HomeMy WebLinkAbout04-21-2021 Special Board Meeting Complete Agenda PacketORANGE COUNTY SANITATION DISTRICT
SPECIAL NOTICE REGARDING CORONAVIRUS (COVID-19)
AND ATTENDANCE AT PUBLIC MEETINGS
On March 4, 2020, Governor Newsom proclaimed a State of Emergency in California as
a result of the threat of COVID-19. On March 12, 2020 and March 18, 2020, Governor
Newsom issued Executive Order N-25-20 and Executive Order N-29-20, which
temporarily suspends portions of the Brown Act which addresses the conduct of public
meetings.
The General Manager and the Chairman of the Board of Directors have determined that
due to the size of the Orange County Sanitation District’s Board of Directors (25), and the
health and safety of the members, the Board of Directors will be participating in meetings
of the Board telephonically and via Internet accessibility.
PUBLIC PARTICIPATION
Your participation is always welcome. The Special Board of Directors meeting will be
available to the public online at:
https://ocsd.legistar.com/Calendar.aspx
You may submit your comments and questions in writing for the Board’s consideration
in advance of the meeting by using the eComment feature available via the webpage
above or sending them to OCSanClerk@ocsd.com with the subject line “PUBLIC
COMMENT ITEM # (insert the item number relevant to your comment)” or “PUBLIC
COMMENT NON-AGENDA ITEM”. Submit your written comments by 2:00 p.m. on
Tuesday, April 20, 2021.
You may also submit comments and questions for the Board’s consideration during the
meeting by using the eComment feature that will be available via the webpage above
for the duration of the meeting.
All public comments will be provided to the Board and may be read into the record or
compiled as part of the record.
Thank you.
April 12, 2021
NOTICE OF SPECIAL MEETING
Strategic Planning
BOARD OF DIRECTORS
ORANGE COUNTY SANITATION DISTRICT
Wednesday, April 21, 2021 – 2:00 P.M.
ACCESSIBILITY FOR THE GENERAL PUBLIC
Due to the spread of COVID-19, the Orange County Sanitation District will
be holding all upcoming Board and Committee meetings by
teleconferencing and Internet accessibility. This meeting will be available
to the public online at:
https://ocsd.legistar.com/Calendar.aspx
The Special Meeting of the Board of Directors of the
Orange County Sanitation District will be held in the manner indicated above on
Wednesday, April 21, 2021 at 2:00 p.m.
Upcoming Meetings:
Steering Committee -Wednesday, April 28, 2021 at 5:00 p.m.
Board Meeting -Wednesday, April 28, 2021 at 6:00 p.m.
ORANGE COUNTY SANITATION DISTRICT Effective 2/9/2021
BOARD OF DIRECTORS
Complete Roster
AGENCY/CITIES ACTIVE DIRECTOR
ALTERNATE
DIRECTOR
Anaheim Stephen Faessel Jose Diaz
Brea Glenn Parker Steven Vargas
Buena Park Art Brown Connor Traut
Cypress Stacy Berry Anne Hertz
Fountain Valley Patrick Harper Glenn Grandis
Fullerton Jesus J. Silva Nick Dunlap
Garden Grove Steve Jones John O’Neill
Huntington Beach Kim Carr Dan Kalmick
Irvine Anthony Kuo Farrah N. Khan
La Habra Rose Espinoza Jose Medrano
La Palma Marshall Goodman Nitesh Patel
Los Alamitos Mark A. Chirco Ron Bates
Newport Beach Brad Avery Joy Brenner
Orange Kim Nichols Chip Monaco
Placentia Chad Wanke Ward Smith
Santa Ana Johnathan Ryan Hernandez Nelida Mendoza
Seal Beach Sandra Massa-Lavitt Schelly Sustarsic
Stanton David Shawver Carol Warren
Tustin Ryan Gallagher Austin Lumbard
Villa Park Chad Zimmerman Robert Collacott
Sanitary/Water Districts
Costa Mesa Sanitary District Bob Ooten Art Perry
Midway City Sanitary District Andrew Nguyen Sergio Contreras
Irvine Ranch Water District John Withers Douglas Reinhart
Yorba Linda Water District Brooke Jones Phil Hawkins
County Areas
Board of Supervisors Doug Chaffee Donald P. Wagner
BOARD OF DIRECTORS
Special Meeting Agenda
Wednesday, April 21, 2021 - 2:00 PM
Board Room
Administration Building
10844 Ellis Avenue
Fountain Valley, CA 92708
(714)593-7433
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.
MEETING AUDIO: An audio recording of this meeting is available within 24 hours after adjournment of
the meeting. Please contact the Clerk of the Board's office at (714) 593-7433 to request the audio file.
NOTICE TO DIRECTORS: To place items on the agenda for a Committee or Board Meeting, the item must
be submitted in writing to the Clerk of the Board: Kelly A. Lore, MMC, (714) 593-7433 / klore@ocsd.com at least
14 days before the meeting.
FOR ANY QUESTIONS ON THE AGENDA, BOARD MEMBERS MAY CONTACT STAFF AT:
General Manager: Jim Herberg, jherberg@ocsd.com / (714) 593-7300
Asst. General Manager: Lorenzo Tyner, ltyner@ocsd.com / (714) 593-7550
Asst. General Manager: Rob Thompson, rthompson@ocsd.com / (714) 593-7310
Director of Human Resources: Celia Chandler, cchandler@ocsd.com / (714) 593-7202
Director of Engineering: Kathy Millea, kmillea@ocsd.com / (714) 593-7365
Director of Environmental Services: Lan Wiborg, lwiborg@ocsd.com / (714) 593-7450
BOARD OF DIRECTORS Special Meeting Agenda Wednesday, April 21, 2021
CALL TO ORDER
Board Chairman David Shawver
PLEDGE OF ALLEGIANCE
ROLL CALL
Clerk of the Board
PUBLIC COMMENTS:
Your participation is always welcome. The Special Board of Directors meeting will be available to the public
online at: https://ocsd.legistar.com/Calendar.aspx.
You may submit your comments and questions in writing for the Board of Directors consideration in advance of
the meeting by using the eComment feature available via the webpage above or sending them to
OCSanClerk@ocsd.com with the subject line “PUBLIC COMMENT ITEM # (insert the item number relevant to
your comment)” or “PUBLIC COMMENT NON-AGENDA ITEM”. Submit your written comments by 2:00 p.m. on
April 20, 2021.
You may also submit comments and questions for the Board of Directors consideration during the meeting by
using the eComment feature that will be available via the webpage above for the duration of the meeting. All
public comments will be provided to the Board of Directors and may be read into the record or compiled as part of
the record.
NON-CONSENT:
1.2021-1576STRATEGIC PLAN WORKSHOP
RECOMMENDATION:
Information Only.
Originator:Jim Herberg
Agenda Report
Constituents of Emerging Concern Policy Paper 2021
Water Quality & Urban Runoff Policy Paper 2021
Biosolids Policy Paper 2021
Food Waste Policy Paper 2021
Strategic Plan November 2019
Attachments:
OTHER BUSINESS AND COMMUNICATIONS OR SUPPLEMENTAL AGENDA ITEMS, IF
ANY:
Page 1 of 2
BOARD OF DIRECTORS Special Meeting Agenda Wednesday, April 21, 2021
ADJOURNMENT:
Adjourn the Special Board meeting until the Regular Meeting of the Board of Directors on April
28, 2021 at 6:00 p.m.
Page 2 of 2
BOARD OF DIRECTORS
Agenda Report
Administration Building
10844 Ellis Avenue
Fountain Valley, CA 92708
(714) 593-7433
File #:2021-1576 Agenda Date:4/21/2021 Agenda Item No:1.
FROM:James D. Herberg, General Manager
SUBJECT:
STRATEGIC PLAN WORKSHOP
GENERAL MANAGER'S RECOMMENDATION
RECOMMENDATION:
Information Only.
BACKGROUND
The Orange County Sanitation District (OC San) is updating its Strategic Plan. The Strategic Plan is
a policy level roadmap which defines the future desired state of the agency and lays out initiatives to
move toward that desired state. The Strategic Plan is intended to be a living document that is
adjusted to meet new needs or regulations faced by OC San.
There are 14 individual policy areas which comprise the overall Strategic Plan. The policy
statements were developed by the Executive Management Team based on input previously provided
by Board Members and staff. The Board’s input and direction is critical in developing and updating
the Strategic Plan. In order to create a common understanding of the existing Strategic Plan and to
receive input, each policy area will be presented individually over three Board of Directors’ workshops
as follows:
February 17, 2021 (Complete)
·Budget Control and Fiscal Discipline
·Cybersecurity
·Property Management
·Resilient Staffing
·Safety and Physical Security
March 17, 2021 (Complete)
·Asset Management
·Energy Independence
·Water Reuse
·Climate and Catastrophic Event Resilience
·Chemical Sustainability
Orange County Sanitation District Printed on 4/12/2021Page 1 of 2
powered by Legistar™
File #:2021-1576 Agenda Date:4/21/2021 Agenda Item No:1.
April 21, 2021
·Constituents of Emerging Concern
·Environmental Water Quality, Stormwater Management, and Urban Runoff
·Biosolids Management
·Food Waste Treatment
Staff intends to finalize the items and compile them into a draft Plan for formal adoption in
October/November of this year.The adopted Strategic Plan will be the basis of Fiscal Year 2022-23
and 2023-24 budget development.
RELEVANT STANDARDS
·Maintain and adhere to appropriate internal planning documents: Strategic Plan
·Sustain 1, 5, 20-year planning horizons
·Build brand, trust, and support with policy makers and community leaders
PROBLEM
The current Strategic Plan was adopted by the Board of Directors in November 2019 and is currently
in effect.The strategic planning process is intended to be reviewed every two years to make
necessary adjustments due to new issues of concern for OC San.
PROPOSED SOLUTION
Solicit and incorporate the Board of Directors’input in the development of the proposed Strategic
Plan document.
PRIOR COMMITTEE/BOARD ACTIONS
March 2021 - Special Board of Directors Meeting - Strategic Plan Workshop No. 2
February 2021 - Special Board of Directors Meeting - Strategic Plan Workshop No. 1
January 2021 - Steering Committee reviewed the Strategic Plan development outline.
ATTACHMENT
The following attachment(s)may be viewed on-line at the OC San website (www.ocsan.gov)with the complete agenda
package:
·Orange County Sanitation District Constituents of Emerging Concern Policy Statement
·Orange County Sanitation District Environmental Water Quality, Stormwater Management, and
Urban Runoff Policy Statement
·Orange County Sanitation District Biosolids Management Policy Statement
·Orange County Sanitation District Food Waste Treatment Policy Statement
·Orange County Sanitation District Strategic Plan November 2019
Orange County Sanitation District Printed on 4/12/2021Page 2 of 2
powered by Legistar™
Orange County Sanitation District
Constituents of Emerging Concern Policy
Summary Policy Statement
The Orange County Sanitation District (OC San) will partner with other agencies,
associations, and institutions to support the use of sound science to inform policy and
regulatory decisions on constituents (or contaminants) of emerging concern (CECs) at
the federal, state, and regional levels. Staff will obtain and maintain current knowledge on
CECs under regulatory consideration, including occurrence, analytical methods,
regulations, and treatment to support the OC San’s mission and regulatory compliance.
Background
CECs are pollutants that are not necessarily subject to existing regulations but have the
potential to pose significant risk to public health and/or the environment. Wastewater
treatment systems are generally not designed to remove or destroy CECs but can serve
as a pathway for persistent CECs such as per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (commonly
known as the Forever Compound, or PFAS) and microplastics that enter the system from
sources such as residential dwellings, commercial establishments, industrial facilities, dry
weather urban runoff diversions, and special purpose discharges. In fact, certain CECs
have the potential to compromise wastewater treatment and reuse operations, if found at
levels that impair OC San’s biological treatment systems, digester gas utilization, or
advance water purification at the Groundwater Replenishment System.
As with most pollutants, reduction of CECs at the source is by far the most effective
means of safeguarding public health and the environment. However, since the full range
of adverse effects associated with each CEC is often unknown until contamination has
become wide-spread, OC San routinely coordinates with environmental regulators,
industry partners, and community stakeholder to maintain up-to-date scientific
knowledge, technological developments, and relevant regulatory and legislative
initiatives.
It is worth noting that some of today’s regulated pollutants were once considered CECs,
such as 1,4-dioxane and polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs), and OC San is engaged in
multiple regional collaborations to continuously increase our collective understanding of
pollutant fate and transport and develop integrated water quality improvement strategies.
With steadfast support from the OC San Board of Directors, multiple generations of staff
have acquired and conveyed considerable institutional knowledge and experience with
identifying, monitoring, and reducing CECs through a combination of source control,
treatment optimization, analytical innovations, outreach, and responsible reuse and
disposal.
Emerging Pollutants Page 2
A key takeaway from OC San’s decades-long experience with CECs is that there is no
such thing as ‘away’ for some pollutants. Thus, we must consider CEC management in
every facet of OC San operation, with special emphasis on advance planning for source
control, beneficial reuse, and responsible ocean discharge.
Current Situation
As mentioned above, OC San has prioritized CEC source control to prevent potential
adverse impacts to its mission of protecting public health and the environment. Industrial
and certain non-domestic discharges are regulated by OC San’s Pre-treatment Program
through a permitting and source control inspection program that enforces OC San’s
Waste Discharge Ordinance and federal, state, and local mandates. For CECs that are
undergoing regulatory development, OC San may choose to utilize interim guidelines and
recommended thresholds from federal, state, and local regulatory agencies to safeguard
our ocean discharge and beneficial reuse of water and biosolids.
Specifically, OC San has worked with regulators at the federal, state, and local levels in
advance of CEC regulations to develop special projects that can be incorporated into its
National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System (NPDES) Permit to evaluate the
presence and quantity of CECs in our final discharge to the ocean and the background
levels in the receiving environment. OC San’s current CEC monitoring program includes
constituents in the following category: Hormones (8), Industrial Endocrine Disrupting
Compounds (7), Pharmaceuticals and Personal Care Products (13), and Flame
Retardants (9). Data from OC San’s ongoing CEC program were reviewed by the
regulatory and natural resource agencies during the recent NPDES permit renewal
consultations, and additional CECs have been added to the pending 2021 NPDES permit
(scheduled for tentative adoption in June 2021).
Over time, OC San’s source control program has been enhanced and updated to meet
the needs of the Groundwater Replenishment System (GWRS) as it underwent expansion
to increase water supply reliability for north-central Orange County. Through formal
agreements and staff-level coordination, OC San and the Orange County Water District
(OCWD) have forged a world-class partnership that currently produces 100 million gallons
per day (MGD) of purified water and is on track to increase production to 130 MGD by
2023.
To safeguard this potable reuse effort against CECs and other pollutants that are not
removed by conventional wastewater treatment systems, OC San and OCWD
established a response plan that is activated whenever a pollutant or pollutant precursor
becomes a concern to either agency. Where the source can be identified, the plan
organizes responsive actions from the OC San and OCWD for industrial and commercial
facilities. A typical response could include source investigation by OC San that begins
with data review, accelerated sampling, laboratory analysis and result in inspections and
enforcement actions. CECs from suspected domestic and residential sources are typically
addressed by way of educational outreach to the public. However, OC San’s Board of
Emerging Pollutants Page 3
Directors have also authorized financial and in-kind services to support targeted research
at academic institutions that are investigate CECs from domestic and residential origins.
CECs that are not removed through the treatment process can also be found in biosolids.
At high concentrations, CECs may preclude beneficial reuse of biosolids as soil
amendments for non-food crop and force OC San to dispose of biosolids in landfills or
pursue costly means of destruction.
Thus, responsible legislations and regulations that reduce the production and use CECs,
encourage substitution with less toxic materials, and promote adaptive source control
programs are essential for sustaining OC San’s mission and commitments to the
community.
If source control, education and outreach, or legislative and regulatory efforts are not
successful, OC San may be required to implement a technological or operational process
change/investment to address a CEC.
Policy Statement
OC San shall align its resources to manage CECs throughout its service area and
treatment process to comply with existing and anticipated regulatory requirements and
sustain beneficial reuse of treated effluent and biosolids.
OC San shall acquire and maintain a high level of subject matter expertise and
engagement across the wastewater, water, water reuse, air quality, ocean monitoring,
and biosolids sectors to monitor the environmental, operational, and financial threats
posed by CECs.
OC San shall continue to work with other agencies and professional organizations to
develop robust analytical methods and routinely monitor its local limits in order to comply
with regulation and protect public health and the environment.
OC San shall continue to implement and update the GWRS Response Plan to sustain
effective water reuse and prepare for next-generation CECs and emerging regulatory
obligations.
Initiatives to Support Progress Toward the Policy Goal
Initiative: OC San will continue to actively engage water and wastewater stakeholders
to stay abreast of the scientific progress and any potential operational and financial
impacts of CECs and provide timely briefings to the OC San’s Executive Management
Team and Board of Directors to facilitate informed decision making.
Initiative: OC San will continue to develop capacity to identify, detect, quantify, and
characterize CEC sources throughout the service area and treatment process to promote
source reduction, treatment effectiveness, communication of credible risks, and
responsible reuse and disposal.
Emerging Pollutants Page 4
Initiative: OC San will proactively establish internal expertise and develop laboratory
capability to research the potential impact of CECs on beneficial reuse of water and
biosolids. OC San will use science-based knowledge to help shape CEC legislation and
regulations to protect the public health and environment.
Initiative: In the absence of promulgated regulatory limits for specific CECs, OC San will
work with regulatory agencies to establish interim source control measures to safeguard
its water and biosolids reuse initiatives and ocean discharge against potential adverse
impacts.
Orange County Sanitation District
Environmental Water Quality, Stormwater Management, and
Urban Runoff Policy
Summary Policy Statement
Orange County Sanitation District (OC San) will collaborate with regional stakeholders to
accept up to ten (10) million gallons per day of dry weather urban runoff at no cost to the
dischargers through its permit-based Dry Weather Urban Runoff Diversion Program
(DWURD Program). The primary objective of the DWURD Program is to improve water
quality in streams, rivers, and beaches in OC San’s service area without adversely
impacting the OC San occupational safety, collection and treatment systems, reuse
initiatives, or permit compliance. Unauthorized discharge of urban runoff to OC San is
strictly prohibited.
Background
OC San is a regional governmental agency principally chartered to protect public health
and the environment through an extensive regional sanitary sewer system and a highly
effective wastewater treatment operation. The governing Board of Directors (Board) has
refined this role to include the recovery and utilization of resources from wastewater for
the public good. In addition to beneficial reuse of biosolids and responsible ocean
discharge, OC San delivers high-quality treated wastewater to Orange County Water
District’s (OCWD) Groundwater Replenishment System (GWRS) for advance treatment
and purification followed by storage in the Orange County groundwater basin.
OC San operates its regional wastewater collection system in accordance with its Sewer
System Management Plan which was developed in compliance with the California
Statewide General Waste Discharge Requirements for Sanitary Sewer Systems, Water
Quality Order No. 2006-0003-DWQ. The Board periodically updates OC San’s
Wastewater Discharge Regulations Ordinance (Ordinance) to set uniform requirements
for all users of OC San’s system and enable OC San to comply with all applicable state
and federal regulations. The Ordinance establishes limits on all wastewater discharges
which may adversely affect OC San’s system and includes language that prohibits sewer
users from discharging groundwater, stormwater, surface runoff, or subsurface drainage
to the sewer without written authorization or a valid permit. Uncontrolled discharge of any
type is strictly prohibited and any person who violates any provision of the Ordinance is
subject to administrative, civil and criminal penalties.
Most of the local sanitary sewer systems within OC San’s highly urbanized service area
are owned and operated by cities, water districts, or sanitary districts. These local
systems are designed to transport wastewater from homes and businesses to OC San’s
regional sewers. These local and regional wastewater systems are designed to be wholly
separate from Orange County’s Municipal Separate Stormwater Sewer System (MS4),
Water Quality Policy Page 2
which is a system of conveyances that includes roads, streets, catch basins, curbs,
gutters, ditches, man-made channels, or storm drains that carry surface runoff into
receiving waters and is regulated by the Santa Ana Regional Water Quality Control Board.
Throughout the year, dry and wet weather urban runoff are collected through the MS4
and discharged along the coastline.
During wet weather, the vast majority of urban runoff is comprised of stormwater from
rainfall that either travels at a flow rate that does not allow enough time to soak into the
ground or whose volume has exceeded the ability of the soil to hold any more moisture.
In communities with a high percentage of covered or impervious surfaces, the runoff
volume and velocity can be considerably greater when compared to rural areas.
Additionally, sheets of runoff in these communities can pick up pollutants and debris from
transportation, construction, industrial, and residential sources as they travel by gravity
toward storm drains or other low points. Stormwater runoff carries trash, debris, bacteria,
chemicals, oil, silt, sediments, microplastics, and other common and emerging
contaminants and is the responsibility of MS4 permittees, who typically have jurisdiction
over land use practices and flood control.
During dry weather, accumulation of surface pollutants is typically managed by the MS4
through managerial Best Management Practices (BMPs) such as street sweeping, spill
prevention, and waste reduction campaigns. However, pollutants that are not removed by
the BMPs can be carried by runoff from sources such as excess outdoor irrigation into
storm drains and discharged along the coastline.
In response to the significant and persistent adverse impacts from urban runoff to coastal
beaches and waters, OC San sought support from the California legislature to accept
controlled discharge of surface urban runoff into its wastewater system and was
authorized in April 2000 to initiate a permit-based DWURD Program to accept up to three
(3) million gallons of dry weather flow per day. OC San Board Resolution No. 00-04
allowed local agencies to apply for a Dry Weather Urban Runoff (DWUR) Permit where
there was not an economically or practically feasible alternative and permittees are
subject to requirements of the Ordinance.
Since its inception, the DWURD Program has significantly improved beach water quality
throughout OC San’s service area as evidenced by excellent ratings in Heal the Bay’s
Annual Beach Report Cards and a notable decrease in water quality-based beach
closures. In June 2013, OC San modified the Dry Weather Urban Runoff Policy
(Resolution No. 13-09) to cap discharges received to ten (10) million gallons per day
(MGD) and waived fees associated with the program until discharges exceeded 10 MGD,
or until the policy is revised. The Board established an action threshold of 9 MGD to
trigger revisiting the policy.
