AGENDA ITEM
TO:
HONORABLE MAYOR
AND MEMBERS OF THE CITY COUNCIL
FROM: CARLO TOMAINO
CITY MANAGER
BY: THOMAS BEKELE
PUBLIC WORKS DIRECTOR
SUBJECT:
title
FIRST AMENDMENT TO THE MEMORANDUM OF UNDERSTANDING WITH THE LOS ANGELES GATEWAY REGION INTEGRATED REGIONAL WATER MANAGEMENT JOINT POWERS AUTHORITY FOR THE DOMINGUEZ CHANNEL AND LOS ANGELES AND LONG BEACH HARBOR WATERS TOXIC POLLUTANTS TOTAL MAXIMUM DAILY LOADS
summary
Summary:
The Los Angeles Gateway Region Integrated Regional Water Management Joint Powers Authority is a watershed-based coalition. GWMA is comprised of various cities, water agencies and a port which are responsible for coordinating the regional watershed needs of 2 million people in the Gateway Region located in Southeastern Los Angeles County. The City Council will consider approving the First Amendment to the Memorandum of Understanding with the Los Angeles Gateway Region Integrated Regional Water Management Joint Powers Authority for administration and cost sharing of the Harbors Waters Toxic Pollutants Total Maximum Daily Loads compliance monitoring and reporting plan.
Strategic Plan Goals(s):
Goal No. 2 Community Safety: Maintaining community safety by supporting public safety services and increasing emergency preparedness.
Goal No. 4 Infrastructure: Maintain and improve the City’s physical infrastructure, water system, and recreational spaces.
recommendation
Recommendation:
Authorize the City Manager to execute the First Amendment to the Memorandum of Understanding between the City and the Los Angeles Gateway Region Integrated Regional Water Management Joint Powers Authority (GWMA) for administration and cost sharing to implement the coordinated compliance, monitoring, and reporting plan (CCRMP) for the Dominguez Channel and Los Angeles and Long Beach Harbors Waters Toxic Pollutants Total Maximum Daily Loads. The proposed amendment would extend the term of the MOU through December 31, 2029, and allow the City to continue coordinating with other responsible agencies on regional watershed objectives.
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Fiscal Impact:
The preparation and implementation of the CCRMP involves multiple agencies. Participating agencies share costs based on the formulas outlined in a Memorandum of Understanding (Attachment A). The actual cost of sample collection and analysis varies from year to year due to changes in the water, sediment, and fish tissue sampling schedules or modifications to the monitoring plan ordered by the California Regional Water Quality Control Board (Regional Board). However, at the request of the parties responsible, the costs have been averaged over a five-year period. The City’s annual cost is $25,889, with a total five-year cost of $129,445, this amount is included in the Fiscal Year 2024-2025 Environmental Programs Budget (Account No. 100-93-5425). Staff will continue requesting appropriate funding to cover future costs in subsequent budgets.
Background:
A Total Maximum Daily Load (TMDL) is the calculated maximum amount of a pollutant that a waterbody can receive while still meeting water quality standards. Historically, dichloro-diphenyl-trichloroethane (DDT) and related compounds have been discharged or carried by runoff into the Los Angeles and Long Beach Harbors (Greater Harbor), where these pollutants have contaminated sediment beds. Beginning in 2006, the Regional Board worked with both the Port of Los Angeles and the Port of Long Beach (Ports) to develop the TMDL. Originally, the TMDL was limited solely to the Greater Harbor area; however, based upon research results, the Ports identified potential pollutant contributions from upstream sources, leading the Regional Board to include all the tributary cities in the TMDL.
On May 5, 2011, the Regional Board adopted a TMDL for the Dominguez Channel and the Greater Harbor addressing metals and toxic pollutants, requiring the development and subsequent implementation of a monitoring plan. The United States Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), and by extension, the Regional Board, was required by a 1999 consent decree to develop a TMDL toxic pollutants in the Greater Harbor by March 2012; this is referred to as the Harbor Toxics TMDL. The total tributary area and responsible agencies and cities, including the City of Signal Hill are outlined in Attachment B. The TMDL became effective upon EPA approval on March 23, 2012. Subsequently, the TMDL has been incorporated into the Municipal Separate Storm Sewer System (MS4) Permit and is enforceable through the federal Clean Water Act.
Beginning in 2014, the affected cities and agencies worked together with the Los Angeles Gateway Region Integrated Regional Water Management Joint Powers Authority (GWMA) to develop an MOU to share the cost of the implementation plan. The GWMA acts solely as a fiduciary agent for this agreement. The MOU became effective April 15, 2019, and will expire on December 31, 2024 (Attachment C).
Analysis:
TMDL Requirements
The TMDL establishes Load Allocations and Waste Load Allocations (which are effectively numerical discharge limits) for a wide variety of pollutants including metals such as copper, lead, zinc, and other organic compounds, such as DDT, generally referred to as “toxic.” Agencies impacted by this TMDL are divided into three groups based on geographical drainage areas:
1) Cities draining to the Dominguez Channel
2) Agencies with areas draining directly into the Greater Harbor which includes the Los Cerritos Channel watershed, Palos Verdes Peninsula Watershed, and Los Angeles River Estuary; and
3) Agencies draining to the Los Angeles and San Gabriel Rivers.
