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HomeMy WebLinkAboutItem MAGENDA REPORT DATE: November 13, 2001 TO: Honorable Mayor and City Council THRU: John B. Bahorski, City Manager FROM: Doug Dancs, P.E., Director of Public Works, City Engineer SUBJECT: APPROVAL OF A REQUEST FOR GRANT FUNDING UNDER THE ORANGE COUNTY URBAN WATER RUNOFF GRANT PROGRAM SUMMARY OF REOUEST: Staff is requesting City Council approve the submission of a grant proposal to Orange County under the Urban Water Runoff Grant Program. A total of $37,484 is being requested from the County of Orange under this program to implement an important water quality project. Council is also requested to appropriate matching monies from the General Fund in order to be eligible for this program. Approximately $37,484 is required from the General Fund. BACKGROUND: The Orange County Board of Supervisors has approved $1,400,000 in grant funds for the Urban Water Runoff Grant Program. This grant program is designed to encourage all cities in Orange County to continue working on solutions for urban water runoff problems. According to the County Program Coordinator, the $1,400,000 will be equally distributed to all cities whose projects meet the grant program criteria. With 33 cities in Orange County, Seal Beach is eligible to receive $37,484 under this program. Staff has prepared a grant requesting the total amount eligible under the grant program. Grant proposals must be submitted to the County Executive Officer by December 1, 2001 to be considered for funding. It is expected that the City will be able to install 98 catch basins filters under this grant. With the 83 filters that will be installed from the previous grant, this will make a total of 98% of our catch basins that have been retrofitted with filters. The new proposed NPDES permit Order No. 01 -20 from the Santa Ana Regional Quality Water Board requires permittees develop an aggressive program for cleaning out drainage facilifies, including catch basins. The installation of these catch basins filters will help the City meet these requirements. Agenda Item The Urban Water Runoff Grunt Program is open to any city in Orange County and projects must meet the following criteria: • Projects that will result in reduction of polluted urban runoff entering storm drains • Projects can be designed, permitted and constructed quickly • Funds allocated for the project will be matched by the City • Cities can work together on sub - regional proposals The grant proposal prepared by the City comply with grant criteria established by the County of Orange. The grant proposal submitted by the City of Seal Beach will address areas of vital concern to the City. Staff has prepared a grant that requests funding to install filters in catch basins in the City. These devices have proven effective in reducing the amount of trash, debris, silt and hydrocarbons entering the storm drain system. Attachment A is the grant proposal prepared by staff that requests funding to install the filter devices. The total project cost is $74,968 with the costs allocated in the following manner: City of Seal Beach $37,484 and in -kind services provided, County of Orange $37,484. Staff is requesting City Council approve the submission of the grant proposal and provide the necessary matching funds when the County of Orange approves the grant. FISCAL IMPACT: There is no fiscal impact until the County of Orange approves the grant proposal. If approved, $37,484 will be needed from the General Fund to create the necessary City match. Upon award of the grant from the County of Orange, staff will bring forward a budget amendment from the undesignated reserve. RECOMMENDATION: Approve submission of the grant application to the Orange County Urban Water Runoff Grant Program. SUPPORTING DOCUMENTS: A. Grant request for installation of citywide catch basin filters B. Announcement of Urban Water Runoff Grant Program Agenda Item Doug Dancs, P.E., Director of Public Works/City Engineer Agenda Item Orange County Urban Water Runoff Grant Program 2001 Funding Request for Installation of Citywide Catch Basin Filters Submitted by: City of Seal Beach Project Description: The City of Seal Beach is proposing to install filters in catch basins within the City limits of Seal Beach. Seal Beach will install and maintain the catch basin filters in order to reduce pollutants that are currently reaching the Pacific Ocean. Installing these filters is one of the many actions Seal Beach will be implementing to improve water quality within the City and Orange County. Field tests from other cities in Orange County have indicated catch basin filters have captured gross pollutants, petroleum products, heavy metals and fecal colifann before they reach ocean waters, Seal Beach is requesting grant funding to install the filters because it is a simple and effective means to improve water quality. In addition, filters can be quickly implemented to provide immediate water quality benefits. Utilizing the grant funds, Seal Beach will install approximately 98 catch basin filters throughout the City. In addition, a portion of the grant funding will enable the