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HomeMy WebLinkAbout17.c. Committee Minutes-Real Estate, Environmental & Planning 02-08-21 Page 1 of 8 Item 17.c. CENTRALSAN jdf A- hom CENTRAL CONTRA COSTA SANITARY DISTRICT February 18, 2021 TO: HONORABLE BOARD OF DIRECTORS FROM: KATIE YOUNG, SECRETARYOF THE DISTRICT SUBJECT: FEBRUARY8, 2021 - REAL ESTATE, ENVIRONMENTAL & PLANNING COMMITTEE - CHAIR MCGILLAND MEMBER HOCKETT Attached are minutes of the above Committee meeting. ATTACHMENTS: 1. Minutes of 02-08-21 meeting February 18, 2021 Regular Board Meeting Agenda Packet- Page 120 of 147 Page 2 of 8 CENTRALSAN CONTRACENTRAL •STA SANITARY DISTRICT 5019 IMHOFF BOARD OF DIRECTORS: REGULAR MEETING OF THE TAD J.PILECKI President CENTRAL CONTRA COSTA DAVID R. WILLIAMS SANITARY DISTRICT President Pro Tem REAL ESTATE ENVIRONMENTAL BARBARA°.HOITZ f MARIAHN LAURITZEN & PLANNING COMMITTEE MICHAEL R.MCGILL PHONE: (925)228-9500 M I N U T E S FAX. (925)372-0192 www.centralsan.org Monday, February 8, 2021 9:00 a.m. (All attendees participated via videoconference) Committee: Chair Mike McGill Member Barbara Hockett Staff. Roger S. Bailey, General Manager (joined during Item 5.b.) Katie Young, Secretary of the District Steve McDonald, Director of Operations Jean-Marc Petit, Director of Engineering and Technical Services Danea Gemmell, Planning and Development Services Division Manager Melody LaBella, Resource Recovery Program Manager Lori Schectel, Environmental and Regularoty Compliance Division Manager Mary Lou Esparza, Laboratory Superintendent Rita Cheng, Associate Engineer David Wyatt, Household Hazardous Waste Supervisor Amelia Berumen, Senior Administrative Technician 1. Notice This meeting was held in accordance with the Brown Act as in effect under the State Emergency Services Act, the Governor's Emergency Declaration related to COVID-19, and the Governor's Executive Order N-29-20 issued on March 17, 2020 that allowed attendance by Board Members, District staff, and the public to participate and conduct the meeting by teleconference, videoconference, or both. The agenda included instructions for options in which the public could participate in the meeting. February 18, 2021 Regular Board Meeting Agenda Packet- Page 121 of 147 Page 3 of 8 Real Estate, Environmental & Planning Committee Minutes February 8, 2021 Page 2 2. Call Meeting to Order Chair McGill called the meeting to order at 9:01 a.m. 3. Public Comments - None. 4. Consent Items a. Review draft Position Paper to adopt Resolution No. 2021- authorizing (1) execution of a real property agreement for property located at 249 Castle Crest Road in Alamo; and (2) staff to record documents with the Contra Costa County Recorder b. Review draft Position Paper to adopt Resolution No. 2021- accepting a Grant of Easement at 343 Strand Avenue in Pleasant Hill as related to District Project 390, and authorizing staff to record documents with the Contra Costa County Recorder COMMITTEE ACTION: Recommended Board approval. 5. Agenda Items a. Receive update on satellite water recycling facilities, including a request for a facility in Rossmoor, and discuss creation of a District policy for consideration of future satellite recycling facilities Ms. LaBella presented a comprehensive history overview and technical discussion of satellite water recycling facilities (S WRFs) as included with the agenda material. Mr. Petit discussed the technical challenges that can exist with S WRFs when the demand for recycled water does not match the available sewer volume (supply) and, when these facilities are evaluated in remote areas of Central San's service area, they may not have adequate carrying water to handle the return of waste activated sludge from the SWRF to Central San's collection system. Chair McGill inquired about East Bay Municipal Utility District's (EBMUD) stance of these types of projects. Ms. LaBella stated that EBMUD is supportive of SWRFs as long as the golf course or the Country Club is the only recipient of the recycled water and not distributed to any other EBMUD customers. She continued that EBMUD may choose to assess an administrative fee to monitor and permit the recycled water use. Ms. LaBella confirmed Member Hockett's statement that EBMUD would require adequate backflow prevention devices to protect the potable water supply, if a SWRF were to be developed at any of these sites. February 18, 2021 Regular Board Meeting Agenda Packet- Page 122 of 147 Page 4 of 8 Real Estate, Environmental & Planning Committee Minutes February 8, 2021 Page 3 Ms. LaBella explained that a considerable amount of staff time was spent on the Diablo Country Club (DCC) Project for planning, the CEQA (California Environmental Quality Act) initial study and reviews, development of various agreements, including professional engineering services to support staff's project oversight, and the beginning stages of design-build procurement. Staff has had no further communication with DCC since 2018 on the progression of the project. Mr. Petit stated that in preparation for this presentation, he had spoken with Bert Michalczyk, who serves