In addition to DWUR Permits, OC San’s Ordinance allows for normally prohibited wastes
such as groundwater, stormwater, surface runoff, and subsurface drainage to be
discharged to OC San through a Special Purpose Discharge Permit (SPDP) or written
Water Quality Policy Page 3
authorization from OC San when no alternate method of disposal is reasonably available
to mitigate an environmental risk or health hazard.
Current Situation
As of April 2021, OC San has issued 21 DWUR Permits for diversions owned and
operated by the City of Huntington Beach, the City of Newport Beach, OC Public Works,
Irvine Ranch Water District, and a LLC responsible for the areas in and around Pelican
Point community. For the July to December 2020 reporting period, OC San received on
average 1.4 MGD from these facilities, which is well below the current 10 MGD policy cap
and 9 MGD action threshold. Since the program’s inception in 2000, the Dry Weather
Urban Runoff Program has treated over 10 billion gallons of urban runoff.
Under special circumstances, OC San may also accept runoff on a limited-term and
limited-volume basis through the SPDP or direct authorization process if there is
adequate capacity, the runoff/wastewater meets applicable effluent discharge standards,
there is no practical alternative method of disposal, and the runoff/wastewater is captured
and held until it can be safely discharged to OC San.
In combination, these practices have enabled responsible management of persistent
urban runoff challenges in OC San’s service area and support a thriving and healthy local
economy.
Key Issues for the Future
Since the inception of OC San’s DWURD Program, the program success has depended
on collaboration among stakeholders to improve beach water quality, urban runoff
diversion water quality, coordinate flow management, and minimize any potential adverse
impact on ocean discharge, biosolids management, and potable reuse.
OC San’s enhanced source control program and vigilant operations provide a solid
foundation for GWRS water’s safety and reliability. Much of the current urban runoff
diversion is attributable to Plant No. 2 in Huntington Beach which does not provide source
water for OCWD. However, as OC San and OCWD progress toward maximizing potable
reuse at GWRS to 130 MGD in 2023, OC San is keenly aware of the critical role of source
water quality and the need for a region-wide commitment to prevent Constituents of
Emerging Concern from entering OC San’s system.
Although OC San will continue to accept controlled discharge from DWURDs in
accordance with Resolution No. 13-09 and support long-term integrated regional water
management, OC San recognizes that urban runoff is a well-established carrier for
surface contaminants. The best available scientific studies continue to highlight the need
for enhanced surveillance and best management practice for pollution control prior to
discharge to OC San consistent with MS4 permit requirements of diversion owners. For
example, a 2020 study by the San Francisco Estuary Institute showed that runoff into San
Francisco contained over 300 times the amount of microplastics when compared with
treated wastewater. A 2021 study that was co-authored by the Southern California
Water Quality Policy Page 4
Coastal Research Project showed that tire debris in urban runoff released a rubber
preservative (6-PPD) that is highly toxic to aquatic life in the Pacific Northwest.
Moreover, upon completion of the industry-leading GWRS Final Expansion, the system
will be fully built out, both in terms of performance as well as capacity. Adding significant
flows beyond the current allotment will increase OC San’s ocean discharge.
Initiatives to Support Progress Toward the Policy Goal
Initiative: Issue dry weather urban runoff connection permits to accept up to a total of
ten million gallons per day of controlled discharge of dry weather urban runoff where
existing conveyance capacity exists, and the constituents within the flow will not adversely
impact the OC San.
Initiative: Safeguard OC San system against uncontrolled and unregulated discharge by
supporting responsible industry practices for flow management and urban runoff pollutant
reduction at the source. Utilize OC San’s pretreatment expertise to support effective
urban runoff best management practices and special purpose discharge requests among
OC San’s regional stakeholders.
Initiative: Support responsible and practicable urban runoff management and reuse
legislations and regulations.
Orange County Sanitation District
Biosolids Management Policy
Summary Policy Statement
The Orange County Sanitation District (OC San) will remain committed to a sustainable
biosolids program and will beneficially reuse biosolids in accordance with Resolution No.
OCSD 13-03 and the 2017 Biosolids Master Plan.
Background
Wastewater solids at both our treatment plants are separated, thickened, digested, and
dewatered before being recycled offsite by contractors for composting and land
application. Biogas created from the digesters is used to generate electricity to offset the
need to purchase power from a local utility. Although OC San currently receives sewage
sludge from the Irvine Ranch Water District (IRWD) at Plant No. 1, IRWD is currently
commissioning its own solids treatment facility and is anticipated to discontinue the sludge
transfer to OC San by the second half of 2021.
Prior to 2019, OC San produced an average of 800 wet tons per day (~20% solids) of
Class B biosolids that were dewatered by belt presses. Following the commissioning of
the co-thickening sludge and dewatering centrifuge system in 2019, OC San has been
producing approximately 500-600 wet tons per day (23%-28% solids), which resulted in
an approximately $4 million per year reduction of biosolids hauling costs.
OC San‘s biosolids program is developed in compliance with federal, state, and local
regulations, OC San’s biosolids policy (Board Resolution 13-03), biosolids management
system, and the 2017 Biosolids Master Plan (Plan). OC San’s adaptive and highly
effective biosolids program emphasizes diversification of beneficial reuse options and
markets for biosolids. Although cost is a key consideration, the incorporation of failsafe
options is considered paramount. These principles align with the policy and Plan, and
provide a framework for identifying and adopting reliable and sustainable biosolids
management options while minimizing cost. Moreover, through innovation and
continuous improvements in its biosolids management practice, OC San has been well-
positioned to sustain regulatory compliance and its commitment to beneficially reuse
biosolids. Currently, about 60% of the annual biosolids production is producing Class A
compost in California and about 40% is used for Class B land application in Arizona.
The Plan forecasted future capital improvements projects needed to sustain responsible
and cost-effective biosolids management over a 20‐year planning horizon. As an
example, OC San has initiated a project at Plant No. 2 to construct new mesophilic and
thermophilic digesters and batch holding tanks that will generate Class A biosolids
beginning in 2030. These new digesters are needed to increase operational resiliency
Biosolids Management Policy Page 2
against seismic events and biosolids reuse options. Plant No. 1 will continue to produce
Class B biosolids.
According to the Plan, upon commissioning the new mesophilic and thermophilic
digesters, future biosolids management options may include:
Emerging markets: Management options and technologies that become available
following the adoption of the Plan, such as mine and fire reclamation, gasification,
pyrolysis, supercritical oxidation, fluidized bed combustion, and cement kiln drying.
Soil blending: Partner with local soil blenders to deliver and blend Class A
biosolids with soil to produce a high-quality soil amendment that can be used in a
larger variety of markets than current Class A compost such as construction back-
fill.
California land application: While Class A compost and granules are currently
land‐applied in California, land application of Class A biosolids is still restricted in
most counties. However, with the recent implementation of California’s organics
diversion regulations and planned enforcement in 2022, stringent local ordinances
that unreasonably restricts the land application of biosolids are prohibited.
Arizona land application: Land application in Arizona will continue to be a part of
OC San’s overall biosolids program and serves as a large‐capacity outlet for
biosolids management.
Current Situation
The legislative and regulatory landscapes in California are changing regarding organics
management. Since 2003, direct land application of Class B biosolids in Southern
California has largely been prohibited due to strict ordinances and conditional use
requirements that preempted state recycling laws. However, in recent years there has
been a greater focus on healthy soils, renewable energy, organics diversion from landfills,
and reduction of Greenhouse Gases (GHGs), which are reflected in several bills and
initiatives that have been adopted:
AB 1826 (2014) - Mandatory Organics Recycling for Businesses.
SB 1383 (2016) - 50% organics diversion from landfill by 2020 and 75 % by 2025,
which includes biosolids and mandatory organics procurement (compost and
biogas) for impacted jurisdiction.
SB 32 (2016) - 40% Reduction GHG below 1990 levels by 2030
SB 100 (2018) - 50% renewable resources (i.e., anaerobic co-digestion of food
waste) target by December 31, 2026, and to achieve a 60% target by December
31, 2030.
Increasing soil carbon and carbon sequestration under the Healthy Soils Initiative
and Forest Carbon Plan.
Biosolids Management Policy Page 3
In combination, these measures are expanding the “organic waste markets”, thereby
stimulating interest in siting more composting facilities and organic waste-to-energy
projects and could also support soil blending and direct land application of biosolids and
create opportunities for wastewater agencies to innovate. Agencies such as the State
Water Resource Control Board, CalRecycle, California Department of Food and
Agriculture, California Air Resources Board, and California Energy Commission are
developing regulations to implement the new laws. Throughout the rulemaking process,
OC San has been actively involved through the California Association of Sanitation
Agencies (CASA) and the Southern California Alliance of POTWs (SCAP) to encourage
regulators to open more biosolids management options in California. In particular, the
recently adopted regulations for SB 1383 require jurisdictions such as cities and counties
to procure recycled organics such as compost and biogas for localized beneficial reuse.
It is worth noting that while there is growing interest in California for enhanced organics
management, there has also been a rising concern from the regulatory community
regarding emerging contaminants such as polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) and
microplastics. These ubiquitous, often household, compounds have been detected in the
wastewater pathway and biosolids, and OC San has been actively monitoring the
development of the science and regulations across all water, wastewater, air, and soil
sectors. To date, PFAS regulations have been established for drinking water and a series
of phased investigative orders were issued by the SWRCB to examine the fate and
transport of PFAS. Wastewater treatment plants were included in Phase 3 of the
investigative order, and OC San is on track to complete all required sampling, analysis,
and reporting. Additionally, staff have gathered state-of-the-technology information
through a Request for Information (RFI) process and are currently evaluating available
biosolids thermal conversion technologies that could destroy persistent contaminants
such as PFAS.
Policy Statement
As environmental regulations continue to drive the organic waste markets in California,
OC San will continue to leverage its memberships with various professional/industry
associations to encourage local, state, and federal agencies to promote the beneficial
reuse of biosolids. OC San will also continue to monitor the development of regulations
for constituents of emerging concern that may impact the beneficial reuse of biosolids.
OC San’s long-standing leadership role in key professional organizations will continue to
ensure timely and meaningful engagement on key regional, state, and national biosolids
management policies.
OC San will continue to stay abreast of new biosolids management options, technologies,
and regional biosolids recycling and renewable energy partnerships within Southern
California, especially those that address the removal, sequestration, and destruction of
constituents of emerging concern.
Biosolids Management Policy Page 4
Based on the findings from the abovementioned RFI, staff will develop a pilot project to
explore biosolids thermal conversion technology for energy generation and persistent
contaminant destruction.
Consistent with the Plan, staff will work with OC Waste and Recycling (OCWR) to explore
regional biosolids management opportunities as well as local solutions to meet SB 1383’s
organics diversion mandates, with emphasis on in-county biosolids utilization,
composting, food waste co-digestion, and biogas production.
Initiatives to Support Progress Toward the Policy Goal
Initiative: Proceed with implementation of new mesophilic and thermophilic biosolids
facilities at Plant No. 2 to improve OC San’s operational resiliency against seismic events
while enhancing biosolids quality and marketability.
Initiative: Staff will continue to explore biosolids thermal conversion technology for
energy generation and destruction of persistent contaminants.
Initiative: Engage with local, state, and federal agencies to ensure that biosolids will
continue to be safely and legally used as a soil amendment.
Initiative: Stay abreast of new biosolids management options, technologies, and
biosolids recycling and renewable energy partnerships in Southern California, with special
emphasis on technologies that address the removal, sequestration, and destruction of
contaminants of emerging concern.
Orange County Sanitation District
Food Waste Treatment Policy
Summary Policy Statement
The State of California limits the volume of organic waste that may be diverted to landfills.
The Orange County Sanitation District (OC San) will collaborate with the County of
Orange, other local agencies, and waste haulers to find ways to beneficially reuse food
waste, a type of organic waste to assist cities in our service area in meeting their diversion
requirements while increasing OC San’s energy production.
Background
Whether supplying secondary treated wastewater for the Groundwater Replenishment
System, creating renewable energy in the form of biogas from anaerobic digestion to
produce electricity, or benefiting from the use of biosolids as a soil amendment, OC San
is a resource recovery agency committed to providing resilient and reliable wastewater
treatment service while protecting the public health and the environment.
In recent years, there has been a significant change in the regulatory landscape in
California related to the diversion of organics such as food, green material, wood, paper,
biosolids, digestate, and sludges from landfills. Currently, much of the state’s diverted
organics are being composted or used as alternative daily cover on landfills. With the
phaseout of organics as alternative daily cover, the regulatory shift is creating an organics
market for the wastewater sector to provide a solution to manage organics such as food
waste by way of co-digestion. There is an opportunity for OC San to produce additional
biogas, reducing the need to purchase electricity from the local utility.
Anaerobic digestion is currently at the nexus of important State of California mandates,
namely: (1) organics diversion from landfills (AB 1826 and SB 1383), and (2) increased
renewable energy and fuels generation (SB 32 and SB 100). The primary alternatives for
organics management are anaerobic digestion and composting – of which anaerobic
digestion is the only process offering energy recovery potential. Over the next few years,
California’s cities and counties, along with municipal solid waste haulers, material
recovery facilities, and landfills will need to develop collection, processing, and energy
recovery infrastructure to address new state legislation and goals. Existing wastewater
treatment plants such as OC San are uniquely positioned to play a role in the new
organics’ marketplace since solid waste management facilities do not typically have
anaerobic digesters, the energy recovery infrastructure in place, or experience regarding
the management of biosolids for beneficial use.
In 2017, OC San completed a comprehensive Biosolids Master Plan (Plan) that provides
a roadmap and framework for sustainable and cost-effective biosolids management
options and future capital facilities improvement over a 20‐year planning horizon.
Considering the timeliness of the regulatory mandates requiring organic diversion from
Food Waste Treatment Policy Page 2
landfills and increased renewable energy, the Plan evaluated the feasibility of
implementing a high strength organic waste receiving program involving the co-digestion
of preprocessed food waste.
While food waste digestion appears to be feasible, OC San’s existing infrastructure isn’t
well suited for receiving, handling, or digesting green waste. Current digester feed,
mixing, heating, dewatering and truck loading facilities aren’t designed to deal with
cellulosic products in green waste. The highly fibrous material doesn’t readily break down
and clogs the various systems optimized for sewage sludge treatment. In addition, there
are legal hurdles specified in the California Health and Safety Code, Section 4700, that
must be addressed before OC San could operate a refuse transfer facility.
Current Situation
Project Viability
OC San’s Plan concluded that the costs to construct and operate a food waste receiving
facility could be offset by tipping fees charged to food waste processors/haulers and by
additional power generated from the increased digester gas production. The Plan
recommended that OC San build an interim food waste receiving station immediately to
take advantage of existing digestion and power generation capacity of approximately 150-
250 wet tons per day at Plant No. 2. OC San will construct a more permanent facility in
the future to coincide with the planned construction of new digesters at Plant No. 2,
allowing an additional capacity to co-digest approximately 500 wet tons per day of food
waste. OC San also has at least 6 MW of installed electrical generation capacity that can
convert the produced digester gas to electricity and heat.
Based on these recommendations, in 2018 OC San’s Board approved a project (P2-124)
to construct an interim (10-15 years) food waste facility to receive, store, and feed
preprocessed food waste slurry to the digester complex at Plant No. 2 to generate
additional digester gas. This project will be designed to accept approximately 150 wet
tons per day of preprocessed food waste and will produce approximately 15 percent more
methane gas for on-site energy production, resulting in a greenhouse gas reduction of
approximately 10,800 metric tons of carbon dioxide equivalent annually which is
equivalent to the annual greenhouse gases generated by approximately 2,000 passenger
vehicles. This is consistent with OC San’s Energy Independence Policy which is to strive
to be energy independent by minimizing energy utilization and maximizing useful energy
recovery from the sewage it receives. The interim receiving station is scheduled to be
completed in 2022.
The final biosolids product currently produced by OC San is anticipated to be largely
unaffected by the addition of food waste slurry. Pilot testing conducted by OC San
indicates that there will be increased gas production due to mixing sewage sludge and
food waste feed stock, but the final biosolids product will remain largely unchanged.
Food Waste Treatment Policy Page 3
A draft Preliminary Design Report was issued in June 2019 for the interim receiving facility
which included a viability evaluation concluding that the project is economically justifiable
based on project costs and anticipated tipping fees. Final Design work has started and
among other important items, the tipping fee and food slurry specifications will be further
refined and validated.
There are three large municipal solid waste haulers that have expressed interest in
collaborating with OC San to provide preprocessed food waste for digestion. Of these,
two haulers are located within the county and one is located outside the county. Another
important partner for OC San is Orange County Waste and Recycling (OCWR). OC San
has met with OCWR and they have expressed interest in partnering with OC San to find
local solutions to meet SB 1383’s organics diversion mandate including in-county
biosolids management, composting, food waste co-digestion, and biogas production.
Policy Statement
Food Waste Slurry
OC San will only accept a preprocessed food waste slurry. We do not have available
land or air permits to handle, sort, and process solid or green wastes. OC San will work
with other public agencies and waste haulers to develop an industry standard for food
waste slurry that specifies water, organic, metal, plastic, and glass content requirements.
A common specification for slurry will help all parties make investment decisions.
Food Waste Volume
OC San has identified available capacity within its infrastructure at Plant No. 2 to
accommodate food waste conversion to energy. The processes impacted by food waste
conversion are digestion, gas cleaning, gas compression, generation, process heating,
biosolid dewatering and biosolids loading. These impacted systems have the capacity to
accept 150 to 250 wet tons per day for the next ten years. Beyond ten years, OC San
plans on upgrading its digestion, gas compression, and gas treatment systems. Based
on the lessons learned from the interim system and the development of the food waste
market, OC San plans to be able to accept up to 500 wet tons per day when the new
digestion, gas compression, and gas treatment systems are completed.
OC San believes that the full implementation of the current regulations will create a food
waste slurry market significantly greater than 500 wet tons per day in Southern California.
Tipping Fee Basis
The acceptance of food waste has the opportunity to more fully utilize the system capacity
that already exists for the benefit of OC San’s rate payers.
OC San staff will develop a base tipping fee rate schedule for Board of Directors’ approval
that meets the following criteria:
Food Waste Treatment Policy Page 4
Recover all capital costs to construct facilities within five years (this will allow OC
San and waste haulers to properly invest in processing facilities);
Recover all on-going costs including operating cost, maintenance cost, electricity
usage, biosolids dewatering, and reuse costs;
Food Waste will not be operated “for profit” but rather a cost recovered service with
revenues offsetting rates and passed on to OC San’s rate payers.
Food waste generated and processed within the service area will be charged the base
rate and will be prioritized over food waste from outside the service area. This is justified
by the fact that the underlying infrastructure of OC San is already owned by service area
rate payers. OC San contracts with service area waste haulers must provide for a pass-
through savings to OC San rate payers. That means waste haulers may charge for
collection and processing of food waste but must disclose to their City or Special District
franchise partner OC San’s tipping fees and negotiate pricing adjustments as necessary
with City or Special District franchise partners.
If additional capacity exists, but isn’t utilized by in service area users, then that capacity
may be contracted by out of service area users at a premium to help offset the cost of the
underlying infrastructure necessary to process the food waste.
OC San will pursue grant opportunities to the extent possible to reduce the overall capital
and operating cost basis for the program to reduce the tipping fee base rate.
Initiatives to Support Progress Toward the Policy Goal:
Initiative: OC San will accept a preprocessed food waste slurry from contracted waste
haulers that will be fed to existing anaerobic digesters. OC San will charge a tipping fee
to offset its costs for capital construction, operations, handling, maintenance, and
biosolids disposal.
Initiative: Design, build, and operate a food waste receiving station. Create a
specification for food waste slurry and contract with solid waste haulers to receive and
process food waste.
November 2019
Strategic PlanORANGE COUNTY SANITATION DISTRICT
Table of Contents
Board of Directors 4
Message from the General Manager 5
Executive Summary 6
Mission Statement and Vision Statement 9
Core Values 10
Policy Statements and Initiatives 11
Appendix: Policy Papers 17
3STRATEGIC PLAN NOVEMBER 2019
Board of Directors
4 STRATEGIC PLAN NOVEMBER 2019
Anaheim Brea Buena Park Cypress Fountain Valley Lucille Kring Glenn Parker Fred Smith Mariellen Yarc Steve Nagel
Fullerton Garden Grove Huntington Beach Irvine La Habra Jesus J. Silva Steve Jones Erik Peterson Christina Shea Tim Shaw
La Palma Los Alamitos Newport Beach Orange Placentia Peter Kim Richard Murphy Brad Avery Mark Murphy Chad Wanke
Santa Ana Seal Beach Stanton Tustin Villa Park Cecilia Iglesias Sandra Massa-Lavitt David Shawver Allan Bernstein Robert Collacott (Chairman)
Costa Mesa Midway City Irvine Ranch Yorba Linda Orange County Sanitation District Sanitary District Water District Water District Board of Supervisors James M. Ferryman Andrew Nguyen John Withers Phil Hawkins Doug Chaffee (Vice-Chairman)
Strategic Plan Message from the GM
The Orange County Sanitation District is celebrating 65 years of service
to the public this year. Over those years the Sanitation District has been
adapting itself to the changing requirements and needs of the communities
it serves. We have moved from an organization exclusively focused on
preservation of public health to a world class resource recovery facility
which protects the public health and the environment in ways our founders
could never imagine.
This on-going evolution is the intentional outcome of a very deliberate
strategic planning process that has been in place at the Sanitation District
from the very beginning. From the “Waste Water Disposal and Reclamation
for the County of Orange” in 1947 to the Master Plans of the 1980s to the
current Strategic Plan, the Sanitation District has always taken the long
view to craft a progressive vision and build the necessary infrastructure
and staffing to deliver world class service.
This forward-thinking vision of the Sanitation District begins with the Board
of Directors. The Board of Directors of the Sanitation District have a long
history of mapping out bold, clear visions for the staff to deliver including
energy recovery facilities, water reclamation facilities and partnerships,
innovative odor control facilities, full secondary treatment levels, urban
runoff beach protection partnerships, and the world’s largest indirect
potable water reuse facility.
