HomeMy WebLinkAbout07.a. (Handout) General Manager Additional Written Announcements1.0.
Board Meeting of March 21, 2013 110466&)
Additional Written Announcements:
Treatment Plant
3) Planned Natural Gas Utility Outage
Beginning April 8, 2013, Pacific Gas and Electric Company (PG &E) will shut off the
natural gas supply to the Treatment Plant for two to three days to install automated valves
on the transmission line that feeds the plant. During that time, landfill gas and diesel will
be the primary fuels for the furnace and auxiliary boilers, respectively, and Cogen will be
shut down. Staff has been preparing for the outage and is working with PG &E to provide
a temporary natural gas supply trailer to supply equipment that cannot be operated
without natural gas. PG &E will perform testing on its system to determine if a complete
shutdown is necessary and the District will know by Friday, March 22, 2013 if a complete
shutdown will occur.
Recycled Water
4) Request for Section 219 Program Funding Authorization for the
Water Resources Development Act
The attached support letter was sent to Senator Barbara Boxer on March 11, 2013,
encouraging the Senate to provide funding to the Section 219 Program of the Water
Resources Development Act (WRDA) legislation that is currently being drafted. The
District has been pursuing this funding for the Contra Costa Refinery Recycled Water
Project. On Saturday, March 16, 2013, the Senate Committee on Environment and
Public Works released its draft of the reauthorization of WRDA. Reauthorization of the
Section 219 program was not included, so staff will continue to work with its Federal
lobbyist to influence future drafts of the WRDA bill.
Jl Central Contra Costa Sanitary District
PHONE: (925) 228 -9500
FAX.- (925) 676 -7211
www.centralsan.org
CUR7IS W SWANSON
Provisional General Manager
KFNION L. ALM
Counsel for the District
(510) 808 -2000
ELAINL R BOEHME
March 11, 2013 Secretary ofthe Dwrtct
The Honorable U.S. Senator Barbara Boxer, Chairman
Senate Committee on Environment and Public Works
410 Dirksen Senate Office Building
Washington, D.C. 20510
Request for Section 219 Program Funding Authorization for WRDA
Dear Chairman Boxer:
On behalf of the Central Contra Costa Sanitary District (CCCSD), I am writing to
express our support for the "Water Resources Development Act of 2012" and to
respectfully request an important modification to your November draft (CEL12932) to
more effectively accommodate funding for water environmental projects. As currently
drafted, the bill does not authorize funding for Section 219, the Environmental
Infrastructure Program, of the 1992 Water Resources Development Act, as amended.
A general reauthorization of the Program (without naming specific projects) would
provide an opportunity for projects like the Contra Costa County Refinery Recycled
Water Project to pursue funding via the appropriations process.
CCCSD, located in the San Francisco Bay Area and serving communities in central
Contra Costa County about 30 miles east of San Francisco, would like to thank you for
your leadership and commitment to our nation's water resources infrastructure.
As you well know, reliable, well- maintained water resources infrastructure is
fundamental to America's economic and environmental well- being, and is essential to
maintaining our nation's competitive position within the global economy. Our water
resources infrastructure provides life- saving flood control, abundant water supplies,
shore protection, water -based recreation, environmental restoration and hydropower
production, all of which are essential to our economic well- being. Of particular interest
to CCCSD, in its support for expeditious consideration of WRDA reauthorization, is the
Contra Costa County Refinery Recycled Water Project (Refinery Project).
® Recycled Paper
Chairman Boxer
Request for Section 219 Program Funding Authorization for WRDA
Page 2 of 2
The Refinery Project, with a total cost of $100M and a funding request of $75M, would
provide up to 22,500 AFY of recycled water to the Shell and Tesoro refineries in
Martinez for use in cooling towers and as boiler feedwater. These refineries are
conveniently located near CCCSD's wastewater treatment plant in Martinez, but are
currently supplied by the Contra Costa Water District with Delta water. Delta supplies
are vulnerable to drought restrictions and service interruptions from earthquakes and
levee failures. By using recycled water instead of Delta water the refineries will have a
reliable year -round supply of high quality water which is necessary for maintaining
uninterrupted refinery operations and preserving thousands of jobs both within the
refineries and in the support services provided by businesses in the surrounding
community.
The Refinery Project, with its extensive needs and benefits, enjoys broad -based political
and substantive support. However, Federal authorization is lacking to support much -
needed funding. In that regard, we very much urge the Committee to modify the current
draft by including an authorization of funding for the Section 219 Program.
Thank you again for your bipartisan leadership on this issue and we look forward to
continuing to work with you and your staff.
Sincerely,
U
Curtis W. Swanson
Provisional General Manager