as DCC's Project Coordinator. Mr. Michalczyk informed him that DCC has a new Board that is interested in continuing the project and that DCC is working with the County on a rezoning request for various improvements, including the SWRF project. DCC is seeking the County to be CEQA Lead Agency on the project. Thus, there appears to be a renewed sense of interest from DCC in moving forward with the project. Recently, staff received a new SWRF inquiry from Golden Rain Foundation, which is the operator of the Rossmoor Community in Walnut Creek. They would like Central San to allow wastewater diversion for a SWRF to produce recycled water to irrigate their two golf courses, with the City of Walnut Creek taking the CEQA lead. EBMUD is currently drafting a four-way Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) that includes Central San, City of Walnut Creek, EBMUD, and the Golden Rain Foundation. Staff discussed the potential impacts to the collection system, compliance with Proposition 218, and conflict with Central San's recycled water goals. The question was posed to the Committee whether the Board should consider limiting the number of SWRF projects, such as only allowing a single demonstration project first to evaluate its impacts before allowing others to move forward. Staff also inquired whether Central San should assess a fee for its valuable wastewater resource. Chair McGill acknowledged that these projects have taken significant staff time and legal effort, and then progress is stalled. Member Hockett stated she sees a lot of inequities with these types of projects and has an ethical issue with the common philosophy of affluent areas being able to pay-to-play. She continued that she would rather see none of the SWRF projects happen and instead see the Refinery Recycled Water Exchange Project completed that would benefit many people rather than just for the wealthy. It was noted that throughout this presentation, the incredible challenges and lack of water in the pipes was repeated. With that, she opined that SWRFs pose risk and an increase in liability and stress on the system. Furthermore, Member Hockett offered that a serious conversation is needed about the equity of recycled water use in the service area and who will benefit. February 18, 2021 Regular Board Meeting Agenda Packet- Page 123 of 147 Page 5 of 8 Real Estate, Environmental & Planning Committee Minutes February 8, 2021 Page 4 Chair McGill agreed with Member Hockett's point of pay-to-play and recalled a newspaper article on the DCC facility addressing that very point. He opined that the Water Exchange Project may not have to deal with such perception issues. Chair McGill inquired about the Wholesale Recycled Water Opportunities Study conducted for Central San by RMC (now Woodard and Curran) that evaluated the current amount of available wastewater at that time, future needs, commitments, and options. He asked whether that study should be revisited to compare to where the District is now. Ms. LaBella stated the report was finalized in 2016 and, other than an update to the potential end partners, the water demands have not changed significantly. The Committee agreed that an overview of the report would be beneficial to receive. Member Hockett added that information is always welcome, but not to lose sight of her earlier point regarding equity versus inequity. COMMITTEE ACTION: Received the information and requested staff provide an overview of the 2016 Wholesale Recycled Water Opportunities study at a future meeting. b. Receive Quarterly Permit Counter Activity Report Ms. Gemmell stated that although this report is about the quarterly timeframe, it also provides a one-year comparison. She noted that numbers have almost doubled, and the process has become longer during the pandemic since the means of communicating with the public have changed. Additionally, since the County has been doing contactless plan reviews, staff has noticed an uptick in the number of plans forwarded to Central San that would not have otherwise been received. This has been a good thing as it has provided an opportunity to find situations that need to be remedied (e.g., accessory dwelling units (ADU) proposed to be built on top of a District easement). She advised that this report will be slightly modified beginning with next quarter's update. Staff intends to eliminate the public benefit piece and instead focus on the permit side for trending analysis. This will assist with the onerous task staff must undertake to track each email, phone call, etc. Member Hockett concurred with the change, stating that it is well known how busy the Permit Counter is and how much work is completed. Chair McGill added that, in the past, some Board Members were anxious about staffing levels; however, he had no issue with this change to the report. Additionally, he has heard that people have appreciated being able to continue the process during this time, even if remotely. February 18, 2021 Regular Board Meeting Agenda Packet- Page 124 of 147 Page 6 of 8 Real Estate, Environmental & Planning Committee Minutes February 8, 