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HomeMy WebLinkAbout03-24-2010 Steering Committee Agenda Packet AGENDA REGULAR MEETING OF THE STEERING COMMITTEE ORANGE COUNTY SANITATION DISTRICT WEDNESDAY, MARCH 24, 2010 AT 5:30 P.M. ADMINISTRATIVE OFFICE 10844 Ellis Avenue Fountain Valley, California 92708-7018 www.ocsd.com DECLARATION OF QUORUM PUBLIC COMMENTS REPORT OF COMMITTEE CHAIR REPORT OF GENERAL MANAGER • Updates on GWRS, IRWD, SAWPA and SARI Line Agreements REPORT OF GENERAL COUNSEL ACTION ITEMS 1. Approve minutes of the February 24, 2010 Steering Committee meeting. INFORMATION ITEMS 2. Public Affairs Report (Gold) March 24, 2010 CLOSED SESSION During the course of conducting the business set forth on this agenda as a regular meeting of the Steering Committee, the Chair may convene the Committee in closed session to consider matters of pending real estate negotiations, pending or potential litigation, or personnel matters, pursuant to Government Code Sections 54956.8, 54956.9, 54957 or 54957.6, as noted. Reports relating to(a)purchase and sale of real property; (b)matters of pending or potential litigation; (c) employment actions or negotiations with employee representatives; or which are exempt from public disclosure under the California Public Records Act, may be reviewed by the Directors during a permitted closed session and are not available for public inspection. At such time as final actions are taken by the Board on any of these subjects, the minutes will reflect all required disclosures of information. Convene in closed session, if necessary. Reconvene in regular session Consideration of action, if any, on matters considered in closed session. OTHER BUSINESS AND COMMUNICATIONS OR SUPPLEMENTAL AGENDA ITEMS, IF ANY ADJOURNMENT The next Steering Committee meeting is scheduled for April 28, 2010 at 5:30 p.m. March 24, 2010 Agenda Posting: In accordance with the requirements of California Government Code Section 54954.2,this agenda has been posted in the main lobby of the District's Administrative offices not less than 72 hours prior to the meeting date and time above. All public records relating to each agenda item, including any public records distributed less than 72 hours prior to the meeting to all, or a majority of all, of the members of District's Board,are available for public inspection in the office of the Clerk of the Board,located at 10844 Ellis Avenue, Fountain Valley, California. Items Not Posted: In the event any matter not listed on this agenda is proposed to be submitted to the Committee for discussion and/or action, it will be done in compliance with Section 54954.2(b) as an emergency item or because there is a need to take immediate action,which need came to the attention of the Committee subsequent to the posting of agenda, or as set forth on a supplemental agenda posted in the manner as above, not less than 72 hours prior to the meeting date. Public Comments: Any member of the public may address the Steering Committee on specific agenda items or matters of general interest. As determined by the Chair, speakers may be deferred until the specific item is taken for discussion and remarks may be limited to three minutes. Matters of interest addressed by a member of the public and not listed on this agenda cannot have action taken by the Committee except as authorized by Section 54954.2(b). Consent Calendar: All matters placed on the consent calendar are considered as not requiring discussion or further explanation, and unless a particular item is requested to be removed from the consent calendar by a Director of staff member, there will be no separate discussion of these items. All items on the consent calendar will be enacted by one action approving all motions, and casting a unanimous ballot for resolutions included on the consent calendar. All items removed from the consent calendar shall be considered in the regular order of business. The Committee Chair will determine if any items are to be deleted from the consent calendar. Items Continued: Items may be continued from this meeting without further notice to a Committee meeting held within five (5) days of this meeting per Government Code Section 54954.2(b)(3). Meeting Adjournment: This meeting may be adjourned to a later time and items of business from this agenda may be considered at the later meeting by Order of Adjournment and Notice in accordance with Government Code Section 54955 (posted within 24 hours). Accommodations for the Disabled: The Board of Directors Meeting Room is wheelchair accessible. If you require any special disability related accommodations, please contact the Orange County Sanitation District Clerk of the Board's office at(714)593-7130 at least 72 hours prior to the scheduled meeting. Requests must specify the nature of the disability and the type of accommodation requested. Notice to Committee Members: For any questions on the agenda or to place any items on the agenda, Committee members should contact the Committee Chair or Clerk of the Board ten days in advance of the Committee meeting. Committee Chair: Doug Davert (714)318-9550 General Manager: James D. Ruth (714)593-7110 General Counsel: Brad Hogin (714)415-1006 Clerk of the Board: Penny Kyle (714)593-7130 E-mail: pkyle6d�ocsd.com STEERING COMMITTEE Meeting Date To Bd.of Dir. 03/24/10 AGENDA REPORT Item Number Item Number 2 Orange County Sanitation District FROM: James D. Ruth, General Manager Originator: Michael Gold, Public Affairs GENERAL MANAGER'S RECOMMENDATION Information only SUMMARY This report is the monthly Public Affairs Division update that includes legislative and political information from Washington, D.C. and Sacramento, lobbyists' activities, and outreach education and communication programs to member cities, employees and the public. In addition, attached to this report is the 2010 Legislative Platform for the Committee's consideration. ADDITIONAL INFORMATION Federal Legislative Update Legislative Advocate: Eric Sapirstein, ENS Resources Federal Appropriations Requests Staff has completed our requests for Federal Appropriations and submitted them through the offices of Senators Boxer and Feinstein as well as Representatives Calvert, Miller, Rohrabacher and Sanchez. We are requesting funding for two high-priority projects this year. • Secondary Treatment upgrades — $5 million request To date, we have received $2 million from the Federal Government for this half-billion dollar project, including receiving a $300,000 grant last year. For fiscal year 2011 we are asking for$5 million, recognizing that this is our last opportunity to request funds before the December 31, 2012 deadline to complete the project. • Fuel cell power generation —$5 million request This is a new request to assist OCSD's power needs. Staff estimates the total cost for fuel cell power to be approximately $50 million. Fact sheets for these projects that we use during our visits to Capitol Hill are attached. Form No.DW-102-1 Agenda Report—SC Revised:01/08/07 Page 1 CASA Washington, D.C. Conference Report From March 8-10, Michael Gold attended the CASA Washington DC conference to learn about key policy issues, interact with other CASA members and meet with Congressional staff. Session topics included climate change, infrastructure funding, the state of Congress and prospects for various policy matters and homeland security mandates. In addition to the sessions, teams were on Capitol Hill discussing chemical security, safe disposal of pharmaceuticals, climate change and Clean Water Act reauthorization. Advocacy and National Geographic Washington, D.0 trip Directors Davert and Crandall along with staff travelled to DC from March 16-18 to meet with Congress and discuss OCSD's appropriations requests. The trip also included a Congressional briefing hosted by OCSD and OCWD discussing additional funding for clean water and water recycling projects. This briefing coincided with the April issue of National Geographic that focuses on water and features a story on GWRS. Representatives from multiple agencies and Congressional offices, as well as National Geographic, attended the briefing. Congressional Republicans vote to ban earmarks. As reported in Politico: On March 11, House Republicans voted to forgo earmarks in all 2011 spending bills, a broad measure meant to show a willingness to clean up Washington and rein in federal spending. Republicans touted their move as a way to upstage the Democrats, who announced a more limited moratorium Wednesday that prohibits only those earmarks that go to for-profit corporations. But implicit in the meeting, several members said, is that the move not too significant because House members can ask their senators to earmark projects for them. Several amendments were offered, notably a measure that sought to make the ban permanent, which is not possible under the Republican Conference rules. The impact to OCSD is that no Republican House Members will carry appropriations requests so all the heavy lifting falls to Congresswoman Loretta Sanchez and Senators Boxer and Feinstein. State Legislative Report Legislative Advocates: Christopher Townsend, Heather Dion and Casey Elliott, Townsend Public Affairs Political Highlights Last month, the Legislature passed a series of budget cutting measures in response to the Governor's declaration of a fiscal emergency. This action trimmed about $2.3 billion from the $20 billion budget hole and clearly much work remains. With the lack of a cash crunch, the Legislature is not acting with any urgency and many of their solutions rely on increased tax receipts or Federal dollars, mostly because Republicans, Democrats and the Governor cannot agree on solutions. In early March, the Legislature passed the transportation funding swap proposal, reducing local government's share of the gas tax. Cities and counties strongly opposed this proposal. Form No.DW-102-1 Agenda Report—SC Revised:01/08/07 Page 2 The bill introduction deadline was in February and staff will be going through them to determine which ones to monitor. Christopher Townsend and Heather Dion will be at the March meeting to provide an update. Public Affairs Report The Honor Walk Ceremony, originally scheduled for March 24, has been pushed back to April because Mr. Sparks will be on jury duty. Also, staff has changed the ceremony so it occurs earlier in the day, allowing staff to attend. There will be a short recognition ceremony at the Board Meeting on April 28. On