sr-042710-1c (2)City Council Meeting: April 27, 20110
Agenda Item: 1
To: Mayor and City Council
From: Dean Kubani, Director, Office of Sustainability and the Environment
Subject: Compliance with an Implementation Plan for the Bacterial, Metals and
Toxics Total Maximum Daily Load Requirements for Ballona Creek
Recommended Action
Staff recommends that the City Council:
1) Authorize the City Manager to negotiate and execute a Memorandum of
Agreement (MOA) with the City of Los Angeles to produce an Implementation
Plan to comply with the Los Angeles Regional Water Quality Control Board's
Bacterial, Metals and Toxics Total Maximum Daily Load requirements for the
Ballona Creek Watershed.
2) Approve the budget changes outlined in the Budget/Financial Impact section
of this report.
Executive Summary
The City is obligated, as a municipal agency within the boundaries of the National
Pollutant Discharge Elimination System .permit system of Los Angeles County, to
comply with requirements of Total Maximum Daily Loads (TMDL) to reduce pollution
from urban runoff entering into the Santa Monica Bay. TMDLs are legal obligations
created and enforced by the State Water Resources Control Board through the Los
Angeles Regional Water Quality Control Board. TMDLs require implementation plans to
comply with water quality objectives in a step by step process over a specific timeline.
As a member of the jurisdiction that drains into Ballona Creek and Estuary, the City is
obligated to share in the costs of developing an implementation plan. The plan
describes the types of structural Best Management Practices (BMPs) an agency will
implement to improve urban runoff water quality entering the Bay and to comply with the
TMDLs, so that all the agencies in the jurisdiction are in compliance and can avoid fines
for non-compliance. The MOA is the document that legally binds an agency to
complete the BMPs included in the implementation plan. The cost in the MOA for each
agency represents the estimated budget to construct the BMPs within its jurisdiction as
well as any applicable joint projects outside of its jurisdiction that help to meet the TMDL
requirement for the drainage area.
Background
On July 14, 2009, the City Council authorized the City Manager to execute two cost-
sharing Memoranda of Agreement with the City of Los Angeles to implement monitoring
plans to comply with the Los Angeles Regional Water Quality Control Board's (Board)
Bacterial, Metals and Toxics Total Maximum Daily Load (TMDL) requirements for the
Ballona Creek Watershed.
At that time, staff informed the City Council that a separate staff report would be
presented to authorize the City Manager to negotiate and execute acost-sharing
Memorandum of Agreement (MOA) to produce an implementation plan to meet the
numerical standards for these TMDLs. This staff report conveys that request.
Discussion
The Board adopted metals, toxics, and bacterial TMDLs for the Ballona Creek, Ballona
Estuary and Sepulveda Channel (a sub-watershed of Ballona Creek), that went into
effect in 2008, 2006, and 2007, respectively. These TMDLs regulate discharges of
runoff from six cities, the County of Los Angeles, and Caltrans, all of which discharge to
the Ballona Creek Watershed. The Watershed is listed on California's 1998 Section
303(d) list, due to impairments from these pollutants of concern, and has been and
continues to be subject to beach postings and closures due to elevated concentrations
of pollutants, preventing full enjoyment of the Watershed's beneficial uses for water
contact recreation, fishing, wildlife observation, and aquatic habitat and wildlife.
To implement the TMDLs, the eight jurisdictions within the Watershed were segregated
by sub-watersheds. Each jurisdiction is responsible for water quality flowing from these
sub-watersheds and their corresponding storm drain outlets to the creek, estuary or
channel, if they exist. The largest landowner by area for this Watershed, the City of Los
Angeles, is the primary representative for the jurisdiction. Other members include the
cities of Beverly Hills, Culver City, Inglewood, West Hollywood, the County of Los
Angeles, and Caltrans. Santa Monica's share of the total land area in this watershed is
0.32%. This area is used to calculate. the City's share of costs incurred by an
implementation plan.
An implementation plan describes a timeline, specific actions, and deadlines for
implementation that each agency in the jurisdiction will implement to comply with the
numerical standards set in the TMDLs. The actions generally include non-structural
best management practices, such as enforcing no littering and picking up after pets
laws low-impact post-construction structural best management practices, such as
directing runoff to infiltration zones or surface bio-filtration areas; or rainwater capturing
and using receptacles and large treat and release facilities that screen and separate out
certain pollutants.
Financial Impacts & Budget Actions
The City's share of the implementation plan is $3,511 which requires an appropriation of
$3,511 to account 06402.555170 in FY2009-10. Available funds from the Clean
Beaches Parcel Tax Fund (Measure V) will be used to fund the additional
appropriation.
Prepared by: Neal Shapiro, Senior Environmental Analyst
Approved:
Forwarded to Council:
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Dean Kubani
Director, Office of Sustainability &
the Environment
Rod Gould
City Manager
Reference Contract No.
9200 (CCS).