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HomeMy WebLinkAbout10-27-2010 Steering Committee Agenda Packet October 20, 2010 NOTICE OF MEETING STEERING COMMITTEE ORANGE COUNTY SANITATION DISTRICT Wednesday, October 27, 2010 – 5:30 P.M. Administration Building 10844 Ellis Avenue Fountain Valley, California 92708 The Regular Meeting of the Steering Committee of the Orange County Sanitation District will be held at the above location, date and time. STEERING COMMITTEE AND BOARD MEETING DATES October 27, 2010 *November 17, 2010 *December 15, 2010 January 26, 2011 February 23, 2011 March 23, 2011 April 27, 2011 May 25, 2011 June 22, 2011 July 27, 2011 August 24, 2011 September 28, 2011 *Meetings being held the third Wednesday of the month. STEERING COMMITTEE (1) Roll Call: Meeting Date: October 27, 2010 Meeting Time: 5:30 p.m. Committee Members Larry Crandall, Board Chair................................................. ……….. Troy Edgar, Board Vice Chair ............................................. ……….. Tom Beamish, Operations Committee Chair ....................... ……….. Phil Luebben, Administration Committee Chair ................... ……….. Doug Davert ........................................................................ ……….. Sharon Quirk-Silva .............................................................. ……….. John Withers ....................................................................... ……….. Others Brad Hogin, General Counsel ............................................. ……….. Staff Jim Ruth, General Manager…………………………………………… Bob Ghirelli, Assistant General Manager……………………………. Nick Arhontes, Director Facilities Support Services….……………... Jim Herberg, Director of Engineering………………………………… Ed Torres, Director of Operations & Maintenance…..……………… Lorenzo Tyner, Director of Finance & Administrative Services……. Michael Gold, Public Affairs Manager………………..………………. Donna Terrones, Clerk of the Board……………..…………………... Lilia Kovac, Associate Clerk of the Board………..…………………... Other Staff Present 10/27/10 Steering Committee Agenda Page 1 of 3 Orange County Sanitation District Regular Meeting of the Steering Committee Wednesday, October 27, 2010 5:30 P.M. Administration Building Conference Rooms A & B 10844 Ellis Avenue Fountain Valley, CA (714) 593-7130 AGENDA DECLARATION OF QUORUM: PUBLIC COMMENTS: If you wish to speak, please complete a Speaker’s Form and give it to the Clerk of the Board. Speakers 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. ACTION ITEMS: 1. Approve minutes of the September 22, 2010, Steering Committee meeting. INFORMATION ITEMS: 2. Public Affairs Report (Gold) CLOSED SESSION: During the course of conducting the business set forth on this agenda as a regular meeting of the Steering Committee, the Chair may convene the Committee in closed session to consider matters of pending real estate negotiations, pending or potential litigation, or personnel matters, pursuant to Government Code Sections 54956.8, 54956.9, 54957 or 54957.6, as noted. Reports relating to (a) purchase and sale of real property; (b) matters of pending or potential litigation; (c) employment actions or negotiations with employee representatives; or which are exempt from public disclosure under the California Public Records Act, may be reviewed by the Directors during a permitted closed session and are not available for public inspection. At such time as final actions are taken by the Board on any of these subjects, the minutes will reflect all required disclosures of information. 10/27/10 Steering Committee Agenda Page 2 of 3 Convene in closed session. (1) CONFERENCE WITH LEGAL COUNSEL RE: EXISTING LITIGATION (Subdivision (a) of Section 54956.9) Case: Ioja, et al. v. Orange County Sanitation District, et al., Orange County Superior Court, Case No. 30-2008-00116442 Reconvene in regular session. Consideration of action, if any, on matters considered in closed session. OTHER BUSINESS AND COMMUNICATIONS OR SUPPLEMENTAL AGENDA ITEMS, IF ANY: ADJOURNMENT: The next Steering Committee meeting is scheduled for Wednesday, November 17, 2010, at 5:30 p.m. 10/27/10 Steering Committee Agenda Page 3 of 3 Accommodations for the Disabled: The Board of Directors Meeting Room is 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) 593-7130 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 in the main lobby of the District’s Administrative offices 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 all, of the members of District’s Board, are available for public inspection in the office of the Clerk of the Board, located at 10844 Ellis Avenue, Fountain Valley, California. Items Not Posted: In the event any matter not listed on this agenda is proposed to be submitted to the Committee for discussion and/or action, it will be done in compliance with Section 54954.2(b) as an emergency item or because there is a need to take immediate action, which need came to the attention of the Committee subsequent to the posting of agenda, or as set forth on a supplemental agenda posted in the manner as above, not less than 72 hours prior to the meeting date. Matters of interest addressed by a member of the public and not listed on this agenda cannot have action taken by the Committee except as authorized by Section 54954.2(b). The Committee Chair will determine if any items