City of Culver City, California
Agenda Item Report
Meeting Date: 11/12/13 Item Number: C-4
CITY COUNCIL AGENDA ITEM: Approval of Cost Sharing Memoranda Of
Understanding to Develop Enhanced Watershed Management Programs and
Coordinated Integrated Monitoring Plans for the Ballona Creek in an Amount Not-
to-Exceed $48,593 (Plus an Additional $4,860 in Contingency Funding) and Marina
Del Rey Harbor Watersheds in an Amount Not-to-Exceed $11,838 (Plus an
Additional $1,184 in Contingency Funding) as Needed to Comply with Municipal
Separate Storm Sewer System Permit Requirements.
Contact Person/Dept.: Kaden Young/PW-
EPO
Phone Number: (310) 253-6445
Fiscal Impact: Yes [x] No [] General Fund: Yes [x] No []
Public Hearing: [] Action Item: [] Attachments: []
Commission Action Required: Yes [] No [] Date: _______________
Public Notification: (E-mail) Agenda and Meetings – City Council (11/05/13); (E-Mail)
Sustainability and Environmental Issues (11/05/13)
Department Approval:
Charles D. Herbertson (10/30/13)
City Attorney Approval:
Carol Schwab (by H. Baker) (11/05/13)
Chief Financial Officer Approval:
Jeff Muir (by M. Noller)
City Manager Approval:
John M. Nachbar (11/05/13)
RECOMMENDATION:
Staff recommends the City Council approve the following Memoranda of
Understanding:
1. Memorandum of Understanding Between the City of Los Angeles, The City of
Beverly Hills, The City of Culver City, The City of Inglewood, The City of
Santa Monica, The City of West Hollywood, The Los Angeles County Flood
Control District and The County of Los Angeles Regarding the Administration
and Cost Sharing for Development of the Enhanced Watershed Management
Program for the Ballona Creek Watershed (Ballona Creek Cost Sharing
MOU); and
2. Memorandum of Understanding Between The Los Angeles County Flood
Control District, The County of Los Angeles, and the Cities of Culver City and
Los Angeles Regarding the Administration and Cost Sharing for Development
of the Enhanced Watershed Management Program (EWMP) and Coordinated
Integrated Monitoring Program (CIMP) for the Marina del Rey Watershed
(Marina del Rey Cost Sharing MOU).
City of Culver City, California
Agenda Item Report
BACKGROUND:
On November 8, 2012, the Los Angeles Regional Water Quality Control Board
adopted a new National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System (NPDES) Permit
under the Federal Clean Water Act (Act) for discharges from municipal separate
storm sewer systems (MS4) within Los Angeles County.
This latest permit incorporates water quality-based effluent limits via adopted Total
Maximum Daily Load (TMDL) provisions. TMDL is a regulatory term included in the
Act which describes the maximum amount of a pollutant that a body of water can
receive while still meeting water quality standards required to support assigned
water body beneficial uses|1010|. Beneficial uses are assigned to water bodies by the
Regional Water Quality Control Board (RWQCB) and include uses such as
swimming, boating, fishing, marine habitat, and others. The new permit that became
effective on December 28, 2012 maintains the requirements that were part of the
previous (2001) permit with several additions and revisions. The most significant of
these changes is the incorporation of numerous TMDLs for water bodies within Los
Angeles County. TMDLs have been issued to Ballona Creek, Ballona Creek Estuary,
and Marina del Rey addressing trash, metals, pesticides and bacteria.
In developing this permit, the RWQCB acknowledged the need to allow
municipalities to develop comprehensive management plans for the purpose of
complying with the TMDLs. For this reason, the permit established criteria for the
development of Watershed Management Plans (WMPs) or Enhanced Watershed
Management Plans (EWMPs) and allows agencies several alternatives to achieve
compliance.
Culver City and all other watershed agencies have elected to pursue the EWMP
alternative to achieve compliance within both the Ballona Creek and Marina del Rey
watersheds and, in June 2013, both watershed groups submitted notices of intent to
prepare EWMPs by the June 2015 deadline.
Under the previous MS4 Permit (Previous Permit) the City spent a great amount of
time and money to develop storm water programs in compliance with the Previous
Permit and TMDLs enforceable at that time. City departments worked with one
another to comply with the permit, spending approximately $500,000 annually on
compliance activities such as inspections, public outreach, development planning,
and administrative efforts required to manage the City’s storm water program. In
addition, over the last six years, the City collaborated with other agencies in the
|1010| Beneficial uses are assigned to water bodies by the Regional Water Quality Control Board (RWQCB) through the “Water
Quality Control Plan for the Los Angeles County Region” (Basin Plan) which was originally adopted in 1994 and has been
amended numerous times. Any change to a beneficial use designation requires an amendment to the Basin Plan that
must be concurred with by RWQCB staff, approved by the RWQCB, the State Water Resources Control Board (SWRCB),
the State Office of Administrative Law (OAL), and, ultimately, the United States Environmental Protection Agency
(USEPA). City of Culver City, California
Agenda Item Report
watersheds to comply with TMDL requirements and spent over $200,000
(approximately $33,000 per year in addition to the $500,000 mentioned above) on
TMDL compliance to perform water quality monitoring, conduct special studies, and
to prepare Implementation Plans to meet the TMDL requirements. Much of the
existing work product will be used to develop EWMPs under the new MS4 permit
requirements.