I would like to thank the current Board of Directors for continuing the legacy
of leadership in strategic planning and innovation. Your commitment and
leadership drive the Sanitation District to continue to innovate and meet
the challenges facing our region. I look forward to working together to
accomplish all the initiatives in this Strategic Plan.
Sincerely,
James D. Herberg
General Manager
5STRATEGIC PLAN NOVEMBER 2019
6 STRATEGIC PLAN NOVEMBER 2019
Strategic Plan Executive Summary
The Orange County Sanitation District (Sanitation
District) is a regional wastewater collection and resource recovery agency utilizing extensive public works assets to deliver its vital public services. The Strategic Plan developed by the Board of Directors and staff defines the strategic initiatives to be pursued by the Sanitation District and provides a basis for long-term financial, capital, and operational planning. In addition, it provides for long-term continuity of vision as Board and staff members change over the many years it takes to deliver public works infrastructure.
The Sanitation District has developed a two-year, four-step management process that creates and maintains vision alignment between the Board
of Directors, the staff, and the public we serve.
Strategic planning is the first step to define the
Sanitation District’s ability to have people and
assets in place to meet its agreed upon mission
as defined by the Board. The second step is
capital and operational planning based on the
adopted strategic plan. The third step is budget development to execute the plan and define the tactical goals to work toward the strategic goals. The final step is execution of the budget plan and tactical goal attainment. These four steps are repeated every two years to maintain alignment and make course corrections based on new Board member input, legal and regulatory changes, and the needs of the communities we serve.
STRATEGIC PLANNING PROCESS
2019 2020 2021 2022 2023 2024
Q1 Q2 Q3 Q4 Q1 Q2 Q3 Q4 Q1 Q2 Q3 Q4 Q1 Q2 Q3 Q4 Q1 Q2 Q3 Q4 Q1 Q2 Q3 Q4
Strategic PlanDevelopment Budget Development General Manager Work Plan
General Manager Work PlanBudget Update
General Manager Work Plan
General Manager Work PlanBudget UpdateRate Study Prop218
Strategic PlanDevelopment Budget Development
Strategic PlanDevelopment Budget Development
7STRATEGIC PLAN NOVEMBER 2019
The Strategic Plan is broken down into four broad
categories with fourteen topic areas that define
our responsibilities and the services we provide.
These areas are:
• Business Principles
o Budget Control and Fiscal Discipline
o Asset Management
o Cybersecurity
o Property Management
• Environmental Stewardship
o Energy Independence
o Climate and Catastrophic Event Resiliency
o Food Waste Treatment
o Water Reuse
o Environmental Water Quality, Stormwater
Management and Urban Runoff
• Wastewater Management
o Chemical Sustainability
o Biosolids Management
o Constituents of Emerging Concern
• Workplace Environment
o Resilient Staffing
o Safety and Physical Security
Each topic was collaboratively developed between
the Board of Directors and staff members. Initial
topic lists were discussed with the Steering
Committee. Initial policy statements and initiatives
were developed which formed the basis for a
survey instrument to the Board of Directors. Based
on the survey input, individual draft topic papers
were presented to the Board of Directors over
three meetings in August and September. The
topic papers were finalized based on the direction
received at these three meetings and are included
in this published plan.
The Strategic Plan policy papers break down each
area. They begin with a policy statement, provide
background, layout the current situation, layout a
future policy statement, and finish with initiatives
to support progress toward the policy goal.
The Strategic Plan presented in this document is
not a radical departure from the current direction,
but rather the well-defined iterative update to
the direction of the Sanitation District. With the
adoption of the Strategic Plan, staff will begin the
effort of updating the Asset Management Plan,
Capital Improvement Plan, and Financial Plan
that are the basis of a two-year budget that will
be adopted by the Board of Directors in June. The
Budget goals and the General Manager’s work
plan are the accountability step that measures
achievable progress toward the strategic initiatives
listed in the Strategic Plan topic papers.
8 STRATEGIC PLAN NOVEMBER 2019
9STRATEGIC PLAN NOVEMBER 2019
OUR MISSION
“To protect public health and the environment by providing effective
wastewater collection, treatment, and recycling.”
OUR VISION
ORANGE COUNTY SANITATION DISTRICT WILL BE A LEADER IN:
• Providing reliable, responsive and affordable services in line with customer needs and expectations.
• Protecting public health and the environment, utilizing all practical and effective means for wastewater,
energy, and solids resource recovery.
• Continually seeking efficiencies to ensure that the public’s money is wisely spent.
• Communicating our mission and strategies with those we serve and all other stakeholders.
• Partnering with others to benefit our customers, this region, and our industry.
• Creating the best possible workforce in terms of safety, productivity, customer service, and training.
10 STRATEGIC PLAN NOVEMBER 2019
OUR CORE VALUES
Our Core Values support the Mission and Vision Statements by expressing the values, beliefs, and philosophy that guides our daily actions. They help form the framework of our organization and reinforce our professional work ethic.
Honesty, Trust and Respect
We aspire to the highest degree of integrity, honesty, trust, and respect in our interaction with each
other, our suppliers, our customers, and our community.
Teamwork and Problem Solving We strive to reach OCSD goals through cooperative efforts and collaboration with each other and our constituencies. We work to solve problems in a creative, cost-effective and safe manner, and we acknowledge team and individual efforts.
Leadership and Commitment
We lead by example, acknowledging the value of our resources and using them wisely and safely to
achieve our objectives and goals. We are committed to act in the best interest of our employees, our
organization, and our community.
Learning/Teaching - Talents, Skills and Abilities We continuously develop ourselves, enhancing our talents, skills, and abilities, knowing that only through personal growth and development will we continue to progress as an agency and as individuals.
Recognition/Rewards
We seek to recognize, acknowledge and reward contributions to OCSD by our many talented employees.
11STRATEGIC PLAN NOVEMBER 2019
BUSINESS PRINCIPLES
Budget Control and Fiscal Discipline Policy
Policy Statement
The Sanitation District will prudently manage the public funds that it collects. It will take a long-
term planning approach to its facilities and rate
setting that provides a stable setting program,
prudent reserves, and pay-as-you-go philosophy
for operating and replacing capital expenses.
Initiatives
• Maintain a rate setting program that keeps the Sanitation District in the lower third of our
comparative agencies.
• Maintain a “Pay as You Go” approach to fund current operating expenditures.
• Maintain a portfolio management approach that focuses on safety, liquidity and performance in that order.
• Continually look for ways to reduce total debt payments without lengthening its term.
• Ensure that no new debt issuances are used to support currently programmed capital expenditures and that all existing debt is paid off by 2044.
Asset Management Policy
Policy Statement
The Sanitation District will assess and manage the collection system and treatment plant systems and assets to improve resilience and
reliability while lowering lifecycle costs. This will
be accomplished through adaptive operation,
coordinated maintenance and condition
assessment, and planned capital investment. Staff
will balance maintenance, refurbishment, and
replacement strategies to maximize useful life,
system availability and efficiency.
Initiatives
• Create an annual Asset Management plan
documenting the condition of the collection
system and treatment plants, and upcoming
maintenance or capital projects.
• Coordinate the efforts of operations, collections, mechanical maintenance, electrical maintenance, instrument maintenance and engineering through process teams to assure the Sanitation District’s resources are focused on the high priority work functions.
• Maintain a 20-year forecast of all CIP projects needed to maintain or upgrade the Sanitation District’s nearly $11 billion in assets on a prioritized risk basis to establish rate structures.
Cybersecurity Policy
Policy Statement
The Sanitation District must maintain adequate cybersecurity (information technology security) techniques that protect computer assets, networks, programs, data, and industrial control equipment from unauthorized access or attacks that are aimed for exploitation.
Initiatives
• Conduct various tabletop exercises to determine the organization’s ability to respond to a targeted cyberattack and to improve the quality of the response should an attack occur.
• Evaluate, enhance and monitor network security including activities to protect the usability, reliability, integrity and safety of the network by developing Security Operations Center capabilities that support continuous monitoring and is responsible for the continuous threat protection process.
• Conduct a comprehensive third-party cybersecurity operations assessment (Red Team). A thorough Red Team engagement will expose vulnerabilities and risks regarding:
° Technology — Networks, applications, routers, switches, appliances, etc.
° People — Staff, independent contractors, departments, business partners, etc.
° Physical — Offices, warehouses, substations, data centers, buildings, etc.
The Strategic Plan is broken down into four broad categories with 14 topic areas.
Below are the policy statements and corresponding initiatives to achieve the goals of the plan.
The complete policy papers can be found in the appendix.
12 STRATEGIC PLAN NOVEMBER 2019
Property Management Policy
Policy Statement
The Sanitation District owns and operates assets
throughout its service area located in property
owned in fee, through easements and in the public
right-of-way. The Sanitation District will identify and protect all of its property rights to assure that its assets are not encumbered or encroached upon so that the facilities may be properly operated, maintained, upgraded, and replaced.
Initiatives
• The Sanitation District will review its property rights to identify encroachments or encumbrances
that restrict operation, maintenance, inspection
or emergency repair access. Staff will work with
identified parties to remove encroachments or
encumbrances.
• Staff will consolidate real estate and property
management activities to maximize its resources
and effectiveness. With the completion of the
property rights and real estate assessments,
the Sanitation District will evaluate the various
resources available and develop an appropriate
resource management plan to assess and
maintain its property assets.
ENVIRONMENTAL STEWARDSHIP
Energy Independence Policy
Policy Statement
The Sanitation District will strive to be a net energy
exporter. Electrical, thermal, and methane gas
generation will be maximized. Energy utilization
will be minimized using sound engineering and financial principles.
Initiatives
• Maximize the anaerobic digestion conversion
of organics to methane through receipt of food
waste and operational techniques.
• Investigate and install energy storage and
photovoltaic systems where practical to achieve
energy independence/resilience.
• Continue to support the conversion of
biomethane into electricity and heat for process
use. Improve systems as necessary to comply
with air regulations.
Climate and Catastrophic Event
Resilience Policy
Policy Statement
The Sanitation District aims to design, maintain and
operate valuable wastewater assets that withstand
or adapt to adverse conditions in a reasonable
manner that is both cost-effective and sustainable for present and future generations. These adverse conditions include heavy rains, flooding, sea level rise, earthquakes, tsunamis, extreme heat, wildfires, and electrical grid interruptions.
Initiatives
• Complete an engineering study of the seismic vulnerabilities of the treatment plants. Incorporate necessary upgrades into future capital improvement projects.
• Complete the biannual high flow exercise to assure readiness for a high flow event. Maintain a higher level of readiness October 15 through March 15 and in advance of predicted significant rain events.
• Study the potential impact of tsunami and changing climate conditions including flooding due to high tides and heavy rain events.
Food Waste Treatment Policy
Policy Statement
The State of California limits the volume of organic
waste that may be diverted to landfills. The
Sanitation District will collaborate with the County
of Orange, other local agencies, and waste haulers to find ways to beneficially reuse food waste, a type of organic waste to assist cities in our service area in meeting their diversion requirements while increasing the Sanitation District’s energy production.
Initiatives
• The Sanitation District will accept a preprocessed food waste slurry from contracted waste haulers that will be fed to existing anaerobic digesters. The Sanitation District will charge a tipping fee to offset its costs for capital construction, operations, handling, maintenance, and biosolids disposal.
• Design, build, and operate a food waste receiving station. Create a specification for food waste slurry and contract with solid waste haulers to receive and process food waste.
Water Reuse Policy
Policy Statement
The Sanitation District will seek to beneficially
reuse all reclaimable water for potable, industrial,
irrigation, and environmental uses.
Initiatives
• Support the completion of the final phase of
the Groundwater Replenishment System and
maximize reclaimable wastewater availability to
the Orange County Water District.
• Support Green Acres project water production
to provide reclaimed water for industrial and
irrigation uses.
Environmental Water Quality, Stormwater
Management and Urban Runoff Policy
Policy Statement
The Sanitation District will partner with storm water
permittees to accept up to ten million gallons per
day of dry weather urban runoff at no charge in
order to improve water quality in streams, rivers, and beaches as long as the constituents within the flow do not adversely impact the Sanitation
13STRATEGIC PLAN NOVEMBER 2019
District’s worker safety, treatment processes, reuse
initiatives, or permit compliance. The Sanitation
District facilities are subject to significant flow
increases during wet weather events and are not
capable of accepting stormwater flow volumes.
Initiatives
In accordance with Resolution No. 13-09, the
Sanitation District intends to continue accepting up
to ten million gallons per day of pumped dry weather
urban runoff diversion where existing conveyance
capacity exists, and the constituents of the flow will
not adversely impact the Sanitation District. The
Sanitation District also intends to continue working
with industries, agencies, and other facilities to
offer alternatives to stormwater and runoff disposal
through special purpose discharge permits or
other written authorization in accordance with the
Sanitation District’s Ordinance, where doing so
does not negatively affect the Sanitation District’s
operation or compliance with local, state, and
federal regulations, and wastewater can be held for
evaluation prior to discharge.
Additionally, to act as a regional partner in
resolving issues associated with disposing of and
reusing stormwater, the Sanitation District intends
to work with local jurisdictions to determine the
feasibility of regional wet weather runoff capture,
storage, and use projects.
• Issue dry weather urban runoff connection
permits up to a total of ten million gallons
per day to other service area local agencies to
accept pumped dry weather urban runoff flows
where existing conveyance capacity exists, and
the constituents of the flow will not adversely
impact the Sanitation District.
• Continue working with industries, facilities,
agencies, and local jurisdictions that have
authority over stormwater or surface water
runoff to determine the feasibility of regional
wet weather runoff capture, storage, and use
projects or offer alternatives to stormwater
and runoff disposal through permits or other
written authorization. The Sanitation District
will promote responsible stormwater utilization
and sewer protection, where doing so does
not negatively affect the Sanitation District’s
operation or compliance with local, state, and
federal regulations, and wastewater can be held
for evaluation prior to discharge.
14 STRATEGIC PLAN NOVEMBER 2019
WASTEWATER MANAGEMENT
Chemical Sustainability Policy
Policy Statement
The Sanitation District has a need to use chemicals
in its treatment process to improve plant
performance, reduce odor and corrosion potential,
and meet its regulatory requirements. These commodity chemicals are provided by outside vendors through the purchasing process. Some of these chemicals are subject to price swings due to market condition changes such as energy cost impacts, raw material cost changes, commercial competition changes, and transportation cost volatility. The Sanitation District will identify chemicals key to its operation, investigate the market risks for those chemicals and devise strategies to mitigate identified risks to availability and pricing.
Initiatives
• Reduce reliance on any particular chemical or vendor and establish flexibility to utilize other chemicals/processes to accomplish the same operational objectives.
• Update the Sanitation District’s Chemical Sustainability Study and incorporate the results in future procurement recommendations.
Biosolids Management Policy
Policy Statement
The Sanitation District will remain committed to a
sustainable biosolids program and will beneficially
reuse biosolids in accordance with Resolution No.
OCSD 13-03 and the 2017 Biosolids Master Plan.
Initiatives
• Educate and advocate with the local, state, and
federal agencies to assure biosolids will continue
to be safely and legally used as a soil amendment
and monitor and research the development of
initiatives of constituents of emerging concerns such as polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) and microplastics that may impact biosolids.
• Stay abreast of new technology options to convert organics to energy and other regional biosolids recycling and renewable energy partnerships within Southern California.
• Proceed with mesophilic and thermophilic
biosolids facility at Plant No. 2 to enhance
biosolids quality and marketability while
improving the Sanitation District’s operational
resiliency against seismic events.
Constituents of Emerging Concern Policy
Policy Statement
The Sanitation District will partner with other
agencies, associations, and institutions to
support the use of sound science to inform
policy and regulatory decisions on constituents
of emerging concern (CECs) at the federal, state,
and regional levels. Staff will obtain and maintain
current knowledge on CECs under regulatory
consideration, including occurrence, analytical
methods, regulations, and treatment to support
the Sanitation District’s mission.
Initiatives
• The Sanitation District will continue to actively
engage water and wastewater stakeholders to
stay abreast of the scientific progress and any
potential operational and financial impacts
of CECs and provide timely briefings to the
Sanitation District’s Management Team and
Board to facilitate informed decision making.
• The Sanitation District will continue to develop
capacity to detect, quantify, and characterize
CECs throughout the service area and treatment
process in order to promote treatment
effectiveness and the communication of credible
risks.
• The Sanitation District will actively research
laboratory techniques and other scientific
research to understand the real and potential
impact of CECs, like polyfluoroalkyl substances
(PFAS) and perfluorooctanoic acid (PFOA), on
the reuse of water and biosolids. The Sanitation
District will use science-based knowledge to
help shape legislation and regulation to protect
the public health and environment.
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WORKPLACE ENVIRONMENT
Resilient Staffing Policy
Policy Statement
The Sanitation District will attract and retain high-
quality talent to support its mission and continue to
be an industry leader. It will safeguard leadership
continuity and support effective performance of the organization by proactively monitoring the changing work environment and requirements to ensure development programs are relevant and build a skilled bench of readily available successors for key leadership and mission-critical positions.
Initiatives
• Maintain and enhance current effective development programs that are in place to provide the direction to identify, develop and select the next generation of prepared, capable and engaged leaders, which include:
° Vocational/Professional Student Internship Programs
° Employee Development Program
° Workforce Vulnerability Assessments
° Talent Readiness Assessments
° Building Leaders and Skills for Tomorrow
(BLAST) Program
° Strengthening Operator Training Programs
• Continue cyclical Classification and Compensation
studies to ensure job classifications accurately
depict the work being performed, to set
compensation levels accordingly, and stay
abreast of market benefit and salary data.
• Prior to the next scheduled Classification &
Compensation study, Human Resources will
work with the Board of Directors and meet and
confer with the unions to review selected survey
agencies based on recognized classification and compensation standards and the job market in which we compete.
Safety and Physical Security
Policy Statement
The Sanitation District will ensure the safety
and security of employees, contractors, and
visitors through standard practices, policies,
and procedures that support a safe and secure environment, provide an appropriate level of security, and safeguard OCSD’s property and physical assets.
Initiatives
Safety
• Complete outstanding safety projects,
improvements, and corrective actions to apply
and obtain Cal/OSHA Voluntary Protection
Program (VPP) status; and continue to foster a culture where employees are accountable for their safety as well as the safety of others.
Emergency Management
• Support facility and countywide emergency
preparedness, response, and recovery efforts
by partnering with entities, such as, the Water Emergency Response Organization of Orange County (WEROC), Orange County Sherriff Department, and local fire departments to plan and continue to conduct disaster preparedness training and exercises.
Security
• Continually identify and assess vulnerabilities and implement solutions through the Security Committee and third-party assessments. Prevent/mitigate security breaches using physical security systems such as video monitoring, access control, and armed security patrols.
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Appendix: Policy Papers
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Business Principles
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Budget Control and Fiscal Discipline Policy
Summary Policy Statement
The Orange County Sanitation District (Sanitation District) will prudently manage the public funds that it
collects. It will take a long-term planning approach to its facilities and rate setting that provides a stable
setting program, prudent reserves, and pay-as-you-go philosophy for operating and replacing capital
expenses.
Background
The Sanitation District manages nearly $500 million annually. These funds support the Sanitation
District’s operating, capital, and debt expenditures. The Sanitation District focuses its fiscal policy
around three distinct areas: Revenues, Portfolio Management, and Debt Management. These areas are
described in the Budget, Investment Policy, and Debt policy all of which are updated annually.
Current Situation
Revenues
The majority of the Sanitation District’s revenue is generated by user fees and charges. Currently, the
Sanitation District fees are in the lower third of its comparison agencies’.
The Sanitation District’s revenues come from three general areas: Fees and Charges (74%), Property
Taxes (21%) and other smaller revenue sources (5%).
• Fees and Charges: User fees are ongoing fees for services paid by Single Family and Multifamily
customers connected to the sewer system. Also included in this category are Permit Fees (User fees
paid by large industrial and commercial business owners connected to the sewer system and Capital
Facility Capacity Charges (CFCC) (a one-time charge imposed at the time a newly constructed building
or structure is connected to the Sanitation District system). The Sanitation District policy has been to
focus on cost recovery while keeping fees as low as possible.
• Property Taxes: The Sanitation District receives a share of the basic property tax levy proportionate to
what was received in the 1976 to 1978 period less $3.5 million allocated to school districts. These funds
are dedicated to the payment of debt service.
• Other Revenue: Other Revenue includes Interest Earnings, Intra-District Transfers and small revenue
sources.
Portfolio Management
The Sanitation District Investment Policy is governed by three tenets:
• Safety: The safety and preservation of principal is the foremost objective of the investment program.
Investments shall be selected in a manner that seeks to ensure the preservation of capital in the
overall portfolio. This will be accomplished through a program of diversification and maturity
limitations.
• Liquidity: The investment program will be administered in a manner that will ensure that sufficient
funds are available for the Sanitation District to meet its reasonably anticipated operating
expenditure needs.
• Return on Investments: The Sanitation District’s investment portfolio will be structured and
managed with the objective of achieving a rate of return throughout budgetary and economic cycles,
commensurate with legal, safety, and liquidity considerations.
The Sanitation District’s investments are separated into two distinct portfolios, Long-term and Short-
term, with a primary focus on the Long-term portfolio.
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The Long-Term portfolio always focuses on four elements, duration, sector allocation, term structure,
and security selection.
Duration
• Typically, the Sanitation District keeps the duration of a portfolio ‘close’ to the benchmark duration as we feel the benchmark duration is consistent with the risk tolerance of the strategy.
• The investment policy of the Sanitation District stipulates the average duration must not exceed 60 months and be within 80-120% of the benchmark.
• Historically the deviation of the long-term portfolio versus the benchmark is close to 5%. Large deviations in the duration of the portfolio compared to the benchmark are an anomaly.
Sector Allocation
• The Sanitation District takes an active approach to asset allocation, differentiating our holdings versus the benchmark, with typically a modestly higher risk exposure compared to the benchmark.