March 11, the Orange County Register ran an article in its "OC Watchdog" column about OCSD's travel expenses. Staff worked with the reporter on the story and in general it was positive because it highlighted the Board's direction to cut travel costs. Most of the comments posted to the online blog were in support of OCSD and critical of the Orange County Register for publishing the article. Finally, the Public Affairs Division has been working on revamping the current (and outdated) outreach materials. As a reflection of the times and to save funds, we will be transitioning to electronic materials when appropriate and cutting back on printing. We are also working on more focused materials highlighting how OCSD supports its overall mission to protect the environment and public health. Form No.DW-102-1 Agenda Report—SC Revised:01/08/07 Page 3 Why does OCSD need Secondary Treatment upgrades? Understanding the Issue The Orange County Sanitation District currently operates the third largest wastewater treatment facilities west of the Mississippi River. The agency treats more than 230 million gallons of residential, commercial and industrial wastewater per day for 2.5 million Orange County residents and businesses. In July 2002, after reviewing extensive data related to the health of local receiving waters and the demands of the communities it serves, the OCSD Board of Directors voluntarily voted to move to full secondary treatment upgrades, providing additional protection for local ocean waters and addressing the increasing growth in its service area. Subsequently, a Federal -� - consent decree was filed by the Department of Justice to meet secondary requirements by December 31, 2012. In recent years, the Federal Government has provided billions of dollars in support of other publicly owned wastewater treatment plants to upgrade their facilities. Large urban coastal areas in such as Los Angeles, San Francisco, Seattle and Boston have received substantial funding to meet Clean Water Standards. However, support at the same level as these other urban areas has not been provided to OCSD. Why are Secondary Treatment upgrades important? Secondary treatment upgrades ensure Orange County beaches remain a vital part of the local economy. Over 17 million visitors enjoy Orange County's beaches each year. Those visitors are important to Orange County because they bring much needed tourism dollars to local communities. By meeting Federal Clean Water Act requirements, OCSD ensures local beaches are as clean and as safe as possible, thereby playing a role in promoting a thriving local economy. Secondary treatment upgrades keep Orange County's water supply local. OCSD, in partnership with the Orange County Water District, has built the Groundwater Replenishment System, a state-of-the art project to help meet the water supply needs of the region. Secondary treated water is an essential component of the Ground Water Replenishment System and completion of the upgrades are needed to bring the system up to its full capacity. Congressional request OCSD is requesting $5 million in Fiscal Year 2011 for Secondary Treatment. The project's total cost is over$500 million. Form No.DW-102-1 Agenda Report—SC Revised:01/08/07 Page 4 Why does OCSD need Fuel Cell Power Generation? Understanding the Issue OCSD operates anaerobic digesters that convert biosolids into digester gas, a renewable fuel that is captured and burned in two large internal combustion engines that generate both electricity and heat that is utilized within the treatment plants. The two internal combustion engines generate approximately 5 Megawatts (MW) of power, while the current demand to operate the processes and support buildings is approximately 7.4 MW. When the new secondary treatment processes come on line in 2012, the energy demand is expected to reach 15 MW, resulting in a short fall of approximately 10 MW. OCSD will then have to rely on purchased power from Southern California Edison, which will reduce our electrical reliability and increase operational costs. Why fuel cell power? The current internal combustion engines are the single largest source air pollutants at the reclamation plant and the fifth largest source in Orange County. These engines also pose risks to the surrounding communities. If we replaced the 5 MW of internal combustion engines with 15 MW of fuel cells to meet future demand, emissions would be reduced by 92 percent and the health risks to the surrounding communities would decrease by 91 percent. In addition, greenhouse --1� gas emissions will decrease by 22,000 ..A' tons. G ea t Another potential benefit of installing fuel c t cells operating on digester gas is that the fuel cell could produce hydrogen gas to be compressed, stored and made Example from King County,WA available to hydrogen powered vehicles. OCSD currently has a public natural gas fueling station and the hydrogen station would be a good compliment, given our proximity to the 405 freeway. Congressional request OCSD is requesting $5 million for this project. This project would be the largest in the county and serve as an example for producing renewable energy. Total cost is $50 million Form No.DW-102-1 Agenda Report—SC Revised:01/08/07 Page 5