HomeMy WebLinkAbout03-23-2011 Steering Committee Agenda Packet oJN14 SANIT °" Wednesday, March 23, 2011
Orange County Sanitation District �` 5:00 P.M.
Regular Meeting of the Q P Administration Building
Steering Committee Conference Rooms A & B
10844 Ellis Avenue
Fountain Valley, CA
THE ENv\Qo (714) 593-7124
AGENDA
DECLARATION OF QUORUM:
PUBLIC COMMENTS: If you wish to speak,please complete a Speaker's Form and give it to the Clerk
of the Board. Speakers are requested to limit comments to three minutes.
REPORTS: The Committee Chair and the General Manager may present verbal reports on miscellaneous
matters of general interest to the Directors. These reports are for information only and require no action by the
Directors.
CONSENT CALENDAR:
1. Approve minutes of the February 23, 2011 Steering Committee meeting.
ACTION ITEMS:
2. Consider and act on the Honor Walk nomination of past Board Member
Doug Davert.
INFORMATION ITEMS:
3. Public Affairs Report (Gold)
CLOSED SESSION:
During the course of conducting the business set forth on this agenda as a regular meeting of the Board,
the Chair may convene the Board 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 54957.61 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 Board during a permitted
closed session and are not available for public inspection. At such time as the Board takes final action on
any of these subjects, the minutes will reflect all required disclosures of information.
03/23/11 Steering Committee Agenda Page 1 of 2
Convene in closed session.
(1) CONFER WITH DISTRICT NEGOTIATORS
(Government Code Section 54954.5(f))
• Agency Designated Representatives: James D. Ruth, General Manager; Robert
Ghirelli, Assistant General Manager; Jim Herberg, Assistant General Manager,
Jeff Reed, Director of Human Resources; and, Richard Spencer, Human
Resources Supervisor.
• Employee Organizations: International Union of Operating Engineers, Local 501
and Orange County Employees Association (OCEA)
Reconvene in regular session.
Consideration of action, if any, on matters considered in closed session.
OTHER BUSINESS AND COMMUNICATIONS OR SUPPLEMENTAL AGENDA ITEMS, IF
ANY:
ADJOURNMENT:
The next Steering Committee meeting is scheduled for Wednesday, April 20, 2011, at
5:00 p.m.
Accommodations for the Disabled: Meeting Rooms are wheelchair accessible. If you require any special disability
related accommodations, please contact the Orange County Sanitation District Clerk of the Board's office at(714)593-
7124 at least 72 hours prior to the scheduled meeting. Requests must specify the nature of the disability and the type of
accommodation requested.
Agenda Posting: In accordance with the requirements of California Government Code Section 54954.2,this agenda has
been posted outside the main gate of the Sanitation District's Administration Building located at 10844 Ellis Avenue,
Fountain Valley,California,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.
NOTICE TO DIRECTORS: To place items on the agenda for the Committee Meeting, items must be submitted to the
Clerk of the Board 14 days before the meeting.
Lilia Kovac
Associate Clerk of the Board
(714)593-7130
dterrones(o)ocsd.com
03/23/11 Steering Committee Agenda Page 2 of 2
STEERING COMMITTEE Meeting Date To Bd. of Dir.
03/23/11
AGENDA REPORT Item Number Item Number
2
Orange County Sanitation District
FROM: James D. Ruth, General Manager
Originator: Michael Gold, Public Affairs
SUBJECT: Selection of Honor Walk Recipients
GENERAL MANAGER'S RECOMMENDATION
Consider and act on the Honor Walk nomination of past Board Member Doug Davert.
SUMMARY
The Steering Committee is being asked to consider and act on the nomination of past
Board Member Doug Davert. There is no recommendation by the General Manager for
a staff nominee this year.
PRIOR COMMITTEE/BOARD ACTIONS
Adopted resolution establishing a policy for naming facilities and placing of monuments
and other memorials — June 25, 2008.
ADDITIONAL INFORMATION
In 2008 the Steering Committee adopted a resolution that provided a framework for
recognizing past Board Members and retired staff for their outstanding contributions.