City to clean each catch basin filter four times during the first year following the initial installation. Frequent cleaning has shown to increase the operational effectiveness of the filters and to promptly identify sources of pollution. A portion of the grant funds will be used to test 10% of the catch basin filters during the first year. Testing is vital to identifying the type of pollutants collected and determining strategies to correct the problem areas. The testing program will include identifying and quantifying the amount of heavy metals, hydrocarbons and fecal coliform captured in the filters. A component of this grant request is a commitment by the City of Seal Beach to share the information and testing data gathered as part of this project. The information can then be shared with other cities in Orange County so that all governmental agencies can benefit from the Seal Beach experience. The proposed project is estimated to cost $74,968 excluding project design, bidding and inspection. Seal Beach will contribute $37,484 and in -kind services to cover the design, bidding and inspection services. The funding requested under the Urban Water Runoff Grant Program is $37,484. Seal Beach is providing cash and in -kind services to ensure this project is implemented by April 2001. Background: The City of Seal Beach is affected not only by local storm water runoff within city limits but also from regional urban runoff from upstream communities. Specifically, there are two watersheds that directly impact Seal Beach: the Seal Beach watershed and the San Gabriel River watershed. A long -tean goal of the City is to enlist the support of inland cities in the fight to improve water quality. Before that can occur, Seal Beach must convincingly prove to the inland cities that the City has taken every feasible action to eliminate urban runoff generated within the community. Installation of catch basin filers is one of the steps to reduce pollutants generated in the City from reaching ocean waters. Seal Beach is fragmented with dense population in the southwestern section along the coast and suburban residential tracts in the northern section. The City can be divided into 16 drainage basins with a variety of land uses and developments. The City water quality consultant, Tettemer & Associates, has identified potential water quality problems in each of the 16 drainage basins within the City. Installing filters in the City's catch basin can mitigate many of the potential water quality problems. Specifically, trash, debris, oil, grease, sediments, metals, petrochemicals can be captured in the filters before they reach the coastal waters. Seal Beach's proximity to ocean waters, bays, estuaries and tidal prisms is subject to a variety of designated beneficial uses per the Santa Ana Regional Water Quality Control Board Basin Plan. Of the beneficial uses now defined statewide, the waters surrounding Seal Beach have been identified as having 52 beneficial uses. Due to the importance that the Santa Ana Regional Water Quality Control Board has placed on the waters surrounding Seal Beach, it would be appropriate to provide funding to install filters in all catch basins in the City. Project Benefits: Implementing the proposed project as described will result in the following benefits • Gross pollutants will be significantly reduced through the installation of catch basin filters. Currently, any silt, debris, trash or other unsuitable material that finds its way into one of the City catch basins travels to the Pacific Ocean and pollutes coastal waters. Implementing a city catch basin filter program will reduce the amount of gross pollutants entering coastal waters. • The filters will reduce the amount of heavy metals that are currently reaching ocean waters. These heavy metals are the result of automotive usage and careless disposal practices. • Installing the catch basin filters will also capture petroleum products and fecal colifomt. Tests have indicated that the filters capture fecal Miform even though they are not specifically designed for that function. • Seal Beach is submitting this grant request because this is a project that can be implemented within six months, requires no special permitting and can be easily designed. If approved, this funding will have a positive impact on the residents and visitors to Seal Beach. Improving water quality will have benefits to the local and regional economy by ensuring the beaches in Orange County remain free of postings and closures. Seal Beach attracts 1.2 million visitors annually and a vast majority of those visitors will partake in activities that require ocean water that is safe and clean. This project provides both environmental and economic benefits. Project Timeline: Task Timeframe Grant request submittal November 30, 2001 Approval of project funding January, 2002 Award of proposal February, 2002 Installation and inspection April, 2002 Cleaning and testing April, 2003 Project Budget: Installation of 98 catch basins @ $431 per filter $42,238 Cleaning of 98 catch basins ($60 per cleaning, four times during the initial year) $23,520 Testing of 10 catch basins (10% of