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SR 08-23-2016 3E Ci ty Council Report City Council Meeting : August 23, 2016 Agenda Item: 3.E 1 of 4 To: Mayor and City Council From: Susan Cline, Director , Public Works, Civil Engineering Subject: Memorandum of Understanding with the Los Angeles County Flood Control District for Operation and Maintenance of Trash Excluders Recommended Action Staff rec ommends that the City Council a uthorize the City Manager to execute a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with the Los Angeles County Flood Control District (LACFCD) for operation and maintenance of trash excluders installed on or within LACFCD owned catch b asins. Executive Summary In order to reduce debris discharged into the Santa Monica Bay and to meet the marine debris total maximum daily load (TMDL) requirements as set forth by the Los Angeles Regional Water Quality Control Board (RWQCB), the City pla ns to install screens (trash excluders) on drains owned by the City . The City is also responsible for trash excluder installation on catch basins within City limits that are owned by the Los Angeles County Flood Control District (LACFCD) in order to preve nt debris and pollution originating in the City from entering into the storm drain system and being discharged into the Santa Monica Bay. Maintenance of the trash excluders on LACFCD catch basins is also required, and staff recommends completing maintenan ce in -house as the most cost effective option to ensure full compliance with water quality standards . Staff recommends that Council authorize staff to negotiate and enter into a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with the LACFCD to outline operation and ma intenance responsibilities for the trash excluders installed on LACFCD catch basins within City boundaries . Background Storm water runoff in urban areas, especially from street and surrounding hardscape surfaces, ultimately enter s catch basins and is co nsidered a significant source of pollution because of trash and other debris it transports to the storm drain outfalls at the Santa Monica Bay. On November 4, 2010, the Regional Board adopted Resolution No. R10 -010, amending the Water Quality Control Plan for the Los Angeles Region by establishing a Total Maximum Daily Load for debris (Trash TMDL) in near shore and 2 of 4 offshore Santa Monica Bay. This water quality standard requires 100% reduction of trash discharge into Santa Monica Bay by 2020. The City ’s compliance strategy for this water quality standard includes the installation of trash excluder devices such as connector pipe screens (CPS) and/or automatic retractable screens (ARS) at catch basins in specific areas of the City (pictured in Attachments B and C). A CPS is installed inside the catch basin at the outlet pipe, allowing debris to enter the catch basin , but preventing it from escaping into the outlet pipe and discharging into the Santa Monica Bay. An ARS is a screen that is installed at the curb face inlet and precludes debris from entering the catch basin structure. The debris would subsequently be swept up by existing street cleaning operations. These trash excluder devices are certified as full capture devices by the RWQCB and are being installed as part of the Storm Drain Catch Basin Connector Pipe Screens Project. Discussion As part of the Storm Drain Catch Basin Connector Pipe Screens Project and in an effort to meet the 2018 deadline to achieve the Trash TMDL’s 60% trash reduction r equirement, the City is installing CPS and ARS units at 745 catch basin s in the Kenter Canyon, Pico -4 th and Pico -Caltrans sub -watersheds. These 745 catch basins currently do not have trash excluder devices installed. The LAFCD owns 314 of these 745 catch basins . The City is responsible for trash excluder installation on these LACFCD facilities in order to prevent debris and pollution originating in the City from entering into the storm drain system and being discharged into the Santa Monica Bay. After th e project is complete, the City will be responsible for maint aining all 745 catch basins, including the 314 owned by LACFCD. LACFCD Permitting In any instance where LACFCD facilities are modified by an agency other than Los Angeles County, including cat ch basins, a flood permit is required. Part of the flood permit requirement is execution of a MOU between the LACFCD and the City regarding operat ion and maintenance of the trash excluders installed on LACFCD catch basins . Maintenance is required to be com pleted on a regular basis in strict accordance with 3 of 4 regulations . Staff compared in -house maintenance costs to County maintenance costs, recommends conducting maintenance on the LACFCD catch basins in -house as the most cost effective option to ensure full c ompliance with water quality standards. The cost for overall maintenance of LACFCD catch basins by City forces would be approximately $140 per catch basin per year, or $44,000 total per year. This consists of city staff time, debris disposal and inspectio n time by County staff. County costs for the same service would be $375 per catch basin per year , or $118,000 per year . The first cleaning would occur between October 2017 and April 2018 and would be funded out of the Clean Beaches and Ocean Park Tax Fund . LACFCD would pay the City of Santa Monica about $16 -17 per catch basin as reimbursement for the pre -retrofit catch basin maintenance costs. This amount represents the annual amount the LACFCD would otherwise have had to incur for removing trash and deb ris from the catch basins had the City not installed trash excluders in their catch basins. Next Steps Once an MOU is executed and a permit is obtained by LACFCD, the contractor would mobilize and install trash excluders on City and LACFCD owned catch basi ns. The project is scheduled to run through December 2016. Maintenance responsibility is anticipated to begin in January 2017. Along with routine City services such as trash pickup and street sweeping near or around these facilities, additional tasks would include repairing, maintaining, operating and inspecting trash excluder devices installed on or within LACFCD catch basins. LACFCD catch basins would be cleaned a minimum of once per year. Financial Impacts & Budget Actions There is no immediate financi al impact or budget action necessary as a result of the recommended action. Maintenance of the LACFCD catch basins is anticipated to begin in FY 2017 -18 and is estimated to cost $44,000 per year, to be funded from the Clean Beaches and Ocean Parcel Tax Fun d. Approximately $5,500 per year will be reimbursed by the LACFCD. Budget a uthority for maintenance costs will be requested 4 of 4 during the FY 2017 -19 biennial budget process. Prepared By: Joshua Carvalho, Civil Engineer Approved Forwarded to Council Attachments: A. Staff Report - October 13, 2015 B. Typical CPS Device C. Typical ARS Device Reference:    MOU  No. 10355   (CCS)