SR 02-23-2016 3G
Ci ty Council
Report
City Council Meeting : February 23, 2016
Agenda Item: 3.G
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To: Mayor and City Council
From: Dean Kubani, Sustainability Manager , Office of Sustainability & the
Environment (CMO)
Subject: Cost -Sharing Memorandum of Agreements with the City of Los Angeles for
the Coordinated Integrated Monitoring Plan for the Sant a Monica Bay and
Ballona Creek
Recommended Action
Staff recommends that the City Council a uthorize the City Manager to negotiate and
execute Memorandum of Agreements (MOA) with the City of Los Angeles to implement
cost -share monitoring plans to comply wi th the Los Angeles Regional Water Quality
Control Board's NPDES permit requirements for the Santa Monica Bay , $438,886, and
Ballona Creek , $9,728 .
Executive Summary
The City is obligated, as a municipal agency within the boundaries of the National
Polluta nt Discharge Elimination System (NPDES) permit system of Los Angeles County,
to comply with the NPDES requirements to reduce pollution from urban runoff into the
Santa Monica Bay and Ballona Creek. The NPDES permit requires Coordinated
Integrated Monitori ng Plans to collect data on water quality to demonstrate compliance
with water quality objectives of the NPDES permit. As a member of the jurisdictions that
drain into the Santa Monica Bay and Ballona Creek watersheds, the City is obligated to
share in th e costs of implementing these monitoring plans for these water bodies. The
cost over the three -year (FY15 -18) monitoring period of the Santa Monica Bay
M emorandum o f A greement (MOA) will not exceed $438,886; the cost over the three -
year (FY15 -18) monitori ng period of the Ballona Creek MOA will not exceed $9,728.
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 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
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of water bod ies 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 pollut ion 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 Santa Monica Bay and Ballona Creek watersheds have been listed since 1998,
initia lly for bacteria, on California’s Section 303(d) list due to impairments by bacteria,
trash, organic chemicals and metals. The Board adopted many TMDLs for these
pollutants since 2003 to address these impairments. These TMDLs reduce the
amounts of pollut ants found in runoff discharges from the cities within these
watersheds.
Council approved an initial Santa Monica Bay MOA for cost -sharing bacterial monitoring
on July 8, 2003 and Ballona Creek MOAs for cost -sharing monitoring for bacteria,
metals and toxics on July 14, 2009.
In accordance with these TMDLs, the City of Los Angeles submitted a Coordinated
Monitoring Plan for compliance with the TMDLs on behalf of the agencies within these
watersheds. The City of Los Angeles currently performs all requ ired monitoring and
reporting to the Control Board, and annually invoices the City of Santa Monica for its
share of monitoring costs for Santa Monica Bay and Ballona Creek.
Discussion
On November 28, 2012, the Control Board approved a new NDPES permit wit h more
extensive monitoring requirements than were included in the previous 2001 permit. The
expansion of monitoring requirements in the new permit requires the adoption of a new
monitoring plan, called a Coordinated Integrated Monitoring Plan (CIMP ). Th is requires
new MOAs with the City of Los Angeles to r eflect an increase in the amount of funding
the City of Santa Monica provides to Los Angeles to complete the monitoring necessary
to comply with the permit. Under the terms of each MOA the City of Los Angeles would
continue to be responsible for all monitoring and reporting activities to the Control
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Board , which include daily sampling at multiple locations along Santa Monica Bay and
daily laboratory analyses.
Financial Impacts & Budget Actions
Santa Monica Bay
Santa Monica’s share of the monitoring costs per the terms of this MOA is not to exceed
$438,886, which is $398,987 over the three -year monitoring period ending FY 2017 -18
plus an additional $39,899 contingency. The estimated payments are $143,031 to the
City of Los Angeles for FY 2015 -16, $148,233 for FY16 -17, and $107,723 for FY 2017 -
18. Funds are available in the Public Works Department. The Agreement will be
charged to account 06402.555170. Future year funding is contingent upon Council
app roval.
Ballona Creek
Santa Monica’s share of the monitoring costs per the terms of this MOA is not to exceed
$9,728, which is $8,844 over the three -year monitoring period ending FY 2017 -18 plus
an additional $884 contingency. The estimated payments are $3,344 for FY 2015 -16,
$2,863 for FY16 -17, and $2,637 for FY 2017 -18. Funds are available in the Public
Works Department. The Agreement will be charged to account 06402.555170. Future
year funding is contingent upon Council approval.
Prepared By: Jennife r Simmons,
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Approved
Forwarded to Council
Attachments:
A. July 8, 2003 Staff Report
B. July 14, 2009 Staff Report
Reference:
MOA No. 10255
(CCS)