regional Water Security, Climate, and Drought Preparedness $810,000 $512,726 $297,274
Ch. 8 Statewide Water System Operational Improvement and Drought Preparedness $2,700,000 $2,646,000 $54,000
Ch. 9 Water Recycling $725,000 $694,834 $30,166
Ch. 10 Groundwater Sustainability $900,000 $859,066 $40,934
Ch. 11 Flood Management $395,000 $111,000 $284,000
Ch. 4 and 12 Statewide Bond Costs 0 $150,900 ($150,900)
Totals: $7,545,000 $6,616,638 $928,362
Proposition 68 – Status of Funds
In June 2018, voters passed Proposition 68, the California Drought, Water, Parks, Climate, Coastal Protection, and Outdoor Access For All Act of 2018. During the FY 2018-2019 Budget process, the Legislature appropriated over $1 billion from Proposition 68. These majority of these funds were for statewide park programs, including the per capita formulaic park funding. Below is a brief breakdown of Proposition 68 (2018):
Proposition 68 (2018)
Chapter of the Bond Adjusted Allocation ($1000s)
Committed ($1000s) Balance ($1000s)
Ch. 2 Investments in Environmental and Social
Equity, Enhancing California's Disadvantaged Communities
$706,875 $277,379 $447,621
Ch. 3 Investments in Protecting, Enhancing, and
Accessing California's Local and Regional Outdoor Spaces
$277,875 $186,012 $98,988
Ch. 4 Restoring California's Natural, Historic, and Cultural Legacy
$212,550 $22,750 $195,250
Ch. 5 Trails and Greenway Investment $29,250 $117 $29,883
Ch. 6 Rural Recreation, Tourism, and Economic
Enrichment Investment
$24,375 $30 $24,970
Ch. 7 California River Recreation, Creek, and Waterway Improvements Program $157,950 $67,909 $94,091
Ch. 8 State Conservancy, Wildlife Conservation Board, and Authority Funding $747,825 $132,873 $634,127
Ch. 9 Ocean, Bay, and Coastal Protection $170,625 $32,652 $142,348
Ch. 10 Climate Preparedness, Habitat Resiliency, Resource Enhancement, and Innovation $431,925 $182,741 $260,259
Ch. 11 Clean Drinking Water and Drought Preparedness $243,750 $63,250 $186,750
Ch. 11.1 Groundwater Sustainability $78,000 $74,000 $6,000
Ch. 11.5 Flood Protection and Repair $536,250 $98,617 $451,383
Ch. 11.6 Regional Sustainability for Drought and Groundwater, and Water Recycling $380,250 $120,150 $269,850
Ch. 13 Statewide bond costs $102,500 $102,500 ($102,500)
Totals: $4,100,000 $1,360,980 $2,739,020
Proposition 3 – Status of Funds
In November 2018, voters will consider Proposition 3, the Water Infrastructure and Watershed Conservation Bond Initiative. This $8.9 billion bond will fund water infrastructure projects, groundwater supplies and storage, surface water storage and dam repairs, watershed and fisheries improvements, and habitat protection and restoration. Below is a brief breakdown of Proposition 3 (2018):
Proposition 3 (Proposed 2018)
Chapter of the Bond Adjusted Allocation ($1000s)
Committed ($1000s) Balance ($1000s)
Safe Drinking Water and Water Quality
• Safe Drinking Water for DAC communities
– ($750 million)
• Desalination ($400 million)
• Water Conservation ($300 million)
• Stormwater ($400 million)
o San Gabriel and Lower Los Angeles Rivers and Mountains Conservancy - $40 million
$3,030,000 0 0
Watershed and Fisheries Improvements
• Protection and Restoration of Watersheds of Los Angeles, Venture and Orange Counties - $180 million
$2,895,000 0 0
Habitat Protection
• Santa Ana River Conservancy - $30 million
$940,000 0 0
Improved Water Conveyance $855,000 0 0
Groundwater Sustainability/Storage $685,000 0 0
Surface Water Storage/Dam Repairs $472,000 0 0
Totals: $8,877,000
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LEGISLATIVE AND PUBLIC AFFAIRS COMMITTEE Meeting Date 09/10/18 To Bd. of Dir. --
AGENDA REPORT Item Number 3 Item Number --
Orange County Sanitation District FROM: James D. Herberg, General Manager SUBJECT: LEGISLATIVE AFFAIRS UPDATE
GENERAL MANAGER'S RECOMMENDATION Information Only. BACKGROUND
The Orange County Sanitation District’s (Sanitation District) legislative affairs program includes advocating the Sanitation District’s legislative interests, sponsoring legislation (where appropriate), and seeking Federal/State funding for projects.
Staff will provide an update on recent legislative activities. RELEVANT STANDARDS
• Maintain influential legislative advocacy and a public outreach program
• Build brand, trust, and support with policy makers and community leaders
• Maintain collaborative and cooperative relationships with regulators, stakeholders,
and neighboring communities
• Listen to and seriously consider community input on environmental concerns
• Use all practical and effective means for resource recovery
PROBLEM Without a strong advocacy program, elected officials may not be aware that the Sanitation District is more than a wastewater treatment plant – treating and sending water to the
ocean. The Sanitation District is an environmentally engaged organization which recycles more than 50 percent of its wastewater. Additionally, to help meet the goal of 100 percent recycling, the Sanitation District uses the byproducts from the wastewater treatment
process to produce biosolids to fertilize crops and energy used to help power the two plants in Fountain Valley and Huntington Beach. PROPOSED SOLUTION
Work with Local, State, and Federal officials to advocate the Sanitation District’s legislative interests. Help to create/monitor legislation and grants that would benefit the Sanitation District, the wastewater industry, and the community as a whole. To assist in
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our relationship building activities, we will continue to reach out to our elected officials providing facility tours, one-on-one meetings, and trips to D.C. and Sacramento.
RAMIFICATIONS OF NOT TAKING ACTION
If we do not work with Local, State, and Federal elected officials, legislation could be passed that negatively affects the Sanitation District and the wastewater industry as a whole. Additionally, this could affect our chances of receiving grant funding.
ADDITIONAL INFORMATION SAVE THE DATE: The Sanitation District's State of the District will be held on Friday, October 19 from 8 a.m. to 10 a.m. at the Mile Square Golf Course in Fountain Valley. The
event will host Local, State, and Federal dignitaries and provide an update on the
Sanitation District, our past activities, and the future direction of the agency. Invitations will be sent out shortly. Staff and legislative consultants have started working on the revision/update for the 2019
Legislative and Regulatory platform. The platform will provide guidance when reviewing
legislative pieces that may positively or negatively affect the Sanitation District or the industry as a whole. As part of the process, staff and legislative consultants met with the Sanitation District subject matter experts gaining useful insight and knowledge into the needs of the Sanitation District. Staff anticipates having a near-final draft ready to present
to the Legislative and Public Affairs Committee in November and will take the platform to
the December Steering Committee. The Sanitation District Request for Amendments for Assembly Bill (AB) 2447: AB 2447 by Assembly Member Gomez Reyes would significantly increase our cost by requiring a
lead agency on a project undergoing California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) review
to mail notices in multiple languages to households within a half-mile of a project with an industrial land use near a disadvantaged community. The Sanitation District is working with the author to add language to exempt wastewater agencies from this requirement.
The Sanitation District signed onto a coalition letter with the California Special Districts
Association to oppose (unless amended) Senate Bill (SB) 1077 by Senator Wilk. SB 1077 would change the current public work provisions to exempt participants from indemnity or liability obligations if the wrap-around insurance is insufficient or depleted. If passed, this bill could shift first dollar defense liability from the subcontractor to the local agency project
owner.
ATTACHMENT
The following attachment(s) are included in hard copy and may also be viewed on-line at the OCSD website (www.ocsd.com) with the complete agenda package:
• Federal Update & Legislative Matrix - ENS Resources
• State Update & Legislative Matrix - Townsend Public Affairs
• Grant Matrix
ENS Resources, Inc. 1901 Pennsylvania Avenue, N.W. Suite 1005 Washington, D.C. 20006 Phone 202.466.3755/Telefax 202.466.3787
M E M O R A N D U M TO: Rebecca Long FROM: Eric Sapirstein DATE: August 20, 2018 SUBJECT: Washington Update The month of August is typically a quieter work month for Congress as the House and Senate break for a six week-long summer recess. This year, however, the Senate has a shorter recess, remaining in session half of August, while the House recessed until after Labor Day. We expect that both chambers will move swiftly in September to address pending legislative issues, since there will only be approximately two weeks in the session to complete business before recessing in October for the mid-terms campaign season. The following provides a summary of the key issues that Congress will likely attempt to finalize in September; or failing to achieve final compromises sets up the agenda for a Lame Duck Session in November through December.
Senate Makes Progress to Approve Fiscal Year 2019 Spending Bills in
Anticipation of Conference Committees with House in September As a result of the extended Senate summer work schedule, passage of most of the twelve appropriations bills is on track to be ready for a conference with the House Committee on Appropriations. If this occurs, it could culminate in final spending bills before October 1 when FY 2019 begins, representing a major achievement not realized in years. The two key spending bills of note for OCSD are the Interior and Environment Appropriations Bill (H.R. 6147) that funds United States Environmental Protection Agency (USEPA) and the Energy and Water Development Appropriations Bill (H.R. 5895) that funds the Department of Interior’s water recycling programs and other western water needs.
Each passed the Senate overwhelming. H.R. 6147 as approved closely aligns with the House-passed version and therefore full funding of United States Environmental Protection Agency’s (USEPA’s) State Revolving Fund (SRF) Program ($2.7 billion) and Water Infrastructure Finance and Innovation Act (WIFIA) ($65 million) should be enacted. Any agreement is also expected to maintain support for the WaterSense, beach monitoring and National Estuary Programs. However, a series of policy riders adopted as part of the House version create a challenge in finding a compromise with the Senate. The Senate that has resisted including policy riders in its spending measures. Among the contentious House riders are two prominent provisions of interest to OCSD. First, a rider to prohibit Waters of the US (WOTUS) implementation, once considered unimportant because of a new Administration proposal, has gained new urgency with a recent federal District Court WOTUS decision (see below update). Second, a rider to expedite California water projects’ permitting reviews by overriding federal and state laws has jeopardized timely passage as Senators Feinstein and Harris have publicly objected to the provision. The opposition is found in their concerns that such a policy would foreclose reviews of project impacts and set a precedent that is better addressed through regular legislative review and amendments. Given these circumstances, it is highly likely that Congress will need to approve a stopgap spending bill to continue governmental operations until after the elections. Efforts to finalize H.R. 5895, could also be stalled. However, unlike H.R. 6147, the disputes center upon funding priorities unrelated to water and environmental programs of interest to OCSD. Under H.R. 5865, funding of the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation’s WaterSMART, Title XVI and the Water Infrastructure Improvements for the Nation (WIIN) programs appear to enjoy strong bipartisan support in both chambers. Collectively, we anticipate that funding for these programs will near a total of $100 million, allowing for competitive grants assistance awards of interest to OCSD in the coming fiscal year 2019. Because of ongoing disputes surrounding non-water resources issues in H.R. 5895, it is possible that that Congress might also need to approve a stopgap spending bill to continue governmental operations for the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation (USBR). If this occurs, finalization of spending measures impacting water infrastructure assistance would likely be approved in December.
Clean Water Rule (WOTUS) Ordered To Be Implemented In 26 States, Reversing
Administration A new development in the Waters of the U.S. (WOTUS) rulemaking process occurred in August. As noted in the past, WOTUS was an Obama USEPA era attempt to clarify which waters are subject to Clean Water Act regulation. The action drew strong opposition from business interests and municipal interests concerned that the effort represented an over-reach. From a municipal perspective, concerns that the rule would capture water recycling discharges created deep concerns. A U.S. district judge, in South Carolina, ruled that when the USEPA issued a rule to delay the effective date of the finalized 2015 WOTUS by two years, it violated the Administrative Procedures Act that precludes changing the effective date without formal rulemakings. The violation stems from USEPA and U.S. Army Corps of Engineers decisions to decline to consider comments addressing substantive issues relating to the 2015 WOTUS or the previous 1982 version of the prior rule and subsequent court decisions that created the demand that generated WOTUS. The
ENS Resources, Inc. 1901 Pennsylvania Avenue, N.W. Suite 1005 Washington, D.C. 20006 Phone 202.466.3755/Telefax 202.466.3787
ruling means that the WOTUS rule must be reinstituted in 26 states, about half of the country with California likely to be impacted. The status in the other 24 states is still being reviewed in two on-going court cases. The net impact of the ruling all but makes certain that the WOTUS debate will ultimately be resolved before the U.S. Supreme Court. For OCSD, the consequences of this decision are unlikely to affect operations as the operations are already under Clean Water Act permitting mandates.
USEPA Closes Its Third WIFIA Loan The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency announced that the WIFIA Program closed on its third loan to the Orange County Water District (OCWD). The loan will support the construction of the final expansion of the Groundwater Replenishment System. The $135 million loan will finance approximately half of the costs to expand GWRS and will save ratepayers millions of dollars due to the highly subsidized assistance provided by the program. .
OCSD
Federal
Bills of Interest
BILL AUTHOR SUMMARY LATEST ACTION OCSD POSITION OTHER
POSITIONS
H.R.1071 Paul Tonko (D-NY)Assistance, Quality, and Affordability Act of 2017. Amends the
Safe Drinking Water Act to increase assistance for States, water
systems, and disadvantaged communities; to encourage good
financial and environmental management of water systems; to
strengthen the Environmental Protection Agency’s ability to enforce
the requirements of the Act; and for other purposes.
House - 2/13/17
Referred to the House
Committee on Energy
and Commerce
2/15/17
Watch No supporters of
note for OCSD
H.R. 465 Bob Gibbs (R-OH)Water Quality Improvement Act. Amends the Clean Water Act to
allow for integreated plan permits for CSO's and related wet weather
compliance needs in association with traditional discharge mandates
to allow for priority setting.
House - 1/12/2017
Referred to Committee
on Transportation &
Infrastructure
Watch NACWA
Supports/Could
become vehicle for
permit term
extensions to ten
years from five
years
H.R.1068 Frank Pallone (D-NJ)Safe Drinking Water Act Amendments of 2017. To enable needed
drinking water standards, reduce lead in drinking water, plan for and
address threats from climate change, terrorism, and source water
contamination, invest in drinking water infrastructure, increase
compliance with drinking water standards, foster greater community
right to know about drinking water quality, and promote technological
solutions for drinking water challenges.
House - 2/15/17,
Referred to
Subcommittee on
Environment 2/17/17
Watch No supporters of
note for OCSD
H.R. 1663 Robert Wittman (R-VA)Water Resources Research Amendments Act. Amends the Water
Resources Research Act of 1984 to reauthorize grants for and require
applied water supply research regarding the water resources research
and technology institutes established under that Act.
House - 3/21/17
Referred to Committee
on Natural Resources -
3/21/17
Watch No supporters of
note for OCSD
H.R. 1579 Scott H. Peters (D-CA)Secure and Resilient Water Systems Act. To require drinking water
systems to assess and address their vulnerabilities to climate change,
source water degradation, and intentional acts to ensure secuity and
resiliency.
House - 3/16/17,
referred to Committee
on Energy and
Commerce
Watch No supporters of
note for OCSD
Proposed Federal Legislation 2017-2018
Priority
OCSD
Federal
Bills of Interest
BILL AUTHOR SUMMARY LATEST ACTION OCSD POSITION OTHER
POSITIONS
H.R. 434 Jeff Denham (R-CA)New WATER Act. Authorizes the Department of the Interior, for 15
years after this bill's enactment, to provide financial assistance, such
as secured loans or loan guarantees, to entities that contract under
federal reclamation law to carry out water projects within the 17
western states served by the Bureau of Reclamation, other states
where the Bureau is authorized to provide project assistance, Alaska,
and Hawaii.
House - 1/11/17
Referred to
Subcommittee on
Water, Power, and
Oceans - 2/7/17
Watch No supporters of
note for OCSD
H.R. 448 Jared Huffman (D-CA)Water Conservation Rebate Tax Parity Act. Amends the Internal
Revenue Code to expand the tax exclusion for energy conservation
subsidies provided by public utilities to exclude from gross income
subsidies provided: (1) by a public utility to a customer, or by a state or
local government to a resident of such state or locality, for the
purchase or installation of any water conservation or efficiency
measure; and (2) by a storm water management provider to a
customer, or by a state or local government to a resident of such state
or locality, for the purchase or installation of any storm water
management measure.
House - 1/11/2017
Referred to Committee
on Ways and Means -
1/11/17
Support ACWA and CASA
Support
S. 692 Deb Fischer (R-NE)Water infrastructure Flexibility Act. Provides for integrated plan
permits, to establish an Office of the Municipal Ombudsman, to
promote green infrastructure, and to require the revision of financial
capability guidance.
Approved by Senate
without objection on
Unanimous Consent
on 10/10/17 and
referred to House
Committee on
Transportation &
Infrastructure
Support NACWA Supports
H.R. 1654 Tom McClintock (R-CA)Water Supply Permitting Coordination Act. To authorize the
Secretary of the Interior to coordinate Federal and permitting
processes related to the construction of new surface water storage
projects on lands under the jurisdiction of the Secretary of the Interior
and the Secretary of Agriculture and to designate the Bureau of
Reclamation as the lead agency for permit processing, and for other
purposes.
House - 6/26/17
Passed House and
referred to Senate
Watch No supporters of
note for OCSD
OCSD
Federal
Bills of Interest
BILL AUTHOR SUMMARY LATEST ACTION OCSD POSITION OTHER
POSITIONS
H.R.998 Jason Smith (R-MO)SCRUB Act. SCRUB would institutionalize a process to identify those
regulations that are eligible to be repealed. Under the measure, a
bipartisan review commission would examine rules fifteen years or
older that are determined to be not necessary and should be repealed
immediately, or given to the appropriate agency for the purposes of
prioritizing the rule for repeal.
Passed House 3/1/17
240-185, Received in
Senate - referred to
Committee on
Homeland Security
and Governmental
Affairs
Support No supporters of
note for OCSD
H.R. 1653 Robert E. Latta (R-OH)Drinking Water Affordability Act. Amends certain provisions of the
Safe Drinking Water Act, and for other purposes.
House - 3/21/2017
Referred to
Subcommittee on
Environment
Watch No supporters of
note for OCSD
H.R. 1807 Louie Gohmert (R-TX) Public Water Supply Invasive Species Compliance Act of 2017.
Amends the Lacey Act and the Lacey Act Amendments of 1981 by
exempting certain water transfers between public water supplies
located on, along, or across the boundaries of Texas, Arkansas, and
Louisiana from prohibitions on illegal trade of plants and wildlife.
Specifically, the prohibitions do not apply to covered water transfers
containing a prohibited species if: (1) the species are present in both
public water supplies before the transfer and the water is transferred
directly between them; or (2) the water is transferred in a closed
conveyance system (a closed system that collects, contains, and
transports the flow of water, such as pipe systems) and sent directly to
treatment facilities where the species will be destroyed.
House - 8/25/17
Placed on Union
Calendar
Watch No supporters of
note for OCSD
S. 896 Richard Burr (R-NC)A bill to permanently reauthorize the Land and Water
Conservation Fund. This bill amends the Land and Water
Conservation Fund Act of 1965 to make permanent the authorization
for the Land and Water Conservation Fund. The greater of 1.5% of the
annual authorized funding amount or $10 million shall be used for
projects that secure recreational public access to existing federal
public land for hunting, fishing, and other recreational purposes.
