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SR 04-25-2023 5E City Council Report City Council Meeting: April 25, 2023 Agenda Item: 5.E 1 of 5 To: Mayor and City Council From: Rick Valte, Public Works Director, Public Works, Engineering and Street Services Subject: Authorization to enter into Cost-Sharing Agreements with the City of Los Angeles for Santa Monica Bay and Ballona Creek Recommended Action Staff recommends that the City Council: 1. Adopt a finding of Categorical Exemption pursuant to Section 15307 and Section 15308 of the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) Guidelines 2. Authorize the City Manager to negotiate and execute two Memoranda of Agreements (MOA) with the City of Los Angeles to implement cost-sharing Coordinated Integrated Monitoring Plans (CIMPs) to comply with the Los Angeles Regional Water Quality Control Board's National Pollution Discharge Elimination Systems (NPDES) permit requirements. One MOA is for the Santa Monica Bay and the second MOA is for Ballona Creek. Summary The City is obligated to comply with the National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System’s (NPDES) permit requirements to reduce pollution from runoff into the Santa Monica Bay and Ballona Creek. NPDES requirements include Coordinated Integrated Monitoring Plans (CIMPs) to collect water quality data and demonstrate compliance with water quality objectives specified in the permit. The City drains into the Santa Monica Bay and Ballona Creek watersheds and is required to participate in a CIMP for each watershed. The most cost-effective way to do this is to share the costs associated with implementing the CIMPs with partner agencies that drain into the same watersheds. The City of Los Angeles is the lead agency for the Santa Monica Bay Jurisdictional Groups 2 & 3 (SMB) and Ballona Creek (BC) watersheds and leads the development and implementation of the CIMPs. The City’s costs for the three-year monitoring period 5.E Packet Pg. 113 2 of 5 (Fiscal Year 2023-24 through Fiscal Year 2025-26) of the Santa Monica Bay and Ballona Creek Memoranda of Agreements (MOAs) would not exceed $489,427 and $10,505, respectively. 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 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 Total Maximum Daily Loads (TMDLs) for each of these water bodies. A TMDL represents a maximum amount of human-made and/or naturally occurring pollution that may be present in a receiving water body without causing a decline in water quality and beneficial uses. The Santa Monica Bay and Ballona Creek watersheds have been included on California’s Sectio n 303(d) list since 1998 due to impairments by bacteria, trash, organic chemicals, and metals. The Board has adopted multiple TMDLs for these pollutants since 2003 to address these impairments. The City Council approved an initial agreement, Santa Monica Bay MOA, for cost- sharing bacterial monitoring on July 8, 2003. The City Council approved a second agreement, the Ballona Creek MOA, for cost-sharing monitoring for bacteria, metals, and toxics on July 14, 2009. The City of Los Angeles is the lead agency, responsible for performing all required monitoring and reporting to the Board, and the City of Santa Monica, along with other agencies in the watersheds, share in the cost of the CIMPs’ implementation. The City Council approved a subsequent three-year renewal of both MOAs on February 23, 2016, for a period through 2018. The most recent MOAs were executed on May 8, 2018, and cover a period from 2018 through 2023. Past Council Actions Meeting Date Description 5.E Packet Pg. 114 3 of 5 05/08/2018 (Attachment B) Authorization to execute MOAs for FY 18/19 - FY 22/23 Discussion On August 9, 2021, the Board approved a new NDPES permit with expanded monitoring and reporting requirements. The expanded requirements and the expiration of the current MOAs in 2023 require the City to enter into new MOAs with the City of Los Angeles. Under the terms of the new MOAs, the City of Los Angeles would continue to be responsible for all water quality monitoring and reporting activities to the Board. The City of Los Angeles would provide the monitoring services, permit compliance, reporting, and contract administration as listed in more detail in Attachment A. The three-year CIMP budgets for the MOAs are listed below by fiscal year for each watershed (Table 1). All costs would be paid by the Clean Beaches/Ocean Parcel Tax Fund. Table 1. Annual CIMP MOA Cost by Watershed for the City of Santa Monica Fiscal Year Santa Monica Bay Cost Ballona Creek Cost 