HomeMy WebLinkAboutItem 3a: Municipal NPDES (Stormwater) Program UpdateDATE: January 15, 2013
Public Works Services Department
TO: Mayor and City Council
FROM: Tom Tait, Public Works Services Director
Prepared by Vanessa Hevener, Environmental Services Officer
SUBJECT: MUNICIPAL NPDES (STORMWATER) PROGRAM UPDAT
Recommendation: Receive and File I
On November 8, 2012, the Los Angeles Regional Water Quality Control Board
(LARWQCB) adopted the new Municipal National Pollutant Discharge Elimination
System (NPDES) Permit for municipalities within the Los Angeles Region except Long
Beach. The new Municipal NPDES Permit incorporates significant changes including
effluent discharge limits, known as Total Maximum Daily Loads (TMDLs), Low Impact
Development criteria, and a monitoring program to name a few. Additional changes are
outlined in the staff report. These changes will have substantial administrative and
monetary impacts on the City of Arcadia. While it is difficult to identify the cost of
compliance of the Permit provisions and TMDLs at this point, the cost is expected to
increase the stormwater program considerably. The City annually budgets $93,000 in
operation and maintenance of the stormwater program. To date, the City has expended
an additional $250,000 for the Trash and Metals TMDL develop me nt/com p I iance. This
does not include street sweeping operations as this is budgeted in a different section of
the General Fund.
With the adoption of the new Permit, the City of Arcadia will be required to perform a
number of new stormwater activities /programs and develop a variety of capital
improvements needed to comply with new and more stringent water quality regulations.
These include an increase in the City's minimum control measure activities,
maintenance Best Management Practices (BMPs), construction inspections, storm
water mitigation plan checks, water quality monitoring and its level of public
education/outreach, all of which will require enhanced staff training, new contract
services, and/or new personnel. Furthermore, the inclusion of TMDLs will significantly
impact the Capital Improvement Program budget with the need to construct new
structural BMPs, and complete monitoring and implementation plans for bacteria, trash,
metals, nutrients, and pesticides.
Mayor and City Council
January 15, 2013
Page 2 of I1
In 1972, the U.S. Congress approved the Clean Water Act (CWA), which prohibited the
discharge of any pollutant to navigatable waters from a point source unless a NPDES
permit authorizes such discharge. The primary focus of the NPDES permit program
was to control wastewater discharges from wastewater facilities, factories, and industrial
uses. The CWA authorizes the US Environmental Protection Agency (USEPA) to
permit a state to act as the NPDES permitting authority in lieu of the USEPA. In
California, regional stormwater permits are developed and enforced through the State
Water Quality Resources Control Board and nine regional boards. Despite pollution
control efforts from point sources, water quality in waterbodies remained degraded. In
response, Congress amended the CWA in 1987 to require the USEPA to establish
regulations to incorporate stormwater discharges through the municipal separate
stormwater sewer system (MS4) into the NPDES program.
Stormwater and/or non-stormwater (urban runoff) have been identified as one of the
most significant sources of water pollution and pose a serious threat to aquatic life and
habitat as well as to human health. Stormwater is precipitation and/or snowmelt that
flows over streets, parking lots, and other developed parcels, and through commercial,
industrial and residential sites, which is then conveyed via the storm drains IVIS4 into
surface waters throughout the Los Angeles region. When stormwater flows over urban
environment, it collects suspended metals, sediments, nutrients (nitrogen and
phosphorus), trash and debris, petroleum products, untreated sewage, pesticides, and
other toxic pollutants, which are then discharged to creeks, rivers, estuaries, and
eventually to the Pacific Ocean. Stormwater discharges from the City of Arcadia flow
into the Santa Anita Wash and Arcadia Wash, which then drains into the Rio Hondo
channel, a tributary of the Los Angeles River and eventually the Pacific Ocean.
The most recent permit was issued in 2001 under the Los Angeles Countywide
Municipal NPDES permit and was subsequently amended in 2006, 2007, and 2009 to
incorporate provisions of the Santa Monica Bay Dry Weather Bacteria TMDL, Marina
del Rey Harbor Mother's Beach TMDL, and the Los Angeles River Trash TMDL. This
permit required the City to implement a Stormwater Quality Management Plan (SQMP),
The plan outlined municipal activities in the following areas:
• Public Information and Participation Program
• IndustriallCommercial Facilities Control Program
• Development Planning Program
• Development Construction Program
• Public Agency Activities Program
• Illicit Connections and Illicit Discharges Elimination Program
Permit compliance activities were completed through a collaborative approach among
various City departments, but largely concentrated in Public Works Services.