are to be deleted from the consent calendar. Items Continued: Items may be continued from this meeting without further notice to a Committee meeting held within five (5) days of this meeting per Government Code Section 54954.2(b)(3). Meeting Adjournment: This meeting may be adjourned to a later time and items of business from this agenda may be considered at the later meeting by Order of Adjournment and Notice in accordance with Government Code Section 54955 (posted within 24 hours). Notice to Committee Members: For any questions on the agenda or to place any items on the agenda, Committee members should contact the Committee Chair or Clerk of the Board ten days in advance of the Committee meeting. Committee Chair: Larry R. Crandall (714) 593-4400 General Manager: James D. Ruth (714) 593-7110 General Counsel: Brad Hogin (714) 415-1006 Clerk of the Board: Donna Terrones (714) 593-7130 E-mail: dterrones@ocsd.com MINUTES OF STEERING COMMITTEE MEETING Orange County Sanitation District Wednesday, September 22, 2010, at 5:30 p.m. The Steering Committee meeting convened on Wednesday, September 22, 2010, at 5:30 p.m. in the Administrative Offices of the Orange County Sanitation District. A quorum was declared present, as follows: STEERING COMMITTEE MEMBERS: DIRECTORS PRESENT: Larry Crandall, Chair Troy Edgar, Vice Chair Phil Luebben, Administration Committee Chair Tom Beamish, Operations Committee Chair Doug Davert DIRECTORS ABSENT Sharon Quirk-Silva John Withers STAFF PRESENT: Jim Ruth, General Manager Bob Ghirelli, Assistant General Manager Nick Arhontes, Director of Facilities Support Services Jim Herberg, Director of Engineering Ed Torres, Director of Operations & Maintenance Lorenzo Tyner, Director of Finance and Administrative Services Michael Gold, Public Affairs Manager Jeff Reed, Human Resources Manager Donna N. Terrones, Clerk of the Board Lilia Kovac, Associate Clerk of the Board Jim Colston Laura Maravilla Denise Martinez Juanita Skillman Rich Spencer Marc Dubois OTHERS PRESENT: Brad Hogin, General Counsel Rus Miller, EnerTech Cliff Gould, EnerTech Jim Henderson, Stratus Consulting Doug Lanning, Carollo Engineering Frank Mangravite, Public Works * * * * * * * * * * Minutes of the Steering Committee September 22, 2010 Page 2 of 3 PUBLIC COMMENTS There were no public comments. COMMITTEE CHAIR REPORT The Committee Chair did not give a report. GENERAL MANAGER REPORT General Manager, Jim Ruth, briefly reported on the success of the reorganization, and on the negotiations progress with the City of Anaheim for the Water Recycling Demonstration project. A report on Chemicals Sustainability Study was presented by Mr. Jim Henderson of Stratus Consulting. Mr. Cliff Gould, CEO of EnerTech, presented an overview of the SlurryCarb processing plant and its start-up challenges and answered the Directors’ questions. An agreement will be submitted to the Board of Directors for approval at the November meeting. ACTION ITEMS 1. MOVED, SECONDED AND DULY CARRIED, Recommend to the Board to: Approve minutes of the August 25, 2010, Steering Committee meeting. INFORMATION ITEM 2. Public Affairs Report Public Affairs Manager, Michael Gold, presented a brief update on OCSD’s standing on the possibility to receive a $1 M grant from SAWPA; Mr. Gold announced that he had been appointed Vice Chair to the CASA Federal Legislative Committee. CLOSED SESSION CONVENE IN CLOSED SESSION PURSUANT TO GOVERNMENT CODE SECTION 54954.5 (f). The Steering Committee convened in closed session at 6:15 p.m. to discuss one matter. Confidential Minutes of the Closed Session held by the Steering Committee have been prepared in accordance with Government Code Section 54954.5(f), and are maintained by the Clerk of the Board in the Official Book of Confidential Minutes of Board and Committee Closed Meetings. Minutes of the Steering Committee September 22, 2010 Page 3 of 3 ADJOURNMENT The next Steering Committee meeting is scheduled for Wednesday, October 27, 2010, at 5:30 p.m. The Chair declared the meeting adjourned at 6:35 p.m. Submitted by: _______________________________ Donna N. Terrones Clerk of the Board Form No. DW-102-1 Page 1 of 6 STEERING COMMITTEE Meeting Date 10/27/2010 To Bd. of Dir. AGENDA REPORT Item Number 2 Item Number Orange County Sanitation District FROM: James D. Ruth, General Manager Originator: Michael Gold, Public Affairs GENERAL MANAGER'S RECOMMENDATION Information only SUMMARY This report is the monthly Public Affairs Division update that includes legislative and political information from Washington, D.C. and Sacramento, lobbyists’ activities, and outreach education and communication programs to member cities, employees and the public. ADDITIONAL INFORMATION Federal Legislative Update Legislative Advocate: Eric Sapirstein, ENS Resources Overview Congress returned from its August recess in September to consider a number of pending issues before recessing at the end of the month for the campaign season. As expected, little was accomplished with the exception of final passage of a limited drug take back policy update and enactment of a short term spending bill, the continuing resolution (CR). The drug take back bill allows citizens to return unused pharmaceuticals to authorized disposal authorities. Current law prohibits such actions unless the drugs are transported by police or