House - 4/07/17
referred to Committee
on Energy and Natural
Resources
Watch No supporters of
note for OCSD
OCSD
Federal
Bills of Interest
BILL AUTHOR SUMMARY LATEST ACTION OCSD POSITION OTHER
POSITIONS
H.R. 1971 Lloyd Smucker (R-PA)Water Infrastructure Flexibility Act. To provide for integrated plan
permits, to establish an Office of the Municipal Ombudsman, to
promote green infrastructure, and to require the revision of financial
capability guidance.
House - 4/07/17
referred to
Subcommittee on
Water Resources and
Environment
Support NACWA Supports
S. 880 Tammy Baldwin (D-WI)Made In America Water Infrastructure Act. To ensure the use of
American iron and steel in public water systems, and for other
purposes.
House -4/6/17 referred
to the Committee on
Environment and
Public Works
Watch No supporters of
note for OCSD
H.R. 2116 Stephen Knight (R-CA) Perchlorate Reclamation and Water Replenishment Act. Amends
the Reclamation Wastewater and Groundwater Study and Facilities
Act to authorize the Secretary of the Interior to participate in a series of
water reclamation projects to provide a new water supply to
communities previously impacted by perchlorate contamination
plumes.
House - 4/25/2017
Referred to Committee
on Natural Resources
Watch NACWA Supports
H.R. 1647 Earl Blumenauer (D-OR)Water Infrastructure Trust Fund Act of 2017. To establish a Water
Infrastructure Trust Fund, and for other purposes
House - 3/21/2017
Referred to
Subcommittee on
Environment, 3/24/7
Watch No supporters of
note for OCSD
H.R. 2510 Peter DeFazio (D-OR)Clean Water and Jobs Creation Act of 2017. To renew the Clean
Water SRF Program and to provide grants to support resiliency needs.
House - 5/18/2017.
Referred to
Subcommittee on
Water Resources and
Environment, 5/19/18
Support CASA Supports
S. 1137 Ben Cardin (D-MD)Clean Safe Reliable Water Infrastructure Act. Provides for a robust
funding of SRF programs and to establish a WaterSense Program to
promote water efficiency.
Senate - 5/16/2017
Referred to Committee
on Environment and
Public Works
Watch No supporters of
note for OCSD
S. 21 Paul Rand (R-KY)Regulations from the Executive in Need of Scrutiny Act of 2017.
This bill will provide for congressional approval of regulations with
impacts of $100 million or greater.
Senate - 10/16/17
Placed on Senate
Legislative Calendar
Watch No supporters of
note for OCSD
OCSD
Federal
Bills of Interest
BILL AUTHOR SUMMARY LATEST ACTION OCSD POSITION OTHER
POSITIONS
H.R. 3266 Michael Simpson (R-ID) Energy and Water Development and Related Agencies
Appropriations Act, 2018. This bill provides FY2018 appropriations
for: the civil works projects of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers; the
Department of the Interior's Bureau of Reclamation and Central Utah
Project; the Department of Energy (DOE); and several independent
agencies, including the Nuclear Regulatory Commission.
Reported to House
without amendment
07/17/2017. Placed on
the Union Calendar,
Calendar No. 163
Watch No supporters of
note for OCSD
S. 1696 Tom Udall (D-NM)Smart Energy and Water Efficiency Act. Provides for language
protecting against certification of technologies that migh impair water
treatment or increase costs.
Senate - 8/1/17 and
referred Committee on
Energy and Natural
Resources
Watch No supporters of
note for OCSD but
anticipate CASA
and WateReuse
will support
H.R. 3275 Jerry McNerney (D-CA)Water and Energy Sustainability through Technology Act.
Provides for assistance to support innovation in water treatment and
water use efficiency.
House - 7/17/17
referred to
Committees on
Energy and
Commerce, Natural
Resources,
Transportation and
Infrastructure, Science
Space and
Technology,
Agriculture
Watch No supporters of
note for OCSD
S. 1622 Bob Menendez (D-NJ) Beach Act of 2017. This bill amends the Federal Water Pollution
Control Act (commonly known as the Clean Water Act) to revise and
reauthorize through FY2021 a grant program for monitoring, and
notifying the public of, any pathogens in coastal recreation waters
bordering public beaches.
Senate - 07/24/2017
Read twice and
referred to the
Committee on
Environment and
Public Works.
Watch No supporters of
note for OCSD
H.R. 2755 Frank Pallone (D-NJ)Beach Act of 2017. Amends the Federal Water Pollution Control Act
(commonly known as the Clean Water Act) to revise and reauthorize
through FY2021 a grant program for monitoring, and notifying the
public of, any pathogens in coastal recreation waters bordering public
beaches.
House - 05/26/2017
Referred to the
Subcommittee on
Water Resources and
Environment
Watch No supporters of
note for OCSD
OCSD
Federal
Bills of Interest
BILL AUTHOR SUMMARY LATEST ACTION OCSD POSITION OTHER
POSITIONS
H.R. 2510 Peter DeFazio (D-OR)Water Quality Protection and Job Creation Act of 2017. Amends
the Federal Water Pollution Control Act to authorize appropriations for
State water pollution control revolving funds, and for other purposes.
House - 05/18/2017
Referred to the
Subcommittee on
Water Resources and
Environment
Watch No supporters of
note for OCSD
S. 1464 Dianne Feinstein (D-CA)Water Conservation Tax Parity Act. Amends the Internal Revenue
Code to expand the tax exclusion for energy conservation subsidies
provided by public utilities to exclude from gross income subsidies
provided (directly or indirectly): (1) by a public utility to a customer, or
by a state or local government to a resident of such state or locality, for
the purchase or installation of any water conservation or efficiency
measure; and (2) by a storm water management provider to a
customer, or by a state or local government to a resident of such state
or locality, for the purchase or installation of any storm water
management measure.
Senate - 6/28/2017
Referred to the
Committee on Finance
Watch WateReuse
Supports
S. 1700 Tom Udall (D-NM)Water Efficiency Improvement Act of 2017. Amend the Energy
Policy and Conservation Act to establish a WaterSense program within
the Enivronmental Protection Agency, and for other purposes.
Senate - 8/2/2017
Referred to Committee
on Environment and
Public Works
Watch No supporters of
note for OCSD
H.R. 2799 Jerry McNerney (D-CA)Western Water Recycling and Drought Relief Act. Amends the
Reclamation Wastewater and Groundwater Study and Facilities Act to
authorize the Department of the Interior to participate in the design,
planning, and construction of recycled water system facilities in
California.
House - 6/7/2017
Referred to
Subcommittee on
Water, Power and
Oceans, 6/16/17
Watch No supporters of
note for OCSD
H.R. 3533 Salud Carbajal (D-CA)Coastal State Climate Preparedness Act of 2017. Amends the
Coastal Zone Management Act of 1972 to require the Secretary of
Commerce to establish a coastal climate change adaptation
preparedness and response program, and for other purposes.
House - 7/28/2017
Referred to
Subcommittee on
Energy and Mineral
Resources, 8/14/17
Watch No supporters of
note for OCSD
OCSD
Federal
Bills of Interest
BILL AUTHOR SUMMARY LATEST ACTION OCSD POSITION OTHER
POSITIONS
H.R. 3906 Denny Heck (D-WA)Innovative Stormwater Infrastructure Act of 2017. Establishes
centers of excellence for innovative stormwater control infrastructure,
and for other purposes.
House - 7/16/18
Passed House by
voice vote. Received
in Senate
Watch No supporters of
note for OCSD
H.R. 4177 Matt Cartwright (D-PA)PREPARE Act of 2017. Enhances the Federal Government’s planning
and preparation for extreme weather and the Federal Government’s
dissemination of best practices to respond to extreme weather,
thereby increasing resilience, improving regional coordination, and
mitigating the financial risk to the Federal Government from such
extreme weather, and for other purposes.
Hosue - 4/12/18
Ordered to Reported
out of Committee on
Transportation and
Infrastructure by voice
vote
Watch No supporters of
note for OCSD
H.R. 4492 Brian Mast (R-FL)Water Infrastructure Finance and Innovation Reauthorization Act
of 2017. Reauthorizes and amends the Water Infrastructure Finance
and Innovation Act of 2014.
House -11/30/2017
Referred to the
Committee on
Transportation and
Infrastructure and
Committee on Energy
and Commerce
Watch No supporters of
note for OCSD
H.R. 2917 Bob Gibbs (R-OH)Regulatory Certainty Act of 2017. Amends the Federal Water
Pollution Control Act to clarify when the Administrator of the
Environmental Protection Agency has the authority to prohibit the
specification of a defined area, or deny or restrict the use of a defined
area for specification, as a disposal site under section 404 of such Act,
and for other purposes.
House - 6/15/2017
Referred to the
Committee on
Transportation and
Infrastructure
Watch No supporters of
note for OCSD
S. 1996 Cory Booker (D-NJ)Environmental Justice Act of 2017. Requires Federal agencies to
address environmental justice, to require consideration of cumulative
impacts in certain permitting decisions, and for other purposes.
Senate - 10/24/2017
Referred to Committee
on Environment and
Public Works
Watch No supporters of
note for OCSD
OCSD
Federal
Bills of Interest
BILL AUTHOR SUMMARY LATEST ACTION OCSD POSITION OTHER
POSITIONS
H.R. 4114 Raul Ruiz (D-CA)Environmental Justice Act of 2017. Requires Federal agencies to
address environmental justice, to require consideration of cumulative
impacts in certain permitting decisions, and for other purposes.
House - 10/24/2017
Referred to Committee
on Energy and
Commerce,
Committee on Natural
Resources,
Committee on
Transportation and
Infrastructure, and
Committee on
Judiciary
Watch No supporters of
note for OCSD
H.R. 4397 Mimi Walters (R-CA)California Wildfire Disaster Tax Relief Act of 2017. Provides tax
relief with respect to California wildfires.
House - 11/15/2017
Referred to the
Committee on Ways
and Means
Watch No supporters of
note for OCSD
H.R. 3131 Bill Hiuzenga (R-MI)Endangered Species Litigation Reasonableness Act. Amends the
Endangered Species Act of 1973 to replace the current standard for
awarding court costs, including attorney fees, in citizen suits with the
federal judicial code standard for awarding costs to a prevailing party.
House - 2/15/18
Placed on Union
Calendar
Watch No supporters of
note for OCSD
H.R. 4460 Lou Barletta (R-PA)Disaster Recovery Reform Act. Improves the provision of disaster
and mitigation assistance to eligible individuals and households and to
eligible State, local, Tribal, and territorial governments and certain
private nonprofit organizations, and for other purposes.
House - 11/28/2017
Referred to Committee
on Transportation and
Infrastructure and
Committee on
Financial Services
Watch No supporters of
note for OCSD
OCSD
Federal
Bills of Interest
BILL AUTHOR SUMMARY LATEST ACTION OCSD POSITION OTHER
POSITIONS
S. 2364 John Boozman (R-AR)SRF WIN Act. Amends the Water Infrastructure Finance and
Innovation Act of 2014 to provide to State infrastructure financing
authorities additional opportunities to receive loans under that Act to
support drinking water and clean water State revolving funds to deliver
water infrastructure to communities across the United States, and for
other purposes.
Senate -1/30/18
Referred to Committee
on Environment and
Public Works
Watch CASA, NACWA
Support . ACWA
Watch Position.
Senator Dianne
Feinstein(D-CA)
Original Co-
Sponsor
H.R. 4902 John Katko (R-NY)SRF WIN Act. Amends the Water Infrastructure Finance and
Innovation Act of 2014 to provide to State infrastructure financing
authorities additional opportunities to receive loans under that Act to
support drinking water and clean water State revolving funds to deliver
water infrastructure to communities across the United States, and for
other purposes.
House - 1/30/18
Referred to Committee
on Transportation and
Infrastructure and
Committee on Energy
and Commerce
Watch No supporters of
note for OCSD
H.R. 5127 Grace Napolitano (D-CA)Water Recycling Investment and Improvement Act. To establish a
grant program for the funding of water recycling and reuse projects,
and for other purposes.
House - 2/27/18
Referred to Committee
on Natural Resources
and Committee on
Transportation and
Infrastructure
Support No supporters of
note for OCSD
S. 2563 Jeff Flake (R-AZ)A bill to improve the water supply and drought resilience of the
United States, and for other purposes.
Senate - 3/15/18
Referred to Committee
on Energy and Natural
Resources. Hearings
held 3/22/18
Watch No supporters of
note for OCSD
S. 2727 Kirsten Gillibrand (D-NY)PIPE Act. A bill to require the Administrator of the Environmental
Protection Agency to establish a discretionary grant program for
drinking water and wastewater infrastructure projects, and for other
purposes.
Senate - 4/23/18
Introduced and
referred to Committee
on Environment and
Public Works
Watch
OCSD
Federal
Bills of Interest
BILL AUTHOR SUMMARY LATEST ACTION OCSD POSITION OTHER
POSITIONS
H.R. 5596 Salud Carbajal (D-CA) Water Infrastructure Resiliency and Sustainability Act of 2018.
Authorize the Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency to
establish a program of awarding grants to owners or operators of
water systems to increase resiliency or adaptability of the systems to
any ongoing or forecasted changes to the hydrologic conditions of a
region of the United States.
House - 4/24/18
Referred to Committee
on Transportation and
Infrastructure,
Committee on Natural
Resources
*Encorporated into S.
2800
Watch NACWA, CASA, &
ACWA Support
S. 2800 John Barrasso (R-WY) America's Water Infrastructure Act of 2018. Provides for the
conservation and development of water and related resources, to
authorize the Secretary of the Army to construct various projects for
improvements to rivers and harbors of the United States, and for other
purposes.
Senate - 5/8/18
Committee on
Environment and
Public Works Hearing
held.
Watch CASA, ACWA, &
NACWA Support
H.R. 8 Bill Shuster (R-PA) Water Resources Development Act of 2018. Provides for
improvements to the rivers and harbors of the United States, to
provide for the conservation and development of water and related
resources, and for other purposes.
House - 5/18/18
Passed House 408- 2.
Received in the
Senate.
Watch No supporters of
note for OCSD
H.R. 6147 Ken Calvert (R-CA)Interior, Environment, and Related Agencies FY19 Appropriations
Bill. Makes appropriations for the Department of the Interior,
Environment and Related Agencies for the fiscal year ending
September 30, 2019 and for other purposes.
House - 7/19/18
Passed House 217-
199. Senate - 8/1/18
Passed Senate 96-2
Watch No supporters of
note for OCSD
H.R. 5895 Mike Simpson (R-ID) Energy and Water Development and Related Agencies,
Legislative Branch, and Veterans Affairs Appropriations Act
FY2019. Makes appropriations for energy and water development and
related agencies, Legislative Branch, and Veterans Affairs for the
fiscal year ending September 30, 2019, and for other purposes.
House - 6/8/18
Passed the House on
vote of 235-179.
Received in the
Senate. 6/25/18
Passed Senate 86-5.
Conference
Committee
negotiations
underway.
Watch No supporters of
note for OCSD
OCSD
Federal
Bills of Interest
BILL AUTHOR SUMMARY LATEST ACTION OCSD POSITION OTHER
POSITIONS
S. 3073 Lisa Murkowski (R-AK) Department of the Interior, Environment and Related Agencies
Appropriations Act FY2019. Makes appropriations for the
Department of the Interior, Enivironment, and Related Agencies for the
fiscal year ending September 30, 2019 and for other purposes.
Senate - 6/14/18
Passed the Committee
on Appropriations
unanimously and
placed on Senate
Calendar.
Watch No supporters of
note for OCSD
S. 2975 Lamar Alexander (R-TN) Energy and Water Development and Related Agencies
Appropriations Act FY2019. Makes appropriations for energy and
water development and related agencies for the fiscal year ending
September 30, 2019 and for other purposes.
Senate - 5/24/18
Passed Committee on
Appropriations 30-1.
Placed on Senate
Calendar
Watch No supporters of
note for OCSD
S. 3015 Kamala Harris (D-CA) Water Affordability Act. A bill to amend the Federal Water Pollution
Control Act to establish a low-income sewer and drinking water
assistance pilot program, and for other purposes.
Senate - 6/6/18
Referred to Committee
on Environment and
Public Works
Watch No supporters of
note for OCSD
H.R. 6356 Andy Biigs (R-AZ)LIST Act. Amends the Endangered Species Act of 1973 to provide for
improved precision in the listing, delisting, and downlisting of
endangered species and potentially endangered species.
House - 7/12/18
Referred to Committie
on Natural Resources
Watch No supporters of
note for OCSD
H.R. 6345 Steve Pearce (R-NM)EMPOWERS Act. Povides for greater county and State consultation
with regard to petitions under the Endangered Species Act of 1973,
and for other purposes.
House - 7/12/18
Referred to Committie
on Natural Resources
Watch No supporters of
note for OCSD
H.R. 6344 Scott Tipton (R-CO) LOCAL Act. Amends the Endangered Species Act of 1973 to
encourage voluntary conservation efforts.
House - 7/12/18
Referred to Committie
on Natural Resources
Watch No supporters of
note for OCSD
H.R. 6355 Bruce Westerman (R-AR) PETITION Act. Amends the Endangered Species Act of 1973 to
define petition backlogs and provide expedited means for discharging
petitions during such a backlog.
House - 7/12/18
Referred to Committie
on Natural Resources
Watch No supporters of
note for OCSD
H.R. 6364 Don Young (R-AK) LAMP Act. Amends the Endangered Species Act of 1973 to increase
State and local involvement in management plans.
House - 7/12/18
Referred to Committie
on Natural Resources
Watch No supporters of
note for OCSD
OCSD
Federal
Bills of Interest
BILL AUTHOR SUMMARY LATEST ACTION OCSD POSITION OTHER
POSITIONS
H.R. 6360 Ralph Norman (R-SC) PREDICTS Act. House - 7/12/18
Referred to Committie
on Natural Resources
Watch No supporters of
note for OCSD
H.R. 6346 Mike Johnson (R-LA) WHOLE Act. Amends the Endangered Species Act of 1973 to provide
for consideration of the totality of conservation measures in
determining the impact of proposed Federal agency action.
House - 7/12/18
Referred to Committie
on Natural Resources
Watch No supporters of
note for OCSD
H.R. 6354 Paul Gosar (R-AZ) STORAGE Act. Amends the Endangered Species Act of 1973 to
prohibit designation as critical habitat of certain areas in artificial water
diversion or delivery facilities.
House - 7/12/18
Referred to Committie
on Natural Resources
Watch No supporters of
note for OCSD
H.R. 3608 Tom McClintock (R-CA)Endangered Species Transparency and Reasonableness Act.
Amends the Endangered Species Act of 1973 to require publication on
the Internet of the basis for determinations that species are
endangered species or threatened species, and for other purposes.
House - 7/12/18
Referred to Committie
on Natural Resources
Watch No supporters of
note for OCSD
H.R. 6290 Devin Nunes (R-CA) Public Employee Pension Transparency Act (PEPTA). Amends the
Internal Revenue Code of 1986 to provide for reporting and disclosure
by State and local public employee retirement pension plans.