Mayor and City Council
January 15, 2013
Page 3 of 11
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In May 2011, the LARWQCB initiated the process of reissuing the Municipal NPDES
permit for Los Angeles County. On June 6, 2012, the LARWQCB released a Notice of
Opportunity for Public Comments and Notice of Public Hearing. The notice provided a
45-day comment period on the new Los Angeles County Municipal Permit and
scheduled the Permit adoption hearing for November 8, 2012. The City of Arcadia
provided comments to the LARWQCB on July 23, 2012. The City's comments reflect
common concerns submitted by the Los Angeles Permit Group, a coalition of 62 cities
within the Los Angeles County, including the City of Arcadia. Many of the comments
provided by the City and the Los Angeles Permit Group were not fully addressed during
the permit comment period. The recently adopted Municipal Permit is more stringent
than the previous permit and will require considerably more funding to implement the
new provisions.
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The new Municipal Permit contains many new major provisions and challenges for the
permittees. In general, permittees will need to continue existing activities/programs and
begin implementing new, more stringent activities /programs. Some of the major
differences between the prior Permit and new Municipal NPDES Permit include, but are
not limited to:
• No principal perimittee - In the previous permits, the permit provided for a
principal permittee that had several duties including coordinating key aspects
of the permit such as monitoring activities, annual reporting, and public
education. The new Permit does not designate a principal permittee;
therefore, those duties will be the responsibility of each individual permittee,
thereby increasing the implementation requirements of each city.
0 Incorporation of 33 TMDLs — Of the 33 TMDLs that are incorporated into the
new Permit, four additional TMDLs affect the City of Arcadia. The four
TMDLs are as follows: 1) Los Angeles River and Tributaries Metals TMDL; 2)
Dominguez Channel and Greater Los Angeles and Long Beach Harbor
Waters Toxics TMDLs (Toxics TMDL); 3) Los Angeles River Watershed
Bacteria TMDL; and 4) Peck Road Park Lake TMDLs. Once incorporated in
the new Permit, these TMDLs are enforceable under the Clean Water Act.
• Monitoring Program - Permittees will be required to develop an integrated
monitoring plan and they are highly encouraged to develop a watershed
based plan with other permittees in the same watershed. This new
monitoring program includes several increased requirements including: outfall
monitoring; illicit discharge detection; water quality analysis-, and participation
Mayor and City Council
January 15, 2013
Page 4 of 11
in special studies. The Integrated Monitoring Program is intended to facilitate
a collaborative approach between permittees to monitor receiving waters,
stormwater, and non-stormwater discharges and to report the results of
monitoring to the Regional Water Board.
Watershed Management Programs (WMP) vs. Minimum Control
Measures - The purpose of the WMPs is to provide a framework for
permittees to implement the requirements of the Municipal NPDES permit in
an integrated and collaborative fashion that addresses water quality priorities
on a watershed scale. A watershed approach is proposed to include all the
TMDLs applicable to the permittee and create one master plan to address all
the pollutants. Previously, permittees were required to develop separate
plans for each TMDL. An integrated planning approach will help permittees to
effectively plan and prioritize projects to address all pollutants of concern.
The timeline for this effort is very compact — the City has to decide whether or
not to participate in the Watershed Management Program within 6 months
after the effective date of the Permit (June 2013).
Restriction of non-stormwater discharges — The new Municipal Permit
presents a significant increase in the permittees' requirements to restrict non-
stormwater dischargess into the system, The Permit requires that the City
would need to ensure non-stormwater discharges implement specific best
management practices prior to discharging (ex. non-emergency fire flows,
water system maintenance and operational discharges, and irrigation
overspray). The permittee is required to conduct monitoring and enforcement
to ensure the best management practices are being followed and that
discharges do not contribute to or cause a nuisance or exceedance of
receiving water quality.