DISCUSSION:
Compliance Alternatives
The MS4 Permit offers the permittees several compliance alternatives, each with
specific compliance timelines as follows:
1. Minimum Control Measures (MCMs) – (This alternative is not feasible for
Culver City.) Compliance under this option is required by December 2013.
This option consists of implementation of basic municipal measures to
achieve water quality standards such as street sweeping, catch basin
cleaning, industrial commercial inspections, and other non-structural
practices. This compliance path applies to agencies in less urban settings
and where monitoring points can be cited to determine compliance. The
complex nature of Culver City’s drainage system and the urban nature of the
City and surrounding watersheds make this approach infeasible for Culver
City.
2. Watershed Management Plan (WMP) – An agency may elect to pursue a
WMP individually or collectively with other agencies in their watershed. This
approach consists of developing a plan by June 2014 to meet water quality
standards through implementation of best management practices (BMPs) that
maximize the storm water retention, infiltration and reuse.
3. Enhanced Watershed Management Plan (EWMP) – This plan is similar to the
WMP with the addition of larger regional projects that would capture, filtrate,
and reuse storm flows from an 85
th
percentile storm event or roughly ¾” of
rain. This is the option preferred by the RWQCB. As an incentive to agencies
to pursue EWMPs and acknowledging the additional planning involved, the
MS4 Permit gives agencies until June 2015 to complete the EWMP. As
additional incentive, the permit provides that areas draining to the regional
retention projects would be declared compliant even if discharges from larger
storms from the area exceed water quality standards.
Alternative Selected by Watersheds
Culver City and all other agencies in both the Ballona Creek and Marina del Rey
watersheds have elected to collectively pursue the EWMP compliance path. Culver
City staff and other watershed agencies deem the EWMP compliance alternative to City of Culver City, California
Agenda Item Report
be the most effective approach to utilize opportunities to retain and reuse runoff and
to address the unique challenges of the watershed. An additional requirement when
pursuing an EWMP is the preparation of a Coordinated Integrated Monitoring Plan
(CIMP) which is a plan to monitor water quality in a coordinated inter-agency manner
to address the many pollutants addressed by the various TMDLs. CIMP costs are
included in the recommended cost sharing MOUs.
Adaptive Management Process
The MS4 Permit allows WMPs and EWMPs to be implemented and improved over
time through an iterative process referred to in the MS4 Permit as the Adaptive
Management Process (AMP). The AMP enables agencies to monitor the
effectiveness of WMPs or EWMPs and make adjustments or additions to the plans
as needed to improve water quality to comply with TMDLs. Agencies will be deemed
compliant as long as they are implementing an approved WMP or EWMP and make
adjustments to the plans on a biennial basis as needed to meet water quality
standards.
Cost Sharing Memoranda of Understanding
One EWMP/CIMP will be developed for the Ballona Creek and one EWMP/CIMP will
be developed for Marina del Rey. They will be developed by consultants with costs
shared among the agencies by drainage area percentage.
Ballona Creek Cost Sharing MOU
The recommended MOU addresses the sharing of costs among watershed agencies
to develop the EWMP and CIMP for the Ballona Creek Watershed.
The City of Los Angeles is the lead agency and will conduct all contracting and
project administration for the EWMP/CIMP development effort. The City of Los
Angeles solicited proposals from qualified consulting firms and received three
proposals. The proposals were evaluated and interviews were conducted with
candidate firms. Ultimately, the consultant team lead by Black and Veatch was
selected to prepare the EWMP/CIMP for the watershed for the negotiated contract
amount of $1,291,990. The City of Los Angeles will be reimbursed for their project
administration efforts in the agreed amount of 5% of consultant contract costs
bringing total estimated costs to $1,356,590. The Los Angeles County Flood Control
District (LACFCD) will fund 10% of project costs in the amount of $135,659 reducing
costs to share among watershed agencies to $1,220,931. Culver City’s area
percentage is 3.98% yielding a cost share in the amount of $48,593. The tables
below illustrate this calculation and also indicate cost sharing amount for all parties
to the MOU. These costs will be incurred between now and June 30, 2015 when the
EWMP is required to be completed. City of Culver City, California
Agenda Item Report
Ballona Creek –
Estimated Total Cost and LACFCD Contribution
Item
Estimated Cost
Contract Cost $1,291,990
LA City Project Admin. & Management (5%) $64,600
Estimated Total Cost $1,356,590
LACFCD Contribution (10%) -$135,659
Cost for area cost sharing $1,220,931
Ballona Creek
Cost Allocation for Area Cost Sharing and Estimated Total Cost by Party
Party
Acres
Percent of
Area (%)
Cost
Total Cost w/ 10%
Contingency
City of Los Angeles 65,272.89 83.21 $1,015,936 $1,117,529.60
City of Beverly Hills 3,618.95 4.62 $56,407 $62,047.70
City of Culver City 3,125.00 3.98 $48,593 $53,452.30
City of Inglewood 1,907.72 2.43 $29,669 $32,635.90
City of Santa Monica 217.31 0.28 $3,419 $3,760.90
City of West Hollywood 1,135.00 1.45 $17,703 $19,473.30
County of Los Angeles 3,164.76 4.03 $49,204 $54,124.40
LACFCD NA NA $135,659 $149,224.90
Total 78,441.63 100 $1,356,590 $1,492,249.00
Marina del Rey Cost Sharing MOU
The recommended MOU addresses the sharing of costs among watershed agencies
to develop the EWMP and CIMP for the Marina del Rey Watershed.