House - 6/28/18 -
Referred to Committee
on Ways and Means
Watch No supporters of
note for OCSD
H.R. 6290 Devin Nunes (R-CA) Public Employee Pension Transparency Act (PEPTA). Amends the
Internal Revenue Code of 1986 to provide for reporting and disclosure
by State and local public employee retirement pension plans.
House - 6/28/18 -
Referred to Committee
on Ways and Means
Watch No supporters of
note for OCSD
H.R. 6290 Devin Nunes (R-CA) Public Employee Pension Transparency Act (PEPTA). Amends the
Internal Revenue Code of 1986 to provide for reporting and disclosure
by State and local public employee retirement pension plans.
House - 6/28/18 -
Referred to Committee
on Ways and Means
Watch No supporters of
note for OCSD
OCSD
Federal
Bills of Interest
BILL AUTHOR SUMMARY LATEST ACTION OCSD POSITION OTHER
POSITIONS
S. 3303 John Barrasso (R-WY) Water Quality Certification Improvement Act of 2018. Amends the
Federal Water Pollution Control Act to make changes with respect to
water quality certification, and for other purposes.
Senate - 8/16/18
Committee on
Environment and
Public Works hearings
held
Watch No supporters of
note for OCSD
Legend:
ACC-OC- Association of California Cities, Orange County
LOCC- League of California Cities
NYC- Not Yet Considered
CASA- California Association of Sanitation Agencies
NACWA - National Association of Clean Water Agencies
ACWA- Association of California Water Agencies
CSDA- California Special Districts Association
To: Orange County Sanitation District
From: Townsend Public Affairs, Inc.
Date: August 20, 2018
Subject: Legislative and Public Affairs Agenda Report
State Political Update
When the Legislature returned from Summer Recess on August 6, they had two weeks to address legislation in the appropriations committees prior to the deadline on August 17. Over 600 bills
were considered in the span of a few hours on August 16 during the appropriations committees’ suspense file hearings. All bills that passed the appropriations committees before the deadline are now on the Assembly and Senate Floors, awaiting consideration from the entire chamber.
The Legislature will only have two weeks to consider the approximately 750 bills that remain before they adjourn for Interim Recess on August 31. Below is a list of upcoming dates in the Legislature:
• August 24 – Last day to amend bills on the Floor
• August 28 – Last day for all bills to be in print
• August 31 – Interim Recess begins upon adjournment
• September 30 – Last day for the Governor to sign or veto any legislation
On August 13, Vanessa Delgado was sworn into office as Senator of the 32nd District. Senator
Delgado is replacing former Senator Tony Mendoza, who resigned in February 2018 amid sexual
harassment allegations. Senator Delgado will have approximately 3 weeks in session before the
Interim Recess and her eventual departure from the Senate in December. Although Senator
Delgado was successful in the special election for the interim Senate District 32 representative,
she lost the primary election for the Senate seat in June. As a result, she will be one of the
shortest tenured Senators in California history.
Senator Delgado’s swearing in results in the Senate Democrats being one vote shy of a two-
thirds supermajority. Meanwhile, Assembly Democrats currently have a two-thirds supermajority
with a 1 seat cushion. Park and Water Bond Recap and Looking Ahead Proposition 68
On June 5, California voters approved Proposition 68 which authorized $4 billion in general obligation bonds for state and local parks, environmental projection projects, water infrastructure
projects, and flood protection projects. Approximately $1.6 billion is set aside for water-related projects and programs including safe drinking water, sustainable groundwater management, flood control, and drought preparedness. $1.2 billion of the $4 billion was included in the 2018-2019
Budget that was signed by the Governor. TPA will continue to track the roll-out of Proposition 68 funds and keep the District informed.
August 2018 Report 2
Proposition 3
The November 6 ballot will officially include Proposition 3, Dr. Jerry Meral’s initiative driven water bond. The Water Supply and Water Quality Act of 2018 authorizes $8.9 billion in general obligation bonds to fund safe drinking water, Sustainable Groundwater Management (SGMA)
implementation, watershed restoration, water recycling and conservation, and infrastructure repair. Should Proposition 3 pass, the money will be appropriated continuously to the relevant State agencies and will not have to be appropriated through the budget process. TPA will continue to track Proposition 3 and keep the District informed. Tax on Water – Voluntary Donation Proposal Background In January, the Governor included language consistent with provisions of SB 623 (Monning) in his Budget proposal. This language would have authorized a tax on each customer of a community water system as well as increased fees on fertilizer and some dairy products. This funding would have been deposited into the newly created Safe and Affordable Drinking Water
Fund. Both the Assembly and Senate rejected the proposal as written and refused to consider the tax as a part of the Budget process.
New Proposal In August, the Administration released language for a new drinking water proposal to fund safe
and affordable drinking water projects in disadvantaged communities who do not have access to clean drinking water. This proposal would add a “voluntary donation” to the water bill of each customer of a retail water system that would be deposited in the Safe and Affordable Drinking Water Fund. Water users not willing to pay the voluntary donation each month would need to opt-out through their retail water provider. The proposal also includes fee increases to milk and fertilizer that is expected to generate approximately $30 million a year for the Fund. These fee increases will generate revenue for the Fund for 15 years before they are cut in half and remain in perpetuity.
On August 16, the Administration’s proposal was amended into two existing policy bills: SB 844 (Monning) and SB 845 (Monning).
Next Steps
The two bills are currently both awaiting hearings in the Assembly Budget Committee. SB 844 and SB 845 must both pass for either to take effect. SB 844 contains the agriculture fee increases and as such requires a two-thirds vote to pass. Both bills will need to pass before the Legislature adjourns on August 31.
OCSD
State
Bills of Interest
BILL AUTHOR SUMMARY LATEST ACTION OCSD POSITION LEGISLATIVE PLAN OTHER POSITIONS
AB 1250 Jones-Sawyer [D]Counties: contracts for personal services Would establish specific standards for the use of personal services contracts by counties. The bill would allow a county or county agency to contract for personal services currently or customarily performed by employees, as applicable, when specified conditions are met. The bill would exempt certain types of contracts from its provisions, and would exempt a city and county from its provisions. By placing new duties on local government agencies, the bill would impose a state-mandated local program. The bill also would provide that its provisions are severable. This bill was amended to exclude cities, and does NOT apply to special districts.
Held in the Senate Rules Committee Oppose Legislative and
Regulatory
Policies: Support legislation and regulation that allow public agencies to procure goods and services in manners similar to private industry, thereby reducing overall costs of
delivery
ACC-OC - Removed
Opposition
LOCC - Removed
Opposition
CASA - Refer to
Leg Committee
NACWA - NYC
CSDA - Watch
AB 1933 Maienschein [R]Greenhouse Gas Reduction Fund: appropriations: recycling
infrastructure projects. Would specify that activities that expand and
improve waste diversion and recycling include food rescue, waste
prevention, and organic waste recycling. The bill would additionally
specify that eligible infrastructure projects that reduce greenhouse gas
emissions include the expansion of facilities for processing recyclable
materials and projects to improve the quality of recycled materials.
Currently in the Assembly for
Concurrance of Amendments
\Support State Priorities: Support funding through grants and legislation for a Food Waste/Organic Co-Digestion facility at OCSD
ACC-OC - NYC
LOCC - Support
CASA - Support
NACWA - NYC
CSDA - Watch
Proposed Legislation 2017-2018
High Priority
OCSD
State
Bills of Interest
BILL AUTHOR SUMMARY LATEST ACTION OCSD POSITION LEGISLATIVE PLAN OTHER POSITIONSAB 2003 Daly [D]Public contracts: sanitation districts: notice Current law authorizes
a sanitation district to make and perform any agreement with a public or
private corporation of any kind or a person for the joint construction,
acquisition, disposition, or operation of any property or works of a kind
that might be constructed, acquired, disposed of, or operated by the
district. Current law requires a district, when an expenditure for work exceeds $35,000, to contract with the lowest responsible bidder after notice. Current law requires the notice to be published, as specified. This bill would instead require the notice to be published in a manner that the district board determines to be reasonable, which may include, but is not limited to, newspapers, Internet Web sites, radio, television, or other means of mass communication.
Pulled by the Author Sponsor Legislative and
Regulatory Policies: Support
legislation and regulation that allow public agencies to procure goods and services in manners similar to private industry, thereby reducing overall costs of delivery
ACC-OC - NYCLOCC - NYCCASA -SupportNACWA - NYCCSDA - Support
AB 2379 Bloom [D]Waste management: polyester microfiber. Would require that
clothing made from fabric that is more than 50% polyester bear a
conspicuous label stating that the garment sheds plastic microfibers
when washed and recommending hand washing. The bill would prohibit
a person, on and after January 1, 2020, from selling or offering for sale
clothing made from fabric that is more than 50% polyester that does not
bear that label.
AB 2379 is dead Watch State Priorities:
Support legislation
or regulations that
restrict the use of
microplastics in
any product that is
disposed of
through the sewer
system
ACC-OC - NYCLOCC - WatchCASA - NYCNACWA - NYCCSDA - NYC
SB 1263 Portantino [D]Ocean Protection Council Statewide Microplastics Strategy: Would require the Ocean Protection Counci, to the extent funds are available from bonds or other sources, to adopt and implement a Statewide Microplastics Strategy related to microplastic materials that pose an emerging concern for ocean health and that includes specified components, as provided. The bill would authorize the council, in collaboration with the State Water Resources Control Board, the Office of Environmental Health Hazard Assessment, and other interested entities, to enter into one or more contracts with marine research institutes in the state for the provision of research services that would contribute directly to the development of the Statewide Microplastics Strategy.
Currently on the Assembly Floor Watch/Rec Support State Priorities: Support legislation or regulations that restrict the use of microplastics in any product that is disposed of through the sewer system
ACC-OC - NYCLOCC - Watch
CASA - Support
NACWA - NYC
CSDA - NYC
OCSD
State
Bills of Interest
BILL AUTHOR SUMMARY LATEST ACTION OCSD POSITION LEGISLATIVE PLAN OTHER POSITIONSAB 2411 McCarthy [D]Solid waste: use of compost: planning. Would require the
Department of Resources Recycling and Recovery, on or before
December 31, 2019, to develop and implement a plan to maximize the
use of compost for slope stabilization and establishing vegetation in the
course of providing debris removal services following a fire and, in
coordination with the Department of Transportation, to identify best practices of each of the Department of Transportation’s 12 districts regarding the cost-effective use of compost along roadways and develop a plan to expand the identified best practices to the other districts.
Currently on the Governor's desk Watch/Rec Support if Amended to include biosolids compost
State Tactics:
Development and
implementation of
a statewide
biosolids land
application management policy
ACC-OC - NYCLOCC - SupportCASA - SupportNACWA - NYCCSDA - NYC
SB 623 Monning [D]Safe and Affordable Drinking Water Fund Would establish the Safe and Affordable Drinking Water Fund in the State Treasury and would provide that moneys in the fund are continuously appropriated to the State Water Resources Control Board. The bill would require the board to administer the fund to secure access to safe drinking water for all Californians, while also ensuring the long-term sustainability of drinking water service and infrastructure. The bill would authorize the state board to provide for the deposit into the fund of federal contributions, voluntary contributions, gifts, grants, bequests, and settlements from parties responsible for contamination of drinking water supplies. The bill
was amended on August 21 to include a public goods charge on water,
identified as $0.95 per month fee for customers with water meters up to
one inch or customers without water meters. The feees increase
depending on the size of the water meter, up to $10 per month for
customers with water meters greater than four inches. The policy and
fees set forth by this bill have been included in the Governor's January
Budget proposal.
Held in the Assembly Rules
Committee
Watch State and Federal
Tactics: Work with
CASA in support of
continued use of
tax-exempt
financing and
feasibile innocating
financing approaches
ACC-OC - NYC
LOCC - Oppose
unless amended
CASA - Watch
Closely
NACWA - NYC
CSDA - Oppose
unless amended
OCSD
State
Bills of Interest
BILL AUTHOR SUMMARY LATEST ACTION OCSD POSITION LEGISLATIVE PLAN OTHER POSITIONSSB 831 Wieckowski [D]Land use: accessory dwelling units. Current law authorizes a local
agency, special district, or water corporation to require a new or
separate utility connection between the accessory dwelling unit and the
utility and authorizes a fee to be charged, except as specified. Current
law requires a local agency to submit an ordinance adopted for the
creation of accessory dwelling units to the Department of Housing and Community Development and authorizes the department to review and comment on the ordinance. This bill would delete the requirement that the area be zoned to allow single-family or multifamily use.
SB 831 is dead Oppose Legislative and
Regulatory Policies: Oppose
measures that shift existing local revenue sources back to the state, including the special district share of property tax, sales tax, vehicle license fees, and rate payer fees
ACC-OC -NYCLOCC - OpposeCASA - OpposeNACWA - NYCCSDA - Oppose
SB 844 Monning [D]Water quality: agricultural safe drinking water fees Current law
requires every person who manufactures or distributes fertilizing materials to be licensed by the Secretary of Food and Agriculture and to
pay a license fee that does not exceed $300. This bill, during calendar
years 2019 to 2033, inclusive, would require a licensee to pay to the
secretary a fertilizer safe drinking water fee of $0.008 per dollar of sale
for all sales of fertilizing materials intended for farm use and $0.004 per
dollar of sale for all sales of fertilizing materials intended for
noncommercial use. The bill, beginning calendar year 2034, would
reduce the fee to $0.004 per dollar of sale intended for farm use and
$0.002 per dollar of sale intended for noncommercial use. This is one of the two bills that seek to add funding to the Safe and Affordable
Drinking Water Fund
Currently in the Assembly
Budget Committee
Watch State and Federal
Tactics: Work with CASA in support of continued use of tax-exempt financing and feasibile innocating financing approaches
ACC-OC -NYC
LOCC - WatchCASA - NYCNACWA - NYCCSDA - Oppose
OCSD
State
Bills of Interest
BILL AUTHOR SUMMARY LATEST ACTION OCSD POSITION LEGISLATIVE PLAN OTHER POSITIONSSB 845 Monning [D]Safe and Affordable Drinking Water Fund Would establish the Safe and Affordable Drinking Water Fund in the State Treasury and would provide that moneys in the fund are continuously appropriated to the state board. By creating a new continuously appropriated fund, this bill would make an appropriation. The bill would require the state board to administer the fund to secure access to safe drinking water for all Californians, while also ensuring the long-term sustainability of drinking
water service and infrastructure. SB 845 requires that retail water
providers invoice and collect a “voluntary donation” from each
customer. The amount of the donation would be based upon service connection size. This is one of the two bills that seek to
add funding to the Safe and Affordable Drinking Water Fund
Currently in the Assembly Budget Committee Watch State and Federal
Tactics: Work with CASA in support of continued use of tax-exempt financing and
feasibile innocating
financing
approaches
ACC-OC -NYCLOCC - WatchCASA - NYCNACWA - NYCCSDA - Oppose
SCA 4 Hertzberg [D]Water conservation. The California Constitution requires that the water
resources of the state be put to beneficial use to the fullest extent of which they are capable and that the waste or unreasonable use or
unreasonable method of use of water be prevented.This measure would
declare the intent of the Legislature to amend the California Constitution
to provide a program that would ensure that affordable water is
available to all Californians and to ensure that water conservation is
given a permanent role in California’s future.
Currently in the Senate Rules
Committee
Watch Legislative and
Regulatory
Policies: Support
legislation and
regulation that
necessitate the
responsible use of
water in
residential,
commercial, and
industrial areas
ACC-OC -NYC
LOCC - WatchCASA - Work with AuthorNACWA - NYCCSDA - Watch
AB 327 Gipson [D]South Coast Air Quality Management District: fleets. Would
authorize the governing board of the south coast district to adopt rules and regulations that require specified operators of public and commercial fleet vehicles consisting of 15 or more vehicles to purchase
the cleanest commercially available vehicles, as defined, that will meet
the operator’s operational needs; to require the replacement of no more
than 15% of existing vehicles per calendar year, as specified; and to
require those cleanest commercially available vehicles to be operated,
to the maximum extent feasible, in the south coast district.
AB 327 is dead Watch Legislative and
Regulatory
Policies: Support
strategies that
clearly
demonstrate and
provide for the
most cost-effective
means for meeting
air quality goals
ACC-OC -NYC
LOCC - Watch
CASA - NYC
NACWA - NYCCSDA - Oppose
Additional Legislation
OCSD
State
Bills of Interest
BILL AUTHOR SUMMARY LATEST ACTION OCSD POSITION LEGISLATIVE PLAN OTHER POSITIONSAB 1884 Calderon [D]Solid waste: single-use plastic straws. Would prohibit a food facility,
as specified, where food may be consumed on the premises, from
providing single-use plastic straws to consumers unless requested by
the consumer. The bill would specify that the first and 2nd violations of
these provisions would result in a warning and any subsequent violation would be an infraction punishable by a fine of $25 for each day the food facility is in violation.
Currently on the Senate Floor Watch State Priorities:
Support legislation
or regulations that
restrict the use of
microplastics in
any product that is disposed of through the sewer system
ACC-OC -NYCLOCC - SupportCASA - NYCNACWA - NYCCSDA - NYC
AB 1981 Limon [D]Organic waste: composting. Current law requires, until January 1,
2021, the California Environmental Protection Agency, in coordination
with the Department of Resources Recycling and Recovery, the State
Water Resources Control Board, the State Air Resources Board, and
the Department of Food and Agriculture, to develop and implement
policies to aid in diverting organic waste from landfills by promoting the
composting of specified organic waste and by promoting the appropriate
use of that compost throughout the state. This bill would revise and
recast this and related provisions, including, among other changes,
imposing additional duties on those state agencies relating
to promoting the application of compost and additionally including the Department of Forestry and Fire Protection in the state agencies in coordination with which the California Environmental Protection Agency is required to develop and implement the above-specified policies.
Currently on the Senate Floor Watch State Priorities:
Support funding
through grants and
legislation for a
Food
Waste/Organic Co-
Digestion facility at
OCSD
ACC-OC -NYCLOCC - WatchCASA - WatchNACWA - NYCCSDA - NYC
OCSD
State
Bills of Interest
BILL AUTHOR SUMMARY LATEST ACTION OCSD POSITION LEGISLATIVE PLAN OTHER POSITIONSAB 1989 Mathis [R]Water and Wastewater Loan and Grant Program.Current law
authorizes the State Water Resources Control Board to establish the
Water and Wastewater Loan and Grant Program, to the extent funding
is made available, to provide funding to eligible applicants for specified
purposes relating to drinking water and wastewater treatment.This bill
would appropriate $50,000,000 from the General Fund to the board for the program.
Held in the Assembly Appropriations Committee's Suspense File
Watch State Priorities:
Where
appropriate,
pursue State
funding for critical
aging infrastructure, through funding sources made available through any agency including but not limited to the State Water Resources Control Board and the Department of Water Resources
ACC-OC -NYCLOCC - WatchCASA - WatchNACWA - NYCCSDA - Watch
AB 2249 Cooley [D]Public contracts: local agencies: alternative procedure. Would
authorize public projects of $60,000 or less to be performed by the
employees of a public agency, authorize public projects of $200,000 or
less to be let to contract by informal procedures, and require public
projects of more than $200,000 to be let to contract by formal bidding
procedures. These measures only apply to the public agency if their
Board elects to participate in the Uniform Public Construction Cost
Accounting Act.