23-24 $159,575 $3,334 24-25 $133,293 $3,107 25-26 $196,559 $4,064 Totals $489,427 $10,505 The budgetary difference between the two watersheds is due to a larger ratio of the City contributing to the overall drainage area in the Santa Monica Bay watershed as compared to the Ballona Creek watershed. The breakdowns of the other agencies in the watersheds and their respective tributary areas are shown in Tables 2 and 3. Table 2. Santa Monica Bay Watershed Agencies’ Tributary Areas Agency Acres % of Area City of Los Angeles 18,934.64 75.02% County of Los Angeles 130.40 0.52% 5.E Packet Pg. 115 4 of 5 City of Santa Monica 4,987.47 19.76% City of El Segundo 1,185.64 4.70% Total 25,238.14 100% Table 3. Ballona Creek Watershed Agencies’ Tributary Areas Agency Acres % of Area City of Los Angeles 65,247.40 83.08% County of Los Angeles 3,114.09 3.97% City of Beverly Hills 3,658.20 4.66% Culver City 3,176.44 4.04% City of Inglewood 1,904.09 2.42% City of Santa Monica 218.57 0.28% City of West Hollywood 1,212.79 1.54% Total 78,531.58 100% Environmental Review The tasks performed under these MOAs are categorically exempt from the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) pursuant to Sections 15307 (Class 7) and 15308 (Class 8). Sections 15307 and 15308 exempts a class of projects consisting of actions taken by regulatory agencies as authorized by state law or local ordina nce to assure the maintenance, restoration, or enhancement of a natural resource and the environment where the regulatory process involves procedures for protection of the environment. The MOAs would enable cost sharing for monitoring and reporting activit ies to enhance environmental resources and prevent harm to the natural environment. Therefore, the project qualifies for the Class 7 and Class 8 exemption. Financial Impacts and Budget Actions Staff seeks the authority to execute two agreements (Memoranda of Agreements) with the City of Los Angeles for the Santa Monica Bay and Ballona Creek watersheds in the amounts not to exceed $489,427 and $10,505, respectively. The MOAs would result in a total cost of $499,932 over a three-year period through FY 2025-26. Funds will be 5.E Packet Pg. 116 5 of 5 included in the Proposed FY 2023-25 Biennial Budget in the Clean Beaches/Ocean Parcel Tax Fund. Future funding is contingent upon Council approval. MOA Request – Santa Monica Bay FY 2023-24 Request Amount Future Years Budget Operational Account # Total Contract Amount $159,575 $329,852 16500003.550090 $489,427 MOA Request – Ballona Creek FY 2023-24 Request Amount Future Years Budget Operational Account # Total Contract Amount $3,334 $7,171 16500003.550090 $10,505 Prepared By: Curtis Castle, Principal Civil Engineer Approved Forwarded to Council Attachments: A. City of Los Angeles Scope of Work B. May 8 2018 Staff Report 5.E Packet Pg. 117 Attachment A Cost-Sharing Agreements with the City of Los Angeles for Santa Monica Bay and Ballona Creek City of Los Angles Scope of Work: Monitoring Services The City of Los Angeles would be required to comply with the monitoring requirements established in the NPDES Permit and associated documents. This includes but is not limited to implementation of the SMB and BC CIMPs, which includes the following activities: · Receiving Water Monitoring · Stormwater Outfall Monitoring · Non-Stormwater Outfall Monitoring · Data Management · Capital, Operation, and Maintenance Activities · Purchasing, maintaining, and replacing equipment (capital costs) necessary for monitoring activities · Development of the monitoring sections to be included in the Annual Report (e.g. trends analysis, TMDL attainment, summary of monitoring activities) · Annual Reconciliation of the Monitoring Services under the MOA. · This work may include additional activities and requirements based upon revisions of the March 2023 CIMP revisions, any other future CIMP revision, and subsequent requirements for the Regional Board. Watershed Management Plan (WMP)-Related Tasks The City of Los Angeles would be required to comply with the NPDES Permit, as well as other work that is determined to advance the cities’ efforts in complying with the NPDES Permit. The SMB and BC Watershed Management Groups (WMGs) are required to complete the following activities as part their respective WMPs. This includes the tasks defined below: · Annual Reporting (including the WMP Progress Report) · Report of Waste Discharge (ROWD) · Adaptive Management · Trash Monitoring and Reporting Plan (TMRP) · WMP Revisions · Website Management (lastormh2o.org) 5.E.a Packet Pg. 118 Attachment: City of