The lead agency, County of Los Angeles, selected the Weston Group due to their
extensive experience with water quality monitoring and pollutant source identification
within the Marina del Rey Watershed. Culver City staff participated in development
of the contract scope of work and cost negotiation. A contract in the amount of
$417,544 was negotiated with Weston to prepare the EWMP/CIMP. The County of
Los Angeles will be reimbursed for their project administration efforts in the agreed
amount of 5% of consultant contract costs bringing total estimated costs to
$438,422. The Los Angeles County Flood Control District (LACFCD) will fund 10%
of project costs in the amount of $43,842 reducing costs to share among watershed
agencies to $394,580. Culver City’s area percentage is 3% yielding a cost share in
the amount of $11,838. The tables below illustrate this calculation and also indicate
cost sharing amount for all parties to the MOU. These costs will be incurred
between now and June 30, 2015 when the EWMP is required to be completed.
City of Culver City, California
Agenda Item Report
Marina del Rey
Estimated Total Cost and LACFCD Contribution
Item
Total Cost
Contract Cost $ 417,544
County Admin Costs (5%) $ 20,878
Estimated Total Costs $438,422
LACFCD Contribution (10 %) -$43,842
Cost for area cost sharing $394,580
Cost Allocation for Area Cost Sharing and Estimated Total Cost by Party
Party
Acres
Percent
of Area
Total Cost
Total Cost w/
10% Contingency
County of Los Angeles 396 28 $110,482 $121,530
City of Los Angeles 974 69 $272,260 $299,486
City of Culver City 42 3 $11,838 $13,022
LACFCD N/A N/A $43,842 $48,226
Total 1412 100 $438,422 $482,264
The EWMPs/CIMPs must be submitted to the RWQCB for review and approval by
June of 2015. It is expected that the plan will be approved by the RWQCB in
Spring/Summer 2016 after which the implementation phase will begin.
Implementation will involve construction of the projects identified in the EWMPs.
Cost estimates have not yet been developed; however, costs are expected to be
significant with accumulated costs to Culver City in the tens of millions of dollars
over the five year period from 2016 through 2021. Estimates are based on the draft
TMDL compliance plan prepared by Ballona Creek agencies and submitted to the
RWQCB in 2009. The City has not yet identified a funding source for the
implementation phase. Staff will continue to pursue grant funding and explore other
alternatives to fund TMDL and MS4 requirements.
FISCAL ANALYSIS:
Culver City’s cost share as stipulated in the Ballona Creek Cost Sharing MOU is not
to exceed $53,452.30 (including 10% contingency) and would be paid to the City of
Los Angeles on a reimbursement basis.
Culver City’s cost share as stipulated in the Marina del Rey Cost Sharing MOU is not
to exceed $13,022 (including 10% contingency) and would be paid to the County of
Los Angeles on a reimbursement basis.
Funding for both MOUs is provided in Capital Improvement Project budget PZ 497,
account number 42380000.730100.
City of Culver City, California
Agenda Item Report
ATTACHMENTS:
None.
MOTION:
That the City Council:
1. Approve a Memorandum of Understanding Between the City of Los Angeles,
The City of Beverly Hills, The City of Culver City, the City of Inglewood, The
City of Santa Monica, The City of West Hollywood, The Los Angeles County
Flood Control District and The County of Los Angeles Regarding the
Administration and Cost Sharing for Development of the Enhanced
Watershed Management Program for the Ballona Creek Watershed (Ballona
Creek Cost Sharing MOU) in an amount not to exceed $48,593 (plus an
additional $4,860 in contingency funding, subject to the approval of the
Director of Public Works/City Engineer); and,
2. Approve a Memorandum of Understanding Between The Los Angeles County
Flood Control District, The County of Los Angeles, and the Cities of Culver
City and Los Angeles Regarding the Administration and Cost Sharing for
Development of the Enhanced Watershed Management Program (EWMP)
and Coordinated Integrated Monitoring Program (CIMP) for the Marina del
Rey Watershed (Marina del Rey Cost Sharing MOU) ) in an amount not to
exceed $11,838 (plus an additional $1,184 in contingency funding, subject to
the approval of the Director of Public Works/City Engineer); and,
3. Authorize the City Attorney to review/prepare the necessary documents; and,
4. Authorize the City Manager to execute such documents on behalf of the City.