One of the results of this resolution and the discussions that followed was the creation
of the Honor Walk in front of the Administration Building in 2009 with the first honoree
recognized in 2010. This year, the Steering Committee is being asked to consider
nominees to receive an Honor Walk brick in 2011 .
In late July 2009, the Honor Walk bricks were installed in front of the Administration
Building and staff circulated a form to accept nominations for the Walk. Honorees could
be past board members or retired staff who made significant contributions to OCSD and
the people it serves.
The policy and procedures developed by the Steering Committee stipulate that the
General Manager makes recommendations to the Steering Committee for retired staff
nominees and the Steering Committee will deliberate and decide on past Board
Members.
Page 1
Past Board Member nominee
This year, immediate past Chair, Doug Davert, was nominated for the Honor Walk. The
nomination information is attached to this report.
Retired staff nominees
Four retired employees were nominated by their peers for an Honor Walk brick but after
discussing the candidates, the Executive Management Team decided not to
recommend any of the nominees for further consideration.
The criteria adopted by the Board of Directors for selecting an Honor Walk are:
• Have a long standing affiliation with the Orange County Sanitation District.
• Enhanced the quality of operations and/or leadership directly contributing to the
well-being of the District and people served by the District.
• Made an exceptional contribution to the community through their leadership,
involvement or substantial commitment of time or improvement of the quality of
life.
Attachment
Page 2
Attachment
Doug Davert
Honor Walk Nomination 2011
Submitted by Larry Crandall
Doug Davert joined the OCSD Board of Directors in 2003 and served as Chairman of the Board from 2008
to 2010. During his tenure as both a Board Member and Chair, Mr. Davert led OCSD through some
turbulent but productive times. Some of his key accomplishments during this time include:
• Leading the effort to reduce the number of Board committees from eight to four.
• Instrumental in supporting the reorganization of staff structure reducing the number of
department heads from eight to four and hiring a new general manager.
• Decreasing the percentage of change orders on capital improvement projects.
• Giving staff greater flexibility to reduce the number of items coming to the Board of Directors to
more efficiently approve projects.
• Leading advocacy efforts to secure Federal Funds for expansion of OCSD's secondary treatment
facilities, including efforts that lead to OCSD receiving$300,000 in 2009.
• Travelling to Sacramento with other Steering Committee members to protect OCSD's funding
during California's ongoing budget crisis.
• Working collaboratively with the Orange County Water District on the Groundwater
Replenishment System and representing OCSD to receive the prestigious Stockholm Water Prize.
• Leading the effort to pass a five-year rate structure while challenging staff to keep costs low.
• Presiding over the five-year strategic planning efforts that lead to a new strategic plan and levels
of service.
• Streamlining the Board agenda process to trim the size of agenda packets.
• Changing the delegation of authority to bring greater efficiencies.
Page 3
STEERING COMMITTEE Meeting Date To Bd. of Dir.
01/26/11
AGENDA REPORT Item Number Item Number
3
Orange County Sanitation District
FROM: James D. Ruth, General Manager
Originator: Michael Gold, Public Affairs Manager
SUBJECT: Public Affairs Update
GENERAL MANAGER'S RECOMMENDATION
Information Only
SUMMARY
This report is the monthly Public Affairs Division update that includes legislative and
political information from Washington, D.C. and Sacramento, lobbyists' activities, and
outreach education and communication programs to member cities, employees and the
public.
ADDITIONAL INFORMATION
Federal Legislative Update
Legislative Advocate: Eric Sapirstein, ENS Resources
Congress has been focusing its attention on both the 2011 and 2012 budgets in the
past few weeks as the parties debate spending and cutting proposals, as well as
measures to restrict EPA. However, one area that is of interest to OCSD is Congress
has begun discussing the Water Resources Development Act rewrite.
Fiscal Year 2011 Budget
To avoid a government shutdown at the beginning of March, Congress adopted a two-
week extension but with deep divisions between the parties, the question of how they
will reach consensus remains open. In passing an extension of the present continuing
resolution until March 18, the House and Senate agreed to accept the President's
requested cuts of approximately $4 billion. Some programs, like the State Revolving
Loan Fund (SRF) were not cut. By the time you receive this report, either Congress will
find consensus on current year spending proposals or we will be facing a government
shutdown. Currently, the White House is in negotiations with the House and Senate to
determine if a final spending package can be assembled and avoid a government
shutdown on March 18.