TMDL monitoring requirements differ for each of the above groups. For agencies with jurisdictional areas tributary to the Dominguez Channel, monitoring is being addressed through the development of a Watershed Coordinated Integrated Monitoring Program (CIMP). Similarly, TMDL requirements for agency areas tributary to the Los Angeles and San Gabriel Rivers are being addressed through the development of a Watershed CIMP. Those agencies identified by the TMDL as draining directly to the Greater Harbor, which includes Signal Hill, are required to develop and implement a monitoring plan that includes sediment testing, water column testing, and analysis of fish tissues.
Monitoring Program MOU
After approval of the TMDL by the Regional Board, representatives of the affected agencies formed a technical working committee to leverage resources and gain economies of scale. The group, referred to as the Regional Monitoring Coalition (RMC), developed and submitted the “Coordinated Compliance Monitoring and Reporting Plan” to the Regional Board. The monitoring plan calls for the annual collection of wet and dry weather water samples at 22 locations, sediment samples collected every two to three years at the same 22 locations, and fish tissue samples collected biennially from within four waterbodies within the Greater Harbors.
In September 2021, the Regional Board adopted a new Regional MS4 permit which incorporated a revised TMDL. The cost of implementing the program increased considerably due to the requirements of the updated TMDL, including potential amendments to the CCMRP, more extensive chemistry sampling to meet high resolution Polychlorinated Biphenyls (PCB) analysis, possible model revisions to address human health sediment quality objectives, and potential hot spot investigations, among other general cost increases. The five-year cost estimate and cost sharing scenario are shown in the Tables of Exhibit A to the MOU. The cost estimate is similar to other TMDL and watershed cost sharing agreements in the Los Angeles County area. Participants are assessed a share based on agency jurisdictional area of 60 percent of the overall costs. This includes the water-surface areas of both the Ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach. The remaining 30 percent of the cost is shared equally by agencies. The Flood Control District of Los Angeles County contributes a flat 10 percent of the cost. The City of Los Angeles and the Port of Los Angeles are shown in Exhibit “A” paying as one entity but are assessed as two separate agencies.
As noted above, the regulatory requirements related to the TMDL program have continued to become more complex and require additional scientific sampling and quantitative scientific assessment. The City is required to monitor regularly and assess its impact to meet environmental quality standards. The original 2019 MOU estimated the cost for all participating agencies at $272,969; the City’s annual pro-rata share of that cost was $9,403. The proposed First Amendment to the MOU reflects a cost increase for the GWMA totaling $646,804 with the City’s annual share calculated at $25,889. While the amount represents a substantial increase for both the GWMA and City, staff believes the approach and the cost-sharing model outlined in the MOU remains cost effective. Without the GWMA model, the City’s likely costs to meet its environmental obligations would be higher. The City also accounted for this increase in the current Operating Budget.
There are an estimated 30 to 40 industrial sites within the Greater Harbor area that hold individual NPDES permits. As these permits come up for renewal, it is likely these businesses will be subject to the same monitoring requirements. The MOU allows the participating agencies to assess an annual charge equal to their initial baseline assessment of $34,321 to these industrial sites if these choose to use the monitoring results to meet their individual permit requirements. This practice would proportionally reduce the ultimate cost for each city and agency. However, it is unknown how many permittees would elect to join, or when, therefore the proposed amendment to the MOU does not reflect a reduction in cost.
The GWMA agreed to act as the fiduciary agent for the TMDL monitoring project. The GWMA has experience with similar projects such as the Lower Los Angeles and Lower San Gabriel River and Los Cerritos Channel Watershed Management Programs; the key elements of the MOU include:
• Obligates agencies to pay an annual fee.
• Enables a city or agency to withdraw from the agreement by providing prior written notice. The withdrawing entity shall be responsible for its monitoring costs and administrative costs through the end of the current fiscal year. If the city or agency provides written notice after March 1, the entity is responsible for monitoring costs and administrative costs through the end of the current fiscal year and the next fiscal year. The remaining participating parties would be responsible for sharing in the additional costs for future years.
• Requires that a representative from each participating agency be named and authorized to speak on decisions made by the group.
• Establishes the GWMA as the entity to contract with consultants chosen by the watershed group and process payments for consultants.
• Outlines a process for invoicing and payments by participating agencies.
The proposed First Amendment to the MOU with the GWMA would extend the City’s participation through December 2029 and allow the City to continue participating in the administration of the Coordinated Compliance Monitoring and Reporting Plan (CCRMP) for the Dominguez Channel and Los Angeles and Long Beach Harbors Waters TMDL. This amendment ensures the City's compliance with regional water quality objectives and regulations, contributes to the protection of vital watershed areas, and aligns with the City's long-term infrastructure and community safety goals. Additionally, the regional approach proposed within the MOU enables the City to leverage additional technical resources that make it more cost effective for the City to meet its environmental requirements.
Reviewed for Fiscal Impact:
_________________________
Sharon del Rosario
Attachments:
A. First Amendment to the Memorandum of Understanding
B. Total Maximum Daily Load Map
C. Memorandum of Understanding