• Some of the asset classes we find more attractive in the current investing environment include Corporate notes, Asset Backed Securities, and Treasury notes relative to the Agency and Supranational sectors.
• The sector allocation of the portfolio will evolve over time as our outlook for the various eligible investment options changes.
Term Structure
• The Sanitation District manages the term structure of the portfolio by focusing on either a bullet, ladder or barbell structure, relative to the benchmark.
• For most of 2018 the structure was gravitating towards more of a bullet structure in light of the change in the sharp of the yield curve, with short term interest rates moving higher at a greater velocity than longer maturity securities.
• Currently, with the yield curve very flat, we are migrating back towards more of a barbell structure, with new purchases focused at the short and long end of the eligible maturity distribution. We also find the middle to the maturity distribution, near the three-year maturity point, to be the most expensive from an absolute and relative value perspective, further supporting the barbell structure.
Security Selection
Within the Corporate and Asset Backed sector, the Chandler team focuses on adding stability to improve credits to be consistent with the overall investment objective of safety, liquidity, and return.
• As a Corporate holding becomes more seasoned, with a short maturity, it is often utilized as a ‘source of funds’ to facilitate new holdings in the portfolio.
• Typically, Asset Backed securities are held to maturity, but in the event of a liquidity need and/or a deteriorating credit situation we would look to reduce the exposure.
The Sanitation District allocates to the Agency and Supranational asset classes when we find the spread over a like maturity Treasury notes to be attractive.
• Considering the lack of issuance in the Agency sector since the financial crisis, the relative value of the sector has become more challenging.
• The Sanitation District has a core view that the Supranational Asset class should offer a modest spread concession to the Agency sector, and the team is typically active in the sector when the additional spread pick-up is compelling.
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Across all asset classes, the Sanitation District will remove exposure to a security that is faced with a
deteriorating credit situation and/or trading at an irrational valuation where a swap into an alternative
security will be beneficial to the portfolio over a reasonable investment time horizon.
Debt Management
Due to the magnitude of the capital improvement program, the Sanitation District has utilized a combination of user fees, property taxes and debt to meet its total obligations and maintain
generational equity.
It is the Sanitation District’s policy not to issue any new additional debt for any existing obligations. However, the Sanitation District will actively review opportunities to refinance existing debt where
possible provided the new refinancing results in a lower total cost and/or shortens the length of the
obligations.
The primary debt financing mechanism used is Certificates of Participation (COP). COPs are a repayment
obligation based on lease or installment sale agreements. As of July 1, 2019, the total outstanding COP
indebtedness was $973 million with a blended interest rate of 3.05%. It is anticipated that the debt will
be paid off by 2044.
Future Policy Statement
The Sanitation District will effectively manage its revenues and expenses to support all OCSD operating and capital activities while maintaining a fair and reasonable rate structure. The Sanitation District will maintain reserves and available resources to ensure the access to funds as needed and guarantee
payment of all outstanding debt issuances. The Sanitation District will manage its investment by
focusing on safety, liquidity and return on investment, in that order of priority.
Initiatives to Support Progress Toward the Policy Goal
• Maintain a rate setting program that keeps OCSD in the lower third of our comparative agencies.
• Maintain a “Pay as You Go” approach to fund current operating expenditures.
• Maintain a portfolio management approach that focuses on safety, liquidity and performance in that order.
• Continually look for ways to reduce total debt payments without lengthening its term.
• Ensure that no new debt issuances are used to support the currently programmed capital expenditures and that all existing debt is paid off by 2044.
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Asset Management Policy
Summary Policy Statement
The Orange County Sanitation District (Sanitation District) will assess and manage the collection system
and treatment plant systems and assets to improve resilience and reliability while lowering lifecycle
costs. This will be accomplished through adaptive operation, coordinated maintenance and condition
assessment, and planned capital investment. Staff will balance maintenance, refurbishment, and replacement strategies to maximize useful life, system availability and efficiency.
Background
The Sanitation District is a regional governmental agency principally chartered to protect the public
health through collection and treatment of wastewater. The governing Board of Directors has defined
this role to include the recovery and utilization of resources from wastewater for the public good as a
part of that mission. The environmental impact mitigation of the human activity of 2.6 million people and the natural drainage of the 471 square miles the Sanitation District serves is our principal concern.
The Sanitation District owns and operates extensive facilities to achieve its mission. The Sanitation
District estimates the replacement value of the civil, mechanical, and electrical assets in its collection system, Plant No 1 in Fountain Valley, and Plant No. 2 in Huntington Beach to be nearly $11 billion. The Sanitation District has been building the piping, pumping, and treatment infrastructure it utilizes for more than sixty-five years. It is necessary to expand, renew, replace, demolish, and rebuild components of the system to deal with wear and tear and meet new challenges.
The early years for the Sanitation District were characterized mostly by capacity expansion to meet the challenges of increased flows as the county grew. The late 1970s to the 2000s were more defined by improved levels of treatment. The last ten years have been focused on increasing the level of resource reuse. One of the key success factors for the Sanitation District has been the ability to upgrade and repurpose its operating facilities to accomplish high levels of treatment and reuse.
Current Situation
The Sanitation District is a highly planned, forward-looking organization. The collection system and each of the treatment plants are broken down into granular functional parts. Each part is well defined and future requirements are estimated. The Sanitation District has a detailed understanding of what is owned, what condition it is in, and how it is capable of performing.
The collection system is made up of independent pipe networks that were installed by the former independent sanitation districts to deliver flow to the joint treatment works. Generally speaking, the natural watershed drainages in the service area are served by major trunk sewer systems. The Sanitation District has worked with member city and agency staff to understand future development plans, flow estimates, and has collected historical inflow and infiltration rates during wet weather events to assure adequate flow carrying capability exists in each trunk sewer system. The Sanitation District also factors in the effects of drought and lower domestic water usage rates to make sure the sewers operate properly at low-flow rates.
The treatment plants are broken down into the discrete process units that make up the whole. Each plant has a headworks unit that brings in flow and does preliminary treatment, a primary treatment unit which does gravity settling, multiple biological secondary treatment systems, solids handling and dewatering, power generation and distribution utilities, water and air system utilities, and an outfall system to release treated water to the ocean. Each plant can treat 320 million gallons per day of wet weather flow, but only 185 million gallons total on average is treated. The Sanitation District must always maintain the ability to treat both the average flow and peak wet weather flow.
The Sanitation District understands that every asset has an expected life. Electrical systems are generally limited by component obsolescence to 20 years of life. Mechanical and coating systems are also generally limited by erosion, corrosion, and wear to 20 years of life. Civil structures and pipes are generally limited to 60 to 80 years of life if maintained on a regular basis.
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With this in mind, the Sanitation District has created a facilities master plan that plans to renew or
replace facilities on this regular basis. Collection system projects are driven by growth projections or
condition findings. Pipes are upsized or renewed based on flow projections, corrosion observation,
coating system failure, or the ability to increase reclamation. The 15 regional pump stations are renewed
on a more frequent basis due to the mechanical wear and tear and electrical component obsolescence
needs, about every 25 years.
The master plan for the treatment plants is much more dynamic. In addition to the electrical,
mechanical, and civil asset considerations, there is also the need to meet new requirements. The new
requirements are driven by regulatory agencies or by the Board of Directors to change a discretionary
level of service. Examples include: capacity demands (more water, more solids), lower discharge
requirements (lower BOD/TSS to the outfall, lower nutrients to the ocean), more water for reclamation,
better energy conversion of solids, and many more. The 2017 Facilities Master Plan took a snapshot in
time looking at the anticipated needs and levels of service to lay out a detailed project plan to morph
the Sanitation District infrastructure over time to meet the expectation. Renewal or replacement
projects with costs and schedules were laid out for each individual unit of the treatment plants to
address capacity, condition, level of service, and anticipated new regulatory drivers.
Future Policy Statement
The Sanitation District will continue to invest in the infrastructure necessary to meet its mission.
The Sanitation District will seek to provide its required level of service at the minimum lifecycle cost
for its collection and treatment systems. The 2017 Master Plan was the snapshot basis of the Capital
Improvement Plan, but the Asset Management Plan is the means to update and modify the Capital
Improvement Plan to meet new requirements and conditions as time goes by.
The Sanitation District will understand in a transparent way: what it owns, the condition of those assets,
the capacity of collections and treatment required, the level of service required by its regulators and
Board of Directors and will anticipate new regulations that may require system improvement. This
understanding will drive coherent operations, targeted maintenance, and capital investment strategies
to assure resilient, lowest lifecycle cost compliance with the requirements.
Operations is committed to optimizing the operation of the systems to extend equipment life and
minimize energy and chemical utilization, while meeting all regulatory and level-of-service requirements.
Maintenance is committed to maintain the installed assets in a ready state for operations. Maintenance
will seek to balance individual component preventive maintenance, repair, and renewal in harmony with
the Capital Improvement Program (CIP). The CIP is based on the Master Plan, modified by the annual
Asset Management Plan, and will execute the projects to install, renew, or replace trunk sewers or
treatment plant units on a scheduled basis.
Asset Management at the Sanitation District is the living management of the operation strategies,
maintenance plans, and implementation of the Capital Improvement Plan. The Sanitation District
will find creative ways to maximize asset life or meet new capacity or level of service goals through
operations and maintenance. The Sanitation District will annually reassess its condition, capacity, level
of service, and regulatory conditions to drive operations and maintenance practices and modify the
Capital Improvement Plan projects.
Initiatives to Support Progress Toward the Policy Goal
• Create an annual Asset Management plan documenting the condition of the collection system and
treatment plants, and upcoming maintenance or capital projects.
• Coordinate the efforts of operations, collections, mechanical maintenance, electrical maintenance,
instrument maintenance and engineering through process teams to assure the Sanitation District’s
resources are focused on the high priority work functions.
• Maintain a 20-year forecast of all CIP projects needed to maintain or upgrade the Sanitation District’s
nearly $11 billion in assets on a prioritized risk basis to establish rate structures.
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Cybersecurity Policy
Summary Policy Statement
The Orange County Sanitation District (Sanitation District) must maintain adequate cybersecurity
(information technology security) techniques that protect computer assets, networks, programs, data,
and industrial control equipment from unauthorized access or attacks that are aimed for exploitation.
Background
Developing an effective, sustainable cybersecurity program is a pressing challenge for organizations
of all sizes. The reasons behind the scope of the challenge are many. Cyber risk continues to grow at
an exponential rate with routine attacks from nation states, criminal elements, hacktivists, and insider
threats. The bottom line is cybercrime pays. The booming cybercrime economy is productizing malware
and making cybercrime as easy as shopping at Amazon. With this easy access to cybercriminal tools
and services, enterprises are experiencing rapid increases in the volume, scale, and sophistication of cyberattacks. Complex and dynamic information security disciplines are subject to continuous changes in the business, technology and threat environments. Many organizations will struggle to implement security programs that support continuous improvements in this challenging environment.
Current Situation
The Sanitation District has evolved over recent years from dedicating less than half of a position
towards cybersecurity, to one position, to currently two full-time positions. The Sanitation District’s cybersecurity portfolio consists of strategic policy management, defense in depth practices, periodic risk assessments, ongoing awareness communication and operational (e.g., security monitoring and incident response, threat and vulnerability management, user provisioning) processes. For example:
• Cybersecurity Awareness and Training Program - The Sanitation District understands that our employees are our best line of defense in protecting and defending our enterprise from attack. We have built a comprehensive security awareness program by focusing on four critical functions: phishing attack simulations and reporting, quarterly education requirements, targeted training for IT developers and SCADA engineers, and pervasive communications utilizing internal communication tools.
• Vulnerability Management — IT staff subscribe to and monitor security advisories and threat bulletins from Microsoft, US-CERT, ICS-CERT, KnowBe4, Cisco, and other vendors to understand and manage new vulnerabilities. All internet accessible servers and applications are scanned weekly for vulnerabilities and remediated as necessary. Microsoft operating system and application patches are deployed monthly while third party updates are deployed weekly. We use a vulnerability platform for continuous assessment of our security and compliance posture.
• Intrusion Detection and Response — We have implemented several security solutions to be able to detect, prevent and respond to malicious network activity. These include firewalls, intrusion prevent systems, web security gateway, and next-generation anti-malware. In addition, we also have user behavior analysis tools to identify insider threats and ransomware activity.
• Privileged Access Management Program — We use a privilege access management solution to remove and manage local administrative rights on workstations/servers to prevent lateral movement. The solution is also used to protect, control, and monitor privileged access across files and systems.
• Backup and Restore Capabilities — IT practices a 3-2-1 backup strategy:
3 – Keep three copies of critical data 2 – Have your data on two types of media 1 – One copy must be offsite and offline
26 STRATEGIC PLAN NOVEMBER 2019
Restores are performed on at least a weekly basis in response to customer incidents. Disaster Recovery
Testing is performed monthly by selecting a major system and testing restore capabilities of that system
to our secondary treatment facility, as well as our remote site. We sandbox the restores and provide
access to our application subject matter experts to conduct application-specific testing. These tests are
logged and kept for auditing and management purposes.
• Security Incident Response — An incident response plan is an organized approach to handle a
cyberattack. We have developed an incident response plan, playbooks and procedures for various
attacks as well as trained IT security staff. In addition, there are external contacts we can call for
assistance including the FBI, Department of Homeland Security and organizations that specialize in
incident response like Mandiant, Cylance, and Microsoft.
• Security Assessments — The purpose of a security assessment is to identify the current security
posture of a system, network, or organization. The assessment provides recommendations to improve
the security posture by mitigating identified risks. Our goal is to do one or two a year. The two most
recently conducted assessments are the Office 365 Security Assessment from Microsoft in April 2019
and the Center for Internet Security Control Gap Assessment in July 2018.
Future Policy Statement
The main objective of our information security program is the establishment of a continuous,
iterative regimen of planning, building, running and governing security capabilities that are derived
from business requirements. Our security program cannot be a static entity. It must be adapted
and continuously refined to keep pace with the ever-changing threat environment and changes in
how the Sanitation District adopts digital business practices. Cybersecurity incidents are inevitable.
Mistakes and/or a lack of preparation in the response can have serious repercussions. The ability of an
organization to respond effectively to a security incident is a direct result of the time spent preparing
for such an eventuality. If you fail to prepare, then you effectively prepare to fail. The Sanitation District
will be prepared. This will be accomplished by the following proposed initiatives.
Initiatives to Support Progress Toward the Policy Goal
• Conduct various tabletop exercises to determine the organization’s ability to respond to a targeted
cyberattack and to improve the quality of the response, should an attack occur.
• Evaluate, enhance and monitor network security including activities to protect the usability, reliability, integrity and safety of the network by developing Security Operations Center capabilities that support
continuous monitoring and is responsible for the continuous threat protection process.
• Conduct a comprehensive third-party cybersecurity operations assessment (Red Team). A thorough Red Team engagement will expose vulnerabilities and risks regarding:
• Technology — Networks, applications, routers, switches, appliances, etc.
• People — Staff, independent contractors, departments, business partners, etc.
• Physical — Offices, warehouses, substations, data centers, buildings, etc.
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Property Management Policy
Summary Policy Statement
The Orange County Sanitation District (Sanitation District) owns and operates assets throughout its
service area located in property owned in fee, through easements and in the public right-of-way. The
Sanitation District will identify and protect all of its property rights to assure that its assets are not
encumbered or encroached upon so that the facilities may be properly operated, maintained, upgraded, and replaced.
Background
The Sanitation District owns and operates more than $10 billion in assets. A portion of those assets
include buildings, easements, rights of way and other encroachments. OCSD has recently sold and
purchased property to support its efforts. The Sanitation District does not maintain expertise in the real
estate discipline. As these transactions are limited and not core to OCSD, it has been determined that it is more cost effective to augment the Sanitation District resources with contracted specialized real estate services.
Current Situation
The Sanitation District manages its physical property and property rights. Additionally, it manages
landscaping, building maintenance, security and building maintenance. District staff primarily manages
these activities.
Future Policy Statement
The Sanitation District will effectively manage its assets and proactively research and maintain all
encroachments, encumbrances and easements. Many of these activities are not core to OCSD’s mission.
The Sanitation District will maintain sufficient resources using a combination of contracted specialized
real estate and property management services and internal staffing. Although OCSD is not in the
business of managing property as a revenue enhancement or core activity, it does own and operate millions in physical property and property rights.
Initiatives to Support Progress Toward the Policy Goal
• The Sanitation District will review its property rights to identify encroachments or encumbrances that
restrict operation, maintenance, inspection or emergency repair access. Staff will work with identified
parties to remove encroachments or encumbrances.
• Staff will consolidate real estate and property management activities to maximize its resources
and effectiveness. With the completion of the property rights and real estate assessments, the
Sanitation District will evaluate the various resources available and develop an appropriate resource
management plan to assess and maintain its property assets
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Environmental Stewardship
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Energy Independence Policy
Summary Policy Statement
The Orange County Sanitation District (Sanitation District) will strive to be a net energy exporter.
Electrical, thermal, and methane gas generation will be maximized. Energy utilization will be minimized
using sound engineering and financial principles.
Background
The Sanitation District must balance the impacts of its operation between land, air, and water. For
example, as a water focused utility, the Sanitation District seeks to produce the cleanest water possible
to minimize the impacts of human activity on the ocean, as well as to renew freshwater resources for
further domestic and commercial use. A natural result of cleaning this water is the separation and
concentration of constituent solid and gaseous materials. These solid and gaseous products can impact
land and air. The balance of impact on land, air, and water are shifted by application or creation of energy through chemical, biological, or thermal conversion techniques.
The Sanitation District is also committed to be a good neighbor. As such, significant amounts of energy
are spent capturing and converting odorous air and vapor streams. The Sanitation District has pursued a comprehensive program to cover and seal its liquid and solid processes. Air streams are ducted to large fans which move thousands of cubic feet of foul air per minute through chemical, biological, and activated carbon beds to scrub the air of odorants that are regulated or may be perceived as a nuisance by the community.
The Sanitation District has utilized an anaerobic digestion process that relies on biological conversion of solid organic material to methane and carbon dioxide gas. The methane is converted to electrical and heat energy in power plants for internal use. The Sanitation District’s secondary treatment system is another example of using energy to convert water impacts to air emissions. Approximately 23% of the Sanitation District’s energy usage within the treatment process is devoted to aerating water so biological agents can convert soluble organic material to nitrogen and carbon dioxide. The generation of energy itself creates an impact on the environment in air and thermal emissions.
Current Situation
The potential exists to further shift environmental impacts between land, air, and water through the utilization of energy. The Sanitation District is an environmental steward that seeks to balance and minimize overall impact by efficiently utilizing the energy inputs to its processes and maximizing the harvesting of energy available in the incoming wastewater.
On the energy use side of the ledger, the Sanitation District invests prudently in lifecycle energy efficiency to minimize the use of energy to achieve its mission. Pumping systems to lift water and move material for premium efficiency. Thermal energy is harvested from power production for use in the process and to heat and cool occupied buildings. Aeration compressors and diffusers are selected by overall efficiency. Lighting systems are upgraded over time to more efficient technologies and lighting levels are balanced between safety and security needs versus energy utilization and light pollution concerns. Facility designers and operators make careful choices regarding the utilization of every watt of electricity, BTU of heat, and therm of gas consumed.
On the energy generation side of the ledger, the Sanitation District seeks to maximize the internal creation of energy. The primary source of energy creation is in digester gas, also called biogas, which is mostly methane. Organic solids collected and concentrated in the water treatment processes are converted biologically to biogas composed of 65% methane, 34% carbon dioxide, and other trace constituents. The Sanitation District has been using this technology since the 1950s. Research has been ongoing since that time to maximize the production of digester gas. Some of the areas of research include improved mixing and heating; improved feeding; chemical addition to limit trace pollutant production; introduction of food waste; injection of fats, oils, and grease; and cell lysing.
31STRATEGIC PLAN NOVEMBER 2019
The Sanitation District cleans the biogas and converts this biogas into electricity, heat, and exhaust gas.
The exhaust gas is regulated ever more tightly for nitrogen compounds, carbon monoxide, particulates,
and volatile organic compounds which require costly and performance degrading engine control
technologies. This is another example of an air impact/energy trade off. These internal systems of
energy harvesting provide roughly 66% of the Sanitation District’s electrical demand and 92% of the
Sanitation District’s thermal demand in the treatment plants. The Sanitation District can shift the
digester gas between treatment plants via an interplant pipeline and has roughly 8 MW of additional
generation capacity if more gas is produced.
In addition, the Sanitation District is installing electrical battery storage capacity. This system is
primarily in place to lower operating cost by importing electricity for charging during low-cost nighttime
hours and discharging that energy for process use during peak-cost hours. The slight energy loss due to
system inefficiencies is outweighed by the cost savings and benefit to the region by lowering the peak
demand of the Sanitation District by up to five megawatts.
Future Policy Statement
The Sanitation District seeks to be energy independent by self-generating all the electrical and thermal
energy necessary to sustain its operations. This will be accomplished by economically minimizing
its utilization requirements and maximizing energy harvested from the wastewater it receives. The
Sanitation District will also study and use photovoltaic cells in non-process areas where it makes
economic sense. Energy independence will improve the Sanitation District’s environmental impact and
improve its operational reliability and resiliency.
When the Sanitation District has achieved energy independence, it will seek to make excess biogenic or
green energy available to external users via gas sales, power grid exports, or transportation fuels. The
State of California has set goals for renewable energy utilization for electrical production and hydrogen
transportation fuels. The Sanitation District’s biogas is viewed favorably in these industries to meet the
State of California targets. The Sanitation District is working very diligently and creatively to maximize
the production of gas and reduce its own energy needs, but energy independence is the first goal which
has not yet been met.
Staff recommends that innovative research continue to maximize energy harvesting and to minimize
energy inputs first to make the Sanitation District energy independent in the most basic mission of
protecting the public health and the environment. Once this has been achieved, excess energy can be
made available for meeting the State of California’s goals for the electrical grid and transportation fuels.
Initiatives to Support Progress Toward the Policy Goal
• Maximize the anaerobic digestion conversion of organics to methane through receipt of food waste
and operational techniques.
• Investigate and install energy storage and photovoltaic systems where practical to achieve energy independence/resilience.