Fiscal Year 2012 Budget
The Administration submitted its proposed 2012 budget with a freeze on all
discretionary spending except defense and homeland security. While overall spending
levels are frozen, some programs, such as the SRF program have not been cut. Also,
the President has proposed $800 million for renewable energy programs, including
biogas to energy.
Page 1 of 6
Water Resources Development Act (WRDA)
Senator Barbara Boxer, chair of the Committee on Environment and Public Works
transmitted an email seeking WRDA project requests from interested stakeholders. This
request for projects starts the process of a WRDA 2011 bill being drafted and the
District is working on our WRDA authorization request. All requests are due on March
25.
Waters of the U.S. Definition
US EPA continues to seek to develop and implement a new definition of which waters
are covered by the Clean Water Act and subsequently regulated under the NPDES
program. The agency has submitted proposed guidance that would essentially capture
many waters including vernal pools that are not directly connected to surface waters. As
noted in the budget discussion, House Members are seeking to prevent the broader
interpretation from being implemented by denying US EPA from using budget resources
to develop and implement any new interpretation.
Clean Water SRF Reauthorization
Congressional action to renew the Clean Water Act SRF remains a priority in the
Senate and the House, however, there are other priorities, such as the WRDA
legislation and transportation funding, that will occur before Congress discusses the
SRF program.
Chemical Security Mandates
Currently the mandate for public agencies to conduct vulnerability assessments and
conduct security upgrades does not impact sewage treatment plants, however, the
current program expires in December and Congress has been discussing new
mandates on wastewater treatment agencies. The main debate is whether the
Department of Homeland Security or US EPA should have jurisdiction. In addition,
Congress will debate whether agencies should transition to inherently safer
technologies (IST), such as moving away from the use of chlorine gas. OCSD does not
use chlorine gas so these discussions have little impact us. The discussion over which
agency will have jurisdiction is important because EPA has a greater understanding of
wastewater treatment and is our preferred choice. CASA also supports position of
keeping EPA as the lead agency for vulnerability assessments.
Federal Legislative Outreach
Staff met Congressman Gary Miller's new staff person in a joint meeting with the
Orange County Water District. With the departure of Sandra Bitter, Justin Law will be
assuming these duties and OCSD staff met with him to discuss some of our issues.
Last week was the CASA DC Conference and staff met with representatives of the
Orange County Delegation to discuss our key issues for the year.
Page 2 of 6
State Legislative Report
Legislative Advocates:
Christopher Townsend, Heather Dion and Casey Elliott, Townsend Public Affairs
State Political Highlights
As the Legislature and Governor Brown enter into the third month of the 2011 legislative
session, the Governor's proposal to resolve the $26.6 billion budget deficit continues to
be the center of debate. The Governor is pushing for his budget plan to be adopted by
the end of March to allow for his proposed tax extension measure to be placed on the
June ballot. To do so, his budget plan will require at least two Republicans votes in each
house. Governor Brown and a small group of Republicans, known as the GOP 5,
recently resumed negotiations regarding the Governor's tax proposal and the
Republicans' demands for pension, regulatory, and other governmental reforms.
The Governor's proposed five-year tax extensions would generate $12 billion each
fiscal year, but without the tax extensions passing, the Governor and the Legislature
would need to find an additional $12 billion in cuts over the $12.5 billion he has already
proposed to close the deficit.
On March 3, the Budget Conference committee met to work out the remaining issues
between the two houses. One of the major issues was the Governor's proposal to
eliminate redevelopment agencies. While there was significant discussion on the item,
the committee eventually voted to adopt the Governor's proposal, as well as adopt
placeholder language to deal with the transition issues that will emerge with the
successor agencies. The committee approved the item on a straight party line vote with
all Democrats in support and all Republicans in opposition.
During the discussion on the item, it was clear that the Democrats view the adoption of
the Governor's proposal as a necessary step in order to reform the manner in which
economic development is carried out by local governments. Nearly all of the Democrats
indicated a desire to work on reforms for redevelopment during this legislative session
with a goal of implementing them on July 1.