• Incorporation of Low Impact Development (LID) — As part of the Storm
Water Management Program Minimum Control Measures, permittees are
required to minimize the percentage of impervious surfaces on new
development and design projects to minimize the impervious area footprint.
Furthermore, new development needs to employ Low Impact Development
(LID) design principles to mimic predevelopment water balance through
infiltration, evapotranspiration, and rainfall harvest and use.
In addition to the requirements described above, the City is also required to comply with
effluent discharge limits known as Total Maximum Daily Loads (TMDLs).
The Clean Water Act requires the State to identify a list of "impaired water bodies" and to
develop and implement TMDLs for those water bodies in an effort to improve water quality.
Mayor and City Council
January 15, 2013
Page 5 of 11
A TMDL is the maximum amount for a specific pollutant that can be discharged into a
water body without exceeding water quality standards and impairing beneficial uses.
In 1999, USEPA and the environmental groups entered into a Consent Decree which
identified over 700 local water body-pollutant impairments in Los Angeles County,
including the Los Angeles River and its tributaries. This Consent Decree mandated a
schedule for addressing these water bodies, including the adoption of Total Maximum
Daily Loads (TMDLs) within 13 years. The TMDLs are enforced through the Municipal
NPDES permit. Violation of these permits can result in exposing the City to civil and
criminal liabilities. Once the TMDLs are incorporated into the Municipal NPDES Permit,
permittees are responsible for complying with the requirements of the TMDL.
Below is a summary of current TMDLs that the City of Arcadia is subject to compliance:
A detailed summary of the each of the TMDLs described above is attached in Exhibit A.
Pollutant
Effective Date
Status
-Watershed
Los Angeles River
Trash
Effective
Complete installation
September 23,
of certified full capture
2008
devices at 261 City
owned catch basins
Los Angeles River
Metals (Copper,
Effective October
In process - City is
Lead and Zinc)
29, 2008
participating in the
Coordinated
Monitoring Plan,
provided funding for
the Special Study for
copper and lead
Los Angeles River
Bacteria
Approved by State
In process - staff to
on July 8, 2011
seek City Council
approval to participate
Awaiting USEPA
in the Coordinated
approval
Monitoring Plan similar
to the Metals TMDL
(February 5, 2013)
Dominguez Channel
Toxic Pollutants
Approved by State
In process
and Greater Los
(DDT, PCBs,
on May 5, 2011
Angeles and Long
Chlordane, Dieldrin,
Beach Harbor
Toxaphene)
Awaiting USEPA
Waters
approval
Peck Road Park
Nutrients
Adopted by
In process
Lake TMDLs
PCBs
USEPA
(USEPA developing)
DDT
Dieldrin
Trash
A detailed summary of the each of the TMDLs described above is attached in Exhibit A.
Mayor and City Council
January 15, 2013
Page 6 of 11
W=.
Funding remains a significant challenge for Municipal NPDES and TMDL programs as
there are very limited funding sources available for the stormwater program. There are
a limited amount of grants available - they are generally highly competitive, require
matching funds, and cover only capital costs. The City will continue to monitor and
apply for grant funds as they become available.
Given similar funding challenges in most Los Angeles County cities, the Los Angeles
County Flood Control District is planning a funding initiative to generate water quality
funding. The Flood Control District has developed the Ordinance for a proposed "Clean
Water, Clean Beaches Fee" or Water Quality Funding Initiative that would provide 90%
local return, allocating funding to Watershed Authority Groups (WAGS) and
Municipalities to initiate, plan design, construct, implement, operate and maintain water
quality improvement projects and programs. The funding would be distributed as
follows:
0 40% to Municipalities — for existing and new NPDES and TMDL related programs
and projects
0 50% to Watershed Authority Groups (9 throughout LA County — the City is
assigned to the "Rio Hondo" WAG) — for regional coordinated planning and
implementation related to the MUNICIPAL NPDES permit and TMDL compliance.
0 10% to the Flood Control District for administration including regional planning
and technical assistance.
The City of Arcadia is expected to annually receive a net total of approximately
$760,000 of the collected revenues while the Rio Hondo Watershed Area Group will
receive $10.4 million.