the filters tested in the initial Year project @ $240.00 per test) * $2,400 Project contingency $6,810 Total estimated project cost $74,968 City share ** $37,484 Grant fund request $37,484 * Testing will include heavy metals, hydrocarbons, and fecal colifonn. ** The City of Seal Beach will also provide project design, bidding and inspection as in kind services. October 18 2001 Mr. John Bahorski City Manager 0 City of Seal Beach 211 Eighth Street County of Orange Seal Beach, CA 90740 C a l i f o r n i a Subject: Urban Runoff Matching Gran[ Program Miehael Schumacher, PhA. Dear Mr. Bahorski: Couory Execaeve ORicer Last year, as you will recall, the Orange County Board of Supervisors approved a $1 million Urban Runoff Matching Grant Program ( URMGP), designed to assist cities in implementing new water quality improvement programs that reduce the negative impacts on the coastal waters caused by urban runoff. As a result of this program there were many water quality improvement projects that received URMGP funds. This year, the Board has funded another Urban Runoff Matching Grant Program in the amount of $1 million, plus a carry -over of the unused funds from last year's program in the approximate amount of $400,000, for a total for this year of approximately $1.4 million. The County intends to have two requests for projects this year. The first will be in November of 2001, and the second will be in April of 2002. The available funding will initially be allocated equally between all 34 Orange County cities on a dollar- for -dollar match with a maximum URMGP funding of $41,000. Any remaining funding after the November request for projects will be reallocated in the April request for projects. (See URMGP Criteria attacbed) As with last year, examples of projects that would qualify for the URMGP funding are urban mnoff diversion structures, storm drain filters, and other types of projects that help reduce or eliminate urban mnoff pollutants. The next step in the process is for cities to submit a request for URMGP funding describing the project for which they are seeking matching funds up to the allocated amount. The request can be in the form of a letter and must be submitted no later than the close of business on December 1, 2001, addressed to: County Executive Office Attn: Manager, Watershed & Environmental Programs Office of Strategic and Intergovernmental Affairs 10 Civic Center Plaza, 3`d Floor Santa Ana, CA 92701 -4062 Should you have any questions, please contact Larry Paul in my offices at (714) 834 -5172. ..- cergLy4... q Counry Executive Office r �1� w Sy+ lociviecmte,plem Miehaei'YSchutnac er, Ph.D. lava Floor County Executive Officer Santa nos, California 92701-4062 Attachment DI, (714) 634-2345 cc: Board of Supervisors Fax. (714) 834-4416 Bill Mahoney, Assistant CEO /SIA Web: ww m.ca.gov William Doane, Mayor URBAN R UNOFF MA TCHING GRANT PROGRAM (URMGP) CRITERIA • All Orange County cities are eligible • URMGP funding will be allocated on a dollar- for - dollar match basis with a maximum funding of $41,000. • Requests for funding should include a Project Summary that has a brief description of the project including its location, a description of structural components, costs, and scheduled completion date which must be within 18 months following County approval, as well as how many other URMGP projects within the city are currently incomplete. • Urban runoff projects can be a component of a larger city project, i.e., street project that includes one or more urban runoff components. • Once completed, a final report shall be forwarded to the county substantiating that the URMGP project met the URMGP Criteria. • If after December 1, 2001, there are URMGP funds remaining due to the fact that all cities did not submit requests for their allocated share, the County will send out a second request for projects in April of 2002, and shall allocate any remaining funds as follows: 1. Remaining funds will be allocated on a dollar -for dollar match basis with a maximum funding of $41,000. 2. Each project must be anew and different project than those projects for which funding was received in the December 2001 call for projects. 3. Remaining funding will be allocated as follows: • Cities that did not receive funding in the first request for projects will be funded first from the remaining URMGP funds. Cities that received funding in the first request for projects will be allocated a share of the remaining URMGP funds next, however, no allocation shall exceed $41000, and if there are more cities that apply for funding than there are URMGP funds remaining sufficient to provide each city a $41,000 allocation, then the entire remaining balance of URMGP funds, after allocating funds to those cities that did not receive funding in the first request for projects, shall be divided between each applicant city on a pro -rata basis based upon the cost each project bears to the total cost of all projects for which URMGP funding is requested. 4. Any remaining URMGP funds after the second request for projects will be carried over to the following year provided the Board of Supervisors approves such carryover.