The Governor and leaders of the four legislative caucuses are currently conducting a
series of meetings to resolve the major issues that still remain. These discussions will
not be public and will likely center around what proposals must be adopted, modified or
eliminated in order to get Republicans to support the Governor's proposal to place tax
extensions before the voters at a special election in June.
The GOP 5 has centered their priorities on a long term cap on state spending and
overhauling public pensions. Senate President Pro Tern Darrell Steinberg has signaled
that Democrats are willing to consider a temporary spending limit for the same five-year
period as the tax extensions on sales, income and vehicles but there is little agreement
on pension reform.
Page 3 of 6
Hearing on the Role of Special Districts
The Assembly Committee on Accountability and Administrative Review and the
Assembly Committee on Local Government held a joint hearing on the role of Special
Districts in California on March 2. The purpose of the hearing was to investigate the
status and role of special districts in a period of particular public interest in transparency
and accountability.
The discussion provided an overview of special districts, including their development
and services as well as efforts centered on consolidation, improving public participation,
and maximizing costs. According to the State Controller's report, there are currently
4,776 special districts in California of various sizes and structures and 85 percent of
these districts provide a single service to their residents.
While the Committee acknowledged that special district consolidation should be
pursued in light of perceived duplication and inefficiency as well as the lack of public
participation and knowledge of special districts, they also discussed how special
districts represent an outgrowth of the public desire for a level of service that meets their
particular needs. The experts and committee members also acknowledged that
consolidation efforts require thoughtful consideration and may not make sense across
the board, but rather require local participation.
There was common agreement among the experts for more transparency and possible
reforms to the election process for directly-elected Special Districts, especially in light of
the scandals in the City of Bell. Most felt that greater public access to information would
probably be needed.
In closing the hearing, Assemblyman Dickinson noted that any discussion of Special
Districts' reserves and property tax funding was largely absent from the discussion. The
only mention of this issue was by Assemblyman Martin Garrick (R-74), who argued that
increased financial disclosure requirements must be coupled with recognition that these
reserves are inherently owned by the residents of the special districts, not by the State.
The Committee on Accountability and Administrative Review will be discussing these
issues more broadly at their next hearing, tentatively scheduled for March 23.
TPA's Activities for the Month
• TPA continues to monitor, report, and promote the following state legislative and
advocacy goals:
o Proactive protection of OCSD property tax funding
o Outreach and education, particularly to new members of the legislature, at
both the staff-staff and elected-board member levels.
o Ongoing analysis of legislative measures including but not limited to
environmental mandates that could affect the District's operations, local
government transparency measures, and budget measures redirecting
fees to local wastewater agencies.
o The potential for regulatory streamlining
o Round II of IRWM funding
Page 4 of 6
• TPA monitors and reports on key committee hearings on the budget and special
districts.
Legislative Outreach
On March 4, staff attended the CASA State Legislative Committee meeting in
Sacramento to discuss bills and adopt positions. Many of these bills are included in the
legislative matrix attached to this report.
In April staff will be giving a tour to Assemblyman Alan Mansoor and meeting with
Assemblyman Don Wagner's district staff and Mr. Mansoor's staff. We are also setting
up meetings with the staff from Assemblyman Chris Norby.
On April 27, staff will be participating in the CASA Conference in Sacramento because
this meeting will have a focus on State Legislative issues.
Public Affairs Update
Grants Update
This past month, staff received a notice of another set of SAWPA grants but these did
not apply to OCSD because they are focused on storm water flood management.
SARBS Plant of the Year
We are pleased to announce that OCSD won our local Santa Ana Regional "Plant of the
Year." This award, sponsored by the California Water Environment Association,
recognizes wastewater treatment agencies for overall accomplishments and efficiency.
With this award, OCSD will move on to the State wide competition.
In addition, Lead Mechanic Emilio Ariston was honored as "Mechanical Technician
Person of the Year" and Maintenance Supervisor Simon Watson was recognized with
the "Spotlight Achievement Award." The Spotlight award is presented by the Santa Ana
River Basin Section board to recognize volunteers for their contributions to California
Water Environment Association.