• Continue to support the conversion of biomethane into electricity and heat for process use. Improve systems as necessary to comply with air regulations.
32 STRATEGIC PLAN NOVEMBER 2019
33STRATEGIC PLAN NOVEMBER 2019
Climate and Catastrophic Event Resilience Policy
Summary Policy Statement
The Orange County Sanitation District (Sanitation District) aims to design, maintain and operate valuable
wastewater assets that withstand or adapt to adverse conditions in a reasonable manner that is both
cost-effective and sustainable for present and future generations. These adverse conditions include
heavy rains, flooding, sea level rise, earthquakes, tsunamis, extreme heat, wildfires, and electrical grid interruptions.
Background
The Sanitation District owns and operates extensive wastewater collection and treatment facilities
valued at nearly $11 billion. The Sanitation District service area faces special challenges because of
the geographic location of its facilities. These challenges include: its position on and near seismic risk
factors, its proximity to the Pacific Coast, adjacency of its treatment facilities to the Santa Ana River, and being served by increasingly fragile energy utilities.
The Sanitation District’s facilities are situated on or near several seismic risk factors. Plant No. 2 is
located directly on top of the Newport-Inglewood fault. Both plants and the collection system are influenced by many adjacent major and minor faults capable of delivering damaging energy. Both of our treatment plants and the majority of our collection system sit on top of silty, alluvial soils that can have the effect of amplifying the earth motion and risk liquefaction during a seismic event. The Sanitation District has invested significantly over the last 50 years to improve the soils, foundations, and structures to mitigate these seismic risks. As geotechnical and structural knowledge and building codes progress, upgrades and facility replacements will be necessary.
Another seismic risk associated with having a treatment plant and several pump stations located on the Pacific Coast, is the risk of tsunami inundation. The Sanitation District has been working with and reviewing the plans of the City of Huntington Beach and the City of Newport Beach to understand and quantify this risk. The American Society of Civil Engineers (ASCE) has created a new standard, ASCE 7-16, to layout design parameters for lateral forces and inundation zone associated with potential tsunamis.
The Sanitation District understands that climactic factors we face change widely over time. The Sanitation District’s systems must perform in extreme wet weather situations (atmospheric rivers), extreme dry weather conditions (drought), extreme tidal conditions (king tides, rising sea levels), as well as high and low temperature extremes. The Sanitation District generally designs for historical and expected “average conditions” for optimal performance but must also assure operations for extreme weather events.
The Sanitation District serves a critical public health role. Its operations must be reliable 24 hours per day, 365 days a year. Electricity, and to a lesser extent natural gas, are necessary for pumping and treatment operations. Both electricity and natural gas supplies have become increasingly vulnerable to interruption. Electricity deliveries are more vulnerable due to wildfire outage criteria, loss of local generation assets, aging infrastructure and extreme weather events. Natural gas supplies are more vulnerable due to the loss of local storage capacity, aging infrastructure, line corrosion, and more stringent regulatory requirements. The Sanitation District has significant capacity to self-supply critical energy requirement for extended periods.
Current Situation
The Sanitation District has spent considerable effort quantifying its seismic, climate, and utility supply risks. Several key studies have been initiated and will be completed in the next two years. The most acute risk factor faced by the Sanitation District is seismic risk. Climate and utility supply risks are more accurately described as chronic risks.
Seismic risk factors include ground shaking, liquefaction, lateral spreading, and fault rupture. Both treatment plants are situated in historic riverbed with poor soil conditions. The collection system
34 STRATEGIC PLAN NOVEMBER 2019
is vulnerable to failures during seismic events. The state of the art for seismic design has changed
greatly over the Sanitation District’s history and will continue to do so. Many of our critical structures
were designed or installed prior to the great learning that occurred in the earthquakes of the 1990s.
Significant effort has been expended to better characterize the soil conditions under our treatment
plants and pump stations. Projects to refurbish or replace existing unit processes are, or soon will be,
scoped and budgeted to provide enhanced seismic resilience. These measures include soil mixing to
stiffen the soil, various foundation designs and building structure improvements.
Tsunami resilience and flooding protection can go hand in hand. To a great extent, these two risk factors
can be mitigated in the same way. The Tsunami guidelines for inundation in ASCE 7-16 are a reasonable
peer reviewed standard. By complying with this standard for Huntington Beach and Newport Beach,
the Sanitation District will be reasonably prepared for flooding caused by extreme storm events and
conservative sea level rise estimates at Plant No. 2 and pump stations in the City of Newport Beach.
The Sanitation District has also expended significant effort to prepare for the effects of weather
extremes on its operations. Extreme wet weather impacts operations. Inflow and infiltration during
intense storm activity have multiplied average dry weather flow rate by up to three times in recent
years. The Sanitation District has significant wet weather capacity and will continue to maintain a 640
million gallon per day influent and outfall capacity which is roughly 3.5 times our average dry weather
flow. Historically high rains as seen in 1863 and 1938 will push our systems to the limit.
The Sanitation District has also adapted its systems to perform in extreme dry weather. The Sanitation
District in cooperation with OCWD operates the largest potable water reuse system in the world. This is
made possible by replumbing our treatment plants and adding new smaller pump stations to deal with
extreme low outfall flow rates in the morning hours. The Sanitation District also has, and continues to
grow, the ability to shift influent flow between its treatment plants which creates additional resilience
for risk factors.
Finally, on the topic of utility supply, the Sanitation District built redundant supplies for its most
critical needs: electricity, natural gas and water. The Sanitation District has maintained three sources
of electricity supply for more than 25 years. The treatment plants can be supplied with power from
Southern California Edison, the Sanitation District’s Central Generation Plants or on-site diesel
generation systems to maintain basic operation to protect public health. In terms of natural gas, the
Sanitation District has been producing bio-methane through anaerobic digestion since the 1950s with
enough capacity to provide electricity and necessary process heat.
Future Policy Statement
The Sanitation District will continue to build and improve its facilities to meet the seismic, climate and
energy infrastructure risks that it faces with a long-term, planned approach. Acute life-safety risks that
are identified or facilities that are damaged or fail in a catastrophic event will be addressed very quickly.
However, it is not practical to update $11 billion in facilities every time a code is updated, or new
climate change estimate is released. The Sanitation District will stay abreast of code and climate change
estimates as they occur and will implement improvements or replacements to facilities on a long-term
basis in line with its asset management practices. The Sanitation District generally plans to refurbish or
replace its mechanical and electrical assets every 20 to 25 years with an average capital improvement
investment of $250 million per year.
The Sanitation District facilities are designed to meet industry codes. As time goes on and codes are
updated, it is not required to upgrade existing facilities to meet those latest codes unless there is
a mandate to do so, or a risk in not doing so is recognized. The Sanitation District will accept some
incremental risk in having some facilities that are not necessarily compliant with latest building
codes or subject to increased greater risks until a project to rehabilitate or replace these facilities
is developed. All of the Sanitation District’s facilities have a planned life span with two to three
refurbishment cycles. Identified seismic or flooding vulnerabilities may drive a replacement versus
refurbishment decision in the normal capital planning process.
35STRATEGIC PLAN NOVEMBER 2019
The Sanitation District will continue to aspire to energy independence which will help mitigate
vulnerabilities to loss of electrical and gas utilities. In addition, the Sanitation District will continue
to maintain third level, diesel generator, electrical supply capability for critical loads. On-site diesel
storage will provide up to three days of power to run the plants. Pump stations diesel generation will be
site specific in its design based on flow risks, hydraulic storage capacity, and site constraints. Either on-
site generation or quickly deployable mobile generators will provide emergency power for up to days at
a time.
Initiatives to Support Progress Toward the Policy Goal
• Complete an engineering study of the seismic vulnerabilities of the treatment plants. Incorporate
necessary upgrades into future capital improvement projects.
• Complete the biannual high flow exercise to assure readiness for a high flow event. Maintain a higher
level of readiness October 15 through March 15 and in advance of predicted significant rain events.
• Study the potential impact of tsunami and changing climate conditions including flooding due to high tides and heavy rain events.
36 STRATEGIC PLAN NOVEMBER 2019
Food Waste Treatment Policy
Summary Policy Statement
The State of California limits the volume of organic waste that may be diverted to landfills. The Orange
County Sanitation District (Sanitation District) will collaborate with the County of Orange, other local
agencies, and waste haulers to find ways to beneficially reuse food waste, a type of organic waste to assist
cities in our service area in meeting their diversion requirements while increasing the Sanitation District’s
energy production.
Background
Whether supplying secondary treated wastewater for the Groundwater Replenishment System, creating
renewable energy in the form of biogas from anaerobic digestion to produce electricity, or benefiting from
the use of biosolids as a soil amendment, the Sanitation District is a resource recovery agency committed
to providing resilient and reliable wastewater treatment service while protecting the public health and the
environment.
In recent years, there has been a significant change in the regulatory landscape in California related to
the diversion of organics such as food, green material, wood, paper, biosolids, digestate, and sludges from
landfills. Currently, much of the state’s diverted organics are being composted or used as alternative daily
cover on landfills. With the phaseout of organics as alternative daily cover, the regulatory shift is creating
an organics market for the wastewater sector to provide a solution to manage organics such as food waste
by way of co-digestion. There is an opportunity for the Sanitation District to produce additional biogas,
reducing the need to purchase electricity from the local utility.
Anaerobic digestion is currently at the nexus of important State of California mandates, namely:
(1) organics diversion from landfills (AB 1826 and SB 1383), and (2) increased renewable energy and fuels
generation (SB 32 and SB 100). The primary alternatives for organics management are anaerobic digestion
and composting — of which anaerobic digestion is the only process offering energy recovery potential.
Over the next few years, California’s cities and counties, along with municipal solid waste haulers,
material recovery facilities, and landfills will need to develop collection, processing, and energy recovery
infrastructure to address new state legislation and goals. Existing wastewater treatment plants such as the
Sanitation District are uniquely positioned to play a role in the new organics marketplace since solid waste
management facilities do not typically have anaerobic digesters, the energy recovery infrastructure in
place, or experience regarding the management of biosolids for beneficial use.
In 2017, the Sanitation District completed a comprehensive Biosolids Master Plan (Plan) that provides a
roadmap and framework for sustainable and cost-effective biosolids management options and future
capital facilities improvement over a 20-year planning horizon. Considering the timeliness of the regulatory
mandates requiring organic diversion from landfills and increased renewable energy, the Plan evaluated
the feasibility of implementing a high strength organic waste receiving program involving the co-digestion
of preprocessed food waste.
While food waste digestion appears to be feasible, the Sanitation District’s existing infrastructure isn’t well
suited for receiving, handling, or digesting green waste. Current digester feed, mixing, heating, dewatering
and truck loading facilities aren’t designed to deal with cellulosic products in green waste. The highly
fibrous material doesn’t readily break down and clogs the various systems optimized for sewage sludge
treatment. In addition, there are legal hurdles specified in the California Health and Safety Code, Section
4700, that must be addressed before the Sanitation District could operate a refuse transfer facility.
Current Situation
Project Viability
The Sanitation District’s Plan concluded that the costs to construct and operate a food waste receiving
facility could be offset by tipping fees charged to food waste processors/haulers and by additional power
37STRATEGIC PLAN NOVEMBER 2019
generated from the increased digester gas production. The Plan recommended that the Sanitation
District build an interim food waste receiving station immediately to take advantage of existing
digestion and power generation capacity of approximately 150-250 wet tons per day at Plant No. 2. The
Sanitation District will construct a more permanent facility in the future to coincide with the planned
construction of new digesters at Plant No. 2, allowing an additional capacity to co-digest approximately
500 wet tons per day of food waste. The Sanitation District also has at least 6 MW of installed electrical
generation capacity that can convert the produced digester gas to electricity and heat.
Based on these recommendations, in 2018 the Sanitation District’s Board approved a project (P2-124)
to construct an interim (10-15 years) food waste facility to receive, store, and feed preprocessed food
waste slurry to the digester complex at Plant No. 2 to generate additional digester gas. This project will
be designed to accept approximately 150 wet tons per day of preprocessed food waste and will produce
approximately 15 percent more methane gas for on-site energy production, resulting in a greenhouse
gas reduction of approximately 10,800 metric tons of carbon dioxide equivalent annually which is
equivalent to the annual greenhouse gases generated by approximately 2,000 passenger vehicles. This
is consistent with the Sanitation District’s Energy Independence Policy which is to strive to be energy
independent by minimizing energy utilization and maximizing useful energy recovery from the sewage it
receives. The interim receiving station is scheduled to be completed in 2022.
The final biosolids product currently produced by the Sanitation District is anticipated to be largely
unaffected by the addition of food waste slurry. Pilot testing conducted by the Sanitation District
indicates that there will be increased gas production due to mixing sewage sludge and food waste feed
stock, but the final biosolids product will remain largely unchanged.
A draft Preliminary Design Report was issued in June 2019 for the interim receiving facility which
included a viability evaluation concluding that the project is economically justifiable based on project
costs and anticipated tipping fees. Final Design work has started and among other important items, the
tipping fee and food slurry specifications will be further refined and validated.
There are three large municipal solid waste haulers that have expressed interest in collaborating with
the Sanitation District to provide preprocessed food waste for digestion. Of these, two haulers are
located within the county and one is located outside the county. Another important partner for the
Sanitation District is Orange County Waste and Recycling (OCWR). The Sanitation District has met with
OCWR and they have expressed interest in partnering with the Sanitation District to find local solutions
to meet SB 1383’s organics diversion mandate including in-county biosolids management, composting,
food waste co-digestion, and biogas production.
Future Policy Statement
Food Waste Slurry
The Sanitation District will only accept a preprocessed food waste slurry. We do not have available land
or air permits to handle, sort, and process solid or green wastes. The Sanitation District will work with
other public agencies and waste haulers to develop an industry standard for food waste slurry that
specifies water, organic, metal, plastic, and glass content requirements. A common specification for
slurry will help all parties make investment decisions.
Food Waste Volume
The Sanitation District has identified available capacity within its infrastructure at Plant No. 2 to
accommodate food waste conversion to energy. The processes impacted by food waste conversion are
digestion, gas cleaning, gas compression, generation, process heating, biosolid dewatering and biosolids
loading. These impacted systems have the capacity to accept 150 to 250 wet tons per day for the next
ten years. Beyond ten years, the Sanitation District plans on upgrading its digestion, gas compression,
and gas treatment systems. Based on the lessons learned from the interim system and the development
of the food waste market, the Sanitation District plans to be able to accept up to 500 wet tons per day
when the new digestion, gas compression, and gas treatment systems are completed.
38 STRATEGIC PLAN NOVEMBER 2019
The Sanitation District believes that the full implementation of the current regulations will create a food
waste slurry market significantly greater than 500 wet tons per day in Southern California.
Tipping Fee Basis
The acceptance of food waste has the opportunity to more fully utilize the system capacity that already exists for the benefit of the Sanitation District’s rate payers.
The Sanitation District staff will develop a base tipping fee rate schedule for Board of Directors’ approval that meets the following criteria:
• Recover all capital costs to construct facilities within five years (this will allow the Sanitation District and waste haulers to properly invest in processing facilities);
• Recover all on-going costs including operating cost, maintenance cost, electricity usage, biosolids dewatering, and reuse costs;
• Food Waste will not be operated “for profit” but rather a cost recovered service with revenues offsetting rates and passed on to OCSD’s rate payers.
Food waste generated and processed within the service area will be charged the base rate and will be prioritized over food waste from outside the service area. This is justified by the fact that the underlying infrastructure of the Sanitation District is already owned by service area rate payers. The Sanitation District contracts with service area waste haulers must provide for a pass-through savings to the Sanitation District rate payers. That means waste haulers may charge for collection and processing of food waste but must disclose to their City or Special District franchise partner the Sanitation District’s tipping fees and negotiate pricing adjustments as necessary with City or Special District franchise partners.
If additional capacity exists, but isn’t utilized by in service area users, then that capacity may be contracted by out of service area users at a premium to help offset the cost of the underlying infrastructure necessary to process the food waste.
The Sanitation District will pursue grant opportunities to the extent possible to reduce the overall capital and operating cost basis for the program to reduce the tipping fee base rate.
Initiatives to Support Progress Toward the Policy Goal
• The Sanitation District will accept a preprocessed food waste slurry from contracted waste haulers
that will be fed to existing anaerobic digesters. The Sanitation District will charge a tipping fee to
offset its costs for capital construction, operations, handling, maintenance, and biosolids disposal.
• Design, build, and operate a food waste receiving station. Create a specification for food waste slurry
and contract with solid waste haulers to receive and process food waste.
39STRATEGIC PLAN NOVEMBER 2019
Water Reuse Policy
Summary Policy Statement
The Orange County Sanitation District (Sanitation District) will seek to beneficially reuse all reclaimable
water for potable, industrial, irrigation and environmental uses.
Background
For over 40 years, the Sanitation District and the Orange County Water District (OCWD) have partnered to
beneficially reuse treated wastewater from the Sanitation District. OCWD, which serves roughly the same
service area as the Sanitation District, manages and replenishes the groundwater basin in northern and
central Orange County, ensures water reliability and quality, prevents seawater intrusion, and protects
Orange County’s rights to Santa Ana River water.
Beginning in 1975, the Sanitation District contributed treated wastewater from its Plant No. 1 to OCWD
for the operation of Water Factory 21, which reclaimed the treated wastewater and injected it along
with deep well water into the groundwater basin to prevent seawater intrusion. In the mid-1990s, OCWD
needed to expand Water Factory 21. At the same time, the Sanitation District faced the challenge of
having to build a second ocean outfall pipe to discharge treated wastewater into the Pacific Ocean. Both agencies collaborated to build an advanced water purification facility to resolve these challenges. This state-of-the-art facility, known as the Groundwater Replenishment System (GWRS), took the place of Water Factory 21, and began operation in 2008. The GWRS treats secondary treated wastewater from the Sanitation District Plant No. 1 to drinking water standards and uses the purified water for both injection and percolation, through injection wells and recharge basins, as source water to replenish the groundwater basin’s drinking water supplies. With approximately 75 percent of the water demand in northern and central Orange County cities coming from the groundwater basin, GWRS supplements existing water supplies by providing a new, reliable, high-quality source of water.
While the original GWRS facility was initially constructed to supply up to 70 million gallons per day (MGD) of purified water, the facility was designed for an ultimate treatment and conveyance capacity of 130 MGD. The original GWRS design intent was to expand the GWRS facility in two phases — an initial and a final expansion of an additional 30 MGD of treatment capacity with each expansion. The GWRS Initial Expansion Project was completed in June 2015 and has been producing up to 100 MGD of purified water for groundwater injection and recharge. The Final Expansion of GWRS is scheduled to be completed in 2023 and will produce the maximum capacity of 130 MGD.
In addition to providing treated wastewater to the GWRS, the Sanitation District also provides treated water to OCWD’s Green Acres Project, which provides recycled water for landscape irrigation at parks, schools, and golf courses; and industrial uses, such as carpet dying; toilet flushing; and power generation cooling.
Current Situation
The GWRS currently produces 100 million gallons per day of purified water — enough water for about 850,000 people. All of the Sanitation District’s Plant No. 1 secondary effluent, between 120-130 MGD, is sent to OCWD for the GWRS and Green Acres Project. However, secondary effluent from the Sanitation District’s Plant No. 2 and other non-reclaimable flows, such as brine from inland desalters and GWRS’s reverse osmosis process, and the Sanitation District’s process sidestreams, continue to be released into the ocean.
In 2016, the Sanitation District and OCWD jointly conducted the Effluent Reuse Study, which evaluated the feasibility of recycling the Sanitation District’s secondary effluent from Plant No. 2 and identified projects required to achieve the final expansion of the GWRS. The GWRS final expansion effort will include implementation of projects to construct new, modified or rehabilitated facilities at Plant No. 2 to separate reclaimable flows from non-reclaimable flows; to equalize, pump, and convey secondary effluent from the Sanitation District’s Plant No. 2 to the GWRS facility; and to treat the additional source water to produce 130 MGD of purified water.
40 STRATEGIC PLAN NOVEMBER 2019
Reverse Osmosis brine generated at the GWRS Initial Expansion is currently discharged into the ocean.
The 2016 Effluent Reuse Study identified alternative brine management strategies such as evaporation
ponds, deep well injection, and engineered wetlands. Evaporation ponds are land intensive and are also
energy intensive when combined with a brine crystallizer to remove solids from highly concentrated
brine system using heat and pressure. While the areas around both the Sanitation District treatment
plants have the appropriate geology for brine injection, there are concerns with contamination of
drinking water aquifers, and seismic risks due to the Newport-Inglewood zones near Plant No. 2. At this
time, it does not appear economically feasible to provide alternative management strategies for the
brine discharge.
In November 2016, the Sanitation District Board of Directors adopted the Second Amended and
Restated Joint Exercise of Powers Agreement for the Development, Operation and Maintenance of
the Groundwater Replenishment System and Green Acres Project, which committed the agency to
continue supporting the GWRS and the Green Acres Project, and specifically, the final expansion of the
GWRS. The implementation of the final phase of the expansion will be executed by multiple projects,
some executed by the Sanitation District while the others executed by OCWD. Project costs related to
GWRS are funded by OCWD, including $50 million reimbursement to the Sanitation District for its costs
incurred to execute related projects.
By supporting the GWRS Final Expansion, the Sanitation District will be able to recycle all reclaimable
wastewater generated in its service area and treated at its two treatment plants, and OCWD will have
sufficient water to run the GWRS facility to full capacity.
Future Policy Statement
The treated effluent produced from the Sanitation District’s Plant Nos. 1 and 2 is a valuable resource
that can help boost local water resources and reduce dependence on imported water, while reducing
the effluent discharged to the ocean. The Sanitation District will continue to seek opportunities for
beneficial reuse of all reclaimable wastewater collected and treated at its facilities.
