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SR-03-18-2014-3CCity Council Report City of Santa Monica City Council Meeting: March 18, 2014 Agenda Item: -5-°a To: Mayor and City Council From: Dean Kubani, Manager, Office of Sustainability and the Environment Subject: Apply for three grants to improve ocean water quality and augment the local water supply and adopt a resolution to apply for one of the grants. Recommended Action Staff recommends that City Council: 1. Adopt the attached resolution authorizing the application for grant funds in the amount of $500,000 from the U.S. Department of the Interior, Bureau of Reclamation's WaterSMART Water and Energy Efficiency Grant program to demonstrate an urban runoff harvesting project for non - potable irrigation at Ozone Park. 2. Authorize the City Manager to execute all necessary documents to apply for and accept grants from the U.S. National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration in the amount of $65,000 for marine debris education and outreach, from the U.S. Department of the Interior's WaterSMART Program in the amount of $500,000 for a stormwater harvesting and irrigation use demonstration project at Ozone Park, and from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency in the amount of approximately $50,000 for designing the stormwater harvesting system at Ozone Park, if awarded; and 3. Authorize budget changes as outlined in the Financial Impacts and Budget Actions section of this report. Executive Summary The City has the opportunity to apply for three federal grants to improve local ocean water quality and comply with federal water quality requirements, and to augment local water supply to reach the City's water self- sufficiency goal. Santa Monica is a signatory to the Santa Monica Bay Marine Debris Total Maximum Daily Load (TMDL) and must implement strategies to eliminate trash and debris inputs into Santa Monica Bay. The City would apply for a $65,000 federal marine debris educational grant to produce educational materials to assist the City in meeting the TMDL regulations. The City is nearing completion of a Sustainable Water Master Plan to make Santa Monica water self- sufficient by 2020, which includes many demand reduction and supply augmentation strategies. Increasing local water supply is one important strategy. The City would apply for a $500,000 Federal WaterSMART water efficiency grant to construct an urban runoff harvesting and irrigation use demonstration project. To support the design of the WaterSMART project, the City would apply for a third federal grant specifically for engineering design for approximately $50,000. Discussion National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) Marine Debris Educational Grant The United States Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) approved the Santa Monica Bay Marine Debris TMDL on March 20, 2012, requiring municipalities to eliminate all debris (trash and plastic pellets) entering the Bay by March 20, 2020. As a signatory to the debris TMDL in the Bay's offshore and nearshore waters, the City is required to implement structural and non - structural strategies to reduce to zero debris entering the Bay. An implementation schedule lists tasks and deadlines to comply with the TMDL. Staff from Public Works and the Office of Sustainability and the Environment are developing a plan to install full capture structural devices to meet the zero debris requirement. A full capture device is one which removes all anthropogenic materials 5 mm and larger. Anything smaller is allowed to pass through the storm drain system and into the Bay. Structural systems are effective at removing debris and trash already released into the storm drain system. However, these systems require annual cleaning and maintenance, which can be expensive over time. A less expensive, non - structural strategy that helps to reduce cleaning and maintenance costs is to change people's behavior to reduce or eliminate littering through education and outreach. This grant, if awarded, would help fund a comprehensive educational outreach program to inform the public about the negative consequences of trash and plastic pollution on marine fauna and solutions to improve water quality to meet the TMDL's requirements. Staff recommends that Council approve the submission of a grant application to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) Marine Debris Prevention through Education grant program to help fund an educational outreach project. The NOAA marine educational grant would provide the City with matching funds to develop a comprehensive program with numerous strategies to reach out to those segments of the population most prone to litter. The present estimated cost for this educational outreach project is $136,114. The grant requires a minimum 100% match of the requested grant amount. The City is requesting a $65,000 grant. Bureau of Reclamation WaterSMART Water Efficiency and EPA Design Engineering Grants On March 8, 2011, staff presented a study session on achieving water self- sufficiency. Council requested that staff produce a sustainable water master plan (SWMP) to achieve water self- sufficiency by 2020. One of the SWMP's supply portfolio strategies presented to Council on May 14 2013 includes increasing local water supplies, which could include harvesting