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SR-01-08-2013-3KStmm City of City Council Report Santa Monica City Council Meeting: January 8, 2013 Agenda Item: 3 -K To: Mayor and City Council From: Dean Kubani, Director, Office of Sustainability and the Environment Subject: Monitoring plans for the Ballona Creek Watershed Bacterial, Metals and Toxics Total Maximum Daily Loads Recommended Action Staff recommends City Council: 1) Authorize the City Manager to negotiate and execute two Memorandums of Understanding (MOUs) with the City of Los Angeles to implement cost -share monitoring plans to comply with the Los Angeles Regional Water Quality Control Board's Bacterial, and Metals & Toxics Total Maximum Daily Loads requirements for the Ballona Creek Watershed. 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 (TMDLs) to reduce pollution from urban runoff into the Santa Monica Bay. TMDLs require monitoring plans to collect data on water quality prior to and after TMDLs are implemented to demonstrate compliance with water quality objectives. As a member of the jurisdiction that drains into Ballona Creek watershed, the City is obligated to share in the costs of implementing monitoring and implementation plans for the two TMDLs that have been established for this watershed. Background The Federal Clean Water Act (CWA) requires the California Regional Water Quality Control Board, Los Angeles Region (Board), to develop water quality standards that identify beneficial uses, and criteria to protect beneficial uses, for each water body found within its region. Beneficial uses include swimming, fishing, drinking water, navigability, and wildlife habitats and reproduction. Section 303(d) of the CWA requires states to prepare a list of water bodies that do not meet water quality standards and establish for each of these water bodies pollutant load allocations known as total maximum daily loads (TMDLs) which will ensure attainment of water quality standards. A TMDL represents an amount of pollution that can be released by anthropogenic and natural sources of a watershed into a specific water body without causing a decline in water quality and beneficial uses. The Ballona Creek watershed is listed on California's 2006 Section 303(d) list, due to impairments from bacteria, heavy metals and toxic organic chemicals, and is subject to beach postings and closures due to elevated concentrations of these pollutants. The Board adopted individual TMDLs for toxics, bacteria, and metals for the Ballona Creek watershed that went into effect in 2006, 2007 and 2008, respectively. These TMDLs regulate discharges of runoff from the cities of Beverly Hills, Culver City, Inglewood, Los Angeles, Santa Monica and West Hollywood, the County of Los Angeles, and Caltrans, all of which own land within the Ballona Creek Watershed. Discussion To implement these TMDLs, the eight agencies within the watershed have been working together since 2009 to coordinate all monitoring requirements for compliance with the TMDLs. The largest landowner by area for this watershed, the City of Los Angeles, is the primary representative for the jurisdiction. 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 the monitoring plans. The City Council authorized the City Manager to execute two MOUs (one for the Bacterial TMDL and one for the Metals and Toxics TMDLs) on July 14, 2009. The City of Los Angeles submitted a Coordinated Monitoring Plan (CMP) for compliance with the three TMDLs to the Board on January 29, 2009 on behalf of the agencies within the watershed. The CMP contains details for a three -year monitoring plan. The CMP and the MOUs have now expired and need to be renewed to maintain the City's compliance with the three TMDLs for Ballona Creek watershed. N Under the terms of the two new MOUs, which extend the terms of the agreement for three additional years, the City of Santa Monica would not be responsible for any monitoring activities along the Ballona Creek watershed; the City of Los Angeles would continue to be responsible for all monitoring and reporting activities to the Board. Santa Monica would be required to provide funding in an amount not to exceed $7,500 to the City of Los Angeles to offset their costs for monitoring and reporting. The MOUs are currently being reviewed by the agencies within the jurisdiction and are anticipated to be finalized by early 2013. Financial Impacts & Budget Actions The estimated costs for the two MOUs are not to exceed $7,500 over the three -year monitoring period ending FY 2014 -15. Executing the MOU requires a payment of $2,500 to the City of Los Angeles for FY 2012 -13. Funds are available in the FY 2012- 13 budget in division 06402. The payment will be charged to account 06402.555170. Funding for remaining years will be included in the division's proposed budget and is contingent on Council approval. Prepared by: Neal Shapiro, Senior Environmental Analyst Approved:. Forwarded to Council: Dean Kubani Rod Gould Director, Office of Sustainability & City Manager the Environment 3 Reference Contract Nos. 9680 (CCS) and 9681 (CCS).