other law enforcement personnel. The CR will continue governmental operations until December 3 but Congress returns after the elections on November 15. At that time, the House and Senate will develop final spending bills for 2011 and address the expiring Bush-era tax cuts. The outcome of both these matters rests on the election results: · If Democrats retain control of both chambers, a final omnibus spending bill will probably be completed before Thanksgiving. · If the Republicans take one chamber then it is likely that some kind of bill might be fashioned that limits new spending and perhaps rolls back overall spending to fiscal year 2008 levels that were not subject to the stimulus law’s dramatic spending increases. · If both chambers have Republican majorities, there is a possibility that a second CR could be passed that would continue federal operations through February 2011 giving them enough time to assume leadership control. The Democrats used this approach in 2006. · Finally, there is also the prospect that if the majority, irrespective of party, is achieved with just the barest number, Congress could throw its collective arms up and agree to pass a traditional CR. Such a decision would maintain fiscal year 2010 spending levels without any congressionally-directed spending. Form No. DW-102-1 Page 2 of 6 With this in mind, the key question still remains how Congress may resolve the expiring tax cuts. It is possible that a grand compromise could be developed that extends the tax cuts and approves a fiscal year 2011 budget with funding of projects that were requested by Members. These issues also influence the outcome of OCSD’s funding request sponsored by Representative Loretta Sanchez for secondary treatment upgrades. As noted above, depending on the results, congressionally-directed spending may or may not be part of the mix, so we will just have to see how it all works out. Water Resources Development Act The effort to renew WRDA has not moved forward since July 29 when the House Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure marked up a WRDA bill. As noted in past updates, the House bill is a limited measure that authorizes a series of studies. It does not address infrastructure projects. Instead, Chairman James Oberstar (D-MN) indicated that he intends to consider such projects prior to House floor debate. Senate Committee on Environment and Public Works Chairman Barbara Boxer and Ranking Republican James Inhofe (R-OK) continue to work on a draft Senate WRDA bill and had previously indicated a draft bill would be available in September. This did not occur and any future efforts would be used as a springboard for the next Congress because it is unlikely they will be able to complete anything significant during the lame duck session. Chemical Security and POTWs The Chemical Facilities Anti-Terrorism Standards (CFATS) program would have ceased to exist on October 4 when the underlying law expired; however, Congress addressed this matter in the CR. Under the CR the current CFATS program is extended until December 3, 2010. This means that Congress will have the opportunity to pass a final long-term renewal of the program. As noted previously, the House approved a broad rewrite that included provisions requiring POTWs to conduct vulnerability assessments, security upgrades and employee training. Additionally, such assessments would need to be submitted to the EPA for review and approval. The Senate has been unable to approve similar language. Instead, the Senate has a bill pending floor debate renewing the existing program for three years. The Administration would like to address a comprehensive CFATS rewrite, but not until next year. Given this dynamic, it seems that Congress will likely extend CFATS as part of any final budget agreement, leaving final rewrites to the next Congress that convenes in January. Wastewater Sustainability EPA recently released its revised policy on water and wastewater sustainability. The policy is an update of prior statements. The policy seeks to implicitly promote full cost of service as a prevailing approach to ensure long-term sustainability of systems. The policy does not address federal mandates and the impact on sustainable rates. It does this by suggesting that the SRF program cannot meet the total needs of public infrastructure. While this is nothing new, the fact that the agency is also suggesting that SRF assistance (and by extension other federal support) should be used to assist disadvantaged communities as a priority. A copy of the policy can be found at: Form No. DW-102-1 Page 3 of 6 http://water.epa.gov/infrastructure/sustain/Clean-Water-and-Drinking-Water-Infrastructure- Sustainability-Policy.cfm. Form No. DW-102-1 Page 4 of 6 State Legislative Report Legislative Advocates: Christopher Townsend, Heather Dion and Casey Elliott, Townsend Public Affairs State Political Highlights The Budget Conference Committee met for the first time to discuss the budget package agreed upon by the Governor and Legislative Leadership. This Conference Committee meeting, held October 6, lasted 20 minutes and resulted in scheduled budget votes in both the Assembly and Senate. With the latest budget on record (over 100 days) the end of the 2010 Legislative Session was one of few accomplishments. While the overall