Title
RESOLUTION NO. 2014-181 OF THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF CHULA VISTA SUPPORTING SAN DIEGO'S NATIONAL POLLUTANT DISCHARGE ELIMINATION SYSTEM (NPDES) MODIFIED PERMIT FOR THE POINT LOMA WASTEWATER TREATMENT PLANT
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RECOMMENDED ACTION
Recommended Action
Council adopt the resolution.
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SUMMARY
The Metro Wastewater JPA/Metro Commission in conjunction with the City of San Diego have been developing strategies that would increase reliability and diversity of the region's water supply and reduce the wastewater flow to the Point Loma Wastewater Treatment Plant (PLWTP). These strategies are proposed in the PLWTP advanced primary permit renewal submittal to U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (USEPA) and could potentially avoid an estimated $300 million in costs to the Metro wastewater ratepayers (including Chula Vista residents). Tonight's action would be a statement of support, as part of the Metro Wastewater JPA/Metro Commission, for the January 2015 USEPA permit renewal application and the conceptual goals to be achieved by the Ocean Pollution Reduction Act II proposed legislation.
ENVIRONMENTAL REVIEW
The Development Services Director has reviewed the proposed action for compliance with the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) and has determined that the activity is not a "Project" as defined under Section 15378(b)(4) of the State CEQA Guidelines because the action is to approve support of San Diego Metro Wastewater's application for the January 2015 USEPA permit renewal. The action does not involve any commitment to any specific project which may result in a potentially significant physical impact on the environment; therefore, pursuant to Section 15060(c)(3) of the State CEQA Guidelines the activity is not subject to CEQA.
BOARD/COMMISSION RECOMMENDATION
Not applicable.
DISCUSSION
The City of Chula Vista is one of 12 participating agencies (PAs) that have agreements with the City of San Diego (San Diego) for wastewater treatment. Per the agreements, all of the wastewater generated by these agencies is conveyed to the San Diego system for treatment.
Although San Diego's sewage system dates back to 1885, a formal agreement between agencies was not established until 1998. The Metropolitan Wastewater Commission (Metro Commission) was formed at that time pursuant to the terms of the first Regional Wastewater Disposal Agreement between PAs and San Diego.
In 2001, the Metro Joint Powers Authority (Metro JPA) was formed to provide the PAs with a stronger voice in the operations of the Metro System, for which the PAs collectively pay approximately 35% of the operation and capital costs. In Fiscal Year 2014/15, the City of Chula Vista's currently projected costs for wastewater treatment total an estimated $29 million.
San Diego Metropolitan Wastewater System
San Diego's wastewater system consists of both Municipal and Metropolitan Infrastructure. A Municipal system (Muni) of pipelines and pump stations specific to each customer agency sends wastewater to the Metropolitan Wastewater system (Metro) for central conveyance to treatment facilities in San Diego.
The Metro system is operated by San Diego and consists of several large pipelines and pump stations; three treatment plants; a biosolids (sludge) processing plant; and two ocean outfalls.
The Point Loma Wastewater Treatment Plant (PLWTP) is permitted as a 240 million gallon per day (mgd) advanced primary (chemically enhanced) plant that discharges treated wastewater through the PLWTP Ocean Outfall which extends 4.5 miles into the ocean and is at a depth of 320 feet.
The North City Water Reclamation Plant (North City) is a 30 mgd tertiary treatment plant that produces reclaimed water. Since North City does not have its own outfall, the excess wastewater not needed to fulfill the reclaimed water customers needs is treated to a secondary level and pumped to PLWTP.
The South Bay Water Reclamation Plant (South Bay) is a 15 mgd tertiary treatment plant that produces reclaimed water. The excess wastewater not needed to fulfill the reclaimed water customers needs is treated to a secondary level and discharged through the South Bay Ocean Outfall which extends 3.5 miles into the ocean and at a depth of 90 feet.
Wastewater Treatment
Wastewater treatment is primarily the process of removing solids from the wastewater and other pollutants.
• Primary treatment plants remove about 60% of the solids.
• Advanced primary treatment plants, such as PLWTP, use chemicals to remove at least 88% of the solids.
• Secondary treatment plants follow primary treatment with a biological treatment that removes about 90% of the solids.
• Tertiary treatment plants, like North City and South Bay, have both primary and secondary treatment followed by filtration, resulting in the removal of about 99% of the solids.
Wastewater Treatment Regulation
The Federal Clean Water Act (CWA) passed in 1972 required that all wastewater treatment plants be permitted. The permitting process in California involves the USEPA, the local Regional Water Quality Control Board, the State Water Resources Control Board and the California Coastal Commission.
The CWA required wastewater treatment plants to treat wastewater to at least a secondary level. The actual treatment required varies depending on whether discharging to a lake, river or ocean as well as the particular characteristics of the receiving body of water. A number of dischargers are required to go to higher levels of treatment than secondary.