The fee would require a majority vote of parcel owners to pass. Currently, the Water
Quality Funding Initiative is scheduled for a protest hearing/public hearing during the
January 15, 2013, Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors meeting. If successful, the
ballots will be mailed to property owners in the spring of 2013. If the Water Quality
Funding Initiative passes; the first installment of funds is expected to be distributed in
January 2014. Staff will monitor the development of the fee initiative and will update the
City Council as the process progresses.
Administrative Petition
At the December 3, 2012, City Council closed session, the City Council unanimously
approved to file an Administrative Petition with the State Water Resources Control
Board to request that the Petition be held in abeyance while the City works with the Los
Angeles Regional Water Quality Control Board on permit implementation. Staff will
update the City Council on any new developments once they become available.
Mayor and City Council
January 15, 2013
Page 7 of 11
LqWK
With the adoption of the new Permit, the City of Arcadia will be required to perform a
number of new stormwater activities/programs and develop a variety of capital
improvements needed to comply with new and more stringent water quality regulations.
These include an increase in the City's minimum control measure activities,
maintenance Best Management Practices (BMPs), construction inspections, storm
water mitigation plan checks, water quality monitoring and its level of public
education/outreach, all of which will require enhanced staff training, new contract
services, and/or new personnel. Furthermore, the inclusion of TMDLs will significantly
impact the Capital Improvement Program budget with the need to construct new
structural BMPs, and complete monitoring and implementation plans for bacteria, trash,
metals, nutrients, and pesticides. Fiscal impact for the new Municipal NPIDES Permit
and TMDL implementation related requirements will be analyzed over the next six
months, at which time, staff will be in a better position to give a more clear cost estimate
for the implementation of this mandate. There is no Council action required at this time.
29DETWE 9, MITSOU
There is no fiscal impact associated with receiving and filing this report. While it is
difficult to identify the cost of compliance of the new Permit provisions and TMDLs at
this time, it is believed that compliance with the new NPIDES permit and TMDLs is
expected to increase considerably. The City annually budgets $93,000 in operation and
maintenance of the stormwater program. To date, the City has expended an additional
$250,000 for the Trash and Metals TMDL development/compliance. This does not
include street sweeping operations. It is estimated that the cost of the LA River Bacteria
TMDL alone is $5.4 billion over the next 25 years; and another $9.5 billion to dredge
and clean the entire Los Angeles Harbor for toxics. Cost estimates of the other TMDLs
are currently unknown at this time. These costs will be shared among the 42 plus
agencies located within the Los Angeles River Watershed. The success or failure of the
Water Quality Funding Initiative will have a major impact on whether or not the City of
Arcadia will be able to afford the NPIDES Permit and TMDL programs. If the Funding
Initiative is approved, the City is expected to receive a net of $760,000 annually and
have access to a portion of $10.4 million per year of capital funding for watershed group
projects,
Mayor and City Council
January 15, 2013
Page 8 of 11
Receive and file the Municipal NPDES (Stormwater) Program Update
Do-m--i—nic LazarreftP
City Manager
Mayor and City Council
January 15, 2013
Page 9 of 11
0002HI�c
Los Angeles River Trash TMDL
Under the Trash TMDL, agencies within the Los Angeles River watershed must
demonstrate that they have reduced the amount of trash discharged into the LA River by
60% from their designated baseline waste load allocation (WLA) by September 2008. An
additional 10% reduction for each subsequent year is required until full compliance or zero
(0) trash discharged into the Los Angeles River is achieved by September 2016.
To achieve compliance, affected agencies may employ a variety of strategies including
institutional Best Management Practices (BMPs) e.g., increased street sweeping
frequencies; and structural BMPs such as the installation of full capture systems and
installation of Board-certified full capture inserts at City-owned storm drain catch basins.
Currently, the City of Arcadia owns a total of 261 catch basins all of which have either full
capture devices installed or automated retractable screens, where full capture devices are
infeasible. The City will continue to execute an effective street sweeping program and to
provide public outreach/education to resident and businesses by reducing and/or
eliminating pollutants from entering the storm drain system.
Los Angeles River Metals TMDL
The Los Angeles River Metals TMDL establishes a 22-year program to reduce and/or
eliminate copper, cadmium, lead, zinc, and selenium in the Los Angeles River, The TMDL
also required that cities prepare a monitoring plan, conduct coordinated monitoring,
prepare a Coordinated Implementation Plan, and implement the Plan to reduce metals
loading. A total of 42 municipalities and agencies fall within the Los Angeles River
Watershed. Based on the drainage and subdrainage areas, the Los Angeles River
Watershed is divided into six (6) groups of reaches and tributaries.