dry weather runoff and stormwater for beneficial uses. These two grants would help fund a project to demonstrate the effectiveness of urban runoff harvesting, including dry weather runoff and stormwater, for non - potable irrigation use. WaterSMART Water Efficiency Grant The U.S. Department of the Interior, Bureau of Reclamation's (Reclamation) WaterSMART Program establishes a framework to provide federal leadership and assistance on the efficient use of water, integrating water and energy policies to support the sustainable use of all natural resources. Through this program, Reclamation is working to achieve a sustainable water strategy to meet the nation's water needs. With WaterSMART Water Efficiency Grants, Reclamation provides cost - sharing funding on a competitive basis for projects that focus on improving water and energy efficiency to reduce demand on limited water resources and to promote sustainable water use. Staff recommends that Council approve the submission of a grant application to WaterSMART to help fund an urban runoff harvesting and irrigation demonstration project at Ozone Park. The project would divert and harvest dry weather urban runoff and stormwater from the storm drain running under the park. Harvested runoff would be treated and stored for park irrigation, replacing the use of potable water. This project would help maximize local water supply and minimize imported water supplies, and help the City reach its goal for water self- sufficiency. The present estimated cost for this demonstration project is $1,352.606. The grant requires a minimum 100 % match of the requested grant amount. The City is requesting the grant's maximum amount of $500,000. EPA Design Engineering Grant The EPA Office of Wastewater Management's Green Infrastructure Technical Assistance Program provides assistance to help communities overcome the most significant barriers to green infrastructure, and to develop innovative approaches to implementation that meet multiple environmental, social and economic goals. Green infrastructure uses vegetation, soils, and natural processes to manage water and create healthier urban environments. At the neighborhood or parcel scale, green infrastructure refers to stormwater management systems that mimic nature by storing water for onsite beneficial use. This program provides a municipality with a design engineering consultant to formulate a green infrastructure solution to a local urban runoff water quality and supply challenge. Staff recommends that Council approve the submission of a green infrastructure technical assistance grant application to help fund the Ozone Park urban runoff project referred to in the previous section. This grant would defray much of the project design cost to hire an engineering consultant. The grant does not require a match. The final grant amount would depend upon how many municipalities apply to this program. The 2014 assistance program has $400,000 budgeted; EPA expects to assist 5 -7 communities. Therefore, the individual grant would likely be between $50,000 and $80,000 per city. The WaterSMART grant is the only grant requiring a resolution. Financial Impacts & Budget Actions NOAA Marine Debris Educational Grant The total amount of grant funds requested from the Department of Commerce's NOAA Marine Debris Prevention through Education and Outreach is $65,000. If awarded, the grant requires a 100 percent local match, or $65,000, which staff would divide over the next two fiscal year budgets, FY 2014 -15 and 2015 -16, in division 226. Of the match, $50,000 would be included in account 01226.522540, and the remaining $15,000 would be made up of in -kind staff and volunteer time. If awarded, revenue and expenditure budgets would be established in division 20226 for FY 2014 -15 for the awarded grant amount. If renewals are awarded, budget changes would be included in subsequent year budgets, pending Council budget adoption. Bureau of Reclamation WaterSMART Water Efficiency Grant The total amount of grant funds requested from the Department of the Interior's Bureau of Reclamation WaterSMART Water Efficiency Program is $500,000 and the grant requires a 100% match, or $500,000. If awarded, revenue and expenditure budgets would be established in division 20226 and a capital improvement account in the Miscellaneous Grant Fund, respectively, for the awarded grant amount. An additional appropriation would be established for the match in a capital improvement account in the Stormwater Fund (34) using funds restricted for capital projects. Establishing the expenditure budget would require a release of funds from the Stormwater Parcel In Lieu Fee restricted cash account. If awarded, staff would return to Council to request these budget changes, pending Council approval. EPA Engineering Design Grant The total amount of grant funds requested from the Environmental Protection Agency is dependent upon the number of grants awarded by EPA. If awarded, the grant would be in the range of $50,000- 80,000. There is no local match required. If awarded, no budget changes are required as all grant expenditures would be paid by the EPA. Prepared By: Neal Shapiro, Senior Administrative Analyst Approved: A X- Z , Dean Kubani Sustainability Manager Attachment 1: Resolution Forwarded to Council: Rod Gould City Manager Reference: Resolution No. 10803 (CCS)