Los Angeles Scope of Work (5620 : Cost-Sharing MOAs with the City of L.A. for Santa Monica Bay and Ballona Creek) Contract Administration This includes any and all tasks associated with administering this MOA, including but not limited to the following: · Facilitate the development of agreements and subsequent amendments for the SMB and BC WMGs. · Manage procurements, contracting, and contract administration for consultants and contractors, with the lead agency of the SMB and BC WMGs providing subject- matter expertise and project management support. This could include establishing and managing a bench of technical consultants that could be utilized by any Party. · Distribute invoices and collect payment from Parties. · Manage the MOA budget in coordination with the lead agency of the SMB and BC WMGs. · Facilitate the preparation of SMB and BC WMGs administrative procedures by SMB and BC WMGs and ensure compliance with these procedures. · Annual Reconciliation of WMP-related tasks under the MOA. 5.E.a Packet Pg. 119 Attachment: City of Los Angeles Scope of Work (5620 : Cost-Sharing MOAs with the City of L.A. for Santa Monica Bay and Ballona Creek) City Council Report City Council Meeting: May 8, 2018 Agenda Item: 3.B 1 of 5 To: Mayor and City Council From: Susan Cline, Director, Public Works, Office of Sustainability & the Environment Subject: Cost-Sharing Memorandum of Agreements with the City of Los Angeles for Two Coordinated Integrated Monitoring Plans for Santa Monica Bay and Ballona Creek Recommended Action Staff recommends that the City Council authorize the City Manager to negotiate and execute two Memorandum of Agreements (MOA) with the City of Los Angeles to implement cost-sharing Coordinated Integrated Monitoring Plans (CIMPs) to comply with the Los Angeles Regional Water Quality Control Board's National Pollution Discharge Elimination Systems (NPDES) permit requirements. One MOA is for the Santa Monica Bay and one MOA is for Ballona Creek. Executive Summary The City is obligated to comply with the National Pollutant Discharge Elimination Systems (NPDES) permit requirements to reduce pollution from runoff into the Santa Monica Bay and Ballona Creek. NPDES requirements include coordinated integrated monitoring plans to collect data and demonstrate compliance with water quality objectives specified in the permit. As a jurisdiction that drains into the Santa Monica Bay and Ballona Creek watersheds, the City is obligated to share the costs associated with implementing the coordinated integrated monitoring plans. The costs for the five- year monitoring period (FY 18/19 through FY 22/23) of the Santa Monica Bay and Ballona Creek MOAs would not exceed $572,027 and $16,946, respectively. 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 protect beneficial uses for each water body found within its region. Beneficial uses include swimming, fishing, drinking water, navigability, and wildlife habitats and 5.E.b Packet Pg. 120 Attachment: May 8 2018 Staff Report (5620 : Cost-Sharing MOAs with the City of L.A. for Santa Monica Bay and Ballona Creek) 2 of 5 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 Total Maximum Daily Loads (TMDLs) for each of these water bodies. A TMDL represents an amount of pollution that can be released by human activity and natural sources 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 included on California’s Section 303(d) list since 1998 due to impairments by bacteria, trash, organic chemicals and metals. The Board has adopted multiple TMDLs for these pollutants since 2003 in order to address these impairments. The City Council approved an initial Santa Monica Bay MOA for cost-sharing bacterial monitoring on July 8, 2003. The City Council approved the 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 Integrated Monitoring Plan (CIMP) for compliance with the TMDLs on behalf of the agencies within these watersheds. The City of Los Angeles is responsible for performing all required monitoring and reporting to the Board. The City of Los Angeles invoices the City of Santa Monica annually for its share of monitoring costs for Santa Monica Bay and Ballona Creek. The City Council approved the most recent three-year renewal of both MOAs on February 23, 2016, which end on June 30, 2018 (Attachment A). Discussion On November 28, 2012, the Board approved a new NDPES permit with more extensive monitoring requirements. The expanded CIMPs require the City to enter into new MOAs with the City of Los Angeles to reflect the additional monitoring protocols and requirements. Under the terms of the MOAs, the City of Los Angeles would continue to be responsible for all monitoring and reporting activities to the Board. 