The Sanitation District will continue to support the completion of the final expansion of the GWRS in
accordance to the adopted Second Amended and Restated Joint Exercise of Powers Agreement for the
Development, Operation and Maintenance of the Groundwater Replenishment System and Green Acres
Project. This includes providing secondary effluent as source water for GWRS free of charge; allowing
OCWD to discharge brine via the Sanitation District’s ocean outfall free of charge; leasing approximately
10 acres of land to OCWD at $1 per year for the GWRS Final Expansion project; allowing OCWD to
discharge North and South Basin extraction well flows to the Sanitation District sewers; managing
the design and construction efforts of the Plant No. 2 Headworks Modifications Project and the Plant
Water Pump Station Replacement Project (OCWD will reimburse up to $50 million of project cost);
managing and financing the construction of the Ocean Outfall Low Flow Pump Station at Plant No. 2
and the construction of Plant No. 2 primary and secondary facilities to allow segregation of
non-reclaimable flows.
The Sanitation District will continue to maximize the delivery of secondary effluent available to GWRS
and the Green Acres Project in order to maximize full production of purified recycled water for indirect
potable reuse, and industrial and irrigational uses. The Sanitation District has been operating the Steve
Anderson Lift Station to divert more flows to Plant No. 1. The two agencies regularly communicate and
coordinate the Sanitation District operations and construction projects that may have impacts on GWRS
operation and will continue this collaboration effort.
The Sanitation District has adequate flow to maximize the production of the GWRS through final
expansion. Diversion of additional non-wastewater into the sewer system is unnecessary. Non-
wastewater diversions create high flow risks during wet weather conditions and can introduce
constituents of concern to existing water and biosolid reuse programs.
41STRATEGIC PLAN NOVEMBER 2019
Initiatives to Support Progress Toward the Policy Goal
• Support the completion of the final phase of the Groundwater Replenishment System and maximize
reclaimable wastewater availability to the Orange County Water District.
• Support Green Acres project water production to provide reclaimed water for industrial and
irrigation uses.
42 STRATEGIC PLAN NOVEMBER 2019
Environmental Water Quality, Stormwater Management and Urban Runoff Policy
Summary Policy Statement
The Orange County Sanitation District (Sanitation District) will partner with storm water permittees to
accept up to ten million gallons per day of dry weather urban runoff at no charge in order to improve water
quality in streams, rivers and beaches as long as the constituents within the flow do not adversely impact
the Sanitation District’s worker safety, treatment processes, reuse initiatives, or permit compliance. The
Sanitation District facilities are subject to significant flow increases during wet weather events and are not
capable of accepting stormwater flow volumes.
Background
The Sanitation District’s wastewater collection system is designed to be wholly separate from the
region’s stormwater systems, also referred to as storm sewers and/or storm drains. The Sanitation
District implements a system-specific Sewer System Management Plan in compliance with the California
Statewide General Waste Discharge Requirements for Sanitary Sewer Systems, Water Quality Order No.
2006-0003-DWQ. In the Sanitation District’s service area, most local sanitary sewer systems are owned
by city municipalities and discharge into the Sanitation District -owned regional sewers. Similarly, many
stormwater systems are also owned and maintained at the local level, referred to as municipal separate
storm sewer systems or MS4. These publicly owned conveyances or a system of conveyances are designed
to collect/convey stormwater, are not combined with sanitary sewers, and not part of the sewage
treatment works. Stormwater runoff is water generated from precipitation events that flows over land or
impervious surfaces including streets, parking lots, and building rooftops — this water does not return to
groundwater basins, because it does not soak into the ground. This runoff accumulates pollutants from
transportation, construction, industrial, and residential sources that can include trash or other solid waste,
chemicals, oil, and other sediments. MS4 stormwater that is not captured for reuse, typically discharges
into regional systems, most notably flood control channels (e.g. the Santa Ana River), that subsequently
flow to the ocean and are regulated by the National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System (NPDES) that
also regulates the Sanitation District’s discharge to the ocean.
Due to the design and operation of local and regional sanitary sewers, there is not system capacity to
allow ‘wet weather’ stormwater discharges to the sewer. Excessive flows into the sewer beyond its design
capacity can lead to sanitary sewer overflows (also called SSOs), spills, and potential sewage backups. The
Santa Ana River can provide massive storm-flow capacity at approximately 22,000 cubic feet per second
(cfs) of water, and the Delhi Channel at 325 cfs, as compared to the peak wet weather flow for both the
Sanitation District Plant Nos. 1 and 2 combine to less than 1,000 cfs — much of which is utilized for sanitary
sewer service at all times. During ‘dry weather’, stormwater systems collect flow from ‘dry weather urban
runoff’ activities, such as residential or industrial use, irrigation, water released from previous precipitation,
among others. Most sanitary sewer systems are gravity draining, that is, most non-industrial facilities
passively drain to the sewer and do not typically take action to commence discharge of wastewater. As a
result, it’s important that facilities are constructed in such a way that they will not drain active stormwater
or urban runoff flow to the sewer, especially during rain. Additionally, stormwater best management
practices (BMPs) typically dictate that the generation of contaminated stormwater should be mitigated
through proper facility design including berms and grading.
The Sanitation District’s Wastewater Discharge Regulations Ordinance, which sets quality standards and
requirements for facilities discharging to the Sanitation District, includes language to prohibit sewer
users from discharging groundwater, stormwater, surface runoff, or subsurface drainage to the sewer
without written authorization or a permit issued for such a purpose. In addition to the concerns related
to insufficient capacity in the Sanitation District’s sewer collection system, there is a concern that
uncontrolled discharge to the sewer from these types of systems can introduce pollutants that may cause
issues in the Sanitation District’s treatment and reclamation plants, discharge to the ocean, or affect the
agency’s ability to recycle water or reuse biosolids. The Sanitation District’s Ordinance was recently revised
43STRATEGIC PLAN NOVEMBER 2019
to clarify these restrictions and include a prohibition on drainage from non-domestic surface and floor
drains to address these types of uncontrolled discharges.
However, given the public health and environmental protection issues that may arise from runoff-
carried pollutants being transferred into the Sanitation District’s coastal beaches and waters, in April
2000 the Sanitation District initiated a permitting program to assist in the economical and practical
control of these pollutants during dry weather conditions.
Following the Sanitation District’s sponsored legislation (AB 1892), the Sanitation District’s charter
was amended to authorize the Board of Directors to adopt Resolution No. 00-04 establishing a dry
season urban runoff policy that allowed local agencies to obtain a Dry Weather Urban Runoff Permit to
discharge to the Sanitation District. Agencies could apply for this permit type where there was not an
economically or practically feasible alternative (i.e. discharge to storm drain, reclamation/reuse, etc.) to
discharging dry weather urban runoff to the sewer, and the discharger met other conditions including
complying with the Sanitation District’s Wastewater Discharge Regulations Ordinance.
In September 2000, the Sanitation District modified the Dry Weather Urban Runoff Policy (Resolution No.
00-22) to cap discharges received to ten million gallons per day (MGD). Furthermore, the policy revision
established the waiving of fees associated with the program until discharges exceeded four MGD, or
until the policy underwent future revisions. There were a number of other modifications to the policy
that added facility and compliance requirements for Dry Weather Urban Runoff permittees.
The Sanitation District Board Resolution No. 01-07, adopted in March 2001, added language to the
policy clarifying conditions in which the Sanitation District would and would not be indemnified against
liability associated with diversion systems. Indemnification is a critical component of Dry Weather Urban
Runoff agreements necessary to address the risks posed to the Sanitation District associated with water
quality, flooding, trash, infrastructure damage, and other concerns. In June 2013, the Sanitation District’s
current policy was established when Resolution No. 13-09 was adopted. This included a revision where
upon reaching a dry weather urban runoff influent rate of nine MGD, the Sanitation District will take
action to reevaluate the policy.
In addition to Dry Weather Urban Runoff Permits, the Sanitation District’s Ordinance allows for
normally prohibited wastes such as groundwater, stormwater, surface runoff, and subsurface drainage
to be discharged to the Sanitation District as authorized through a Special Purpose Discharge Permit
or written authorization from the Sanitation District; only when no alternate method of disposal is
reasonably available or to mitigate an environmental risk or health hazard.
The Dry Weather Urban Runoff and Special Purpose Discharge permit programs are intended to assist
in the protection of public health and the environment by routing contaminated discharges into the
Sanitation District’s treatment and reclamation plants. For example, the toxic amounts of selenium
in the Upper Newport Bay Watershed have resulted in regulatory requirements to remove selenium
loadings from upstream creeks and channels to protect downstream aquatic life. For dry weather urban
runoff discharges, the Sanitation District is able to accommodate certain waste streams that mitigate
these hazards. However, the Sanitation District treatment and reclamation plants also have limitations
on the loading of pollutants that can be discharged to them — particularly because traditional
sewage treatment plants are not designed to remove toxic pollutants, but are designed to remove
the conventional pollutants typically found in wastewater generated from normal sanitary uses. The
Sanitation District’s Ordinance dictates that permitted users, such as Dry Weather Urban Runoff or
Special Purpose Discharge users, must comply with numeric effluent limit standards for toxic pollutants.
Continuing the example from above, discharges must meet a selenium effluent limit of 3.9 milligrams
per liter (mg/L), a derived value based on the compliance standard, the Sanitation District is held
accountable in order to reuse biosolids. In this example, the Sanitation District may choose to issue a
permit to mitigate a public health or environmental concern, but must do so in such a way as to also
address the potential impact on the Sanitation District’s plants and its reuse initiatives — with permit
numeric limits and conditions.
44 STRATEGIC PLAN NOVEMBER 2019
Current Situation
As of June 2019, the Sanitation District maintains 21 active Dry Weather Urban Runoff Permits for diversions owned and operated by the City of Huntington Beach, the City of Newport Beach, OC Public
Works, Irvine Ranch Water District, and a LLC responsible for the areas in and around Pelican Point
community. For the June to December 2018 reporting period, the Sanitation District received an average
of 1.03 MGD from these facilities, well below the current ten MGD policy cap and nine MGD action
threshold. Since the program’s inception in 2000, the Dry Weather Urban Runoff Program has treated
9.4 billion gallons of dry weather urban runoff. The success of this program is captured succinctly in
reviewing the Heal the Bay 2018-2019 Beach Report Card. Heal the Bay is an environmental non-profit
organization focused on coastal water and watershed quality, and reported that 92 percent of beaches
in Orange County received an ‘A’ rating during summer dry weather conditions — some the Sanitation
District -service area beaches made the report card ‘honor roll’ with an A+ rating. It should be noted
that this overall rating is negatively impacted by south Orange County beaches that are not in the
Sanitation District’s service area.
Both the permitted Dry Weather Urban Runoff users and the Sanitation District staff collect samples
from Dry Weather Urban Runoff facilities (during dry season discharge) on a semi-annual basis to
evaluate compliance with pollutant limits establish in the Sanitation District’s Ordinance.
Periodically, the Sanitation District works with other organizations and industries that have intentionally
or unintentionally captured stormwater or runoff on-site and seek guidance on disposing of the water.
The Sanitation District may authorize such a discharge request where: there is adequate capacity,
wastewater meets applicable effluent discharge standards, there is no practical alternative method
of disposal, and the wastewater is captured and held until it can be released to the sewer apart
from a high-capacity or storm event. The Sanitation District can utilize written authorizations, special
conditions on an existing wastewater discharge permit, or a Special Purpose Discharge Permit — issued
for planned short-or-long-term discharges. In other instances, the Sanitation District has observed
unauthorized stormwater connections to the sewer during routine inspections of facilities and worked
with the dischargers to mitigate these to prevent potential overflow conditions.
Special discharges described above, where acceptable through a Special Purpose Discharge Permit or
written authorization, are not included in the ten MGD allowance under the Dry Weather Urban Runoff
program.
Key Issues for the Future
Under the current policy, the Sanitation District has the capacity to accept additional dry weather
urban runoff flows (up to ten MGD), however, this allotted capacity is not typically the limiting factor
in increasing the volume of runoff diverted to the Sanitation District. As Dry Weather Urban Runoff
diversion projects are initiated and funded at the local municipality level, capital support for such
projects can be limited. Without funding and operational support from a public agency that has
jurisdiction and authority over surface water runoff and wastewater, this water cannot be diverted.
Diversion systems must be pumped (not gravity-fed) into the Sanitation District’s collection system to
ensure the necessary level of control. Furthermore, diversions cannot be implemented just anywhere. In
order for the Sanitation District to accept this dry weather runoff water, the supporting sewer hydraulic
capacity and infrastructure must already be in place at the specific location where the gravity diversion
exists. Otherwise constructing new Sanitation District facilities to convey diverted waters would require
a significant capital investment from the Sanitation District and its rate-payers. In short, acceptance
of dry weather runoff must be evaluated based on the site-specific capacity of the Sanitation District’s
collection system, i.e. the hydraulic capacity of a specific interceptor/sewer trunkline. In addition,
where the intention is to also recycle this runoff water as well as divert it from the Sanitation District’s
coastal beaches and waters, it must be routed to the Sanitation District’s Plant No. 1 facility in Fountain
Valley where it can discharge to OCWD’s Groundwater Replenishment System (GWRS). At present, the
Sanitation District’s Plant No. 2 facility does not discharge wastewater to GWRS for recycling, and the
majority of existing dry weather urban runoff facilities discharge to Plant No. 2.
45STRATEGIC PLAN NOVEMBER 2019
The Sanitation District is working to divert the majority of Plant No. 2 influent wastewater to GWRS,
however, the expected completion date of this project is not until 2023. It should be noted that the
recycling capacity of GWRS is not unlimited and the plan to divert wastewater from Plant No. 2 is
expected to provide the near maximum level of influent to GWRS. Therefore, the Sanitation District
is not in a position to accept additional wastewater for recycling, and the notion that stormwater is
necessary to augment GWRS influent is not a valid assumption.
Given the above conditions, to expand the current programs to a larger-scale stormwater/rain-event
capture and discharge program, means an investment for stormwater-authority agencies to build water
storage systems in addition to existing or new diversion systems.
The regional benefit for such an initiative would be the increased capture and recycling of water
that would otherwise be discharged to the ocean. The potential risk to the Sanitation District and its
reuse initiatives from pollutants in stormwater and runoff would be directly impacted by our agency’s
future ability to control these wastes — that is permit, inspect, and monitor discharging facilities, and
when warranted — enact enforcement to ensure compliance with the Sanitation District’s Wastewater
Discharge Regulations Ordinance. To protect the Sanitation District, this means issuing stringent
requirements on discharges or suspending a discharge when an existing or potential sewer user
does not meet a compliance obligation. Moreover, the Sanitation District will only be able to accept
stormwater and runoff discharges that can be captured and held beyond storm events, and where that
water can be adequately evaluated before being released for discharge into the Sanitation District’s
system.
The financial impact for the Sanitation District would translate to capital and operational costs where
the Sanitation District is involved in the construction and maintenance of facilities to support these
diversion systems. In addition, a larger-scale stormwater/rain-event capture and discharge program
most certainly will require an investment in additional Sanitation District staff in the workgroup that
oversees the current permitting programs.
The larger question, beyond the scope of this white paper, is to evaluate at a regional level whether
stormwater capture from a rain event will provide an additional source of water significant enough
to offset the costs to capture this water and temporarily store it until it can be reused, including the
associated infrastructure, staff, and other public resources this would require; and considering the
intrinsic restrictions of the current sewer system, GWRS limitations, and the potential risks posed to the
Sanitation District’s existing water and biosolid reuse initiatives.
Initiatives to Support Progress Toward the Policy Goal
In accordance with Resolution No. 13-09, the Sanitation District intends to continue accepting up to
ten million gallons per day of pumped dry weather urban runoff diversion where existing conveyance
capacity exists, and the constituents of the flow will not adversely impact the Sanitation District. The
Sanitation District also intends to continue working with industries, agencies, and other facilities to
offer alternatives to stormwater and runoff disposal through special purpose discharge permits or
other written authorization in accordance with the Sanitation District’s Ordinance, where doing so does
not negatively affect the Sanitation District’s operation or compliance with local, state, and federal
regulations, and wastewater can be held for evaluation prior to discharge.
Additionally, to act as a regional partner in resolving issues associated with disposing of and reusing
stormwater, the Sanitation District intends to work with local jurisdictions to determine the feasibility of
regional wet weather runoff capture, storage, and use projects.
• Issue dry weather urban runoff connection permits up to a total of ten million gallons per day to
other service area local agencies to accept pumped dry weather urban runoff flows where existing
conveyance capacity exists, and the constituents of the flow will not adversely impact the
Sanitation District.
46 STRATEGIC PLAN NOVEMBER 2019
• Continue working with industries, facilities, agencies, and local jurisdictions that have authority over
stormwater or surface water runoff to determine the feasibility of regional wet weather runoff capture,
storage, and use projects or offer alternatives to stormwater and runoff disposal through permits or
other written authorization. The Sanitation District will promote responsible stormwater utilization
and sewer protection, where doing so does not negatively affect the Sanitation District’s operation or
compliance with local, state, and federal regulations, and wastewater can be held for evaluation prior
to discharge.
47STRATEGIC PLAN NOVEMBER 2019
Wastewater Management
48 STRATEGIC PLAN NOVEMBER 2019
Chemical Sustainability Policy
Summary Policy Statement
The Orange County Sanitation District (Sanitation District) has a need to use chemicals in its treatment
process to improve plant performance, reduce odor and corrosion potential, and meet its regulatory
requirements. These commodity chemicals are provided by outside vendors through the purchasing
process. Some of these chemicals are subject to price swings due to market condition changes such as energy cost impacts, raw material cost changes, commercial competition changes, and transportation cost volitility. The Sanitation District will identify chemicals key to its operation, investigate the market risks for those chemicals and devise strategies to mitigate identified risks to availability and pricing.
Background
The Orange County Sanitation District (Sanitation District) treatment plants and collection system use
several bulk chemicals. A sustainable supply of these chemicals is critical to maintaining an acceptable level of treatment and for ensuring compliance with all regulatory requirements. The Sanitation District spends about $13 million annually on the procurement of eight key chemicals which generally can be broken down into four categories: coagulants, odor/corrosion control, disinfection, and boiler water treatment. Boiler water treatment chemicals are low volume and readily available and will not be considered here.
Coagulant Chemicals
Coagulant chemicals include ferric chloride, anionic polymer, and cationic polymer. These chemicals are the workhorses of the sewage treatment process. Coagulant chemicals work to clump together organic material so it can more readily be separated from water. Ferric chloride is the first chemical added in the treatment process. It is a powerful settling agent that causes organics to clump together and settle to the bottom of primary basins. It is a double-duty chemical in that it also controls the formation of hydrogen sulfide gas, which is a major odorant, by binding to suspended sulphur compounds and causing them to settle before they can be converted by natural bacterial processes to hydrogen sulfide.
Ferric chloride is an iron salt that is produced by reacting iron with hydrochloric acid. It is generally a byproduct of steel treatment, a leftover pickling agent. Ferric chloride is commonly used in the water and wastewater industries. Historically, this chemical has been the subject of a limited supplier base in Southern California. The Sanitation District has been actively splitting supply contracts to multiple vendors to ensure multiple vendors are available. On-site generation of the chemical is impractical due to the hazardous nature of the manufacturing process and acid handling, the bulk steel handing logistics, and waste products disposal.
Anionic polymer works with ferric chloride to further aid in the coagulation or settling of organic compounds in the primary treatment process. These long-chain molecules are designed to be negatively charged to attract or collect positively charged ferric chloride induced organic clumps or flocculant. The use of ferric chloride and anionic polymer is called Chemically Enhanced Primary Treatment or CEPT. The Sanitation District has been using CEPT for more than thirty years.
Anionic polymers are specially designed chains with many potential variants and multiple vendors. Part of the purchasing process for polymers involves polymer trials to document the efficacy of different products from different vendors to get the best cost-performance balance.
Cationic polymer is generally used to thicken sludge or biosolids in centrifuges or dissolved air floatation thickeners (DAFT). These long-chained, positively charged molecules are essential to the proper operation of centrifuges and DAFT units. Part of the purchasing process for these polymers also involves polymer trials to document the efficacy of different products from different vendors to get the best cost-performance balance. It is important to note that it is entirely possible that four different cationic polymers will be used to optimize the performance of Plant No. 1 dewatering centrifuges, Plant No. 1 thickening centrifuges, Plant No. 2 dewater centrifuges, and Plant No. 2 DAFTs, because the performance can vary greatly depending on the equipment or process. Each process will have its own polymer trial to determine the cost-performance balance for each application.
49STRATEGIC PLAN NOVEMBER 2019
Odor Control Chemicals
The Sanitation District uses several chemicals in the collection system and the treatment plant to reduce the odors normally attributed to sewage and sewage treatment. These chemicals can either
prevent the formation of odor causing compound, called odorants, or they can destroy odorants that
already exist. Chemicals that prevent the formation of odorants include ferrous chloride, calcium
nitrate, magnesium hydroxide, and caustic.
Chemicals used in the collection systems tend to be more benign than chemicals used in the treatment
plants due to their proximity to the public. Ferrous chloride is closely related to Ferric chloride as
described above. It is a powerful settling agent that prevents the formation of hydrogen sulfide by tying
up and settling sulfide compounds in the collection system. It is a preferred chemical because of its
dual role, but it isn’t as benign as other choices.
Calcium nitrate is another choice for collection system odor control. It works in a different way. Calcium
nitrate alters the biological equilibrium in sewage. Generally, bacteria that live by respirating oxygen
are the most robust organisms, followed by nitrogen respirating bacteria, and finally sulfur respirating
bacteria. Adding calcium nitrate to sewage creates an environment where sulfur loving bacteria don’t
thrive or create hydrogen sulfide.
Magnesium hydroxide is a third choice for collection system odor control. It works primarily by raising
the pH of sewage to a point that is not conducive for odor causing bacteria to thrive. Magnesium
hydroxide is the most benign of the chemical choices as it is the main ingredient in Milk of Magnesia.
All three of these chemicals are continuously fed into sewer systems at different points to consistently
control the formation of odorants in the system. Where the Sanitation District doesn’t have the ability to
site a chemical dosing station and persistent odors are being experienced, there is the option to utilize
caustic slug dosing. Caustic slug dosing involves using tanker trucks to discharge up to 6,000 gallons of
sodium hydroxide into a sewer manhole structure. The very high pH has the effect of killing the bio-
slime layer on sewer pipes that creates hydrogen sulfide. This treatment has an instant benefit that
reduces hydrogen sulfide production for days to weeks depending on system conditions.