Currently on the Governor's desk Watch Legislative and
Regulatory
Policies: Support
legislation and
regulation that
allow public
agencies to
procure goods and
services in manners similar to private industry, thereby reducing overall costs of delivery
ACC-OC -NYCLOCC - SupportCASA - SupportNACWA - NYCCSDA - Support
OCSD
State
Bills of Interest
BILL AUTHOR SUMMARY LATEST ACTION OCSD POSITION LEGISLATIVE PLAN OTHER POSITIONSAB 2447 Reyes [D]California Environmental Quality Act: land use: environmental
justice CEQA requires a lead agency to prepare a mitigated negative declaration for a project that may have a significant effect on the environment if revisions in the project would avoid or mitigate that effect and there is no substantial evidence that the project, as revised, would have a significant effect on the environment. CEQA prohibits a lead
agency from approving or carrying out a project for which a certified EIR
identifies one or more significant effects on the environmental unless
the lead agency makes certain findings. This bill would require the
Office of Environmental Health Hazard Assessment, by June 30, 2019,
to publish a list of subject land uses, as specified, and a map that
identifies disadvantaged communities and areas within a 1/2 mile radius
of the disadvantaged communities.
Currently on the Senate Floor Watch State Priorities:
Support efforts to
reform the
California
Environmental
Quality Act (CEQA) to streamline current procedures and regulations for projects to refurbish or replace existing infrastructure facilities
ACC-OC -NYCLOCC - WatchCASA - NYCNACWA - NYCCSDA - Oppose
SB 212 Jackson [D]Medical waste. Current law, the Medical Waste Management Act,
administered by the State Department of Public Health, regulates the
management and handling of medical waste, as defined.This bill add to
the act a definition of “home-generated pharmaceutical waste” as a
prescription or over-the-counter human or veterinary home-generated
pharmaceutical that is waste and is derived from a household, including, but not limited to, a multifamily residence or household. This bill is a follow-up/cleanup bill for Senator Jackson's SB 1229 (2016), which provides that certain collectors who are authorized under federal law to engage in drug take-back collection with limited protection from civil and criminal liability.
Currently on the Assembly Floor Support State Priorities:
Support legislation
or regulations that
would prevent the
disposing of drugs
down the drain
ACC-OC -NYCLOCC - SupportCASA - SupportNACWA - NYCCSDA - Support
SB 929 McGuire [D] Special districts: Internet Web sites. The California Public Records
Act requires a local agency to make public records available for
inspection and allows a local agency to comply by posting the record on
its Internet Web site and directing a member of the public to the Web
site, as specified. This bill would, beginning on January 1, 2020, require
every independent special district to maintain an Internet Web site that
clearly lists contact information for the special district, except as
provided. Because this bill would require local agencies to provide a
new service, the bill would impose a state-mandated local program.
Currently on the Assembly Floor Watch State Priorities:
Actively monitor
the Little Hoover
Commission
hearings and
reports related to
climate change
adaptation, special
districts and other topics as it relates to OCSD
ACC-OC -NYCLOCC - WatchCASA - SupportNACWA - NYCCSDA - Sponsor
OCSD
State
Bills of Interest
BILL AUTHOR SUMMARY LATEST ACTION OCSD POSITION LEGISLATIVE PLAN OTHER POSITIONSSB 966 Wiener [D]Onsite treated nonpotable water systems Would, on or before
December 1, 2022, require the State Water Resources Control Board,
in consultation with the California Building Standards Commission, to
adopt regulations for risk-based water quality standards for the onsite
treatment and reuse of nonpotable water, as provided. The bill would
authorize the state board to contract with public or private entities regarding the content of the standards and would exempt those contracts from, among other provisions, review and approval of the Department of General Services.
Currently on the Assembly Floor Watch Legislative and
Regulatory Policies: Support
measures that promote and provide for the use of reclaimed water
ACC-OC -NYCLOCC - SupportCASA - Work w/ authorNACWA - NYCCSDA - Watch
SB 1077 Wilk [R]Construction contracts: wrap-up insurance and indemnification Current law regulates the use of wrap-up insurance or other consolidated insurance programs in connection with specified construction projects. Current law distinguishes, in this regard, between residential construction projects, private residential works of improvement, as specified, and public works and other projects that are not residential, as specified. This bill would recast the wrap-up insurance or other consolidated insurance program requirements for public and other works of improvement that are not residential construction, entered into or amended on and after January 1, 2019, to track generally the requirements that apply to residential projects.
Currently on the Assembly
Floor
Oppose Legislative and
Regulatory
Policies: Support legislation and regulation that allow public agencies to procure goods and services in manners similar to private industry,
thereby reducing
overall costs of
ACC-OC -NYC
LOCC - Oppose
CASA - Watch
NACWA - NYC
CSDA - Oppose
unless amended
SB 1215 Hertzberg [D]Drinking water systems and sewer systems: consolidation and extension of service. This bill would authorize the state board to set
timeline and performance measures to facilitate completion of extension
of service of drinking water. This bill would authorize the state board to order consolidation with a receiving sewer system for, or extension of sewer service to, a disadvantaged community under specified circumstances. The bill would require the state board to take certain actions before ordering consolidation or extension of service that are similar to those required for the consolidation or extension of water systems and would additionally require the state board to find that at least 75% of the households in the community potentially subject to extension or consolidation of service have agreed to receive sewage service from the receiving sewer system.
Currently on the Assembly
Floor
Watch Legislative and Regulatory
Policies: Oppose
legislation
consolidating
special districts
that fail to address
the concerns of
cities affected by
the proposed
consolidation
ACC-OC -NYC
LOCC - Watch
CASA - Oppose
unless amended
NACWA - NYC
CSDA -Oppose unless amended
SB 1440 Hueso [D]Energy: biomethane: biogas and biomethane procurement
program.SB 1440 requires the California Air Resources Board (ARB),
in consultation with the California Public Utilities Commission (CPUC),
to adopt a biomethane procurement requirement for gas corporations
with over 100,000 customers. Specifically, this bill requires the overall
procurement mandate across all commercially available sectors to be
initially set at 32 billion cubic feet (bcf). SB 1440 also requires the CPUC
to allow recovery in rates of the cost of utility investment for prudent and
reasonable investments for infrastructure that provide direct benefits to
the ratepayers.
Currently on the Assembly Floor Support State Tactics: Monitor and advise on energy or other resource recovery related funding opportunities
ACC-OC -NYCLOCC - Watch
CASA - Support
NACWA - NYC
CSDA - Watch
OCSD
State
Bills of Interest
BILL AUTHOR SUMMARY LATEST ACTION OCSD POSITION LEGISLATIVE PLAN OTHER POSITIONSSB 1422 Portantino [D]California Safe Drinking Water Act: microplastics. Would require the
State Water Resources Control Board to adopt regulations requiring
annual testing for, and reporting of, the amount of microplastics in
drinking water, including public disclosure of those results.
Currently on the Assembly Floor Watch State Priorities:
Support legislation
or regulations that
restrict the use of
microplastics in
any product that is disposed of through the sewer system
ACC-OC -NYCLOCC - WatchCASA - WatchNACWA - NYCCSDA - Oppose
Legend:ACC-OC - Association of California Cities, Orange CountyLOCC - League of California CitiesNYC - Not Yet ConsideredCASA - California Association of Sanitation AgenciesNACWA - National Association of Clean Water AgenciesACWA - Association of California Water Agencies CSDA - California Special Districts Association
Name of Grant/Loan Synopsis of Grant/Loan Amount of Grant/Loan Amount
Applying for Applying Y/N Project/Program Reason Match Deadline Category Rcvd Grant/
Financing Y/N
California Infrastructure and Economic
Development Bank CA0272
Infrastructure State Revolving Fund (ISRF) Program
The purpose of this program is to provide accessible low-cost financing to eligible borrowers for a wide range of infrastructure and economic expansion projects. Eligible activities generally include designing, acquiring, planning, permitting, entitling, constructing, improving, extending,
restoring, financing, and generally developing eligible
facilities within the state of California.
Program funding is available in amounts
ranging from $50,000 to $25 million, with loan
terms for the useful life of the project up to a maximum of 30 years.
TBD Evaluating Multiple (possible projects).
Evaluating the program.Might be for smaller projects.N/A, loan program Rolling Water/Energy/
Infrastructure TBD
Cap and Trade Funding
$1.25 billion from the Cap and Trade program (Greenhouse
Gas Reduction Fund) was proposed to be appropriated in
the Governor's January Budget. A Cap and Trade Expenditure plan will be considered later this legislative session.
$20 million - Waste Diversion Projects. Specifics TBD TBD TBD TBD
The Cap and Trade Expenditure Plan will need to go through the legislative process. It is uncertain how much funding will be available for the District's projets, or what the funding
will be used for.
TBD Unknown at this time Energy/Recycling TBD
2018 Integrated Regional Water
Management (IRWM) Grant
Program
The Proposition 1 IRWM Grant Program, administered by
DWR, provides funding for projects that help meet the long
term water needs of the state, including:
Assisting water infrastructure systems adapt to climate change;Providing incentives throughout each watershed to collaborate in managing the region's water resources and setting regional priorities for water infrastructure
TBD TBD TBD TBD
TPA and OCSD are monitoring the
grant program development from the
Santa Ana Watershed Project Authority (SAWPA). Once the solicitation for bids is available, we can determine if an application is warranted.
Yes. Details TBD Unknown at this
time Water TBD
2018 Proposed Park Bond (Proposition
68)
Prop 68 included $290 million for Drought, Groundwater,
and Water Recycling programs TBD, based on grant guidelines.TBD Proposition 68 passed by a
statewide vote.N/A If funding becomes available, TPA
and staff will evaluate the opportunity.TBD TBD Water No
The Water Infrastructure Improvements
Act (S. 612/Public Law #114-322/WIIN)
The enactment of the Water Infrastructure Improvements Act (S. 612/Public Law #114-322/WIIN) contained important assistance for water recycling and desalination.
Senator Feinstein included $50 million to support construction of projects that have a final and deemed feasible study of a recycling project. In securing this new competitive grants program at the U.S. Bureau of
Reclamation, Senator Feinstein highlighted
the identification of several water and
wastewater agencies that would benefit from the assistance. OCSD is one of these agencies.
$1.5 Million Yes Final Expansion of GWRS (planning, design and construction) Headworks
The Sanitation District is applying for Headworks Segregation project that
will help to bring more water to the
GWRS.
Title 16 will pay up to 25 percent of the available money 8/15/2017 Water/
Infrastructure
Received notification of award on 11/27/17 for $1,325,000.00
The Water Infrastructure Improvements Act (WIIN)
The Title XVI Water Reclamation and Reuse Projects funding opportunity allows for sponsors of water reclamation and reuse projects that are congressionally authorized or are eligible under section 4009(c) of the
WIIN Act to request cost-shared funding for planning,
design and/or construction of those Projects. Water
reclamation and reuse projects provide improved efficiency, flexibility during water shortages and diversifies the water supply.
Reclamation is making up to $20 million available for those projects authorized under the WIIN Act and $34 million for the congressionally authorized Title XVI projects.
$550,000 Yes Final Expansion of GWRS Headworks (P2-122)
The Sanitation District is applying for Headworks Segregation project that will help to bring more water to the GWRS.
Title 16 will pay up to
25 percent of the
available money
7/27/2018 Water/ Infrastructure TBD
OCSD's Grant and Loan Funding Tracker 2017-2018
STATE
FEDERAL
Updated 8/19/2018
Name of Grant/Loan Synopsis of Grant/Loan Amount of Grant/Loan Amount
Applying for Applying Y/N Project/Program Reason Match Deadline Category Rcvd Grant/
Financing Y/N
OCSD's Grant and Loan Funding Tracker 2017-2018
The USEPA Leaking Underground Storage Tank (LUST) Trust Fund The fund addresses petroleum releases from regulated underground storage tanks.
The LUST program receives approximately $100 million annually to prevent, detect, and clean up releases. Assistance is provided through grants. Eligible activities include removal of tanks and cleanup of contaminated
areas.
TBD Evaluating Cleanup of contaminated soils at Plant No. 1 We will review the grant to determine if it is a fit for the project. TBD Infrastructure TBD
US Department of Agriculture
The U.S. Department of Agriculture through its health watersheds program offers public-owned wastewater agencies funding through collaboration with agricultural interests where funding would be provided to the agricultural entity that would contribute to efforts to protect the watershed and minimize regulatory burdens
on the point source.
A total of $100 million is funded annually and
the opportunity to design a watershed program
might offer OCSD with the chance to advance
its priority to reduce regulatory burdens.
TBD TBD
Reviewing the funding
opportunity to see if there is a
fit for OCSD. (Restoration of
beaches and estuaries)
We will review the possible funding opportunity to determine if it is a fit for the Sanitation District. TBD Water TBD
The Department of Energy (DOE), USBR and USEPA
The DOE’s Office of Energy Efficiency is likely to continue to be funded by Congress to support such efforts as
biogas, biosolids and green energy.
A minimum of $20 million to as much as $100 million based upon prior years’ budgets. USBR could receive as much as $130 million in support of the WaterSmart (due to increased funding under WIIN) during the next
several years. USBR will issue solicitations for
innovative approaches to managing water and
water treatment through technology and processes.
TBD TBD. We will monitor for possible funding opportunities
Project Funding Opportunity:
Energy production to reduce
costs of recycled water through
innovative technologies like
Aquacritox, Innovative water monitoring technology that can produce efficient real time monitoring and data analysis, Biogas Management and Use Improvements.
We will review the possible funding opportunity to determine if it is a fit for
the Sanitation District.
TBD Energy TBD
Smart Cities and Security
It is unclear how the incoming administration may revise
existing programs that address energy and water
efficiency needs. However, the effort to support communities develop approaches that improve the quality of life in communities might continue to receive funding. OCSD might be able to leverage such program assistance to support innovative approaches to security. Funding may also be available through Department of
Homeland Security to assist communities to protect
against cyber-threats.
TBD TBD
TBD. Based on the funding
opportunities and OCSD's
projects/needs.
Project Funding Opportunity:
SCADA System and Network
Upgrades, Seismic Hazard
Evaluation (FEMA Mitigation Assistance)
If funding becomes available we will evaluate the opportunity.Unknown at this time Energy/Water TBD
WIFIA
The WIFIA program accelerates investment in our nation’s water infrastructure by providing long-term, low-cost supplemental loans for regionally and nationally significant projects. To qualify for funding assistance a
project must cost at least $20 million. The USEPA has
expressed an interest in projects that deliver multiple
benefits that might capture water recycling as well as projects that address stormwater and other “large project” needs.
$2 billion N/A No
Possible projects: GWRS Final Expansion, District 6 Trunk Sewer Relief Project, Headworks Rehabilitation/Expansion
Headquarters Complex, Site
and Security/Entrance
Realignment, Western Regional Sewers—Planning and design and construction
The Sanitation District does not plan to borrow funds to complete projects. The
Water District might qualify for these
loans and OCSD will support them if
they choose to do so.
4/10/2017 Water/ Infrastructure N/A
Updated 8/19/2018
Page 1 of 3
LEGISLATIVE AND PUBLIC AFFAIRS COMMITTEE Meeting Date 09/10/18 To Bd. of Dir. --
AGENDA REPORT Item Number 4 Item Number --
Orange County Sanitation District FROM: James D. Herberg, General Manager SUBJECT: PUBLIC AFFAIRS UPDATE
GENERAL MANAGER'S RECOMMENDATION Information Only. BACKGROUND
Staff will provide an update on recent public affairs activities. RELEVANT STANDARDS
• Maintain influential legislative advocacy and a public outreach program
• Build brand, trust, and support with policy makers and community leaders
• Maintain collaborative and cooperative relationships with regulators, stakeholders,
and neighboring communities
• Listen to and seriously consider community input on environmental concerns
PROBLEM
Many Californians are not aware of the Orange County Sanitation District (Sanitation District) and the important work we do to keep the environment clean by using the wastewater byproducts to create energy, water recycling, and the use of biosolids.
In general, the community and businesses do not realize that when they improperly dispose of waste into the sanitation system, it can negatively affect the work we do and the quality of water we supply for the Groundwater Replenishment System.
PROPOSED SOLUTION
By providing tours, community outreach education, and general communication via the Sanitation District’s website, social media outlets, and mainstream media, we have the ability to educate the community, local agencies, and businesses on the What2Flush
program, energy production, water recycling, biosolids, and our source control program.
This, in turn, results in a better quality of wastewater. TIMING CONCERNS
N/A
Page 2 of 3
RAMIFICATIONS OF NOT TAKING ACTION If we do not educate the community, local agencies, and area businesses about the
Sanitation District, we lose an opportunity to educate thousands of people about our
plants, source control, and the wastewater industry as a whole. PRIOR COMMITTEE/BOARD ACTIONS
N/A ADDITIONAL INFORMATION July/August 2018
Activity # # of Guests
OCSD/OCWD Tours 4 33
OCSD Tours 9 45
Speaking Engagement 3 121
Outreach Booth 1 500 These are some of the highlights from the month of August: OCSD Participates at the CASA Conference
The Sanitation District participated at the California Association of Sanitation Agencies (CASA) Conference held in Monterey, California where Jim Colston, Director of Environmental Services, received recognition for his time as Chairman on the CASA Legislative Committee; Assistant General Manager Bob Ghirelli presented to the 2018
CASA Education Foundation Scholarship recipients on behalf of the Foundation Board of Directors; and Jennifer Cabral, Public Affairs Supervisor, moderated a panel on Social Media Trends and Best Practices. The conference was also attended by Board Vice-Chair Dave Shawver and Board Member Allan Bernstein.
OCSD Shows Support OCSD attended an event at the Orange County Water District where the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) announced a $135 million Water Infrastructure Finance and Innovation Act (WIFIA) loan to help finance the Groundwater Replenishment
System final expansion. U.S. Congressmen Dana Rohrabacher and Alan Lowenthal gave speeches showing their support for the loan. OCSD Board Chair Greg Sebourn and Board Members Peter Kim and John Withers were also in attendance, along with General Manager Jim Herberg and Assistant General Manager Rob Thompson.
