The URL can be used to link to this page

Home My WebLink AboutAGENDA REPORT 2021 1201 CCSA REG ITEM 10ECITY OF MOORPARK,   CALIFORNIA City Council Meeting of December 1, 2021 ACTION APPROVED STAFF RECOMMENDATION BY K. Spangler. E. Consider Approval of Submitting to the Los Angeles Regional Water Quality Control Board (Regional Board) a Notice of Intent to Develop Watershed Management Programs for the Calleguas Creek, Malibu Creek, Santa Clara River, Ventura River and Miscellaneous Coastal Watersheds; and Authorize the City Manager to Execute and Submit the Notice of Intent to the Regional Board. Staff Recommendation: 1) Approve submitting a Notice of Intent (NOI) to Develop Watershed Management Programs for the Calleguas Creek, Malibu Creek, Santa Clara River, Ventura River and Miscellaneous Coastal Watersheds; and 2) Authorize the City Manager to execute and sign the NOI subject to final language approval of the City Manager. (Staff: Shaun Kroes, Public Works Manager) Item: 10.E. MOORPARK CITY COUNCIL AGENDA REPORT TO: Honorable City Council FROM: Shaun Kroes, Public Works Manager DATE: 12/01/2021 Regular Meeting SUBJECT: Consider Approval of Submitting to the Los Angeles Regional Water Quality Control Board (Regional Board) a Notice of Intent to Develop Watershed Management Programs for the Calleguas Creek, Malibu Creek, Santa Clara River, Ventura River and Miscellaneous Coastal Watersheds; and Authorize the City Manager to Execute and Submit the Notice of Intent to the Regional Board SUMMARY On October 14, 2021, staff provided a City Council Box Item providing information about the recent adoption of the 2021 municipal stormwater permit (Permit). The report noted that staff anticipated returning to City Council in November or December of 2021, with a recommendation to either participate in the development of a Watershed Management Program (WMP) or continue with standard Minimum Control Measures (MCMs). Staff is now returning to the City Council with a recommendation to participate in developing a WMP through a collaborative effort of the Ventura County Watershed Protection District (District), County of Ventura, and other Ventura County Cities (collectively referred to as “Permittees”) and submitting a Notice of Intent (NOI) to the Los Angeles Regional Water Quality Control (Regional Board). City staff is currently working collaboratively with the Permittees for final language approval of the NOI, which will cover all participating Permitees. Each Permittee will sign and submit a Letter of Intent (LOI) to participate in the NOI to the District. The District will compile all Permittee LOIs along with the NOI and submit all documents to the Regional Board on the Permittees’ behalf. The NOI is due to the Regional Board by December 13, 2021. BACKGROUND AND DISCUSSION In July 2021, the Los Angeles Regional Water Quality Control Board (Regional Board) adopted a new permit for municipal stormwater dischargers in Ventura County; the permit became effective on September 11, 2021. Unlike previous versions of the permit, the new stormwater permit allows Permittees two options, rather than a single pathway, to comply with the new permit’s water quality limits and requirements. Traditional compliance requires the implementation of specific actions (e.g., business inspections and street sweeping) and, more difficultly, through water quality Item: 10.E. 168 Honorable City Council 12/01/2021 Regular Meeting Page 2 measurements demonstrating compliance with Receiving Water Limitations (RWLs) and the numeric Water Quality Based Effluent Limitations (WQBELs). WQBELs are enforceable numeric interpretations of Total Maximum Daily Loads’ (TMDLs) waste load allocations. Broadly speaking, a TMDL is a limit on pollution that’s permitted to enter the waterbody (stream/river/ocean) of a regulated entity. The City of Moorpark (City) has several TMDLs, such as nitrogen, organochlorine pesticides, toxicity, metals, and salts. No additional time is provided to Permittees to meet RWLs or interim TMDL WQBELs through the traditional compliance pathway. Penalties for exceeding TMDL, WQBELs, and RWLs can be as much as $25,000 per day plus up to $25 per gallon. WMPs protect from these penalties in all cases except for final TMDL WQBELs. Alternative compliance requires Permittees to adopt watershed management programs (WMPs) that describe the measures and schedules that Permittees will undertake to comply with applicable water quality limits and requirements. Watershed management programs are voluntary programs intended to give Permittees flexibility and additional time to implement permit requirements. Organized by watershed, WMPs include customized strategies, control measures, and projects that demonstrate how water quality limits and requirements will be met throughout a watershed. More specifically, WMPs identify water quality priorities