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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).