The Coordinated Monitoring Plan is comprised of a series of monitoring programs to
determine whether the constituent pollutant levels are being exceeded based on dry
and wet weather criteria. Tier I ambient monitoring is a monthly program conducted at
nine (9) sites. Tier 11 effectiveness monitoring is instituted at any of seven (7) additional
sites when exceedances are detected downstream of the Tier I sampling site. By
Mayor and City Council
January 15, 2013
Page 10 of 11
January 2012, the Los Angeles River Metals TMDL requires a reduction of 50% of the
dry weather and 25% of the wet weather allowable metals (copper, zinc, lead, cadmium,
selenium) limits.
In coordiantion with 29 other agencies in Reach Two of the LA River, the City completed
a Coordinated Implementation Plan. The Coordinated Implementation Plan laid out four
implemetation phases including a combination of non-structural (ordinances, education,
enforcement, inspections, product bans, etc.) and structural (infitration basins,
biofiltration, permeable pavement, etc.) implementation methods.
Non-structural implementation was due to start prior to January 2012 in order to make
efforts towards the first set of compliance points (50% dry weather and 25% wet
weather). These activities are currently unfunded; however, Staff will be evalating
program options and costs with a recommendation at a future date. Structural
implementation is currently being evaluated through the LA River Metals Reach Two
Technical Committee, in which the City is a member.
The City has also participated in a coordinated LA River Watershed Water Effects Ratio
Study for copper. The objective of the Water Effects Ration Study is to investigate if
copper limits set in the LA River Metals TMDL were too low and if the water body can
support a higer level of the copper without negative effects. If the Water Effects Ratio
Study is successful, it could increase the permissable level of metals in the river,
thereby reducing the amount of implementation required to meet compliance
requirements.
Los An-geled River Watershed Bacteria TMDL LLA River Bacteria TMQQ
The LA River Bacteria TMDL requires the City to reduce the amount of bacteria
discharged (Bacteria loading) to the LA River according to the following compliance
schedule:
Date
Action Due
July 2014
Bacteria Load Reduction Strategy Due (requires monitoring, source
assessment, and an development of an implementation plan) _ _
Jan. 2019
Complete Bacteria Load Reduction Strategy Implementation (additional
monitoring, source identification, enforcement, abatement, increased
education, and structural treatment/infiltration)
Jan. 2022
Must meet dry weather interim waste-load allocation (based on E-Cali
levels)
July 2028
100% Dry Weather in-stream compliance
July 2035
1 100 %® Wet Weather in-stream compliance --------- I
The LA River Bacteria TMDL will have significant implications for the City including with
financial and compliance challenges. The LA River Bacteria TMDL is estimated to cost
the LA River Watershed $5.4 billion over 25 years. Implementation measures for
bacteria are similar to metals as run-off will either need to be processed through a
Mayor and City Council
January 15, 2013
Page 11 of 11
treatment facility or infiltration/biofiltration system to meet complaince levels. Either
method will require significant land area, capital investments, and ongoing maintenance
costs. Given the common compliance methods, staff will be researching multi-benefit
compliance strategies to maximize limited resources.
Dominguez Channel and Greater .Los Angeles and Lonq Beach Harbor Waters Toxics
TMDLs (Toxics TMDQ
The Toxics TMDL will require the City to reduce the amount of toxics (DDT, PCBs,
Chlordane, Dieldrin, Toxaphene) discharged to the LA River. The City will be required
to develop an implementation plan in coordination with the LA River Watershed and
participate in a regional coordinated monitoring program.
Peck Road Park Lake TMDLs (Peck Lake TMDLs)
The City of Arcadia is subject to several TMDLs developed by the USEPA for Peck
Road Park Lake (Nutrients, PCBs, Organochlorine, DDT, Dieldrin, and Trash). The City
will be required to develop and implement coordinated monitoring and implementation
plans under this TMDL. Monitoring and the research conducted as part of the
implementation plan will help to determine pollutant sources and the appropriate
implementation actions. Costs for these activites are undertermined at this time,