5.E.b Packet Pg. 121 Attachment: May 8 2018 Staff Report (5620 : Cost-Sharing MOAs with the City of L.A. for Santa Monica Bay and Ballona Creek) 3 of 5 The new MOAs include additional costs associated with tasks that the City of Los Angeles performed at its own expense, in previous years, on behalf of other cities to meet the NPDES permit requirements. However, these costs have increased and the City of Los Angeles is proposing to include these additional costs in the updated MOAs. Costs reflect the following responsibilities:  Annual Reporting: As the principal reporting agency, the City of Los Angeles performs a number of tasks related to the annual report, such as water quality monitoring, annual rainfall tracking, and hydrology reporting.  Report of Waste Discharge: Prepare application reporting on discharge locations that could affect urban runoff. Reapplication of the permit every five years.  Adaptive Management: Biannual reporting stating how cities have modified their stormwater program to better meet the permit requirements.  Reasonable Assurance Analysis: Per the permit, this analysis was performed during the 2012 permit period to complete Enhanced Watershed Management Plans (EWMPs). It must be performed again for the renewed permit. This analysis is a computer model simulation that predicts if the stormwater harvesting projects to be built within each watershed by cities will achieve EWMP requirements. The analysis demonstrates to the Board that cities will meet EWMP requirements and water quality standards.  Enhanced Watershed Management Plan (EWMP) Time Extension: There is an interim EWMP Implementation milestone set for April 11, 2018. Under the terms of the EWMP, the City of Los Angeles plans to submit a time extension on behalf of the cities in these watersheds to give cities more time to comply with the EWMP. This will allow for additional work to meet some of the water quality standards that will not likely be met before the 2018 compliance milestone.  Time Schedule Orders (Santa Monica Bay Bacterial TMDL): The final compliance milestone for the wet-weather bacterial TMDL is July 15, 2021. Under the terms of the EWMP, the City of Los Angeles plans to submit a Time Schedule Order, on behalf of the cities in these watersheds to give cities more 5.E.b Packet Pg. 122 Attachment: May 8 2018 Staff Report (5620 : Cost-Sharing MOAs with the City of L.A. for Santa Monica Bay and Ballona Creek) 4 of 5 time to comply with the TMDL. This will allow for additional work to meet some of the water quality standards that will not likely be met before the 2021 compliance milestone. The additional cost to the City of Santa Monica associated with the above administrative (non-CIMP) tasks totals $181,780 for Santa Monica Bay and $2,543 for Ballona Creek watersheds. The MOA five-year budgets for the CIMP and additional permit costs are listed below by fiscal year for each watershed. Santa Monica Bay Fiscal Year Budget 18/19 $93,821 19/20 $116,324 20/21 $128,205 21/22 $85,396 22/23 $96,279 Contingency $52,002 Total $572,027 Ballona Creek Fiscal Year Budget 18/19 $6,096 19/20 $2,394 20/21 $2,920 21/22 $2,075 22/23 $2,284 Contingency $1,177 Total $16,946 5.E.b Packet Pg. 123 Attachment: May 8 2018 Staff Report (5620 : Cost-Sharing MOAs with the City of L.A. for Santa Monica Bay and Ballona Creek) 5 of 5 The budgetary difference between the two watersheds is due to the difference in drainage area of the City: Santa Monica Bay – 19.76%; Ballona Creek – 0.28%. Financial Impacts & Budget Actions Santa Monica Bay The MOA cost share for the Santa Monica Bay is for an amount not to exceed $572,027 over a five-year period through FY 2022-23. Funds of $93,821 are available in the Proposed FY 2018-19 budget in the Public Works Department. The MOA will be charged to account 06402.555170. Ballona Creek The MOA cost share for the Ballona Creek is for an amount not to exceed $16,946 over a five-year period through FY 2022-23. Funds of $6,096 are available in the Proposed FY 2018-19 budget in the Public Works Department. The MOA will be charged to account 06402.555170. Future year funding for both agreements is contingent on Council budget approval. Prepared By: Neal Shapiro, Senior Sustainability Analyst Approved Forwarded to Council Attachments: A. February 23, 2016 Staff Report 5.E.b Packet Pg. 124 Attachment: May 8 2018 Staff Report (5620 : Cost-Sharing MOAs with the City of L.A. for Santa Monica Bay and Ballona Creek)