In 1994, the Federal District Court for the Southern District of California determined that upgrading San Diego's PLWTP to secondary treatment level would not be in the public interest due to excessive cost without producing additional environmental benefits. The reality was that the PLWTP meets all the requirements of secondary treatment except for the removal of total suspended solids and allowable biological oxygen demand. At the direction of Congress, the USEPA requested that the National Research Council advise the agency on ways to improve wastewater management in coastal urban areas. The resulting study, "Managing Wastewater in Coastal Urban Areas," produced several important findings, including:
- Biological oxygen demand discharged thru a well-designed outfall is generally of no ecological concern in open coastal waters.
- Total suspended solids can be adequately controlled by advanced primary treatment and high dilution outfalls.
- Over-control is particularly likely along ocean coasts, but nevertheless full secondary treatment would still be required regardless of cost or lack of benefits.
Past reviews by the USEPA, the State of California, and scientists affiliated with the Scripps Institution of Oceanography (Scripps) and the University of California at San Diego, as well as other organizations have concluded the PLWTP does not have a significant adverse impact on the ocean environment.
Recognizing the unique situation surrounding the PLWTP, Congress adopted the Ocean Pollution Reduction Act of 1994 (OPRA). OPRA allowed the PLWTP to avoid conversion to full secondary treatment and instead operate under a modified permit according to standards contained in OPRA and section 301(h) of the Clean Water Act.
The Act gave San Diego the opportunity to apply for a modified permit for PLWTP. San Diego must apply to USEPA for a new permit or modified permit every five years. In approving past waivers, San Diego agreed to complete a wide range of actions, studies and improvements to secure support from the environmental community. Below are some of the more notable commitments:
• Develop Reclamation
Construct facilities producing approximately 45 million gallons of reclaimed water per day. The cost was approximately $340 million for the facilities constructed.
• Enhanced Ocean Monitoring
San Diego hired experts from esteemed scientific organizations such as Scripps and Woods Hole to review and enhance the Ocean Monitoring Program. The expanded monitoring program includes over 150,000 samples taken annually. Over 20 years of data indicates there has been no adverse impact to the ocean environment from PLWTP discharge. It is also important to note that PLWTP's 4.5 mile long outfall (one of the longest in the country) terminates in a dispersement structure that spans a mile across at 320 feet deep (the deepest in the United States). The unique natural ocean environment particular to PLWTP further diffuses any potential discharge impacts.
• Optimizing Wastewater Reuse
While the original requests from the environmental community included construction of reclaimed water facilities as noted above, subsequent requests included further study of additional water reuse possibilities. These studies were presented in a report entitled, "The Recycled Water Study" (2012). The product of years of collaboration between stakeholders and technical experts, the Recycled Water Study outlines a concept to divert and treat almost 100 mgd of wastewater that would otherwise be treated to secondary level at the PLWTP. This concept would allow the permitted capacity of PLWTP to be reduced and continue treatment at the Advanced Primary Level.
Additionally, San Diego constructed a one mgd demonstration projected at North City and pursued studies to determine the feasibility of implementing an indirect potable reuse effort at the San Vicente Reservoir. The demonstration project and studies showed that wastewater could be treated at North City to a level sufficient for safe placement in San Vicente Reservoir and subsequently treated at a water treatment plant to a potable level.
Metro JPA Position
The current modified permit for PLWTP expires on July 31, 2015. The application for a new permit must be submitted no later than January 2015. Although a waiver was successfully secured in 2010, the Coastal Commission indicated that another waiver would be highly unlikely (see Attachment 1). Additionally, all remaining large wastewater treatment plants previously allowed to operate at less than a secondary treatment level have recently been ordered to upgrade to secondary treatment regardless of individual circumstances and cost.
In 2013, San Diego staff indicated that they would likely pursue another waiver. Metro JPA and staff met in June 2013 to review the situation and discuss options. Metro JPA determined that it was in the best interest of ratepayers to pursue permanent acceptance of PLWTP at a smaller capacity. The alternative was to risk a failed waiver application and a regulatory directive to proceed with immediate conversion of PLWTP to full secondary treatment at an estimated cost of $2.1 billion. Chula Vista's share of the cost would be about 10%. The Metro JPA felt that an expenditure of this magnitude was unnecessary and should not be imposed upon the ratepayers.
Separately, San Diego was preparing to recommend that its 1 mgd water purification project be expanded to a 15 mgd plant. While such a project would certainly benefit local water supply, the cost of this project would be in addition to the estimated cost to convert PLWTP to secondary treatment.
In the Metro JPA's estimation, the most prudent and cost-effective course of action would be to pursue a larger water purification project which would have the dual benefit of diverting approximately 100 mgd from PLWTP while creating an additional local water supply. This strategy of potable reuse of wastewater has been named the Pure Water San Diego program (Pure Water). The goal of Pure Water is to invest an estimated $1.8 billion to create a new potable water source of approximately 83 mgd from reuse of wastewater diverted away from PLWTP. This would be in lieu of a $2.1 billion investment that would only bring PLWTP to secondary treatment and still discharge all treated water to the ocean. Again, Chula Vista's share of any improvement selected would be approximately 10% of the total costs.