2021 Page 5 COMMITTEE ACTION: Received the report. C. Receive annual update on Regulatory Compliance Ms. Schectel provided a concise overview of the presentation included in the agenda materials, which touched on a variety of updates and provided a glimpse into the numerous regulations that Central San observes. The following highlights particular items of note from the discussion: • Clean Air Act, Section 129 (slide 3) — Staff has been in discussion with the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) regarding the minimum operating limits associated with the existing scrubbers and upcoming Solids Handling Facility Improvements Project. The existing scrubbers cannot handle the incinerator heat and the new regulation has bypass prohibitions. The new scrubbers will be able to adequately address current challenges and assist with meeting Section 129 regulations. Ms. Schectel added that there were two bypass events reported in 2020; however, BAAQMD (Bay Area Air Quality Management District)has not issued any notices of violation. • Criteria Pollutant and Air Toxics Emissions Reporting Regulations (CTR) (slide 7)— The proposed amendments to the CTR for annual emission reporting supports a mandate for hot spots in disadvantaged communities for toxic air emissions. This will streamline reporting programs to support the public's right-to-know. Ms. Cheng advised that there is no immediate impact and Central San will continue its annual reporting to the air district. She added that Central San's goal is to participate in the statewide program which is a two-step process. More information will be available in the coming years. • Senate Bill (SB) 1383 regarding organic waste emissions (slide 8) — The bill requires a 50% reduction of 2014 organic waste material by 2020 and 25% by 2025. Staff is awaiting CalRecycle to publish their report findings to see how it will impact Central San. With incineration material being considered a landfill disposal, staff is working to quantify greenhouse gas emissions. Ms. Cheng stated there is no immediate impact as it is more of an accounting issue??. The concern of incinerated material is about grit and screenings being disposed at local landfills. • SB 212, Pharmaceutical Takebacks (slide 11) — This newly effective bill put the responsibility of drug and sharps (needles) takebacks onto the manufacturers, which have placed several such sites throughout the county. It is considered a great move in the right direction to have options for such disposal, especially since some Central San sites have been less accessible during the pandemic. Member Hockett noted that the Alamo Sheriff station has a sharps drop-off, and that diabetic February 18, 2021 Regular Board Meeting Agenda Packet- Page 125 of 147 Page 7 of 8 Real Estate, Environmental & Planning Committee Minutes February 8, 2021 Page 6 syringes can be picked up curbside. Mr. Wyatt confirmed that manufacturers will have to provide suitable boxes and/or provide mail- back options. Member Hockett said that she was glad to see how the program has grown over the years. • National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System (NPDES) Updates - o Staff is preparing for the permit renewal application submittal this fall and expects another successful renewal once this permit expires next year. o Test of Significant Toxicity (TST) will be required for chronic toxicity rather than acute toxicity as part of the new permit. • Cannabis Grow Operations (slide 18)- Staff is keeping watch for any such operations and preparing should an operations discharger come about. Thus far, there has been one inquiry for a discharge from an indoor grow operation to Concord's collection system and Central San which would be permitted as a Class 3 Industrial User should it move forward. As it pertains to Title 22, Chair McGill asked about any changes to Title 22 related to recycled water. Ms. Gemmell stated that Central San is working under permit and has implemented quarterly inspections and self-certification as part of the program that just started. She stated staff will provide an update as more data becomes available. COMMITTEE ACTION: Received the update. d. Receive update on the most recent meeting of the Bay Area Clean Water Agencies (BACWA) COMMITTEE ACTION: Received the update. 6. Announcements - None 7. Suggestions for future agenda items a. Receive list of upcoming agenda items and provide suggestions for any other future agenda items In addition to the request mentioned in Item 5.a., the Committee requested an update on the technical aspects of the disposable wipes'legislation and its impact to Central San. COMMITTEE ACTION: Received the list and provided input to staff. February 18, 2021 Regular Board Meeting Agenda Packet- Page 126 of 147 Page 8 of 8 Real Estate, Environmental & Planning Committee Minutes February 8, 2021 Page 7 8. Future scheduled meetings Monday, February 22, 2021 at 9:00 a.m. Monday, March 8, 2021 at 9:00 a.m. Monday, April 12, 2021 at 9:00 a.m. 9. Adjournment— at 10:49 a.m. February 18, 2021 Regular Board Meeting Agenda Packet- Page 127 of 147