The final major odor fighting chemical is bleach. Bleach is used in treatment plant chemical scrubbers
to oxidize odorants in air scrubber units. Bleach is an effective neutralizer of hydrogen sulfide, methyl
mercaptan, methyl disulfide, dimethyl disulfide, and many others.
Disinfection
The Sanitation District successfully discontinued disinfection of its effluent to the long outfall.
This means that thousands of gallons of bleach and sodium bisulfate are no longer required to
be purchased or discharged to the ocean. However, in the event of a discharge to the short outfall
or river overflow, disinfection by bleach will be required. Significant on-site storage of bleach and
dechlorination chemical, sodium bisulfite, is necessary for this emergency contingency.
Bleach does have a shelf life of about six months. The Sanitation District rotates its disinfection supply
to its odor control and plant water treatment systems to prevent product waste.
Process Specific Chemicals
The Sanitation District uses pure oxygen to support its activated sludge secondary treatment process
for Plant No. 2. The Sanitation District previously self-generated pure oxygen using a cryogenic oxygen
plant rated at 70 tons per day. This plant was removed because it was inefficient at the current average
utilization of 35 tons per day and was at the end of its useful life. The Sanitation District contracts for
delivery of liquid oxygen and uses a vaporization system to deliver pure gaseous oxygen to the activated
sludge process.
50 STRATEGIC PLAN NOVEMBER 2019
Chemical Supply — Purchase vs. Make
The Sanitation District has relied on purchasing bulk commodity chemicals for its treatment plants and collection system. This has proven to be an effective strategy for operational flexibility and to
allow concentration on core business. Operationally, the types and volume of chemicals change over
time. Over time the types of polymers that are most efficient change. There is a need for more or less
volume of chemicals based on sewage flow, sewage quantity, and flow splits between plants. Managing
the generation of specialized chemicals using hazardous materials imposes a significant training
burden on staff, increases the regulatory oversight and requirements, and increases overall risk to the
organization.
The Sanitation District has maintained a policy to split the volume of orders between two vendors to
assure competition exists in the marketplace for ferric chloride. While the Sanitation District generally
cooperates with other public agencies to pool purchasing power to secure the lowest possible cost
through high volume purchasing, some specialty chemicals like ferric chloride require split orders to
maintain competitive market forces.
Current Situation
The Sanitation District is constantly changing and improving its facilities to meet new challenges.
Each of the facility changes offer new opportunities to reconsider how the Sanitation District operates
its processes and how chemicals are used. The best chemical stability outcome is to cost-effectively
eliminate the use of the chemical. This is the strategy behind cessation of bleach disinfection of the
outfall effluent.
Staff are in the process of studying the potential to operate the treatment plants differently to
minimize or eliminate use of selected chemicals. Facilities like centrifuge sludge thickening provide
new opportunities to adjust ferric chloride and anionic polymer usage. Opportunities for substitute
chemicals will be explored to understand overall cost and efficiency savings potential. This includes
iron vs. aluminum coagulant studies, anionic polymer trials, and cationic polymer trials. Staff will also
reevaluate operating parameters such as in-basin sludge co-thickening, primary basin sludge blanket
level parameters, as well as the greater loading of the secondary treatment systems.
When optimized chemical types and dosages are confirmed, staff will review the market conditions for
each important chemical. This will serve as the basis for a procurement strategy for each chemical.
Future Policy Statement
The Sanitation District will thoroughly understand its treatment processes, the potential modes of
operation, and the benefit and cost of chemicals to improve or stabilize its process. The Sanitation
District will create a list of necessary chemicals for optimal treatment operations which will consider
chemical cost, chemical availability, treatment stability, energy utilization, energy creation, nuisance
odor control, biosolids generation/cost, and regulatory permit compliance risks.
Chemicals that are deemed most beneficial will be procured at the lowest overall cost from market
providers to the extent possible. Where there are market stability concerns, the purchasing division
will devise procurement strategies to mitigate procurement risks. Where procurement risk cannot be
satisfactorily mitigated, technical staff will evaluate alternatives such as alternate operating methods,
substitute chemical usage, or on-site generation of a chemical if feasible.
Initiatives to Support Progress Toward the Policy Goal
• Reduce reliance on any particular chemical or vendor and establish flexibility to utilize other
chemicals/processes to accomplish the same operational objectives.
• Update the Sanitation District’s Chemical Sustainability Study and incorporate the results in future
procurement recommendations.
51STRATEGIC PLAN NOVEMBER 2019
Biosolids Management Policy
Summary Policy Statement
The Orange County Sanitation District (Sanitation District) will remain committed to a sustainable
biosolids program and will beneficially reuse biosolids in accordance with Resolution No. OCSD 13-03
and the 2017 Biosolids Master Plan.
Background
Wastewater solids at both our treatment plants are separated, thickened, digested, and dewatered
before being recycled offsite by contractors for composting and land application. Biogas created from
the digesters is used to generate electricity to offset the need to purchase power from a local utility.
The Sanitation District currently receives sewage sludge from the Irvine Ranch Water District at Plant
No. 1, which is scheduled to cease by 2021 when Irvine Ranch Water District completes their own solids
treatment facility.
Prior to 2019, the Sanitation District produced an average of 800 wet tons per day (~20% solids) of Class
B biosolids dewatered by belt press units. Presently, with the construction and commissioning of co-
thickening sludge and dewatering centrifuges, the Sanitation District has been producing approximately 500-600 wet tons per day (25%-29% solids) with biosolids hauling cost savings of approximately $200,000-400,000/month due to the reduction in volume.
The Sanitation District‘s biosolids program is shaped by federal, state, and local regulations and by the Sanitation District’s biosolids policy (Board Resolution 13-03), our biosolids management system, and the 2017 Biosolids Master Plan (Plan). The Sanitation District manages a high quality biosolids program built on a solid policy that emphasizes the diversification of product markets for Class A and B biosolids utilized as a soil amendment for agriculture and horticulture uses. The policy also sets direction to seek opportunities in emerging markets such as biosolids-to-energy technologies to produce renewable energy in the form of biogas or used as a heating value source.
These marketing principles are aligned and supported by the Plan, which provides the Sanitation District a roadmap and framework for reliable and sustainable biosolids management options while minimizing cost. In addition, the Plan sets future capital facilities improvements over a 20-year planning horizon. The Sanitation District will be implementing the Plan to develop a capital improvement project for Plant No. 2 that will result in a major change to the Sanitation District’s biosolids program; namely, the construction of new mesophilic and thermophilic digesters that will generate Class A biosolids beginning in 2030. These new digesters are needed for operational resiliency against seismic events. Plant No. 1 will continue to produce Class B biosolids.
The Plan evaluated end-use management alternatives for the Sanitation District’s biosolids. This work supports the Sanitation District’s biosolids policy and has taken into account the regulatory initiatives imposed on organic management in California as explained below. The Plan established a roadmap for the Sanitation District’s commitment to beneficial use of its biosolids. The biosolids management portfolio for the Sanitation District is expected to remain similar to the overall current biosolids management end use options as it is today. Currently about half of the annual biosolids production is going to composting (CA and AZ) and half going to Class B land application in Arizona.
The significant shift will begin when the Sanitation District starts reliably generating Class A biosolids at Plant No. 2. Although this is more than 10 years away, the Plan has identified early planning efforts on future end uses which include:
• Emerging markets: This end use refers to either markets in which biosolids have not been tested in California at this time (e.g. land reclamation) or emerging-technology solutions (e.g. biosolids gasification, supercritical oxidation, fluidized bed combustion, cement kiln drying, pyrolysis etc.).
• Soil blending: This option involves working or partnering with local soil blenders to deliver and blend Class A biosolids with soil to produce a soil amendment.
52 STRATEGIC PLAN NOVEMBER 2019
• Arizona land application: Land application in Arizona will continue to be a part of the Sanitation
District’s overall biosolids program and serves as a large-capacity outlet for biosolids management.
• California land application: While Class A compost and granules are currently land-applied in
California, land application of Class A cake is still restricted in most counties. However, it is
anticipated that the implementation of California’s organics diversion mandates will loosen local land
applications restrictions.
This programmatic framework described above has led to a reliable and sustainable biosolids
management program that is designed for the beneficial use of the Sanitation District’s biosolids
through the utilization of diverse biosolids management options using multiple biosolids contractors,
markets, and merchant facilities, while maintaining a failsafe backup capacity of at least 100 percent
of the Sanitation District’s daily biosolids tonnage. This forethought is necessary due to the flux of
regulatory, environmental, market, and financial factors that poses potential risks to the biosolids
management in California.
Current Situation
The legislative and regulatory landscapes in California are changing regarding organic management. For
the past 15 years, direct land application of Class B biosolids has been predominately prohibited due to
strict local ordinances and conditional use requirements, which preempts state recycling laws. However,
in recent years there has been a need for organics diversion from landfills, healthy soils, renewable
energy, and reduction of Green House Gases (GHGs), which are reflected in several important bills (laws)
and initiatives that have been adopted:
• AB 1826 (2014) - Mandatory Organics Recycling for Businesses.
• SB 1383 (2016) - 50% organics diversion from landfill by 2020 and 75% by 2025, which includes
biosolids and mandatory organics procurement (compost and biogas) for impacted jurisdiction.
• SB 32 (2016) - 40% Reduction GHG below 1990 levels by 2030
• SB 100 (2018) - 50% renewable resources (i.e. anaerobic co-digestion of food waste) target by
December 31, 2026, and to achieve a 60% target by December 31, 2030
• Increasing soil carbon and carbon sequestration under the Healthy Soils Initiative and Forest Carbon
Plan.
These measures are expanding “organic waste markets,” thereby stimulating interest in siting more
composting facilities and organic waste-to-energy projects and encouraging soil blending and direct
land application of biosolids, opening opportunities for wastewater treatment plants such as the
Sanitation District to locally manage more biosolids. Regulatory agencies such as the State Water
Resource Control Board, CalRecycle, California Department of Food and Agriculture, California Air
Resources Board, and California Energy Commission are developing regulations to implement the new
laws. During the rule making process, the Sanitation District has been actively involved through the
California Association of Sanitation Agencies (CASA) and the Southern California Alliance of POTWs
(SCAP), advocating regulators to open more biosolids management options in California. In particular,
the proposed regulations for SB 1383 will require jurisdictions such as cities and counties to procure
recycled organics such as compost and biogas for beneficial use. This organic market will provide
opportunities for regional public and/or private partnerships for biosolids management options.
Although there is growing interest in California for organics management, there has also been a rising
concern from the regulatory community regarding emerging contaminants such as polyfluoroalkyl
substances (PFAS) and microplastics that may have some potential impact to the wastewater sector.
Although to date there are no regulatory limits of these contaminants in biosolids or wastewater in
California, the Sanitation District has been actively monitoring the development of the science and
regulation concerning these emerging concerns.
53STRATEGIC PLAN NOVEMBER 2019
Future Policy Statement
As the regulatory landscape shapes to stimulate organic waste markets in California, the Sanitation District seeks to leverage its memberships with various industry associations to advocate local, state,
and federal agencies to assure biosolids proposed regulations encourage the beneficial use of biosolids
as a soil amendment, renewable energy, and a healthy end-use market. The Sanitation District also
leverages its memberships to monitor the development of initiatives related to constituents of emerging
concern that may impact the beneficial use of biosolids. The Sanitation District’s leadership role in
these organizations enables us to have a greater influence in key regional, state, and national issues.
The Sanitation District seeks to stay abreast of developments in organic waste markets as they develop
in California. The Sanitation District seeks both public and private partnerships with regional biosolids
management opportunities including new innovative technology options that convert biosolids to
energy and other biosolids recycling operations. This is consistent with the Sanitation District’s biosolids
policy and plan. To accomplish this, the Sanitation District will issue a request for information (RFI) to
research and evaluate available emerging market such as biosolids-to-energy options or other biosolids
recycling operations within a 200-mile radius of the Sanitation District to potentially develop a scope of
work and minimum requirements for a future contract solicitation.
Consistent with the Sanitation District’s Plan, staff will seek to collaborate with OC Waste and Recycling
(OCWR) for regional biosolids management opportunities as well as partnering with OCWR to find local
solutions to meet SB 1383’s organics diversion mandates, including in-county biosolids utilization,
composting, food waste co-digestion, and biogas production.
Initiatives to Support Progress Toward the Policy Goal
• Educate and advocate with the local, state, and federal agencies to assure biosolids will continue to
be safely and legally used as a soil amendment and monitor and research constituents of emerging
concern such as PFAS and microplastics that may impact biosolids.
• Stay abreast of new technology options to convert organics to energy and other regional biosolids
recycling and renewable energy partnerships within Southern California.
• Proceed with implementation of new mesophilic and thermophilic biosolids facilities at Plant No. 2 to enhance biosolids quality and marketability while improving the Sanitation District’s operational
resiliency against seismic events.
54 STRATEGIC PLAN NOVEMBER 2019
Constituents of Emerging Concern Policy
Summary Policy Statement
The Orange County Sanitation District (Sanitation District) will partner with other agencies, associations,
and institutions to support the use of sound science to inform policy and regulatory decisions on
constituents of emerging concern (CECs) at the federal, state, and regional levels. Staff will obtain and
maintain current knowledge on CECs under regulatory consideration, including occurrence, analytical methods, regulations, and treatment to support the Sanitation District’s mission.
Background
CECs also referred to as Constituents or Contaminants of Emerging Concern are pollutants that may
or may not be subject to regulatory requirements or statutes yet pose a risk to public health and/or
the environment. The Sanitation District is a recipient of CECs that are discharged along with domestic
and residential wastewater; discharges from industrial, commercial, and other governmental facilities; and tributary discharging jurisdictions. The concept of CECs evolves over time and often the Sanitation District and other entities must acknowledge and understand their impacts to address the effects posed by each CEC.
For more than 50 years, the Sanitation District has adopted and enforced standards and requirements to protect the public health and safety, the environment, and the Sanitation District’s workers and facilities, while collecting and treating wastewater. Initially the primary concern to the Sanitation District was conventional pollutants, those that originate from normal sanitary use and can be addressed by conventional wastewater treatment. With the 1972 amendment to the Clean Water Act, and as required by the Code of Federal Regulations, the Sanitation District implemented a mandated pretreatment program to control discharges containing toxic pollutants at their sources through permitting, enforcement, inspection, and sampling. The Sanitation District’s Pretreatment Program promulgates the Sanitation District’s Wastewater Discharge Regulations Ordinance (Wastewater Ordinance), which governs discharges to the sewer through various types of permits. The Wastewater Ordinance also includes numeric limits, referred to as Local Limits, that control the quality of non-domestic discharges to the sewer. These Local Limits are the result of a technical evaluation and comprehensive sampling and analysis effort, required under the Sanitation District’s permit issued by the state to discharge to the ocean — the National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System (NPDES) Permit.
The Sanitation District’s current NPDES Permit requires evaluation and monitoring of CECs. The Regional Water Quality Control Board (RWQCB) and EPA required the Sanitation District to study and report on certain newer CECs in the Sanitation District’s effluent and the receiving waters. The CEC study had to include the following categories and specified a set of particular constituents in each category: Hormones (8), Industrial Endocrine Disrupting Compounds (7), Pharmaceuticals and Personal Care Products (13), and Flame Retardants (9). Since 2014, California’s State Water Resource Control Board has been updating its Recycled Water Policy and has identified CECs under consideration for projects that conduct surface spreading of recycled water, including the Groundwater Replenishment System (GWRS). In addition, to meet the Sanitation District’s obligations to provide a high level of service for biosolids reuse and water reclamation through GWRS, the Sanitation District must evaluate and monitor CECs that affect these initiatives.
Although the Sanitation District has been involved with water reclamation with the Orange County Water District (OCWD) since the mid-1970’s, the Sanitation District’s mission changed significantly in the years leading up to 2008 when the Groundwater Replenishment System (GWRS) was commissioned. GWRS compelled the Sanitation District to consider impacts to drinking water limits and Notification and Response Levels, which are typically much lower than the standards in place for a wastewater treatment plant. For several critical constituents, OCWD and the Sanitation District established a Level of Service commitments. The Sanitation District and OCWD established a response plan to follow when a constituent becomes a concern to either agency. Where the source can be identified, the plan organizes responsive actions from the Sanitation District and OCWD for industrial and commercial facilities. Domestic and residential sources are typically addressed by way of educational outreach to the public.
55STRATEGIC PLAN NOVEMBER 2019
To determine the constituents that impact the Sanitation District’s operations and reuse initiatives,
the Sanitation District interacts with federal, state, and local agencies and monitors their regulatory
and legislative efforts. Sometimes the job is straightforward, because the federal, state, or local agency
focuses on a specific CEC chemical which yields a concentrated effort; however, sometimes, the effort
can be interpretative. This requires a comprehensive, well-established program and experienced subject
matter experts to identify the CECs that impact the Sanitation District. The Sanitation District must then
evaluate the sources and decide what methods will be employed to control the discharges, if necessary.
Current Situation
With newer equipment and techniques, federal, state, and local government agencies are detecting
constituents at very low concentrations in the drinking water. This has resulted in agencies studying
more constituents and requesting NPDES Permit holders, such as the Sanitation District, to monitor and
report CECs detected in the influent and effluent. However, wastewater is a much more complex matrix
than drinking water, so reproducible low-level analytical methods are much more difficult to develop
and implement for wastewater than drinking water.
The Sanitation District will also be required to develop new methods for addressing some of the CECs
primarily discharged from residential communities or are present in the existing drinking water supply.
The Sanitation District typically attempts to address such discharges through education and outreach
while working with other agencies. Some CECs require the Sanitation District and other agencies to
sponsor legislation and regulation development or to comment on a particular subject to protect the
agency’s interests. For example, the Sanitation District has advocated for minimizing or eliminating the
use of specific CECs in manufacturing or consumer use to the California Department of Toxic Substances
Control. To achieve its mission, the Sanitation District will need to continue supporting a variety of
regulatory and legislative efforts.
Future Policy Statement
If source control, education and outreach, or legislative and regulatory efforts are not successful, the
Sanitation District may be required to implement a technological or operational process change/
investment to address a CEC.
The Sanitation District must align its resources to continue managing CECs throughout the service area
and treatment process in order to comply with the Sanitation District’s existing regulatory requirements
and sustain beneficial reuse of biosolids. The Sanitation District shall acquire and maintain a high
level of subject matter expertise and engagement across the wastewater, water, water reuse, air
quality, ocean monitoring, and biosolids sectors to monitor the threats posed by upstream sources to
its system; to continue to work with other agencies and professional organizations to develop robust
analytical methods; and to evaluate routinely the need to establish sound policies, local limits, or other
regulations and standards based on new local, state, and federal regulations to protect public health
and the environment. The Sanitation District is required to continue implementing its established
response plan by promoting effective source control and treatment, while also preparing for newer CECs
and regulatory obligations. The Sanitation District will continue to work to understand the operational
and financial impacts of current and future CECs by monitoring developing regulations and legislation
and actively engaging regulatory, environmental, academic, industry, and community stakeholders.
Two families of chemicals, PFAS and PFOA, have been identified as CEC’s with a probability of impacting
water and biosolids reuse. Attached is OCWD’s August 2019 PFOA and PFAS Fact Sheet. This is an
example of a CEC where the Sanitation District must be engaged helping to explore the science and
shape future legislation and regulation to help create practical solutions to real world concerns.
56 STRATEGIC PLAN NOVEMBER 2019
Initiatives to Support Progress Toward the Policy Goal
• The Sanitation District will continue to actively engage water and wastewater stakeholders to stay
abreast of the scientific progress and any potential operational and financial impacts of CECs and provide timely briefings to the Sanitation District’s Management Team and Board to facilitate informed decision making.
• The Sanitation District will continue to develop capacity to detect, quantify, and characterize CECs throughout the service area and treatment process in order to promote treatment effectiveness and the communication of credible risks.
• The Sanitation District will proactively research laboratory techniques and other scientific research to understand the real and potential impact of CECs, like PFAS and PFOA, on the reuse of water and biosolids. The Sanitation District will use science-based knowledge to help shape legislation and regulation to protect the public health and environment.
57STRATEGIC PLAN NOVEMBER 2019
Workplace Environment
58 STRATEGIC PLAN NOVEMBER 2019
Resilient Staffing Policy
Summary Policy Statement
The Orange County Sanitation District (Sanitation District) will attract and retain high-quality talent
to support its mission and continue to be an industry leader. It will safeguard leadership continuity
and support effective performance of the organization by proactively monitoring the changing work
environment and requirements to ensure development programs are relevant and build a skilled bench of readily available successors for key leadership and mission-critical positions.
Background
At the Sanitation District, employees are the organization’s most valuable resource. With over 600
dedicated employees whose collective efforts make OCSD an industry leader, the Sanitation District
continues to receive national awards and recognition. That is why, OCSD has committed to invest in its
employees, resulting in a highly skilled and educated workforce carrying out the mission of protecting public health and the environment.
The Sanitation District has a diverse workforce and a wide range of expertise with approximately 70
percent of positions requiring a degree, certification, and/or license. Occupations on-site include scientists, engineers, environmental and regulatory specialists, operators, mechanics, construction inspectors, as well as professionals in public affairs, finance, IT, safety and human resources.
To cultivate a committed and engaged workforce in a competitive economy, OCSD must promote initiatives to attract and retain talent and prepare staff for successful careers. Strategic succession management initiatives have been developed and adopted that support the design and implementation of comprehensive workforce planning and development tools accompanied by activities that facilitate the improvement of workforce capability, adaptability, efficiency, and accountability. Strategic workforce planning empowers management to project the loss of knowledge and experience caused by retirement and attrition and utilizes a variety of methods to ensure that the Sanitation District has adequate access to talent internally and externally through the recruitment and selection process.
The Sanitation District has a competitive recruitment process that ensures we hire the best person for the job based on qualifications and merit. Human Resources utilizes an objective multi-hurdle approach to hiring which includes Human Resources review and recommendation, subject matter expert application screening, assessment centers, panel interviews (both for technical skills and fit), skills testing, background checks, and reference checks.