and combinations of pollutant control measures for their ability to meet water quality objectives. Modeling is required to provide reasonable assurances that water quality objectives will be met. Minimum Control Measures (MCM) are customizable through the WMPs and are developed to complete the potential pollutant reductions. Once a WMP is adopted, a Permittee will have two years to update the MCMs; under the traditional compliance pathway, Permittees must update MCMs by March 2022. The goal of a WMP is to forecast the future water quality after the most cost effective structural and non-structural best management practices have been installed or implemented. It is not a commitment to build specific projects; rather, the WMPs will allow Permittees the flexibility to choose the best combination of options as new information is learned. Permittees implementing approved Watershed Management Program (WMP) actions and schedules are deemed in compliance where compliance is measured by water quality; this includes interim Water Quality Based Effluent Limits (WQBELs) and Receiving Water Limits (RWLs) but not the final Total Maximum Daily Limit Water Quality Based Effluent Limits (TMDL WQBELs). The WMPs include schedules and milestones for implementing the control measures. The schedule is flexible for all RWLs and interim TMDL WQBELs, but not for the final TMDL WQBELs. Nonetheless, the adoption of WMPs may be useful if additional time to achieve compliance is requested by Permittees through a Time Schedule Order (an enforcement order that provides addition time to comply) or an extension to the TMDL final compliance dates. Additional time requests need to be supported with identification of the efforts and actions that will be taken during the additional time. A WMP will help define those efforts. To receive the full benefit of compliance a permitted agency must commit to prepare a WMP by filing the Notice of Intent (NOI) to the applicable regional water quality control board within three months of a new stormwater permit becoming effective. An agency may opt to prepare WMPs after that date but will not have the compliance coverage until 169 Honorable City Council 12/01/2021 Regular Meeting Page 3 an NOI is submitted to the applicable regional water board. An agency may withdraw from WMP participation at any time by providing 30 days’ notice to the applicable regional water board. However, it should be noted that all compliance coverage provided by a WMP will be lost if a Permittee withdraws from a WMP. Under the new stormwater permit adopted by the Regional Board, WMPs must be adopted and submitted to the Regional Board by December 11, 2023. The cost to draft the WMPs for all Ventura County watersheds is currently estimated to be $1,900,000 and costs would be shared according to the current cost sharing formula in the Stormwater Implementation Agreement between the County, District and all ten City Permittees in Ventura County. Project and program costs to comply with TMDL WQBELs and RWL will be very similar with or without WMPs. In both cases, projects and programs must be implemented to control pollutants. The WMP alternative compliance pathway is a planning approach that provides Permittees more time, flexibility, compliance coverage, and assurance that compliance can and will be achieved. Eventually, completed WMPs will inform more accurate cost estimates and timelines for future budgets. As the lead agency, the Ventura County Watershed Protection District (District) will be responsible for executing contracts for development of the WMPs. Upon completion of the WMP that includes compliance for the City, staff would present the WMP to City Council for consideration of approval. The City is included in the Calleguas Creek Watershed, which will be covered as a chapter in the overall WMP developed in collaboration with the District. Although the NOI refers to other watersheds, the City will only be covered in the Calleguas Creek Watershed. Additionally, staff would like to note that the City will also participate in a Coordinated Integrated Monitoring Program (CIMP) with the Permittees. While a NOI will be submitted to the Regional Board, City Council approval is not required for the action. FISCAL IMPACT None. The City’s Fiscal Year 2021/22 Budget included $60,000 (1000-231-00000-51000) for the City’s share of countywide stormwater compliance costs, which includes participation in developing a WMP. COUNCIL GOAL COMPLIANCE This action does not support a specific strategic directive. STAFF RECOMMENDATION 1. Approve submitting a Notice of Intent (NOI) to Develop Watershed Management Programs for the Calleguas Creek, Malibu Creek, Santa Clara River, Ventura River and Miscellaneous Coastal Watersheds; and 2. Authorize the City Manager to execute and sign the NOI subject to final language approval of the City Manager. 170