budget does not have direct impacts to OCSD it relies on accounting tricks and optimistic assumptions about federal funds to reduce the deficit and create a $300 million reserve. Most, however, expect that early next year, both houses will be struggling to close a double-digit deficit. In the meantime here is a summary of the reductions proposed in the budget: · $7.5 billion in Spending Reductions: This includes a $3 billion reduction in school spending, including a formal suspension of Prop 98 funding guarantees for the entire fiscal year. The reduction is officially a deferral of mandated spending into the 2011- 2012 fiscal year which, once deferrals and repayments are made, claims to keep funding at the current per-pupil level. No information yet on how the suspension breaks down across K-12 and Community Colleges. Additional cuts are proposed in in-home supportive services ($300 million), Medi-Cal ($200 million) and child care services ($50 million). These cuts are made largely by shifting funding out of the general fund and into provider fees and federal match opportunities and claims to have little impact on the amount of services available. · $5.3 billion in Federal Aid: This summer's legislative proposal anticipated $4.1 billion in federal aid and the source of the new figure is unknown - it may reflect the $1.2 billion in education jobs funding that is slated to come to California. The balance of this aid is likely a one-time relief in education and health and human services programs. · $1.4 billion in State Workers: $896 million of the state employee savings reportedly hinges on the ongoing bargaining between Schwarzenegger and the unions. Those talks are still ongoing and it is unclear what happens if the budget is voted on and an arrangement with the unions in not yet finalized. The Governor and legislative leaders did agree to pension roll-backs to pre-1999 levels meaning some PERS plans will increase retirement age from 55 to 60 and there will be a three-year averaging used to calculate final benefits. · $1.2 billion in Business Tax Credit Suspension: This suspends the 2009 budget agreement that created a tax credit for businesses to write off their net operating losses. It is unclear if this will be considered a ‘tax increase’ and will likely be strongly debated during the final budget negotiations. Form No. DW-102-1 Page 5 of 6 Integrated Regional Water Management Plan (Proposition 84) grants process As has been reported in the past, OCSD has applied to the Santa Ana Watershed Project Authority (SAWPA) for a Proposition 84 grant. With $114 million in total funding available for the region, there will be $12 million allocated to selected projects in Round I. The Orange County Sanitation District submitted a number of shovel ready projects for consideration and we are pleased to report that one project (Sludge Dewatering and Odor Control at Plant 1) is ranked number 3 and upon final recommendation by the SAWPA Commission, could be awarded $1 million. The process is that the SAWPA Commission will recommend a slate of projects for funding to the State Department of Water Resources and OCSD’s project will be consolidated with the other selected projects and submitted to the Department of Water Resources as one regional application by January 9, 2011. Funding awards from DWR are expected within 90 days after the submission deadline. Moving forward, TPA anticipates the second round of funding to occur in late summer and provide approximately $48 million worth of funds out of the remaining $102 million. TPA will be working with OCSD staff on resubmitting for future rounds of funding. Specific Activities for the Month: · TPA has provided regular updates on the State budget process to OCSD staff. · TPA has been monitoring, analyzing and providing feedback on legislation that is of interest to the District. · TPA is meeting monthly with OCSD staff to prioritize legislation and issues of significance to the District. Public Affairs Report OCSD has recently launched a new Facebook page and Twitter feed as an additional way to communicate with the public. The Facebook page will primarily direct people to www.ocsd.com and features job postings, educational videos and general information about the agency. Our Twitter feeds will be one-way and will announce important information. For both forms of social media, we will start slowly and grow as interest grows. Our Facebook page also links to all of our member cities and agencies. On September 29 the Chair and Vice-Chair attended the VIP Luncheon at the Mile Square Park Golf Club to honor OCSD’s volunteers. In addition to speaking, the Chair and Vice-Chair handed out honors to all the volunteers including two special honorees; Ryal Wheeler, Volunteer of the Year and Charlie McGee receiving the Spirit Award. Over the past year, employees actively volunteered their time for tours, speaking engagements, community events and other opportunities. Collectively, our employees participated in 171 activities reaching about 7000 people, broken down as follows: · 124 Tours · 20 speaking engagements · Nine community events Form No. DW-102-1 Page 6 of 6 In total, employees volunteered 525 hours outside of their normal work time educating the community about OCSD and how we protect public health and the environment.