Programs that have proven effective in attracting, retaining and developing highly skilled staff for key positions, include:
• Vocational/Professional Student Internship Programs
Students from the Water Utility Science Program at Santiago Canyon College, and Los Angeles Trade Technical College work 28 hours a week and rotate through five technical trades for 53 weeks in our Operations and Maintenance Department. We started the program in 2010 with four positions and have grown to offer ten positions for each fiscal year. Furthermore, 14 of the program participants have been hired full-time since the program inception. The Sanitation District is piloting the program with other technical colleges in Southern California, to include Cypress College. OCSD offers student and vocational internships, as well as job shadowing and externships.
The Sanitation District’s Professional Student Internship Program offers students an opportunity to work at the professional ranks while attending college full-time for a two-year maximum duration. OCSD partners with Cal State Fullerton, Long Beach, Cal Poly Pomona and UC Irvine, among others.
59STRATEGIC PLAN NOVEMBER 2019
• Employee Development Program
In addition to legally mandated training, the Sanitation District provides training and development
opportunities for the purpose of increasing job knowledge and to maximize skill sets in employees’
current positions and to prepare them for future mission-critical positions. Comprehensive training
programs include technical training through industry-specific associations or groups, local schools,
and professionals as well as informal on the job training. Employees are encouraged to obtain job-
related training necessary to keep OCSD current with recent industry best practices and developments
in their respective fields of expertise and can receive Development Pay in select categories that
the Sanitation District deems mission-critical. As 70 percent of OCSD’s positions require a degree,
certificate and/or license, the Sanitation District also promotes professional development through
its tuition and certification reimbursement programs for courses completed toward obtaining an
associate’s, bachelor’s or master’s degree at accredited colleges, universities, or other institutions or
industry specific certifications that are applicable to the industry.
• Workforce Vulnerability Assessments
Each year, the Sanitation District management conducts an evaluation of their respective departments
and identifies key and vulnerable positions based on three criteria: criticality, retention, and difficulty
to fill. Vulnerability assessments provide a broader view into the areas of the agency that could
potentially be facing a high risk in turnover and are essential to operations. Management is tasked
with identifying positions based on the criteria above, then making recommendations on the level of
action that is required, complete with proposed action plans. Human Resources staff works closely
with management to facilitate workforce vulnerability assessments to develop current and future
staffing plans. It is essential that the Sanitation District continues to focus its efforts on prioritizing
staffing needs.
• Talent Readiness Assessments
The process includes departmental leadership evaluating staff and identifying key employee talent, as
well as possible development efforts. Feeder positions are identified, and talent pools are developed
between employees and management that align with agency goals and builds the talent pipeline.
• Building Leaders and Skills for Tomorrow (BLAST) Program
In 2011, the Sanitation District began a comprehensive leadership development program to
supplement the technical training courses, and includes job shadowing, mentoring, web-based and
instructor-led training on soft skills and leadership development. The goal of this development
program is to ensure OCSD is building leaders at all levels. Development opportunities are offered
to address the potential loss of talent and feed into the Succession Management and Employee
Development programs, primarily focusing on soft skills training. The leadership development
components include a public sector leadership academy with Cal State Fullerton, and a supervisory
training program through Brandman University.
The Sanitation District partnered with University of California, Irvine, California State University, Long
Beach, and California Polytechnic University at Pomona, which provided students an opportunity to
job shadow Human Resources and Engineering staff to gain insight into the profession, employment
in the public sector and the wastewater industry. The Sanitation District employees also serve on
Advisory Councils that weigh in on course curriculum at various schools, both at the high school and
college level, across Southern California.
Throughout the agency, we have several employees who are active members of various professional
associations, serve on a Board, or volunteer in various capacities within the industry. The Sanitation
District staff is regularly asked to present and teach others about resource recovery. Recruiters
attend job fairs, and work closely with universities, professional organizations, and serve on advisory
committees.
60 STRATEGIC PLAN NOVEMBER 2019
Education and workforce investment programs represent the most important preparation we can
accomplish today to safeguard the agency’s future for tomorrow. Finding an adequate pool of
applicants and retaining qualified workers is increasingly difficult, which we anticipate will continue
on into the future. Retirements are disrupting employment within our industry and changes in
technology have made work more complex.
Current Situation
Academics studying the labor force attribute labor shortages to workforce demographics. Depending
on the source data, the timelines defining the start/end time of these groups may vary but generally —
Baby Boomers are those born between 46-64, followed by Gen Xers 65-81, and lastly Millennials from
82-00. Close to half of staff or 49 percent fall into the “Gen Xers” category, followed by 32 percent
made up of “Baby Boomers” and “Millennials” make up 19 percent of our employee population. The
Sanitation District is currently facing a potential loss of close to half of its workforce — about 45 percent
of employees, primarily from the Baby Boomers group, and some Gen Xers. This represents a potential
loss of about 271 people to retirement alone and does not account for other forms of turnover. Hence
the need to be proactive and strategic in OCSD’s approach to maintain its staffing levels and ensure
continuity of operations.
Currently, the majority of OCSD’s executives are eligible for retirement. Managers, our next level of
leadership, closely follow with 45 percent of them eligible to retire now, and that number increases to
90 percent in five years. The Sanitation District has a little more stability in the trades and professional
occupations with retirement eligibility at 53 percent in the next five years. OCSD has a lot of long-term
employees with vast knowledge in their respective areas of expertise. Some employees have been a
part of the OCSD family for over 35 years; and at last count, ten years was the average years of service.
Looking at OCSD’s total attrition over the last five years, we have lost 3,025 years of knowledge and
experience by 132 individuals leaving the agency since 2014.
In 2010, the Sanitation District proactively implemented a second retirement benefit formula (“classic
open plan”) ahead of the Public Employee Pension Reform Act, which offered candidates moving from
other public sector agencies to OCSD with a retirement benefit of 2.43 percent at 65, with zero employer
paid member contribution. Based on the Sanitation District’s classic open retirement plan, OCSD is
unable to compete for experienced talent from surrounding municipalities, who offer a retirement
benefit of 2.5 percent or 2.7 percent at 55 and pay a portion of the employees’ contribution. Since
implementation of the classic open plan in 2010, only 22 percent of new hires come from other public
sector agencies. The Sanitation District has had experience with public sector candidates withdrawing
from the process or declining job offers once they learn of the impact to the retirement benefit formula.
The vast majority of new hires are coming from private sector and have no public sector experience
requiring additional training. Given the legal restrictions which bind the Sanitation District to the
classic open formula, it is critical OCSD focus its efforts on retaining current staff, attracting qualified
candidates, and investing heavily into developing and growing employees’ knowledge, skills and abilities
for the future, to address any potential talent shortages.
Future Policy Statement
Human Resources will continue to implement strategic initiatives that ensure workforce capabilities
match the work required to meet the Sanitation District’s mission and levels of service. Staff is
dedicated to proactively monitoring the changing work environment and requirements to implement
programs now that address future vulnerabilities. Assessments of changes in business needs, workforce
composition, and legal requirements are necessary to ensure resilient staffing.
Initiatives to Support Progress Toward the Policy Goal
• Maintain and enhance current effective development programs that are in place to provide the
direction to identify, develop and select the next generation of prepared, capable and engaged
leaders, which include:
• Vocational/Professional Student Internship Programs
61STRATEGIC PLAN NOVEMBER 2019
• Employee Development Program
• Workforce Vulnerability Assessments
• Talent Readiness Assessments
• Building Leaders and Skills for Tomorrow (BLAST) Program
• Strengthening Operator Training Programs
• Continue cyclical Classification & Compensation studies to ensure job classifications accurately depict
the work being performed, to set compensation levels accordingly, and stay abreast of market benefit
and salary data.
Prior to the next scheduled Classification & Compensation study, Human Resources will work with the
Board of Directors and meet and confer with the unions to review selected survey agencies based on
recognized classification and compensation standards and the job market in which we compete.
62 STRATEGIC PLAN NOVEMBER 2019
Safety and Physical Security Policy
Summary Policy Statement
The Orange County Sanitation District (Sanitation District) will ensure the safety and security of
employees, contractors and visitors through standard practices, policies, and procedures that support
a safe and secure environment, provide an appropriate level of security and safeguard OCSD’s property
and physical assets.
Background
In California, employers must furnish employees with a place of employment free from recognized
hazards that cause death or serious physical harm, that is compliant with all legal requirements and
aligns with industry best practices. The safety and wellness of the public and employees is our number
one priority. OCSD is committed to identifying all hazards through inspection and providing engineering
controls, job specific safety training, and personal protective equipment.
Programs that have proved effective in ensuring the safety and wellness of OCSD’s workforce, visitors
and contractors include:
Safety Assessments and Engineering Controls
In 2014, OCSD conducted a Facility-Wide Safety Assessment Project (SP-145-1) to identify process
equipment design and configuration issues that may impact worker safety, and compliance with
regulations. The main purpose of this effort was to enhance worker safety and ensure compliance with
safety codes. At the same time, safety improvements allow for reliable and efficient operation, so that
our facilities can meet regulatory and process demands, while providing cost effective operation. All
the Project SP-145-1 recommendations to be implemented by OCSD have either been addressed by Maintenance or have been incorporated into the Safety Improvement Project (J-126).
Emergency Management
The Sanitation District must be prepared to control risks to the organization, and routinely recognize,
evaluate, and prepare for emergencies. An emergency can include a major explosion, fire, verified bomb
threat, civil disorder, active shooter situation, or uncontrolled materials release which interrupts OCSD’s
ability to provide safe and environmentally responsible wastewater treatment. The Sanitations District’s protocol to control and respond to emergencies is contained within the Integrated Emergency Response Plan (IERP).
The IERP identifies and assesses hazards regarding emergency events which OCSD may be confronted with and contains policies, plans, and procedures for preparing and responding to emergencies. The Sanitation District’s emergency response organization, called the Incident Command System (ICS), is activated when an emergency condition cannot be effectively responded to under routine operations. Once the immediate emergency has been controlled, then OCSD must resume normal operations. In the event of a prolonged emergency state, the return to normal operations is guided by a Continuity of Operations Plan (COOP). In May 2018, a COOP was completed with all divisions contributing to its development. Business continuity planning is an ongoing process for OCSD with plans being updated as information changes.
The Sanitation District collaborates with local agencies to ensure available resources are identified and engaged in the event of an emergency. OCSD has partnered with local agencies in the areas of emergency response for evacuation drills and resource sharing.
63STRATEGIC PLAN NOVEMBER 2019
• The Sanitation District participated in the 2019 Orange Crush Regional Emergency Preparedness
and Training Exercise in January 2019. This county-wide exercise used a scenario of a magnitude
7.8 earthquake strike along the San Andreas Fault. A full Emergency Operations Center activation
occurred for this functional exercise and gave the Sanitation District the opportunity to test the
Integrated Emergency Response Plan.
• The Orange County Sheriff’s Department and the Orange County Health Care Agency established a
Joint Information Center at Plant No. 2 on May 13-14, 2019 to host an enforcement event in Talbert
Park. In addition, the operation was overseen by three federal judges who were present to ensure the
rights of all citizens were not violated by law enforcement or The Health Care Agency. Officials utilized
Plant No. 2 contractor gates for points of entry.
• The Sanitation District is a member and funding agency of the Water Emergency Response of Orange
County (WEROC), which is an organization that is administered by the Municipal Water District of
Orange County (MWDOC). It supports and manages countywide emergency preparedness, planning,
response and recovery efforts among Orange County water and wastewater utilities.
Security
The Department of Homeland Security has designated 16 critical infrastructure sectors, which includes
water and wastewater systems. Wastewater systems are vulnerable to a variety of attacks, including acts
of terrorism, contamination with deadly agents; physical attacks, such as the release of toxic gaseous
chemicals, and cyberattacks. In addition, the Department of Homeland Security indicates that the
average time it takes for a critical incident to take place is up to 12 minutes while the average police
response time can be up to 11 minutes and that time could increase should there be a natural disaster.
Additional security concerns include physical violence, vandalism, theft, and trespassers. With
approximately 100 acres at each site, 600 employees, contractors, and members of the public on site
for tours and meetings, it is essential to maintain a security force that can respond to security threats
promptly.
The Sanitation District contracts with a security firm that supplies four armed and five unarmed
guards to provide round the clock security monitoring of over 80 cameras, monitoring gate access, and
patrolling the perimeter at both plants.
Current Situation
The Risk Management division has been given the responsibility and an adequate budget to assess and
control the safety, security, and health risks that employees, contractors, and guests may be exposed
to from OCSD operations. Assessment and control of risks is achieved collaboratively between Risk
Management staff and internal stakeholders. Risk Management, managers, and staff collaborate to
develop written procedures (e.g., policies) that are used for controlling and eliminating hazards at OCSD;
thus, ensuring compliance with occupational health and safety standards and laws.
Safety
As the health and safety of employees, contractors and visitors is the number one priority, the
Sanitation District strives to achieve safety excellence. This is exemplified by our pursuit of the
California Voluntary Protection Program (Cal/VPP). The Cal/VPP is a program created by Cal/OSHA
to recognize organizations who have implemented safety and health programs that effectively
prevent and control occupational hazards. A Cal/VPP workplace is expected to continually improve
its safety program; which means a safe workplace for all. A reduction in injuries and illness has been
documented at sites that have committed to the VPP approach. Cal/VPP is recognized as a higher level
of protection for the workplace, for this reason, OCSD is pursuing this designation.
In preparation for application to the Cal/VPP program, the Sanitation District conducted a Cal/VPP
readiness assessment in January 2019 and developed an implementation strategy. The assessment
64 STRATEGIC PLAN NOVEMBER 2019
included interviews with various OCSD subject matter experts and discussions with employees
during facility tours. OCSD procedures and records were reviewed, and limited visual inspection of
work locations and facilities was conducted. The assessment considered basic Cal/OSHA regulatory
compliance and additional best management practices that are expected to be implemented in VPP
certified workplaces. Based on the results of the VPP assessment, OCSD is working toward applying for
VPP before the end of calendar year 2019. The timing coincides with the implementation of most of the
Safety Improvement Project (J-126), which are critical for success in our VPP pursuit.
This Safety Improvement Project (J-126) is progressing on-schedule. Of the eleven J-126 projects, two
have been completed, seven are in the construction phase, and two are pending contractor award. It
is important to note that interim measures have been taken to ensure worker safety at the locations
identified for safety improvements. Workers are not exposed to hazards while projects are completed.
Eliminating hazards through engineering projects is critical, along with a positive safety culture. In
order to assess the safety culture at OCSD, a survey was conducted from February to April 2019. The
results of this survey indicated employees believe the safety culture is improving, desired an increase in
communication on safety issues, and wanted less online and more hands-on customized safety training.
Emergency Management
The Sanitation District partners with local agencies to ensure available resources are identified and
engaged in the event of an emergency. Collaborations currently scheduled include:
• In conjunction with WEROC, OCSD participated in the development of the Orange County Water and
Wastewater Hazard Mitigation Plan (Plan) which will be submitted for approval to the State. The
Plan provides a framework for participating water and wastewater utilities to plan for natural and
man-made hazards in Orange County. The Sanitation District is an active participant in the Plan, and
developed a hazard mitigation plan, which is Annex C of the Plan. The resources and information
within the Plan will allow OCSD, and participating jurisdictions to identify and prioritize future
mitigation projects, meet the requirements of federal assistance programs and grant applications, and
encourage coordination and collaboration in meeting mitigation goals.
• On July 27, 2019, the Sanitation District partnered with the Fountain Valley Police Department
Explorers during OCSD’s Open House event. The Police Explorers assisted Human Resources and Risk
Management with crowd and traffic control. Their assistance was beneficial in the management of
public during this important event.
Security
The designation of wastewater systems as critical infrastructure by the Department of Homeland
Security requires OCSD to be diligent in protecting people and property from security breaches. OCSD
seeks to continually improve the security program. On June 7, 2019, OCSD issued a Request for Proposal
(RFP) for Security Services, which included a potential expansion of security services for OCSD’s new
Headquarters Complex. As part of the RFP evaluation, OCSD will review procedural and technical
enhancements/innovations that may improve the existing program.
In addition, OCSD has established a Security Committee, which includes stakeholders from a cross-
section of the organization, to collect input and assess physical and cybersecurity concerns and
suggestions. Responsibilities of the committee include, but are not limited to, development of a physical
and cybersecurity plan, reviewing orders and policies, reviewing incident reports, and planning drills.
The first meeting of the committee was held on June 6, 2019.
Future Policy Statement
Risk Management has and will continue to implement strategic initiatives that will ensure the safety,
health, and security of its workforce, and proactively plan for emergencies to ensure continuity
of operations. Staff is dedicated to proactively monitoring the changing work environment and
65STRATEGIC PLAN NOVEMBER 2019
requirements to implement programs now that address future vulnerabilities. Assessments of changes
in business needs, plant processes and legal requirements are necessary to ensure a safe and secure
work environment. The results of improvement will be measured using leading metric indicators and
reported to the workforce to foster employee engagement.
Initiatives to Support Progress Toward the Policy Goal
Safety
• Complete outstanding safety projects, improvements, and corrective actions to apply and obtain Cal/OSHA Voluntary Protection Program (VPP) status; and continue to foster a culture where employees
are accountable for their safety as well as the safety of others.
Emergency Management
• Support facility and countywide emergency preparedness, response, and recovery efforts by partnering with entities, such as, the Water Emergency Response Organization of Orange County (WEROC), Orange County Sherriff Department, and local fire departments to plan and continue to conduct disaster preparedness training and exercises.
Security
• Continually identify and assess vulnerabilities and implement solutions through the Security Committee and third-party assessments. Prevent/mitigate security breaches using physical security systems such as video monitoring, access control, and armed security patrols.
66 STRATEGIC PLAN NOVEMBER 2019
Reclamation Plant No. 1 (Administration Offices)
10844 Ellis Avenue • Fountain Valley, California 92708
Treatment Plant No. 2
22212 Brookhurst Street • Huntington Beach, California 92646
For more information
Email: forinformation@ocsd.com • Phone: 714.962.2411
www.ocsd.com
11/2019
ORANGE COUNTY SANITATION DISTRICT
COMMON ACRONYMS
ACWA Association of California
Water Agencies LOS Level Of Service RFP Request For Proposal
APWA American Public Works
Association MGD Million Gallons Per Day RWQCB Regional Water Quality
Control Board
AQMD Air Quality Management
District MOU Memorandum of
Understanding SARFPA Santa Ana River Flood
Protection Agency
ASCE American Society of Civil Engineers NACWA National Association of Clean Water Agencies SARI Santa Ana River Interceptor
BOD Biochemical Oxygen Demand NEPA National Environmental Policy
Act SARWQCB Santa Ana Regional Water
Quality Control Board
CARB California Air Resources
Board NGOs Non-Governmental
Organizations SAWPA Santa Ana Watershed
Project Authority
CASA California Association of
Sanitation Agencies NPDES National Pollutant Discharge
Elimination System SCADA Supervisory Control And
Data Acquisition
CCTV Closed Circuit Television NWRI National Water Research
Institute SCAP
Southern California
Alliance of Publicly Owned Treatment Works
CEQA California Environmental
Quality Act O & M Operations & Maintenance SCAQMD South Coast Air Quality
Management District
CIP Capital Improvement
Program OCCOG Orange County Council of
Governments SOCWA South Orange County
Wastewater Authority
CRWQCB California Regional Water
Quality Control Board OCHCA Orange County Health Care
Agency SRF Clean Water State
Revolving Fund
CWA Clean Water Act OCSD Orange County Sanitation District SSMP Sewer System Management Plan
CWEA California Water Environment Association OCWD Orange County Water District SSO Sanitary Sewer Overflow
EIR Environmental Impact Report OOBS Ocean Outfall Booster Station SWRCB State Water Resources
Control Board
EMT Executive Management Team OSHA Occupational Safety and
Health Administration TDS Total Dissolved Solids
EPA US Environmental Protection Agency PCSA
Professional
Consultant/Construction
Services Agreement
TMDL Total Maximum Daily Load
FOG Fats, Oils, and Grease PDSA Professional Design Services
Agreement TSS Total Suspended Solids
gpd gallons per day PFAS
Per- and Polyfluoroalkyl
Substances WDR Waste Discharge
Requirements
GWRS Groundwater Replenishment
System PFOA Perfluorooctanoic Acid WEF Water Environment
Federation
ICS Incident Command System PFOS Perfluorooctanesulfonic Acid WERF Water Environment & Reuse Foundation
IERP Integrated Emergency
Response Plan POTW Publicly Owned Treatment
Works WIFIA Water Infrastructure
Finance and Innovation Act
JPA Joint Powers Authority ppm parts per million WIIN Water Infrastructure Improvements for the
Nation Act
LAFCO Local Agency Formation
Commission PSA Professional Services
Agreement 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 OCSD 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 GWRS
process and is eliminated using hydrogen peroxide with extra ultra-violet treatment.
NATIONAL BIOSOLIDS PARTNERSHIP (NBP) – An alliance of the NACWA and WEF, with advisory support from the EPA. 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.
PER- AND POLYFLUOROALKYL SUBSTANCES (PFAS) – A large group (over 6,000) of human-made compounds that are resistant to heat, water, and oil and used for a variety of applications including firefighting foam, stain and water-resistant clothing, cosmetics, and food packaging. Two PFAS compounds, perfluorooctanesulfonic acid (PFOS) and perfluorooctanoic acid (PFOA) have been the focus of increasing regulatory scrutiny in drinking water and may result in adverse health effects including developmental effects to fetuses during pregnancy, cancer, liver damage, immunosuppression, thyroid effects, and other effects.
PERFLUOROOCTANOIC ACID (PFOA) – An ingredient for several industrial applications including carpeting, upholstery, apparel, floor wax, textiles, sealants, food packaging, and cookware (Teflon).
PERFLUOROOCTANESULFONIC ACID (PFOS) – A key ingredient in Scotchgard, a fabric protector made by 3M, and used in numerous stain repellents.
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.
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.
ORANGE COUNTY SANITATION DISTRICT
GLOSSARY OF TERMS
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. OCSD’s service area is in the Santa Ana River Watershed.