OCSD Receives the NACWA Platinum Award
For the first time ever, the Sanitation District was selected by the National Association of Clean Water Agencies (NACWA) to receive the Platinum Peak Performance Award at the
Page 3 of 3
2018 Utility Leadership Conference. This is the highest honor presented to facilities with a consistent record of full compliance with the National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System (NPDES) permit for a consecutive five-year period. To celebrate, the Sanitation
District held events at both Plant Nos. 1 and 2 where the General Manager and Executive
Management Team had a chance to thank all of the employees for their hard work and dedication. CEQA
N/A FINANCIAL CONSIDERATIONS
N/A
ATTACHMENTS
The following attachments are attached in hard copy and may also be viewed on-line at the OCSD website (www.ocsd.com) with the complete agenda package:
• Outreach Report July/August 2018
• Media Clips July/August 2018
OCSD Outreach Report ‐ July/August 2018
Title Guests Date
Chapman University Tour 11 7/6/18
Speaking Engagement ‐ La Habra Rotary 20 7/12/18
North Orange County Chamber Tour 11 7/13/18
Western Governors University Nursing Tour 12 7/16/18
Kate Randee, Rep for Mimi Walters Tour 2 7/17/18
OCBC STEAM Forum and Tour 30 7/17/18
Speaking Engagement ‐ OC Water Association 75 7/18/18
Westmister Safety Day Outreach Booth 500 7/18/18
Local Resident Tour 4 7/27/18
New Employee/Open Tour 21 7/31/18
Home School Group Tour 18 8/3/18
Resident Tour 10 8/10/18
Operator Class Tour 20 8/14/18
Plant 2 Tour 10 8/17/18
Operator Class Tour 20 8/28/18
OCSD Public Affairs Office
Monthly News Clippings
July/August 2018
Table of Contents
CONSTRUCTION…………………………………………… .................... PAGE 1
July 17, 2018
Traffic construction scheduled for July 19 – 20 near shops at
Rossmoor
Sun Newspapers
GWRS…………………………………………… ................................ PAGE 3
July 17, 2018
Top Three Reasons to Reject Poseidon’s New Term Sheet
The Orange Juice Blog
July 19, 2018
Orange County officials give early approval to Huntington Beach
desalination plant contract
By: Martin Wisckol
Orange County Register
July 19, 2018
Orange County Water District approves water purchase agreement
term sheet with Poseidon Water
Orange County Breeze
July 24, 2018
Huntington Beach Desal Plant: OCWD’s Price Predictions are
Garbage in and Gospel out
By: Debbie Cook
Surf City Voice
June 21, 2018
Orange County’s Old Wastewater Plant Gets $100M Upgrade
By: Scott Lewis
Engineering News-Record
July 13, 2018
California – a State Ready and Willing to Embrace Recycled Water
By: Ron Askin
Water OnLine
July 17, 2018
10 Signs of California Water Progress
By: Sean Bothwell
Water Deeply
August 1, 2018
OC Water District awarded $135M loan to expand wastewater
recycling
By: Martin Wisckol
Orange County Breeze
August 1, 2018
EPA provides $135 Million for innovative groundwater
replenishment project expansion in Orange County
By: U.S. EPA News Release
www.filtration-products.com
August 2, 2018
Water District awarded $135M Loan
By: Martin Wisckol
Orange County Register
August 17, 2018
How to Make California’s Southland Water Independent for $30
Billion
By: Ed Ring
California Political Review
August 17, 2018
Toilet to tap water nearly matches bottled H2O in taste test
By: David Downey
The Mercury News
HUMAN INTEREST…………………………………………… ................. PAGE 39
July 24, 2018
Sanitary and water districts reach settlement I legal fight, ending talk
of merger
By: Luke Money
Los Angeles Times
July 30, 2018
OCWD and the Water Industry Mourn the Loss of Phillip L. Anthony
By: Eleanor Torres
OCWD Press Release
August 15, 2018
OC Sanitation District Honored for Consistency and Compliance
Association of California Cities – Orange County
SPILLS.…………………………………………… ................................ PAGE 44
June 19, 2018
Sewage Spill Closes Stretch of Huntington Harbour
CBS LA
June 20, 2018
OC Health Press Release
OC Health Care Agency
June 20, 2018
Headed to the ocean? 4 stretches of beach to avoid in Orange
County
By: Martin Wisckol
Orange County Register
August 15, 2018
Much of Newport’s Back Bay Closes to swimmers after 2 sewage
spills dump 15,000 gallons into the water
By: Daniel Langhorne
Orange County Register
TWITTER POSTINGS …………………………………………… ............. PAGE 49
FACEBOOK POSTINGS ……………………………………………………PAGE 51
1
Traffic construction scheduled for July 19-20
near Shops at Rossmoor
July 17, 2018
Orange County Sanitation District work crews will be working near the
Shops at Rossmoor center (which is actually in Seal Beach) from 9
a.m. to 3 p.m., Friday and Saturday, July 19-20.
The City of Seal Beach has issued a permit to the Orange County
Sanitation District which allows their contractor to perform
exploratory excavation along northbound Seal Beach Boulevard
between the intersections of Rossmoor Center Way and Bradbury
Sun Newspapers
July 17, 2018
2
Road. This work is required to facilitate their design efforts for a
major regional sewer replacement project.
This construction work is schedule to start this Thursday, July 19, and
be completed by Friday July 20. The hours of construction will be
restricted from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. Northbound traffic lanes will be
narrowed to one-lane of through traffic within this reach of Seal
Beach Blvd. The southbound lanes are unaffected. This work is
anticipated to cause significant traffic slowing and delays in the area
of the Shops at Rossmoor.
3
The Orange Juice Blog
Top Three Reasons to Reject Poseidon’s New Term
Sheet tomorrow (Wednesday.)
By
Admin
– July 17, 2018
At 5:30 tomorrow in Fountain Valley, the largely Poseidon-besotted Orange County Water District will
once again consider approving the new renegotiated term sheet for the proposed $1 billion Huntington
Beach desalination plant (which this blog has been fighting for over a decade.) Over the last few weeks,
our friends at Residents For Responsible Desalination (R4RD) have been printing, one at a time, the top
three reasons that any sensible Water Board would reject this term sheet.
Here are the top three reasons:
Reason 1
The Orange Juice Blog
July 17, 2018
4
(From the OCWD Staff report for June 6, 2018) “The rate OCWD pays Poseidon
Resources for water would no longer be indexed to the MWD water supply rate. The District would pay
Poseidon’s documented cost of service along with an agreed to return on equity. The new approach is
modeled after the San Diego County Water Authority and Poseidon Resources agreement to construct and
operate the Carlsbad Ocean Desalination Facility.”
Comments: Poseidon’s “cost of service” has not as yet been documented for public review and its “return
on equity” has not as yet been determined. If the San Diego County WA / Poseidon agreement is the model,
does that mean we, as ratepayers, should be prepared for desal water to cost in excess of $2,400/ac-ft. and
climbing?
Pretty great deal for Poseidon. They get guaranteed profit. We get guaranteed rate increase. Over 30
years that could be well over a Billion Dollars.
Reason 2
(From the OCWD Staff report for June 6, 2018) “The District would assume the
risk for electricity rate increases. Under the 2015 Term Sheet, Poseidon was taking on this risk. This
represents a philosophical change in how to deal with future electricity rate increases for the following
reasons:
“Allocating this risk onto Poseidon was not free. Poseidon would have had to charge OCWD a
higher rate due to this cost exposure.
“With OCWD agreeing to pay the actual cost of electricity, the District should be able to negotiate
a slightly lower overall rate for the water. If future electricity prices do increase excessively, it will
impact the entire water industry and many water supply sources.
“Power cost have remained flat or even decreased in recent years. Under the 2015 Term Sheet, this
scenario would have resulted in additional profit for Poseidon.”
Comments: According to the new terms they are working on, it will be the rate payers paying for any
increased costs for electricity. So much for modeling on the San Diego agreement where Poseidon has to
pay for increases in electricity rates, which has severely eaten into Poseidon’s Carlsbad profits. According
5
to a Pacific Institute report, the cost of electricity is 55% of the cost of desalinating seawater. So even a
slight increase in electric rate can dramatically affect the cost of desal water as Poseidon has discovered in
Carlsbad.
Reason 3
(From the OCWD Staff report for June 6, 2018) “The District would retain the lead role
in developing all aspects of the distribution plan. However, there is now an option to have Poseidon
Resources take responsibility for financing and constructing facilities distributing potable water to the
District, Producers and other retail water agencies. With this option, Poseidon would coordinate the timing
of constructing the treatment plant with constructing the distribution facilities to serve potable water to
customers.
“This would relieve the District from the responsibility and financial obligation of ensuring these
distribution facilities are constructed on time to take water once the desalination treatment plant is
complete. The District would retain the discretion of purchasing the distribution system constructed by
Poseidon once it is operating.
“The District would not be obligated to take any water from Poseidon until agreements are executed with
participating agencies who want to receive the water and the actual distribution facilities were constructed
to distribute the water. If the District opts to have Poseidon finance and construct the distribution system,
then the final unit cost of water paid to Poseidon would be adjusted.”
Comments: In total, this convoluted claim by OCWD Staff is troubling. OCWD still does not know where
the desal water will end up or how the desal water is to be distributed. By Staff’s past public
presentations, the desal distribution (or delivery) system would cost between $100Million and $400
Million to design and construct. As to where the desal water is to go, is OCWD going to sell the water? If
so, to whom and by what means? How is this to be done when OCWD cannot give the public any
assurance of even the cost of Poseidon water, or the cost of distributing it? Staff presents above where “the
final unit cost of water paid to Poseidon would be adjusted.” Adjusted by how much?
There are a lot of expensive pipelines and systems to be built to distribute all that water. But so far,
no one knows where the water is going or who is going to build all those pipeliness. Does that sound
like a good business deal? Tell them NO tomorrow!
Join R4RD… Wed. July 18, 2018 at 5:30
Orange County Water District Headquarters
Ward & Ellis
Fountain Valley, CA
6
Orange County officials give early approval to
Huntington Beach desalination plant contract
News 13 hours ago The Orange County Register — Martin Wisckol The Orange County Register
July 19--Concerns over the cost and environmental impacts of desalinated water were overridden by
the desire to fortify water supplies when the Orange County Water District board voted 6-2
Wednesday to approve non-binding contract terms with Poseidon, which has spent 20 years on the
desalination plant proposal for Huntington Beach.
The plan for the $1 billion plant and water distribution infrastructure would increase the monthly bill
for the average residential customer receiving the water by an estimated $3 to $6. It would help ensure
the area has water during droughts when supplies from Northern California and the Colorado River are
curtailed.
"I'm quite sensitive about the economics of the project but it's definitely going in the right direction,"
said board President Denis Bilodeau, one of several members who cast "Yes" votes.
The board won't be giving final approval until Poseidon receives its other regulatory approvals.
The company still needs permits from the Regional Water Quality Control Board, which is scheduled
to consider the company's application in December, and the California Coastal Commission, which is
expected to take up the issue next year.
But the term sheet approved Wednesday -- updating a 2015 agreement -- is a key step forward, given
concerns expressed over cost, environmental impacts, whether there was a bona fide need for a new
water source and whether other alternatives were being pursued aggressively enough.
Orange County Register
July 19, 2018
7
"This could have really interrupted the momentum of the project if they'd voted against it," said Mandy
Sackett of the Surfrider Foundation. "But there are still significant hurdles."
Sackett was among 62 public speakers on the issue, with opponents outnumbering supporters 5-1.
Cost unclear
At $1,700 to $1,800 an acre-foot, the Poseidon water would initially cost about $500 more an acre-foot
than that imported to the county by Metropolitan Water District, which provides about 26 percent of
OCWD's water. About 40 percent of OCWD current supply comes from local groundwater aquifers
and costs $525 an acre-foot.
An acre-foot is 326,000 gallons -- enough for two small families for a year, according to the OCWD.
Poseidon's 56,000 acre-feet a year would replace that same amount of imported water. In total, OCWD
distributes 410,000 acre-feet annually to north and central Orange County.
Poseidon officials say the steadily increasing cost of imported water means that desalinated water will
eventually cost less than that imported by the Metropolitan Water District -- but there's debate over the
future cost of that imported water. The Metropolitan Water District predicts a 4.1-percent annual
increase for the next decade while Poseidon points to the historical annual increase of 6.25 percent.
An OCWD analysis for a 35-year contract with Poseidon shows that at a 6.25 percent annual increase
for imported water, the desalinated water would cost less after 13 years. But if imported water
increases 4.1 percent annually, it would take 30 years for the desalinated water to cost less.
Other hurdles
Besides the two environmental regulator permits needed for the plant to break ground, OCWD's plan is
contingent on getting a grant from the Metropolitan Water District of Southern California. The new
term sheet also calls for OCWD to reach tentative agreements with local agencies that will buy the
water by Nov. 30, and that a proposal for distribution infrastructure be completed by year's end.
There is also a pending lawsuit challenging the environmental report accepted by the State Lands
Commission when the panel gave its approval to the project in October.
OCWD does not deliver water to end users but rather supplies water to 19 local agencies who in turn
provide the water to residential and business customers. It is expected that at least four or five of those
agencies would be needed to agree to participate in the new term sheet to be a viable framework.
Key changes in the new term sheet from the 2015 document:
* The proposed length of the contract is now 30 to 35 years rather than 50 years, shortening OCWD's
commitment.
* The price Poseidon can charge for the water will be tied to the company's actual cost plus a premium
reflecting the company's financial investment and risk. A similar arrangement at Poseidon's Carlsbad
plant results in the company making a 9.5 percent profit, according to OCWD. The previous term sheet
could have resulted in higher profits for the company.
8
* OCWD assumes risk for electricity rate hikes rather than Poseidon, which is expected to result in
Poseidon charging less for the water.
* OCWD now has the option to have Poseidon finance and build the new infrastructure needed to
distribute the water. The old contract left that responsibility with the water district.
9
Orange County Water District approves
water purchase agreement term sheet with
Poseidon Water
July 19th, 2018 courtesy Community
The Orange County Water District (“OCWD”) Board of Directors voted to approve an amendment to the
2015 water purchase agreement term sheet with Poseidon Water for the purchase of 56,000-acre feet per
year of drinking water from the proposed Huntington Beach Desalination Project (“Project”).
“This is a great step forward for the ratepayers,” said Orange County Taxpayers Association President
and CEO Carolyn Cavecche. “The new agreement further shifts financial risk and responsibility to the
private sector, protecting ratepayers and keeping Orange County on track for water independence.”
Orange County Breeze
July 19, 2018
10
The key components of the new term sheet include:
Cost of service pricing structure estimated to provide a lower cost of water than the alternative of
purchasing imported water;
30 or 35-year purchase term, reduced from a 50-year term;
Option for OCWD to have Poseidon finance and construction the desalinated water delivery
system;
OCWD option to buy the project between 5-7 years after operation as opposed to after 30 years
under the 2015 term sheet.
“The working men and women of Orange County appreciate the OCWD board taking the steps to bring this
long-awaited project to fruition,” said Ernesto Medrano, Council Representative of the Los Angeles-Orange
County Building Trades Council. “Tonight’s action will reduce the cost of the product water over the long
term, which is important for those in disadvantaged communities, but the construction of this water
production facility will create thousands of jobs.”
The project has the bi-partisan support of every state elected official in Orange County and a super
majority of the elected officials in the California state legislature. Water district representatives from
throughout the County encouraged OCWD board to approve the amended term sheet so that Orange
County would have the opportunity to add a new, locally controlled water supply. In addition to offsetting
imported demand, water from the project could provide flexibility in how OCWD manages the groundwater
basin, specifically the desalinated water could be used to augment supplies OCWD injects into the Talbert
Seawater Barrier to help prevent seawater intrusion into the groundwater basin.
In an opinion piece recently published in the Orange County Register OCWD Board President Denis
Bilodeau wrote “My goal is water supply independence for Orange County. We should not be beholden to
others for the most basic element of life. Clean water is essential to Orange County’s public health and
safety and economic stability … With an annual production capacity of 56,000 acre-feet, [the Huntington
Beach desalination plant] would be the single largest source of new, high quality, locally-controlled,
drought-proof water available to the county.”
“The amended term sheet is just the latest indication that Orange County values the water supply reliability
benefits provided by the Huntington Beach Desalination Project,” said Poseidon Vice President Scott
Maloni. “We look forward to bringing closure to the permitting process early next year so we can finalize a
water purchase agreement and bring this long-await project online.”
11
SURF CITY VOICE
HUNTINGTON BEACH DESAL PLANT: OCWD’S
PRICE PREDICTIONS ARE GARBAGE IN AND
GOSPEL OUT
JULY 24, 2018 LEAVE A COMMENT
By Debbie Cook
Mark Twain popularized the saying that, “There are three kinds of lies: lies, damn lies, and statistics.”
Take the Orange County Water District’s (OCWD) promotion of the proposed Poseidon Resources
ocean desalination plant, for instance.
Left to right: Shawn Dewane, Denis Bilodeau, Cathy Green. Voting for the 2015 Poseidon/OCWD
term sheet. Photo: Surf City Voice
Surf City Voice
July 24, 2018
12
At its July 18 meeting, the OCWD Board of Directors approved a revised term sheet with Poseidon,
thus moving closer to a binding contract to buy expensive water from the company’s proposed $1
billion ocean desalination plant for 30 – 35 years regardless of need.
California’s Cast of Keepers.
As Trump makes his way to a fund‐raiser in Beverly Hills, O’Malley and Sara Aminzadeh,
the executive director of the California Coastkeeper Alliance, take me on a tour of the San
Diego harbor. Aminzadeh represents 10 Waterkeeper organizations, including O’Malley’s:
four in Southern California, two on the Central Coast, and four in the northern part of the
state. Members of the state alliance also belong to the international Waterkeeper Alliance,
a network of not‐for‐profit water advocates—lawyers, scientists, educators, and
activists—who patrol and protect more than 2.5 million square miles of rivers, lakes, and
coastal waterways on six continents, each supported primarily by local contributions and
grants. Aminzadeh has helped plot a journey for me, to be led by representatives of the
California groups, up hundreds of miles of rivers and shoreline in a state that prides itself
on leadership in our climate crisis. “You cannot be active in California and not be involved
in the water‐supply issue,” says O’Malley.
Pollution is only one problem amid a toxic eco‐system of threats to California’s nearly 40
million residents (plus visitors), and to the most diverse proliferation of plant and animal
species in the United States. About 20 percent of the electricity in California goes directly
toward the treatment, conveyance, and use of water. This puts Southern California in a bit
of a bind: there’s not enough of it to drink, but to augment the supply through imports or
desalination burns a massive amount of energy. So officials have to be creative about
capturing and conserving stormwater. That water can be directed to new green space,
put back in the ground, or—in a big green dream—recycled into potable water.
The latter may be closer to possible than many people imagine. Orange County
Coastkeeper executive director Garry Brown, whose organization is another member of
the alliance, advised on the planning and construction of the Groundwater
Replenishment System, which turns wastewater into 100 million gallons of clean water
each day, using it to refill sand and gravel basins in the Anaheim aquifer, indirectly
providing drinking water and acting as a barrier to seawater intrusion. The system won
the Stockholm Industry Water Award, a sort of Nobel Prize for water‐conservation
projects, in 2008. In O’Malley’s district, the Pure Water Project is in its initial stages at the
Point Loma Wastewater Treatment Plant. It is the largest wastewater‐recycling project of
13
its kind in the country, and he hopes it will eventually allow San Diegans to go Orange
County one better and obtain up to one‐third of their drinking water directly from the
plant. Brown says that his county and others are working on wastewater recycling as
well. “There’s competition now, and it’s going to be a race to see who’s first.” These are
just a few of the measures Orange County is taking to secure its water supply for
residents and wildlife. To foster fish habitats in Upper Newport Bay, Brown’s team has
planted eelgrass and oyster beds, which serve as water filters.
Such projects are crucial to Southern California’s 23 million residents, almost half of
whom live in Greater L.A. “Los Angeles is just a beast,” says Bruce Reznik, executive
director of Los Angeles Waterkeeper, noting that its population is bigger than that of all
but a handful of states. Reznik compares his work to treating a patient: “The first step is
triage—identify the problem and stop the bleeding. Then you nurse the patient back to
health. But the most important thing is changing the behaviors that got you there in the
first place. So a lot of what we focus on is trying to stop the flow of pollution.” Reznik
spends much of his time advocating for stricter discharge permits, suing violators for
releasing toxins into the water, and hounding local agencies to enforce existing laws
against polluters.
