AGENDA ITEM
TO: HONORABLE MAYOR
AND MEMBERS OF THE CITY COUNCIL
FROM: CARLO TOMAINO
CITY MANAGER
BY: GABINO C. LUNA
PUBLIC WORKS DIRECTOR
SUBJECT:
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COST SHARING AGREEMENT FOR MONITORING TOTAL MAXIMUM DAILY LOAD LIMITS FOR TOXIC POLLUTANTS WITHIN THE DOMINGUEZ CHANNEL AND LOS ANGELES AND LONG BEACH HARBORS WATERS
summary
Summary:
The City must report on its Total Maximum Daily Load (TMDL), which is the maximum amount of pollutants that a waterbody can receive and still meet water quality standards. In 2014, the affected cities and agencies began collaborating with the Los Angeles Gateway Region Integrated Regional Water Management Joint Powers Authority (GWMA) to develop a Memorandum of Understanding to share the cost of the implementation plan. The City Council will consider entering into an agreement with GWMA to continue administering and sharing costs for the Harbors Waters Toxic Pollutants TMDL compliance monitoring and reporting plan.
recommendation
Strategic Plan Goal:
Goal No. 4 Infrastructure: Maintain and improve the City’s physical infrastructure, water system, and recreational spaces.
Recommendation:
Authorize the City Manager to enter into an agreement between the City and the GWMA for continued administration and cost sharing for the implementation of the coordinated compliance, monitoring, and reporting plan for the Dominguez Channel and Los Angeles and Long Beach Harbors Waters Toxic Pollutants TMDL.
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Fiscal Impact:
The total annual monitoring cost under this agreement is included as part of the Fiscal Year 2026-27 Environmental Programs Budget (Account No. 100-93-5425), as in previous years. Approval of the proposed agreement commits the City to its share of the regional monitoring program costs required to maintain compliance within the Dominguez Channel and Los Angeles and Long Beach Harbors Waters Toxic Pollutants Total Maximum Daily Loads. The City’s share of monitoring costs is broken down per fiscal year, with each projected annual payment amount as follows:
Table 1.
|
FY 2026-27 |
FY 2027-28 |
FY 2028-29 |
FY 2029-30 |
FY 2030-31 |
5-year Total |
|
$491.09 |
$510.74 |
$531.17 |
$552.42 |
$574.51 |
$2,659.66 |
In addition to the shared monitoring costs listed above, GWMA will assess a direct administrative fee annually between 0% to 5% of the City’s actual monitoring costs (Exhibit A of Attachment A).
Background:
A Total Maximum Daily Load (TMDL) is a calculation of the maximum amount of a pollutant that a waterbody can receive and still meet water quality standards. In the past, runoff discharged dichloro-diphenyl-trichloroethane (DDT) and related compounds into the Los Angeles and Long Beach Harbors (Greater Harbor), creating contaminated sediment beds. A 1999 consent decree required the United States Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), and by extension, the Regional Board, to develop a TMDL for toxic pollutants in the Greater Harbor; referred to as the Harbor Toxics TMDL.
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, and zinc, as well as organic compounds such as DDT. 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 groups listed above. Agencies with jurisdictional areas tributary to the Dominguez Channel address monitoring by developing a Watershed Coordinated Integrated Monitoring Program (CIMP). Similarly, agencies with areas tributary to the Los Angeles and San Gabriel Rivers address TMDL requirements by developing a Watershed CIMP. Agencies identified by the TMDL as draining directly to the Greater Harbor, including Signal Hill, must develop and implement a monitoring plan that includes sediment testing, water column testing, and analysis of fish tissues.
In 2006, the Regional Board worked with both the Port of Los Angeles and the Port of Long Beach (Ports) to develop this TMDL. Initially, the TMDL applied only to the Greater Harbor area. However, research indicated a potential contribution from pollutants originating upstream resulting with the Regional Board ultimately including all tributary cities in this TMDL. On May 5, 2011, the Regional Board adopted a TMDL for the Dominguez Channel and the Greater Harbor for metals and toxic pollutants, requiring agencies to develop and implement a monitoring plan. On March 23, 2012, the EPA approved the TMDL. Subsequently, the TMDL became part of the Municipal Separate Storm Sewer System (MS4) Permit and is enforceable through the Federal Clean Water Act. In 2014, the affected cities and agencies worked together with GWMA to develop an MOU to share the cost of the implementation plan. The GWMA acts solely as a fiduciary agent for this agreement.
Analysis:
Following the Regional Board adoption of the TMDL, representatives of the affected agencies formed a technical working committee to leverage resources and achieve economies of scale. This group, known as the Regional Monitoring Coalition, developed and submitted the “Coordinated Compliance Monitoring and Reporting Plan” to the Regional Board. The monitoring plan requires annual collection of wet and dry-weather water samples at over 20 locations, sediment samples every two to three years at those locations, and fish tissue samples collected biennially from four waterbodies within the Greater Harbors.
By participating in this Regional Monitoring Coalition, the City reduces monitoring and reporting costs while avoiding duplication of effort through a coordinated compliance program. Consistent with similar TMDL and watershed cost-sharing agreements in Los Angeles County, each participant’s cost share is based on its jurisdictional area, including the water-surface areas of the Ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach. The City’s estimated cost share over the next five years totals $2,659.66. Staff believes the City’s pro-rata share costs for these services is reasonable and provides cost savings compared to the City engaging in monitoring and reporting on its own.
As the Regional Board renews other individual NPDES permits for industrial sites within the Greater Harbor area, those permittees may become subject to the same monitoring requirements. The agreement includes provisions for private NPDES permittees to enter into a separate agreement with GWMA to receive monitoring data collected under this agreement. Those private permittees would be charged at least $25,000 annually if these choose to use the monitoring results to meet individual permit requirements, thereby proportionally reducing each city's and agency's ultimate cost. At this time, the number and timing of industrial permittees electing to join remains unknown; therefore, no cost reduction is shown in Exhibit A to the agreement.
The GWMA agreed to continue 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.
Key elements of the agreement:
• Obligates agencies to pay an annual fee.
• A city or agency may 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 February 15, 2027, the entity is responsible for its monitoring costs and administrative costs through the end of the current fiscal year and the following 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 consultants chosen by the watershed group and process payments for consultants.
• Outlines a process for invoicing and payments by participating agencies.
Staff is recommending the City Council authorize the City Manager to execute the cost-sharing agreement to allow for the City’s continued compliance with the TMDL monitoring plan imposed by the Regional Board in a reliable and cost-effective manner.
Reviewed:
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Siamlu Cox
Attachment:
A. Cost Sharing Agreement