Tours, tours and more tours
In the past two months alone, staff has given 31 tours (that is more than one every other
day) to nearly 1000 guests. With school budgets tight, OCSD has become a prime
education destination for high school and college students learning about environmental
science.
Page 5 of 6
Children's Water Festival
This month, OCSD participated in the Children's Water Festival in Yorba Linda and
presented by the Orange County Water District. More than 5,000 children participate in
the annual event designed to educate students about local water issues and help them
understand how they can protect and preserve water and their environment. Since its
inception, more than 80,000 children from schools throughout Orange County have
been able to experience the Festival and all it has to offer and OCSD has been sponsor
every year.
At the Festival, OCSD presents a game called "Microbe Mania!" where kids learn about
microbes and how they are used in the wastewater treatment process.
PRIOR COMMITTEE/BOARD ACTIONS
N/A
ADDITIONAL INFORMATION
N/A
CEQA
N/A
BUDGET / DELEGATION OF AUTHORITY COMPLIANCE
N/A
Page 6 of 6
OCSD Legislative Bill Tracking- 2011
Bill Number Author Summary MD Position Notes Status
AB 213 Silva Requires State Agencies to notice"interested Support
parties"of proposed actions on rules and
regulations.
AB 262 Harkey Revises the boundaries of the Santa Ana Watch
Regional Water Quality Control Board to
include south Orange County.
AB 457 Wagner Allows bidders of public contract work to Oppose
recover full attorney's costs for challenging
an award if their bid is determined to be
invalid due to errors or omissions of the
agency.
AB 512 Gordon This bill would expand the definition of an Support
eligible renewable generating facility to
include facilities that have a generating
capacity of no more than 5 megawatts to
allow bill credits for generating renewable
energy.
AB 646 Atkins Changes exsiting law so that during labor Oppose
negotations,agencies are no longer allowed
to declare an impasse and impose a contract.
Instead,the agency must appoint a mediator
to recommend a settlement.
AB 741 Huffman Allows the creation of voluntary assessment Support This bill is sponsored by IRWD
districts to finance the cost of converting
septic to sewer,connecting to a community
system and replacing damaged sewer
laterals.
AB 1178 Ma This bill seeks to clarify existing law to Support
prohibit discriminatory restrictions on the
disposal of solid waste based on its place of
origin.
AB 1354 Huber Eliminates the 5%retention requirements for Oppose
public work contracts and prohibits any
contract retention amount.
SB 482 Kehoe Shifts the responsbility of beach testing from Oppose
th Department of Public Health to the State
Water Resources Control Board and allows
the Board to levy fees on wastewater
treatment agencies to pay for administration
of the program.
SB 771 Kehoe This bill expands the energy sources that are Support
eligible to receive funds through the
Renewable Resources Trust Fund to include
digester gas and waste gas to fuel cell power
generation.This bill changes the current
definition of eligible renewable energy to
include digester or other gasses from
wastewater treatment.
Bell-related Bills
AB 162 Smyth Requires that if an independent audit reveals
irregularities,the findings are sent to the
State Controller.
AB 187 Lara Authorizes the Controller to establish a high-
risk audit program to identify agencies the
State Auditor views as being at risk of waste,
fraud or abuse.
AB 229 Lara Requires the Controller to receive all audits
within 9 months of preparation and directs
the Controller to develop a plan to review all
local agency audits.
AB 253 Smyth Requires the Controller to develop guidelines
for local government audits based on input
from a specified group of city officials
AB 1287 Buchanan
Requires all agencies to comply with GAO
standards for audits and requires auditors to
complete a GAO quality control review. Watch
AB 1344 Feuer Prohbits employment contracts from having
automatic renewal clauses or automatic
increases in excess of cost-of-living
adjustments.Also,this bill requires all
meetings be noticed on an agency's website
(if they have one).
SB 186 Kehoe Give the State Controller discretion to audit
or investigate any local agency to ensure
compliance with laws,ordinances and grant
agreements and allows the Controller to
charge the agency for the cost of the
investigation.
SB 449 Pavley
Authorizes the Controller to conduct reviews
of local agencies finances to determine if
there may be problems and develop a
committee of officials to assist agencies with
finanical problems(upon request).