Reznik and his colleagues to the south preside over heavily urban environments and by
necessity look inland, at industrial polluters and other contributors to filthy storm runoff,
but they also employ a variety of staff and volunteers to monitor and restore local marine
habitats. The value of this work becomes intensely apparent as you work your way up
toward the Central Coast. Santa Barbara Channelkeeper executive director Kira Redmond
explains that the amazing diversity of local marine life is courtesy of a transition zone
between a cool northern current and a warm southern one, making the channel a unique
and nationally recognized home to numerous endangered or threatened species,
including blue, gray, and humpback whales.
Redmond takes me out on a boat with Ben Pitterle and Penny Owens, directors of Santa
Barbara Channelkeeper’s marine and education programs. As we pass an oil rig, the
ocean smells like a gas station. But it turns out that the fumes are from raw petroleum,
which occasionally seeps up naturally from the seabed. Another challenge for Redmond
and her Channelkeeper colleagues: Santa Barbara is a historically oil‐rich area.
In 1969, national outrage over a massive oil spill off the Santa Barbara coast led to the
creation of the E.P.A., the Clean Water Act, the Endangered Species Act, and other laws
that the alliance relies on. Recognizing that the government might not have the resources
14
to identify or prosecute polluters, the Clean Water Act allowed for citizens to sue
offenders if their local waters were directly affected by pollution, and to be reimbursed
for legal fees if they won. This provided a baseline for the work of the first Waterkeeper
organizations.
15
Orange County's Old Wastewater Plant Gets
$100M Upgrade
An upgrade to equipment will expand Orange County Plant to 130 million gallons per day.
RENDERING COURTESY OF BLACK & VEATCH
June 21, 2018
Scott Lewis
Engineering News‐Record
June 21, 2018
16
The Orange County Sanitation District has hired Black & Veatch to design the overhaul and upgrade
of Wastewater Plant No. 2 in Huntington Beach, Calif. The new facilities will replace units built in the
1970s and will increase the plant’s capacity from 100 million gallons per day (mgd) to 130 mgd.
The project will require replacing four primary clarifiers and upgrading 10 existing clarifiers.
Investigations during the design phase uncovered two earthquake faults beneath the plant that the
sanitation district had not known about. The discovery led to a decision to relocate the new clarifiers.
The estimated construction cost will be $120 million, and work is expected to start in 2021. The
upgrades will improve the plant’s ability to provide source water for the county’s groundwater
replenishment system.
The system, the world’s largest for indirect potable reuse, takes highly treated wastewater from
throughout the county and further treats the water before injecting it back into the ground for a
seawater-intrusion barrier or to increase the local drinking-water supply.
17
California – A State Ready and Willing to Embrace Recycled
Water
Guest Column | July 13, 2018
By Ron Askin, Xylem Vice President of Water Utilities, North America
Water has never been more in demand, and innovative approaches to improving water
security have never been more imperative. As our global population grows exponentially,
cities and towns expand to accommodate new inhabitants, providing the resources and
services they need. Rapid agricultural and industrial development continues apace.
Communities across the world, already struggling with stretched water supplies, must now do
more with less: Drought-stricken Cape Town, in South Africa is expected to face ‘Day Zero’ in
2019, meaning taps in the city will run dry and people will have to queue for water; Brazil’s
largest grain producing state, Mato Grosso, will harvest up to 15 percent less ‘second corn’
this year because of drought, while limited rainfall in California, U.S., continues to put local
water supplies under severe pressure. In the face of extreme drought episodes like these,
water recycling is receiving growing recognition as a must-do, not a nice-to-do. It is a
common-sense solution for long-term water security – reducing the demand for additional
water resources and often providing a more cost-effective solution than treating a raw water
resource.
In late 2017, global water technology company Xylem commissioned a survey of California
residents in late 2017, to learn more about the population’s attitudes to recycled water. One of
the worst droughts in a generation hit the state in recent years with devastating
Water Online
July 13, 2018
18
consequences; millions of trees died, native fish could not migrate up rivers to spawn, while
farmers were forced to rely heavily on groundwater, with some tearing out orchards. Wells
dried up forcing hundreds of families in rural areas to drink bottled water and bathe from
buckets. A drought emergency was declared in 2014 and shortly afterwards officials ordered
mandatory conservation for the first time in state history. While the drought emergency has
now been declared over, recent reports indicate climate change will make California’s drought
cycle even more volatile. Xylem released the survey findings recently at a time when the
California State Water Board is seeking public comment on new regulations to advance using
direct potable water reuse across the state.
According to the statewide survey, an overwhelming majority of California residents believe
another drought is looming and 90 percent are concerned about future water supplies.
Encouragingly, nearly three-quarters of Californians (72 percent) support using recycled
water as an additional local water supply, regardless of water shortages, while a clear majority
(87 percent of survey respondents) are willing to use recycled water in their daily lives.
The survey also revealed implications for public policy about recycled water for personal use.
Californians expect to receive rebates, reduced costs or other incentives for using recycled
water. Almost 90 percent of respondents said they would support using recycled water if it
reduced their monthly water bill, and the same percentage supports statewide actions by
water agencies to adopt recycled water as a standard practice to prepare for future droughts.
Almost 90 percent of respondents continue to believe that technologies used to purify water
are effective. Furthermore, California residents are more willing to use recycled water for
personal household purposes after learning more about the technologies used to purify the
water. For example, after reading about the treatment process, 75 percent of Californians
surveyed reported that they are likely to trust the treatment process that is used to purify
recycled water.
This study highlights the importance of public education to build support for water reuse, a
factor borne out by the experience of communities around the world. The city of Perth, for
example, is set to receive up to 20 percent of its drinking water from reclaimed sources in the
coming decades. This follows a ten-year journey of research and a comprehensive public
education campaign incorporating a visitor center and trial facility where school children and
their parents were taught about the technology. According to an Australian Water
Corporation survey conducted following the public education phase, 79 percent of Perth
residents were in support of the scheme.
19
The Orange County Water District, located in Southern California, has also been lauded for its
efforts to build public acceptance for water reuse, recently setting a Guinness World Records
title for purifying the most drinking water in 24 hours. Since 2008 the Groundwater
Replenishment System, a collaboration between Orange County Water and Sanitation
Districts, has provided vast amounts of recycled drinking water to north and central Orange
County. The system is the world’s largest advanced water purification project for potable
reuse and has been hailed as the global model.
As the United Nations (UN) warns that half the world population will face water scarcity by
2030, accelerated by climate change and population growth, we all need to embrace water
reuse as a smart and sustainable means of securing water supplies. Our recent survey shows
that, thankfully, California residents have not forgotten the pain of recent drought years, and
it is encouraging to see continued strong and widespread support for recycled water as one
solution to building water resilience in the state. We must leverage this positive sentiment
and act on it. Public and private organizations must work hand-in-hand to make water
recycling the norm and ensure that our collective ‘Day Zero’ never comes.
About the survey:
In Fall 2015, Xylem commissioned an online public opinion survey of 3,004 randomly
selected California residents. Building on the findings from the inaugural survey, the Fall
2017 study continued to track California residents’ perceptions of using “Recycled Water” and
their understanding of the technology used to treat it, surveying 1,000 randomly selected
California residents. The 2017 survey results deliver ± 3.1 percent at the 95 percent
confidence level. Both surveys were conducted by Edelman Intelligence.
20
10 Signs of California Water Progress
The Golden State may face a future with more extreme weather, which will further stress water resources, but
California is well on its way to dealing with this new reality, writes Sean Bothwell of California
Coastkeeper Alliance.
Written bySean Bothwell Published on July 17, 2018
Governor Jerry Brown answers questions during a meeting at the governor’s office at the
California State Capitol in April 2015. Since the drought, Brown has signed laws to help
Water Deeply
July 17, 2018
21
boost efficiency, utilize stormwater and pave the way for direct potable reuse.Florence Low
/ California Department of Water Resources
The extreme weather swings California has experienced recently, from a historic drought to
record-breaking rain and snow, may become increasingly commonplace. A study from the
University of California, Los Angeles, suggests we will see more of this weather “whiplash” in
the years to come.
Fortunately, California has been busy preparing for an uncertain future. That means making
the most of every drop of rain or snow that falls, stretching our supplies through increased
efficiency, capturing rainwater and recycling water rather than dumping it. Below are 10
examples of water progress that suggest California is well on its way to water resilience.
1. Communities keep on conserving: Changes that Californians made during the
drought – like replacing thirsty lawns with native plants and upgrading to more
efficient appliances – are still saving water and money for ratepayers. The State Water
Resources Control Board reported that statewide water use was nearly 20 percent
below 2013 levels.
2. Curbing waste and boosting efficiency: This spring, California took an important
step toward water resilience with legislation that sets statewide standards for
efficiency. Water use data in the coming years will reveal our state’s true efficiency
potential and may justify strengthening these standards, but the legislation creates a
foundation for wiser use of all water.
3. New technology: The push to develop new water sources and stretch existing
supplies has led to a boom in technology. From a University of California, Davis,
program that taps weather data to help farmers use water more efficiently to a Silicon
Valley startup that tracks crop health with aerial imagery and a new app developed by
Culver City-based Flo Technologies that detects household leaks, homegrown
innovation is helping to boost water security while powering our economy.
4. Making the most of rainwater: Last year, Governor Jerry Brown signed legislation
that will make it easier to finance projects that capture rain that falls on roads and
roofs, and put it to good use. Right now, this precious water runs down storm drains
and straight out to sea, picking up unsightly trash, harmful bacteria and toxic metals
along the way. By harnessing rainwater, communities can boost local water supplies
while reducing polluted runoff.
5. Recharging underground reserves: As climate change brings more extreme
weather events, natural areas alongside rivers can help reduce flooding while
recharging aquifers. Meadows and wetlands along the San Gabriel and Los Angeles
rivers, for example, capture enough water to supply thousands of homes every year.
6. Funding sustainable water solutions: In 2014, voters approved Proposition 1, a
$7.5 billion bond measure to fund projects that will boost the state’s water security. So
far, Proposition 1 funds have been approved for brackish water desalination,
sustainable groundwater management, agricultural water efficiency, recycled water
and stormwater capture.
22
An inspection of a new pump station financed by a Proposition 1E storm water grant
to improve urban flooding issues in southeast Fresno. (John Chacon / California
Department of Water Resources)
7. Ramping up recycling: Communities are reclaiming water for drinking, farming,
landscaping and more. The Edward C. Little Water Recycling Facility in El Segundo
produces 40 million gallons per day of clean water and cuts the amount of sewage
dumped into Santa Monica Bay by 5 tons per day. Orange County’s 100 million
gallons-per-day Groundwater Replenishment System is undergoing its second
expansion. Los Angeles is currently doubling the recycling capacity of its Hyperion
Water Reclamation Plant. Pure Water Monterey will supply drinking water and
irrigation for the Salinas Valley while reducing stress on the Carmel River. Pure Water
San Diego will supply one-third of the city’s water needs by 2035.
8. Paving the way for drinkable recycled water: In 2017, Governor Brown signed
legislation that paves the way for directly drinking recycled water. Some utilities are
already recycling water for drinking, but they are required to blend it with
groundwater first. By enabling utilities to deliver purified recycled water straight to
customers, the new law reduces the need for costly new infrastructure and energy-
intensive pumping.
9. Desalting brackish water: Desalting brackish water from bays, rivers or
underground reserves is far more cost-effective, energy-efficient and environmentally
friendly than seawater desalination. That is why more than two dozen communities,
from Newark in Alameda County to Torrance in Los Angeles County, are using this
technology to boost local water supplies
10. Reducing reliance on imported water: Los Angeles is working to cut the city’s
water imports in half by 2025 and source 50 percent of its water locally by 2035. Santa
Monica is on its way to being completely water independent.
These water solutions are more like buckshot than silver bullets, but that is the future of
California water: diverse, local, energy-efficient and cost-effective.
23
OC Water District awarded $135M loan to
expand wastewater recycling
By Martin Wisckol | mwisckol@scng.com | Orange County Register
PUBLISHED: August 1, 2018 at 12:23 pm | UPDATED: August 1, 2018 at 7:09 pm
The Orange County Water District was awarded a $135 million federal loan Wednesday,
Aug. 1, to expand its pioneering wastewater recycling program, which earlier this year set a
Guinness World Record for the most wastewater turned into drinking water in a 24-hour
period.
The district launched the toilet-to-tap program in 2008, working in coordination with the
Orange County Sanitation District to purify wastewater to drinking quality and then
pumping it into the groundwater aquifer. That aquifer is tapped into by 19 member water
agencies in north and central Orange County, with this Groundwater Replenishment System
reducing the need for more expensive imported water.
“All the water that the GWRS produces meets or exceeds drinking standards,” said Mehul
Patel, OCWD’s executive director of operations. “It’s a safe, dependable source of water that
has helped our region become less susceptible to droughts.”
Recycled water
The wastewater recycling accounts for about 25 percent of OCWD’s water, with roughly the
same amount imported from northern California and the Colorado River.
Orange County Breeze
August 1, 2018
24
The current daily production of 100 million gallons of converted wastewater per day is
expected to increase to 130 million gallons — enough for 1 million people — with the
planned expansion, according to the water district.
Imported water costs about $1,200 an acre-foot while the local aquifer water costs $525 an
acre foot. An acre-foot is 326,000 gallons, enough for two small families for a year,
according to OCWD.
Expansion of the GWRS plant is scheduled to begin in late 2019 and be completed in 2023.
The federal loan is a key step in putting together funding for the work.
Federal Environmental Protection Agency officials were on hand at the Fountain Valley-
based OCWD on Wednesday to make the announcement of the 3-percent loan, cheaper
than the 3.8-percent figure the district would pay if it issued bonds to cover the amount.
The total project is slated to cost $282 million, with the district seeking state funding to
cover the balance.
The expansion will allow recycling of 100 percent of the sanitation district’s reclaimable
wastewater, according to Robert Thompson, assistant general manager of the sanitation
agency.
Already, OCWD touts its wastewater recycling program as the largest of its kind in the
world. That claim got a boost from Guinness on February 16, 2018, when it determined that
the 1,008,000 gallons produced was more than any other such plant produced in a 24-hour
period.
25
http://www.filtration-products.com/
EPA provides $135 million for innovative
groundwater replenishment project expansion in
Orange County | U.S. EPA News Releases
News Releases from Region 09EPA Loan Updates Water Infrastructure, Cuts City Costs, and Adds 700
Local Jobs
08/01/2018
LOS ANGELES—Today, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) announced a $135 million
Water Infrastructure Finance and Innovation Act (WIFIA) loan to the Orange County Water District to help
finance its Groundwater Replenishment System final expansion.
The announcement was made by EPA’s Regional Administrator for the Pacific Southwest Mike Stoker at
the project’s future site on Ward Street in Fountain Valley. Stoker was joined by U.S. Congressman Dana
Rohrabacher, Orange County Water District Board President Denis Bilodeau, and Orange County
Sanitation District General Manager James Herberg.
“This advanced water recycling and groundwater replenishment project will provide Orange County
residents and businesses with an additional local drinking water supply,” said Stoker. “Not only will this
project protect local water resources, it will make Orange County more resilient to future droughts.”
With EPA’s WIFIA loan, the Orange County Water District (OCWD) will purify treated wastewater from the
Orange County Sanitation District to produce an additional 30 million gallons per day of drinking water,
which will be stored in the Orange County Groundwater Basin. This additional drought-proof drinking water
supply reduces the region’s need to import water, benefits the environment through reduced discharges
into the ocean, and increases replenishment of the local groundwater source.
“WIFIA borrowing enhances the Groundwater Replenishment System’s viability,” stated Bilodeau. “The
WIFIA loan program creates another tool in the proverbial toolbox to finance critical water infrastructure
projects like ours. The cost of borrowing is less than the private market would have been, which helps
make the cost of the final expansion feasible to ratepayers. OCWD is trying to reduce reliance on imported
water from the Colorado River and become self-sufficient, but OCWD won’t make water at any cost.”
The Orange County Water District estimates the project will cost $282 million. EPA’s WIFIA loan will help
finance nearly half that amount—up to $135 million. Because the WIFIA program offers loans with low
interest rates, the Orange County Water District is expected to save up to $16 million compared to
municipal bonds. Project construction is expected to create 700 jobs and is scheduled to begin in 2019 and
be completed in 2023.
In addition to significant cost savings, a WIFIA loan permits extended repayment terms of up to 35 years,
the ability to repay at any time without penalty, subordination in payment priority to other debt, flexibility
Filtration Products.com
August 1, 2018
26
when the loan is drawn with no interest accrual until funds are disbursed, and the opportunity to use the
loan with other assistance like the State Revolving Fund for the remaining 51 percent of a project’s cost.
“Having been a proponent of the OCWD’s Ground Water Replenishment System project since its
inception, I am pleased that the OCWD has received a $135 million Water Infrastructure Finance and
Innovation Act loan. This loan will help finance the final expansion of the GWRS, which will increase our
drought-proof water supply and provide for the water needs of future generations of Orange County
residents,” said Congressman Dana Rohrabacher (CA-48).
“Today marks a major milestone for EPA’s WIFIA program,” said EPA Office of Water Assistant
Administrator David Ross. “With our loan to the Orange County Water District, EPA has issued over $1
billion in WIFIA credit assistance this year, thanks to the hard work and dedication of the professionals
within EPA’s Office of Water.”
Background
Established by the Water Infrastructure Finance and Innovation Act of 2014, the WIFIA program is a new
federal loan and guarantee program at EPA that aims to accelerate investment in the nation’s water
infrastructure by providing long-term, low-cost supplemental credit assistance for regionally and nationally
significant projects.
In April 2018, EPA announced the availability of additional WIFIA funding that could provide as much as
$5.5 billion in loans, which could leverage over $11 billion in water infrastructure projects. The 2018 WIFIA
Notice of Funding Availability (NOFA) highlights the importance of protecting public health, including
reducing exposure to lead and other contaminants in drinking water systems and updating the nation’s
aging infrastructure. Prospective borrowers responding to the 2018 NOFA must have submitted a letter of
interest by July 31, 2018. EPA is currently evaluating submitted letters of interest from prospective
borrowers in response to the 2018 WIFIA notice. Through this competitive process, EPA will select projects
it intends to finance and invite them to continue the application process this fall.
According to EPA’s estimate of national drinking water and wastewater needs, over $743 billion is needed
for water infrastructure improvements. The WIFIA program plays an important part in fulfilling this need and
in the President’s Infrastructure Plan, which calls for increasing the program’s funding authorization and
expanding project eligibility.
For more information about the WIFIA program and OCWD’s Groundwater Replenishment System,
visit: https://www.epa.gov/wifia
27
Water district awarded $135M loan
ORANGE COUNTY
Funding to be used to expand its wastewater recycling program
By Martin Wisckol
8/2/18
mwisckol@scng.com @MartinWisckol on Twitter
The Orange County Water District was awarded a $135 million federal loan Wednesday to
expand its pioneering wastewater recycling program, which earlier this year set a Guinness
World Record for the most wastewater turned into drinking water in a 24-hour period.
The district launched the toilet-to-tap program in 2008, working in coordination with the
Orange County Sanitation District to purify wastewater to drinking quality and then pumping
it into the groundwater aquifer. That aquifer is tapped into by 19 member water agencies in
north and central Orange County, with the Groundwater Replenishment System reducing
the need for more expensive imported water.
“All the water that the GWRS produces meets or exceeds drinking standards,”
said Mehul Patel, OCWD’s executive director of operations. “It’s a safe, dependable source
of water that has helped our region become less susceptible to droughts.”
