HomeMy WebLinkAbout03.a. Amendment to Michael L. Johnson LLC re 2012 Suisun Bay Monitoring SWAMP Work PlanCentral Contra Costa Sanitary District
BOARD OF DIRECTORS • 3cL6
POSITION PAPER
Board Meeting Date: March 29, 2012
subject: AUTHORIZE THE GENERAL MANAGER TO EXECUTE AN AMENDMENT
WITH MICHAEL L. JOHNSON LLC FOR PROFESSIONAL SERVICES FOR 2012
SUISUN BAY MONITORING SWAMP WORK PLAN
Submitted By: Initiating DeptJDiv.:
Margaret P. Orr, P.E., Director of Plant Plant Operations Department
Operations
REVIEWED AND RECOMMENDED FOR BOARD ACTION:
3TT
r°. M. Orr
A Farrell
AkA
/ James M Kelly,
General Manager
ISSUE: Board authorization is required for the General Manager to amend a
professional services agreement in an amount greater than $100,000.
RECOMMENDATION: Authorize the General Manager to amend an existing
professional services agreement in the amount of $120,000 with Michael L. Johnson
LLC, increasing the cost ceiling by $200,000, for a new contract ceiling of $320,000 for
program management, field sampling, data management, pesticide monitoring, and
toxicity study work plan development in conjunction with the 2012 Suisun Bay Surface
Water Ambient Monitoring Program (SWAMP) work plan.
FINANCIAL IMPACTS: Outcomes from Suisun Bay monitoring will inform the San
Francisco Regional Water Quality Control Board (SFRWQCB) management decisions
on level of treatment required from publicly owned treatment works. Financial impact to
the District could be significant, depending on what level of treatment is needed to
protect the food web in the Bay -Delta system.
ALTERNATIVES /CONSIDERATIONS: The District's new National Pollutant Discharge
Elimination ( NPDES) permit requires it to participate in the 2012 Suisun Bay study.
This agreement amendment supports sampling and analyzing for parameters, such as
pesticides which are part of the study. An alternative would be to not participate in the
2012 Suisun Bay study or to participate at a lower level; this is not recommended
because the study is required in the newly issued NPDES permit that becomes effective
on April 1, 2012 and a well- funded and thorough study may benefit the District in
negotiating future NPDES permit limits for ammonia and nutrients..
BACKGROUND: Suisun Bay is an area identified as a critical habitat for the
threatened Delta Smelt (Hobbs, et. al., 2006). During Spring 2010, the SFRWQCB and
the Romberg Tiburon Center conducted limited monitoring of Suisun Bay
phytoplankton. As a follow -up to the 2010 study, a Spring 2011 study was initiated that
NAPOSUP \Board of Directors \Board - Position Papers\2012 \FINAL Suisun Bay Monitoring Study 03- 29- 12.doc
POSITION PAPER
Board Meeting Date: MARCH 29, 2012
subject AUTHORIZE THE GENERAL MANAGER TO EXECUTE AN AMENDMENT
WITH MICHAEL L. JOHNSON LLC FOR PROFESSIONAL SERVICES FOR 2012
SUISUN BAY MONITORING SWAMP WORK PLAN
focused on ammonia as the cause for phytoplankton decline, with State Water
Contractors adding funding to the project. The District and Bay Area Clean Water
Agencies (BACWA) suggested to the SFRWQCB that other parameters might influence
the decline of the phytoplankton, in addition to ammonia and agreed to fund additional
analysis. The Board concurred with the District's participation at the December 1, 2010
and April 21, 2011 meetings, and approved a $120,000 contract with Michael L.
Johnson LLC on May 19, 2011 to gather pesticide data.
Approving this position paper will help fulfill part of the District's new NPDES permit
requirements. The District is also providing in -kind services in the form of laboratory
analyses for low -level ammonia in the Bay - Delta, metals (total and dissolved), total
nitrogen, nitrate, nitrite, total and dissolved phosphorus, and surfactants. The in -kind
services are estimated to cost approximately $85,000. The State Water Contractors
are paying for enhanced phytoplankton analysis through species composition via
biovolume measurements and counts. The State Water Contractors are sharing the
cost for sample collection with the District and providing funding for an experimental
Toxicity Identification Evaluation (TIE) using algae in the samples (this procedure is
developmental, and there are no peer- reviewed publications on the procedure or its
application to the regulatory process). The District is proposing to provide a check and
balance to the Water Contractors TIE toxicity work by adding and paying for a reference
species to be analyzed along with the native algal species. The District proposed
testing using an EPA approved procedure will balance the TIE evaluation and put it into
context. The District also has negotiated study design by proposing to co- support study
management, preparation of reports and publications, within the toxicity study.
Although not a part of this request, an additional approximately $60,000 will be spent at
a separate toxicity lab. The overall cost of the SWAMP work for 2012, including in -kind
services provided by the District's Environmental laboratory is estimated to be
approximately $450,000.
RECOMMENDED BOARD ACTION: Authorize the General Manager to amend an
existing professional services agreement in the amount of $120,000 with Michael L.
Johnson LLC, increasing the cost ceiling by $200,000, for a new contract ceiling of
$320,000 for program management, field sampling, data management, pesticide
monitoring, and toxicity study work plan development in conjunction with the 2012
Suisun Bay SWAMP work plan.
NAPOSUP \Board of Directors \Board - Position Papers\2012 \FINAL Suisun Bay Monitoring Study 03- 29- 12.doc