The Metro JPA initiated an extensive series of meetings with San Diego and member agency City Councils and Boards of Directors; individual Councilmembers and Water District Board Members; federal, state and local legislators; environmental stakeholders; business groups; advocacy groups and many others to generate support for Pure Water. Additionally, the Metro JPA submitted a letter outlining its position to San Diego decision makers (see Attachment 2) preparing to provide direction at a July 31, 2013 meeting. Chula Vista has been an active participant in these regional efforts, with Mayor Cheryl Cox as the Metro JPA Chairperson and Public Works Director, Mr. Richard Hopkins, as the City's representatives.
As a result of all these efforts, San Diego staff revised their recommendation to reflect the Metro JPA's position supporting Pure Water (see Attachment 3). San Diego's Committee on the Environment adopted the revised recommendation at their July 31, 2013 meeting.
Current Circumstances
San Diego staff, in a combined effort with PA staff, the Metro Steering Committee, Metro Commissioners, environmental and other stakeholders are scheduled to submit the National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System (NPDES) Permit Application in January 2015 (Application). The Application includes the outline of the successor legislation to OPRA cited as the "Ocean Pollution Reduction Act II" (OPRA II) (See Exhibit A). OPRA II will continue the successful strategies and improvements initiated under OPRA. OPRA II will provide a framework for further enhancements to the City's water and wastewater systems, increase potable water reliability, and provide meaningful environmental protection. It will also officially allow PLWTP to remain as a chemically enhanced primary treatment plant by achieving the specific goals outlined in the Application. The Application will comply with standard legal requirements of previous permits (Clean Water Act Section 301h and Clean Water Act Section 301J), outline new enforceable provisions and identify future conceptual goals subject to the approval of the OPRA II legislation.
The components and goals in Exhibit B are the basis for the permit application San Diego must file with regulators in January 2015. Initial meetings with regulatory staff indicate a willingness to consider the Pure Water alternative.
San Diego will request the Metro Commission's support of the Application and the Pure Water Plan detailed and discussed above at the Commission meeting scheduled on October 2, 2014.
A draft resolution has been attached (Attachment 4) for the Metro Commission that supports the above approach. Staff recommends that the City Council adopt our resolution and provide direction to its Metro Commission representative to support Metro's resolution which supports the City of San Diego's Application for the PLWTP.
DECISION-MAKER CONFLICT
Staff has reviewed the decision contemplated by this action and has determined that it is not site specific and consequently, the 500-foot rule found in California Code of regulations section 18704.2(a)(1), is not applicable to this decision. Staff is not independently aware, and has not been informed by any Council member, of any other fact that may constitute a basis for a decision maker conflict of interest in this matter.
LINK TO STRATEGIC GOALS
The City's Strategic Plan has five major goals: Operational Excellence, Economic Vitality, Healthy Community, Strong and Secure Neighborhoods and a Connected Community. The Plan supports the Economic Vitality goal in the City's Strategic Plan. It provides support of a healthy community by providing new sources of potable water.
CURRENT YEAR FISCAL IMPACT
There is no impact to the Sewer Fund as a result of this action.
ONGOING FISCAL IMPACT
Approval of the resolution supporting San Diego's Application for the PLWTP does not have a direct fiscal impact. However, should San Diego's Pure Water efforts be successful, Metro wastewater ratepayers will avoid about $300 million in costs (the current estimated difference between constructing secondary treatment at PLWTP and implementing Pure Water). Additionally, 83 mgd of new local water supply will be developed and could potentially further offset water and/or wastewater costs.
It is important to note that the $300 million savings will not result in a lowering of current rates. Rather the avoided cost would lessen the rate increases needed to implement new permit requirements. The costs for the secondary treatment upgrade at PLWTP are projected to be approximately two billion dollars (without financing costs). The City's proportionate share would be about one to two hundred million dollars. Last year, the City Council adopted a five-year plan that would fund about nine million dollars. This should be a solid base from which the City could then bond and further mitigate the impact to our rate payers.
Staff will return to Council as more information is available with an implementation plan and to identify the ongoing fiscal impact.
ATTACHMENTS
Exhibit A Draft Ocean Pollution Reduction ACT II
Exhibit B Basis of Point Loma Permit Application
Attachment 1 Coastal Commission Letter (October 25, 2012)
Attachment 2 Metro JPA Letter to Committee on the Environment (Natural Resources & Culture Committee) (July 29, 2013)
Attachment 3 City of San Diego Memo, Alternative Recommendation (July 29, 2013)
Attachment 4 Draft Metro Commission Resolution
Staff Contact: Roberto Yano, Senior Civil Engineer