Recycled water
The wastewater recycling accounts for about 25 percent of OCWD’s water, with roughly the
same amount imported from Northern California and the Colorado River.
The current daily production of 100 million gallons of converted wastewater per day is
expected to in-
Orange County Register
August 2, 2018
28
crease to 130 million gallons — enough for 1 million people — with the planned expansion,
according to the water district.
Imported water costs about $1,200 an acre-foot, and the local aquifer water costs $525 an acre-foot.
An acre-foot is 326,000 gallons, enough for two small families for a year, according to OCWD.
Expansion of the GWRS plant is scheduled to begin in late 2019 and be completed in 2023. The
federal loan is a key step in putting together funding for the work.
Federal Environmental Protection Agency officials were on hand at the Fountain Valley-based
OCWD on Wednesday to make the announcement of the 3 percent loan, cheaper than the 3.8 percent
figure the district would pay if it issued bonds to cover the amount. The total project is slated to cost
$282 million, with the district seeking state funding to cover the balance.
The expansion will allow recycling of 100 percent of the sanitation district’s reclaimable
wastewater, according to Robert Thompson, assistant general manager of the sanitation agency.
Already, OCWD touts its wastewater recycling program as the largest of its kind in the world. That
claim got a boost from Guinness World Records on Feb. 16, 2018, when it determined that the
1,008,000 gallons produced was more than any other such plant produced in a 24-hour period.
29
How to Make California’s Southland Water Independent for $30 Billion
August 17, 2018 By Ed Ring
The megapolis on California’s southern coast stretches from Ventura County on the northern
end, through Los Angeles County, Orange County, down to San Diego County on the border
with Mexico. It also includes the western portions of Riverside and San Bernardino counties.
Altogether these six counties have a population of 20.5 million residents. According to
the California Department of Water Resources, urban users consume 3.7 million acre feet of
water per year, and the remaining agricultural users in this region consume an additional
700,000 acre feet.
Much of this water is imported. In an average year, 2.6 million acre feet of water is imported
by the water districts serving the residents and businesses in these Southland counties. The
701 mile long California Aqueduct, mainly conveying water from the Sacramento River,
contributes 1.4 million acre feet. The 242 mile long Colorado River Aqueduct adds another
1.0 million acre feet. Finally, the Owens River on the east side of the Sierras contributes
250,000 acre feet via the 419 mile long Los Angeles Aqueduct.
California’s Plumbing System
The major interbasin systems of water conveyance, commonly known as aqueducts
California’s Overall Water Supplies Must Increase
Californians have already made tremendous strides conserving water, and the potential
savings from more stringent conservation mandates may not yield significant additional
savings. Population growth is likely to offset whatever remaining savings that may be
achievable via additional conservation.
Meanwhile, the state mandated water requirements for California’s ecosystems continue to
increase. The California State Water Board is finalizing “frameworks” that will increase the
minimum amount of flow required to be maintained in the Sacramento and San Joaquin rivers
order to better protect fish habitat and reduce salinity in the Delta. And, of course, these
California Political Review
August 17, 2018
30
rivers, along with the Owens and Colorado rivers, are susceptible to droughts which
periodically put severe strain on water users in California.
At about the same time, in 2015, California’s legislature began regulating groundwater
withdrawals. This measure, while long overdue, puts additional pressure on urban and
agricultural users.
California’s water requirements for healthy ecosystems, a robust and growing farm economy,
as well as a growing urban population, are set to exceed available supply. Conservation
cannot return enough water to the system to fix the problem.
How Can Water Supplies Increase?
In Southern California, runoff capture is an option that appears to have great potential.
Despite its arid climate and perennial low rainfall, nearly every year a few storm systems
bring torrential rains to the South Coast, inundating the landscape. Until the Los Angeles
River was turned into a gigantic culvert starting in 1938, it would routinely flood, with the
overflow filling huge aquifers beneath the city. Those aquifers remain, although many are
contaminated and require mitigation. Runoff harvesting for aquifer storage represents one
tremendous opportunity for Southern Californians to increase their supply of water.
The other possibilities are sewage recycling and desalination. In both cases, Southern
California already boasts some of the most advanced plants in the world. The potential for
these two technologies to deliver massive quantities of potable water, over a million acre feet
per year each, is now predicated more on political and financial considerations than
technological challenges.
Recycling Waste Water
Orange County leads the United States in recycling waste water. The Orange County
Sanitation District treats 145,000 acre feet per year (130 million gallons per day – “MGD”),
sending all of it to the Orange County Water District’s “Ground Water Replenishment System”
plant for advanced treatment. The GWRS plant is the biggest of its kind in the world. After
being treated to potable standards, 124,000 acre feet per year (110 million GPD), or 85
percent of the waste water, is then injected into aquifers to be stored and pumped back up
and reused by residents as potable water. The remainder, containing no toxins and with
fewer total dissolved solids than seawater, is discharged harmlessly into the ocean.
Currently the combined water districts in California’s Southland discharge about 1.5 million
acre feet (1.3 billion GPD) of treated wastewater each year into the Pacific Ocean. Only a
small percentage of this discharge is the treated brine from recycled water. But by using the
advanced treatment methods as are employed in Orange County, 85% of wastewater can be
recycled to potable standards. This means that merely through water reuse, there is the
potential to recycle up to another 1.2 million acre feet per year.
31
Needless to say, implementing a solution at this scale would require major challenges to be
overcome. Currently California’s water districts are only permitted to engage in “indirect
potable reuse,” which means the recycled water must be stored in an aquifer or a reservoir
prior to being processed as drinking water and entering the water supply. By 2023, it is
expected the California Water Board will have completed regulations governing “direct
potable reuse,” which would allow recycled water to be immediately returned to the water
supply without the intermediate step of being stored in an aquifer or reservoir. In the
meantime, it is unlikely that there are enough uncontaminated aquifers or available reservoirs
to store the amount of recycled water that could be produced.
Desalinating Seawater
The other source of new water for Southern California, desalination, is already realized in an
operating plant, the Carlsbad Desalination Plant in San Diego County. This plant produces
56,000 acre feet per year (50 MGD) of fresh water by processing twice that amount of
seawater. It is the largest and most technologically advanced desalination plant in the
Western Hemisphere. It is co-located with the Encina Power Station, a facility that uses far
more seawater per year, roughly ten times as much, for its cooling systems. The Carlsbad
facility diverts a portion of that water for desalination treatment, then returns the saltier “brine”
to the much larger outflow of cooling water at the power plant.
Objections to desalination are many, but none of them are insurmountable. The desalination
plant proposed for Huntington Beach, for example, will not have the benefit of being co-
located with a power plant that consumes far more seawater for its cooling system. Instead,
this proposed plant – which will have the same capacity as the Carlsbad plant – will use a
large array of “wet filters” situated about 1,500 feet offshore, on the seabed about 40 feet
below the surface, to gently intake seawater that can be pumped back to the plant without
disrupting marine life. The outgoing brine containing 6 percent salt (compared to 3% in
seawater) will be discharged under pressure from an underwater pipe extending about 1,800
feet offshore. By discharging the brine under pressure, it will be instantly disbursed and
immediately dissipated in the powerful California current.
While desalination is considered to be energy intensive, a careful comparison of the energy
cost to desalinate seawater reveals an interesting fact. It takes a roughly equivalent amount
of electricity to power the pumps on the California aqueduct, where six pumping stations lift
the water repeatedly as it flows from north to south. To guarantee the water flows south, the
California aqueduct is sloped downward by roughly one foot per mile of length, meaning
pump stations are essential. The big lift, of course, is over the Tehachapi Mountains, which is
the only way to import water into the Los Angeles basin.
Barriers to Implementation – Permitting & Lawsuits
The technological barriers to large scale implementation of water recycling and desalination,
while significant, are not the primary impediments. Permitting and financing are far bigger
32
challenges. Moreover, financing costs for these mega projects become more prohibitive
because of the difficulties in permitting.
The process necessary to construct the proposed Huntington Beach Desalination Plant is
illustrative of just how difficult, if not impossible, it is to get construction permits. The
contractor has been involved in the permitting process for 16 years already, and despite
significant progress to-date, still expects approval, if it comes, to take another 2-3 years.
One of the problems with permitting most infrastructure in California is that several agencies
are involved. These agencies can actually have conflicting requirements. Applicants also end
up having to answer the same questions over and over, because the agencies don’t share
information. And over the course of decades or more, the regulations change, meaning the
applicant has to start the process over again. Compounding the difficulties for applicants are
endless rounds of litigation, primarily from well-funded environmentalist organizations. The
failure to-date of California’s lawmakers to reform CEQA make these lawsuits potentially
endless.
Barriers to Implementation – Financing
Even if permitting were streamlined, and all technical challenges were overcome, it would be
a mistake to be glib about financing costs. Based on the actual total cost for the Carlsbad
desalination plant, just under $1.0 billion for a capacity of 56,000 acre feet per year, the
capital costs to desalinate a million acre feet of seawater would be a daunting $18.0 billion.
On the other hand, with permitting reforms, such as creating a one-stop ombudsman agency
to adjudicate conflicting regulations and exercise real clout among the dozens of agencies
with a stake in the permitting process, billions could be shaved off that total. Similarly, CEQA
reforms could shave additional billions off the total. How much could be saved?
The Sorek desalination plant, commissioned in Israel in 2015, cost $500 million to build and
desalinates 185,000 acre feet of water per year. Compared to Carlsbad, Sorek came online
for an astonishing one-sixth the capital cost per unit of capacity. While there’s undoubtedly
more to this story, it is also undeniable that other developed nations are able to deploy large
scale desalination plants at far lower costs than here in California.
Financing costs for water recycling, while still staggering, are (at least in California) not
comparable to those for desalination. The GWRS water recycling plant in Orange County was
built at a capital cost of $905 million – $481 million was the initial cost, the first expansion
cost $142 million, and the final expansion cost $282 million. This equates to a capital cost of
$7,300 per acre foot of annual yield. If that price were to apply for new facilities to be
constructed elsewhere in the southland, one million acre feet of recycling capacity could be
built for $7.3 billion. Until there is direct potable reuse, however, it would be necessary to add
to that cost the expense of either constructing storage reservoirs, or decontaminating aquifers
for underground storage.
33
It’s anybody’s guess, but with reasonable reforms to contain costs, and taking into account
additional investments in aquifer mitigation, a budget to make California’s Southland water
independent might look like this:
1.0 million acre feet from water recycling – $7.5 billion
1.0 million acre feet from desalination – $15.0 billion
0.5 million acre feet from runoff capture and aquifer mitigation – $7.5 billion
Total – $30 billion.
How much again is that bullet train? Water abundance in California vs. high speed rail…
While runoff capture, water recycling, and desalination have the potential to make Southern
California’s coastal megapolis water independent, it will take extraordinary political will and
innovative financing to make it happen. The first step is for California’s voters and
policymakers alike to recognize that conservation is not enough, that water supplies must be
increased. Once the political will is established, it will be necessary to streamline the
regulatory process, so cities, water agencies, and private contractors can pursue supply
oriented solutions, at realistic prices, with a reasonable certainty that their applications will be
approved.
* * *
Edward Ring co-founded the California Policy Center and served as its first president. This
article originally appeared on the website of the California Policy Center.
34
Environment & Science
‘Toilet to tap’ water nearly matches bottled H20 in taste test,
California university researchers discover
UC Riverside researcher Daniel Harman with drinking water samples at the Riverside
campus on Tuesday, Aug. 14, 2018. Harmon recently conducted a taste study on the
difference between recycled water, tap water and commercial bottle water, (Photo by
Watchara Phomicinda, The Press-Enterprise/SCNG)
By David Downey | Southern California News Group
PUBLISHED: August 17, 2018 at 8:49 am | UPDATED: August 17, 2018 at 8:51 am
Saddled with the “toilet to tap” label, recycled water still has a bit of an image problem.
But in a blind taste test, UC Riverside researchers found that people prefer its flavor
over tap water and that they like it as much as bottled water.
Intuitively, that may sound crazy. But it makes sense, suggests UCR’s Daniel Harmon,
lead author on a recent study analyzing the taste test published recently in the journal
Appetite.
“Bottled water and recycled water go through more or less identical purification
processes,” Harmon said. Both, experts said, are subjected to reverse osmosis, which
removes most contaminants.
The Mercury News
August 17, 2018
35
The study is encouraging, water officials say, because it comes at a time when
Southern California is having to rely increasingly more on recycled water, and not just
for turf and crop irrigation. As the planet warms, droughts become more severe and
water supplies shrink. It also comes as state officials are expanding the ways
agencies can filter recycled water and add it to drinking supplies. UCR’s research may
help set the stage for one day piping it directly into drinking-water systems.
UC Riverside researcher and study lead author Daniel Harmon holds up clear plastic
cups of drinking-water samples at the Riverside campus on Tuesday, Aug. 14, to
demonstrate how his team conducted an experiment to see whether participants —
college students between the ages of 18 and 28 — could tell the difference between
recycled, tap and commercial bottled water in a blind taste test. (Photo by Watchara
Phomicinda, The Press-Enterprise/SCNG)
“It’s inevitable that we’re going to have to use this resource more and more,” said
Harmon, a doctoral candidate in development psychology at UCR.
Kevin Pearson, a spokesman for Eastern Municipal Water District, which supplies
drinking water to more than 800,000 people in Riverside County, termed the results
encouraging.
“This goes to show that people are willing to use this as a water source,” Pearson
said.
What Harmon’s team did was bring in 143 UCR students ranging in age from 18 to 28,
one at a time.
“We wanted to figure out whether people could tell the difference between recycled
water, tap water and commercial bottled water,” Harmon said. “They were presented
with three clear cups labeled A, B and C. They were completely blind to the source of
any water.”
After tasting the water, participants rated samples on a scale of one to five — one
indicating strong dislike and five a strong like for. Harmon said bottled water received
the highest score at 3.79, but recycled water nearly matched it at 3.77. The
groundwater-based tap water sample scored 3.45.
“We were surprised that the groundwater was less liked,” he said.
A man pours a glass of fresh water from a kitchen faucet. (Photo courtesy of UC
Riverside)
Harmon said researchers also evaluated personalities and analyzed whether that
factored into preferences. Their conclusion? It did.
36
They found that people who are open to new experiences tended to like the three
samples the same. But people who are more nervous or anxious preferred bottled
water, Harmon said.
“What we learned is, purity and freshness is king in water preference,” he said.
Harmon said the taste test was conducted in 2015, but the study was published this
year. Researchers are considering a follow-up study, he said, saying he could not hint
what that might entail.
The implications are huge. The state is moving toward more extensive reuse of the
waste water that flows through our sewer lines. It’s already an important part of our
supply.
In Southern California, the region consumes 3.5 million acre-feet of water annually.
And, of that, the source of 460,000 acre-feet is recycled waste water, said Deven
Upadhyay, Metropolitan Water District assistant general manager and chief operating
officer.
“It’s been on an uptick for years,” he said.
A common measuring unit in the water world, an acre-foot is about 325,000 gallons or
what would cover an acre one foot deep. It’s what three Southern California families
use during the course of a year.
Upadhyay said some recycled water irrigates parks, golf courses and sport fields.
Some is used by industry. And some is used for drinking, showering and washing
dishes.
Orange County residents are already doing the latter — on a large scale.
Orange County Water District, in partnership with the Orange County Sanitation
District, just celebrated its 10th anniversary of operating the world’s largest recycled-
water plant. It generates 100 million gallons of fresh water daily from waste water,
said Denis Bilodeau, district president. And his agency is expanding the plant.
37
Orange County Water District officials were so confident in the purity of their recycled
waste water that they handed out bottles of it in Hollywood in March 2017. (Photo
courtesy of Orange County Water District)
The purified sewer water represents 30 percent of all water produced by the water
district for residents of northern and central Orange County, Bilodeau said.
It’s injected into the ground.
“It goes through several hundred feet of sand and soil,” where it is subjected to
additional filtration, he said. “And eventually it is taken up through drinking water
wells.”
A similar plant is coming to Los Angeles County. Upadhyay said Metropolitan is
partnering with the Sanitation Districts of Los Angeles County on a demonstration
project that will be completed in 2019 and serve as a precursor to a large-scale
operation.
Taking the process a step further, the San Diego area is preparing to add recycled
water to a reservoir. The State Water Resources Control Board cleared the way for
that through a roll-out of regulations in March.
By 2023, the board anticipates unveiling rules that would set the stage for piping
recycled water directly into drinking systems.
George Tchobanoglous, a retired UC Davis professor of civil and environmental
engineering who recently served on statewide expert water panel, said it may be 10
years before that level of recycling arrives.
38
“I think that’s a ways off,” he said.
Tchobanoglous said some issues likely will have to be resolved and officials will have
to secure the public’s confidence. It’s unfortunate, he said, that a number of years ago
someone popularized the phrase “toilet to tap.”
But, he said, “It is inevitable.”
He said direct piping of recycled water into homes is done in several water-starved
places around the globe now. One such example is South Africa.
One can also look to the stars to find an example. At the International Space Station,
Bilodeau said, every drop is captured. “Even the perspiration is recycled.”
“This isn’t a science fiction thing,” he said. “It already occurs.”
39
Sanitary and water districts reach
settlement in legal fight, ending talk
of merger
By Luke Money
JUL 24, 2018 | 4:45 PM
The Costa Mesa Sanitary and Mesa Water districts have reached a truce in their lengthy
public feud over whether to consider a merger, announcing in a joint statement that the water
district’s board “will not support consolidation” unless the sanitary district, which has
consistently opposed the idea, “changes its position on the subject.”
Los Angeles Times
July 24, 2018
40
As part of the settlement between the agencies, the sanitary district agreed to dismiss a
lawsuit it filed last year alleging that Mesa Water had failed to provide certain requested
documents. The sanitary district also agreed to withdraw its current public records requests.
In addition, Mesa Water and the sanitary district declared they will not support California Fair
Political Practices Commission investigations of one another resulting from complaints
against the districts.
“Our districts have a multi-decade history of providing outstanding water, wastewater and
solid waste services in Costa Mesa, and we look forward to working collaboratively with Mesa
Water on shared services and continuing to look for ways to improve efficiencies and cost-
effectiveness for both agencies,” sanitary district board President Mike Scheafer said in a
statement Monday.
Mesa Water board President Jim Atkinson said: “We are pleased that we have resolved the
differences between our two districts. Mesa Water looks forward to continued collaboration
with CMSD on matters important to both districts for the benefit of our shared customers and
community members.”
This week’s announcement effectively ends a war of words the agencies have waged since
2016, when Mesa Water asked whether the sanitary district would join in studying the
possibility of a merger.
In the months that followed, sanitary district officials accused Mesa Water of using flawed and
misleading information to try to stage a takeover. Water district representatives rejected that
criticism and said consolidation could result in millions of dollars in one-time and annual
savings that might lead to rebates or lower rates for residents.
The quarrel eventually found its way to the ballot box in November 2016 with Measure TT, an
advisory question asking voters whether they wanted the districts to look into a possible
merger.
Though the measure passed with 54.7% of the vote, the consolidation front has been largely
quiet — at least publicly — for months.
The sanitary district provides sewer and curbside trash collection services to about 116,700
ratepayers in Costa Mesa, parts of Newport Beach and unincorporated sections of Orange
County.
Mesa Water provides service to about 110,000 people in an area that is similar, though not
identical.
41
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE CONTACT: Eleanor Torres, (714) 378-3268 or etorres@ocwd.com
OCWD AND THE WATER INDUSTRY MOURN THE LOSS OF PHILIP L.
ANTHONY - A PIONEER WHO HELPED DISPEL THE “TOILET TO TAP” MYTH
AND INSPIRED THE ADVANCEMENT OF WATER REUSE PROJECTS AROUND
THE WORLD
FOUNTAIN VALLEY, CA (July 30, 2018) – The Orange County Water District (OCWD) and the
global water community is mourning the loss of OCWD’s longest-serving board member, 1st Vice
President Philip L. Anthony. Director Anthony was first elected to the OCWD Board of Directors in
1981 to represent division four which includes the cities of Los Alamitos and Seal Beach and parts of
Buena Park, Cypress, Garden Grove, Huntington Beach, Stanton, and Westminster. During his service
of nearly 37 years on the board, Director Anthony played an important role in pioneering projects that
have now become standard water industry tools to combat drought and water shortages.
“Phil was a mentor to me and many other water leaders,” stated OCWD Board President Denis
Bilodeau. “Under his visionary leadership, OCWD doubled the sustainable yield of the Orange
County Groundwater Basin. The effect of having plentiful water for residents and businesses in
Orange County cannot be understated. Phil’s passing is a great loss for all of Orange County.”
During the mid-1980s, Director Anthony and his fellow board members began planning the Green
Acres Project that supplied non-potable water (recycled water) for golf courses, public parks and
landscaping in the cities of Fountain Valley, Santa Ana, Costa Mesa, and Newport Beach. The project,
which still operates today, has saved those cities a substantial amount of money. In the late 2000s, he
led efforts to complete the Prado Wetlands expansion in Riverside County and construct the OCWD
Advanced Water Quality Assurance Laboratory, which opened its doors in 2009 and earned full
certification, among many other programs and projects.
OCWD Press Release
July 30, 2018
42
One of his most significant contributions to OCWD and the water industry at large, was his
unwavering support to build the Groundwater Replenishment System (GWRS), which came online in
2008. The world’s largest advanced water purification project of its kind, the GWRS takes treated
wastewater and purifies it to drinking water quality. GWRS water is used to replenish the Orange
County Groundwater Basin and also protect the basin from seawater intrusion. Similar projects were
proposed in the 1990s in Los Angeles and San Diego but failed when opponents labeled such projects
as “toilet to tap.” Director Anthony, a chemist, saw wastewater as a resource and was confident that
OCWD and the Orange County Sanitation District (OCSD), OCWD’S partner in this groundbreaking
project, could safely transform this resource into a reliable water supply for the region.
“Water reuse was greatly politicized in San Diego and the San Fernando Valley,” added Bilodeau.
“Phil had great conviction that advanced water recycling had to be part of Orange County’s immediate
water future. He demonstrated great political courage in rallying the OCWD and OCSD boards, local,
state and federal officials and community organizations to move this controversial project forward.
Outreach to educate community stakeholders about the need, safety and benefits of potable reuse
began nearly ten years before the project came online and included more than 1,200 presentations.
Phil personally gave a majority of those presentations.”
With an original production of 70 million gallons per day (MGD), the GWRS was expanded in 2015 to
produce 100 MGD and in 2018, OCWD and OCSD became the first agencies in the Western
Hemisphere to bottle advanced purified water to help educate policy makers, media and the public
about potable reuse. In honor of the 10th Anniversary of the GWRS, OCWD captured a poignant
interview with Director Anthony and OCSD former chairman and current board member James
Ferryman about how both agencies embarked on such a cutting-edge project.
Director Anthony served as president of OCWD from 1993 through 1995 and again from 2005 through
2007. He also served as a director of the National Water Research Institute (NWRI) (1991 to 2018),
commissioner of the Santa Ana Watershed Project Authority (2003 to 2018) and was formerly chair of
the Association of California Water Agencies Region 10. Director Anthony also co-founded the Water
Advisory Committee of Orange County in 1983, was a founding member of OCWD’s Groundwater
Guardian Team in 1997 and served on the Santa Ana River Flood Protection Agency since 1988.
Director Anthony received numerous honors for his leadership in the water industry, including the
2002 E. Benjamin Nelson Government Service Award from the Groundwater Foundation. The
prestigious national award honors and recognizes an elected or appointed public official who has
significantly advanced environmental and groundwater stewardship. Most recently, the California
Sierra Club Political Action Committee presented him with the 2018 California Taking the Lead
Political Leadership Award. The award honored four environmental heroes from both political parties
who have worked and voted consistently to protect the environment in Los Angeles and Orange
counties.
Environmental stewardship is something Director Anthony strived to instill in the future generation.
He once said that “Children today will play a vital role in preserving our natural resources in the
future.” Director Anthony founded the Orange County Children’s Water Education Festival in 1996.
The first festival served 500 Orange County students. Today, the event, co-hosted by the Disneyland
Resort and NWRI at the University of California at Irvine, has grown to serve 7,000 students annually.
“Nearly 20 years before the phrase STEM emerged onto the scene, Director Anthony saw the great
need to expose students at a very young age to careers in science, engineering and technology, and to
environmental issues,” stated Frank Dela Vara, Director of Environmental Affairs at the Disneyland
43
Resort. “It was truly an honor to work with him to help inspire the next generation of water and
environmental leaders.”
Director Anthony was first elected to the Westminster City Council in 1962, where he served until
1976. He served as the city’s mayor from 1972 through 1976. He was then elected to the Orange
County Board of Supervisors where he served from 1976 to 1981 and was board chair in 1979.
Director Anthony also served on the boards of the Orange County Sanitation District, the South Coast
Air Quality Management District, the Southern California Association of Governments, and the
Orange County Local Agency Formation Commission.
Earlier in his career, Director Anthony worked in aerospace engineering and program management at
Rockwell International Corp., where he received a NASA Technology Utilization Award and was
granted two U.S. patents. He also authored several scientific and technical publications and was
widely sought out for local, national and international speaking engagements as an expert on advanced
wastewater purification for potable reuse.
Director Anthony held a Bachelor of Science degree in chemistry and a Master of Science degree in
physical chemistry. His other community service included board president of the Westminster Boys &
Girls Club and board member and past chair of the Orange County Taxpayers Association. He was
also a Kiwanis Club member and president of Philip L. Anthony, Inc., practicing as a real estate
developer and an independent public affairs and management consultant.
Director Anthony cherished his family. He is survived by his wife Carolyn of 51 years; daughter
Dionne Anthony and son Derek and his wife Sheryl of Carlsbad, CA; and, the newest addition to the
family, grandson Fitz Philip Anthony born to his son Philip and longtime girlfriend Jamie Bankus of
Costa Mesa, CA. He was preceded in death by his beloved son Gregory Anthony in 2003.
44
OC Sanitation District Honored for Consistency and
Compliance
The Orange County Sanitation District (OCSD) was recently honored with the Platinum Peak
Performance Award from the National Association of Clean Waters Agencies (NACWA). This
award recognizes agencies that have a consistent record of full compliance at their facilities
for a consecutive five-year period.
"As the third largest wastewater treatment facility west of the Mississippi River, perfect
compliance over a five-year period can be difficult. We received this award for our
Reclamation Plant in Fountain Valley and Treatment Plant in Huntington Beach. Maintaining
a perfect record of compliance for five years demonstrates the dedication of each of our
employees to protecting public health and the environment," stated Jim Herberg, OCSD
General Manager.
According to the agency's Web site, OCSD is a public agency that provides wastewater
collection, treatment, and disposal services for approximately 2.6 million people in central and
northwest Orange County. OCSD is a special district that is governed by a Board of Directors
consisting of 25 board members appointed from 20 cities, two sanitary districts, two water
districts and one representative from the Orange County Board of Supervisors.
Congratulations to OCSD for keeping our county healthy and clean!
Association of California Cities
August 15, 2018
45
Sewage Spill Closes Stretch Of Huntington Harbour
June 19, 2018 at 2:18 pm
HUNTINGTON BEACH (CBSLA) – A 5,000-gallon sewage spill closed a portion of Huntington
Harbour Tuesday to water contact.
The closure in the Huntington Harbour area near Sunset Beach is due to a spill caused by a private
sewer blockage, according to the Orange County Health Care Agency.
The area closed by the sewage spill. (OCHCA/Google Maps)
The closure in the Huntington Harbour area near Sunset Beach is due to a spill caused by a private
sewer blockage, according to the Orange County Health Care Agency.
The closed area includes the Harbour Channel at Coral Cay Lane, along with the Coral Cay, Park
Avenue and 11th Street beaches.
The area is closed to any type of water contact, including ocean water sports, until tests confirm that
the water is safe again.
This is at least the third such sewage spill in the last four months. In March, a 600-gallon sewage
spill closed a portion of Huntington Harbour, followed by a 2,000-gallon spill in April.
For more information, call the health care agency at 714-433-6400
CBS LA
June 19, 2018
46
June 20, 2018
OC Health Care Agency Press Release
(Santa Ana, CA) -
The Environmental Health division of the OC Health Care Agency has closed the ocean water
area in the City of Huntington Beach from the intersection of Harbour Channel and Midway
Channel at the end of Coral Cay Lane to Park Avenue Beach, 11th Street Beach, and Coral Cay
Beach due to a sewage spill. The spill of approximately 5,000 gallons was caused by a private
sewer lateral blockage in Huntington Beach.
The affected ocean water area will remain closed to ocean water-contact sports until the
results of follow-up water quality monitoring meet acceptable standards.
For information regarding Orange County ocean, bay or harbor postings and closures, please
call (714) 433-6400 or visit our website at www.ocbeachinfo.com. To report a sewage spill,
please call (714) 433-6419.
OC Health Care Agency
June 20, 2018
47
HEALTH
Headed to the ocean? 4 stretches of beach to avoid in
Orange County
By Martin Wisckol
June 20, 2018
mwisckol@scng.com @MartinWisckol on Twitter
The water is unsafe for swimming at stretches of beach in Huntington Harbour, Dana Point and San
Clemente, the Orange County Health Care Agency announced Tuesday.
Huntington Harbour. Because of a 5,000-gallon sewage spill, the water at Park Avenue Beach, 11th
Street Beach and Coral Cay Beach — as well as the channels between those beaches — are closed to
swimming and diving.
Dana Point Harbour. Bacterial levels at the West End of Baby Beach exceeded health standards last
time they were tested.
San Clemente. Bacterial levels 500 feet on either side of the San Clemente pier exceeded health
standards last time they were tested.
Dana Point. Bacterial levels 75 feet on either side of where Salt Creek empties into the ocean at
Monarch Beach exceeded health standards last time they were tested.
“Beach goers should avoid contact with the ocean and bay waters in these areas,” according the
Health Care Agency advisory.
To keep track of ocean closures and when waters are reopened, visit ocbeachinfo. com, follow the
Health Care Agency’s Twitter feed @ochealthinfo or call the agency’s hotline at 714-433-6400.
Orange County Register
June 20, 2018
48
8/15/18
Much of Newport’s Back Bay closes to swimmers after
2 sewage spills dump 15,000 gallons into the water
Much of Newport Beach’s Back Bay is closed to swimmers after two sewage spills dumped a total of
15,000 gallons into the water Tuesday, according to the Orange County Health Care Agency.
The spills affected waterways between the northern tip of Back Bay and North Star Beach.
The first spill of about 7,500 gallons resulted from a sewer main break in Costa Mesa. The second spill of
about the same size was caused by a private sewer lateral blockage in Santa Ana.
The water will remain closed to marine sports until follow-up water quality tests meet state standards, the
Health Care Agency said.
A staff member at the Newport Aquatic Center at the southern end of the spill area said the center was
operating normally Tuesday afternoon. The facility offers kayak and stand-up paddleboard rentals as well
as rowing, canoeing and kayaking programs. The staff member said lifeguards put up signs at neighboring
North Star Beach cautioning people not to go in the water.
Daniel Langhorne is a contributor to Times Community News.
4:45 p.m.: This article was updated with information about the Newport Aquatic Center and North Star
Beach.
This article was originally published at 3:25 p.m.
Los Angeles Times
August 15, 2018
49
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July/August 2018
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ORANGE COUNTY SANITATION DISTRICT
COMMON ACRONYMS
ACWA Association of California
Water Agencies LAFCO Local Agency Formation
Commission RWQCB Regional Water Quality
Control Board
APWA American Public Works
Association LOS Level Of Service SARFPA Santa Ana River Flood
Protection Agency
AQMD Air Quality Management
District MGD Million Gallons Per Day SARI Santa Ana River
Interceptor
ASCE American Society of Civil Engineers MOU Memorandum of Understanding SARWQCB Santa Ana Regional Water Quality Control Board
BOD Biochemical Oxygen Demand NACWA National Association of Clean Water Agencies SAWPA Santa Ana Watershed Project Authority
CARB California Air Resources
Board NEPA National Environmental
Policy Act SCADA Supervisory Control And
Data Acquisition
CASA California Association of Sanitation Agencies NGOs Non-Governmental Organizations SCAP
Southern California
Alliance of Publicly Owned
Treatment Works
CCTV Closed Circuit Television NPDES National Pollutant Discharge
Elimination System SCAQMD South Coast Air Quality
Management District
CEQA California Environmental
Quality Act NWRI National Water Research
Institute SOCWA South Orange County
Wastewater Authority
CIP Capital Improvement
Program O & M Operations & Maintenance SRF Clean Water State
Revolving Fund
CRWQCB California Regional Water
Quality Control Board OCCOG Orange County Council of
Governments SSMP Sewer System
Management Plan
CWA Clean Water Act OCHCA Orange County Health Care Agency SSO Sanitary Sewer Overflow
CWEA California Water Environment
Association OCSD Orange County Sanitation
District SWRCB State Water Resources
Control Board
EIR Environmental Impact Report OCWD Orange County Water District TDS Total Dissolved Solids
EMT Executive Management Team OOBS Ocean Outfall Booster Station TMDL Total Maximum Daily Load
EPA US Environmental Protection
Agency OSHA Occupational Safety and
Health Administration TSS Total Suspended Solids
FOG Fats, Oils, and Grease PCSA
Professional
Consultant/Construction Services Agreement WDR Waste Discharge
Requirements
gpd gallons per day PDSA Professional Design Services
Agreement WEF Water Environment
Federation
GWRS Groundwater Replenishment
System POTW Publicly Owned Treatment
Works WERF Water Environment &
Reuse Foundation
ICS Incident Command System ppm parts per million WIFIA Water Infrastructure
Finance and Innovation Act
IERP Integrated Emergency
Response Plan PSA Professional Services
Agreement WIIN
Water Infrastructure
Improvements for the
Nation Act
JPA Joint Powers Authority RFP Request For Proposal WRDA Water Resources
Development Act
ORANGE COUNTY SANITATION DISTRICT
GLOSSARY OF TERMS
ACTIVATED SLUDGE PROCESS – A secondary biological wastewater treatment process where bacteria reproduce at a high rate with the introduction of excess air or oxygen and consume dissolved nutrients in the wastewater.
BENTHOS – The community of organisms, such as sea stars, worms, and shrimp, which live on, in, or near the seabed, also known as the benthic zone.
BIOCHEMICAL OXYGEN DEMAND (BOD) – The amount of oxygen used when organic matter undergoes decomposition by microorganisms. Testing for BOD is done to assess the amount of organic matter in water.
BIOGAS – A gas that is produced by the action of anaerobic bacteria on organic waste matter in a digester tank that can be used
as a fuel.
BIOSOLIDS – Biosolids are nutrient rich organic and highly treated solid materials produced by the wastewater treatment process. This high-quality product can be recycled as a soil amendment on farmland or further processed as an earth-like product for
commercial and home gardens to improve and maintain fertile soil and stimulate plant growth.
CAPITAL IMPROVEMENT PROGRAM (CIP) – Projects for repair, rehabilitation, and replacement of assets. Also includes treatment improvements, additional capacity, and projects for the support facilities.
COLIFORM BACTERIA – A group of bacteria found in the intestines of humans and other animals, but also occasionally found elsewhere, used as indicators of sewage pollution. E. coli are the most common bacteria in wastewater.
COLLECTIONS SYSTEM – In wastewater, it is the system of typically underground pipes that receive and convey sanitary wastewater or storm water.
CERTIFICATE OF PARTICIPATION (COP) – A type of financing where an investor purchases a share of the lease revenues of a program rather than the bond being secured by those revenues.
CONTAMINANTS OF POTENTIAL CONCERN (CPC) – Pharmaceuticals, hormones, and other organic wastewater contaminants.
DILUTION TO THRESHOLD (D/T) – The dilution at which the majority of people detect the odor becomes the D/T for that air sample.
GREENHOUSE GASES (GHG) – In the order of relative abundance water vapor, carbon dioxide, methane, nitrous oxide, and ozone gases that are considered the cause of global warming (“greenhouse effect”).
GROUNDWATER REPLENISHMENT SYSTEM (GWRS) – A joint water reclamation project that proactively responds to Southern California’s current and future water needs. This joint project between the Orange County Water District and the Orange County
Sanitation District provides 70 million gallons per day of drinking quality water to replenish the local groundwater supply.
LEVEL OF SERVICE (LOS) – Goals to support environmental and public expectations for performance.
N-NITROSODIMETHYLAMINE (NDMA) – A N-nitrosamine suspected cancer-causing agent. It has been found in the
Groundwater Replenishment System process and is eliminated using hydrogen peroxide with extra ultra-violet treatment.
NATIONAL BIOSOLIDS PARTNERSHIP (NBP) – An alliance of the National Association of Clean Water Agencies and Water Environment Federation, with advisory support from the US Environmental Protection Agency. NBP is committed to developing and advancing environmentally sound and sustainable biosolids management practices that go beyond regulatory compliance and promote public participation to enhance the credibility of local agency biosolids programs and improved communications that lead to public acceptance.
PLUME – A visible or measurable concentration of discharge from a stationary source or fixed facility.
PUBLICLY OWNED TREATMENT WORKS (POTW) – A municipal wastewater treatment plant.
SANTA ANA RIVER INTERCEPTOR (SARI) LINE – A regional brine line designed to convey 30 million gallons per day of non-reclaimable wastewater from the upper Santa Ana River basin to the ocean for disposal, after treatment.
SANITARY SEWER – Separate sewer systems specifically for the carrying of domestic and industrial wastewater. Combined sewers carry both wastewater and urban runoff.
SOUTH COAST AIR QUALITY MANAGEMENT DISTRICT (SCAQMD) – Regional regulatory agency that develops plans and regulations designed to achieve public health standards by reducing emissions from business and industry.
SECONDARY TREATMENT – Biological wastewater treatment, particularly the activated sludge process, where bacteria and other microorganisms consume dissolved nutrients in wastewater.
SLUDGE – Untreated solid material created by the treatment of wastewater.
TOTAL SUSPENDED SOLIDS (TSS) – The amount of solids floating and in suspension in wastewater.
TRICKLING FILTER – A biological secondary treatment process in which bacteria and other microorganisms, growing as slime on the surface of rocks or plastic media, consume nutrients in wastewater as it trickles over them.
URBAN RUNOFF – Water from city streets and domestic properties that carry pollutants into the storm drains, rivers, lakes, and oceans.
WASTEWATER – Any water that enters the sanitary sewer.
WATERSHED – A land area from which water drains to a particular water body. The Orange County Sanitation District’s service area is in the Santa Ana River Watershed.