Res 14-057RESOLUTION NO. 14 -057
A RESOLUTION OF THE CITY COUNCIL
OF THE CITY OF POWAY, CALIFORNIA,
AS A MEMBER OF THE METRO WASTEWATER JPA,
SUPPORTING THE CITY OF SAN DIEGO'S 2015
NATIONAL POLLUTANT DISCHARGE ELIMINATION SYSTEM ( NPDES)
MODIFIED PERMIT APPLICATION FOR THE
POINT LOMA WASTEWATER TREATMENT PLANT
WHEREAS, the Point Loma Wastewater Treatment Plant ( PLWTP) is a regional
facility in the Metro Wastewater System, operated by the City of San Diego, permitted to
treat 240 million gallons of wastewater per day to an Advanced Primary Level, serving a
12 member Joint Powers Authority, including the City of Poway, that comprises
approximately 35% of the total flow in the Metro Wastewater System / PLWTP; and
WHEREAS, the Clean Water Act of 1972 requires that wastewater be treated to
achieve certain protections before ocean discharge and the permitting of wastewater
treatment plants, and wastewater treatment plant permits must be renewed every five
years; and
WHEREAS, the Ocean Pollution Reduction Act (OPRA) of 1994 allowed the City
of San Diego to apply for modified NPDES permits allowing PLWTP to continue operating
at an Advanced Primary Treatment Level while meeting or exceeding all general and
specifically negotiated regulatory obligations including ocean protection requirements;
and
WHEREAS, the City of San Diego has 20 years of ocean monitoring data
demonstrating that the Advanced Primary PLWTP consistently protects the ocean
environment; and
WHEREAS, the City of San Diego has determined that instead of converting the
PLWTP to a secondary treatment plant, equivalent results can be achieved by offloading
wastewater flow from the Plant to other existing and new facilities (secondary
equivalency) for potable water reuse; and
WHEREAS, the City of Poway, as a member of the Metro Wastewater JPA, sees
the Pure Water Program, the City of San Diego's 20 -year program to produce purified
water for San Diego's drinking water supply, as a first step toward realizing the possibility
of fully utilizing wastewater supplies to maximize development of local water supply
acknowledging that future expansion and ability to minimize flows to wastewater
treatment plants will depend on technological and legislative advances, cost benefit
analysis, and actual flows compared to projections; and
WHEREAS, the strategy of achieving secondary equivalency at the PLWTP
through potable reuse of wastewater is included within the Pure Water San Diego
program; and
Resolution No. 14 -057
Page 2
WHEREAS, the proposed Pure Water Program will avoid billions of dollars in
unnecessary capital, financing, energy and operating costs to upgrade a facility that
already meets or exceeds all general and specifically negotiated regulatory requirements
for ocean protection; and
WHEREAS, the City of San Diego, representatives of Metro Wastewater JPA and
the Metro Commission, and stakeholders from the environmental community have
agreed upon a definition for secondary equivalency and will use their best efforts to have
federal legislation passed in accordance with the proposal called the Ocean Pollution
Reduction Act II (OPRA 11); and
WHEREAS, generally, OPRA II will allow the City's NPDES permit to be based on
secondary equivalency that includes a commitment to implement potable reuse of
wastewater and allows the PLWTP to remain operating at the Advanced Primary
Treatment Level; and
WHEREAS, the current modified permit for the PLWTP expires on July 31, 2015,
and City of San Diego staff must submit an application to renew the NPDES permit by
January 30, 2015.
NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED by the City Council of the City of Poway
as follows:
Section 1: That the City of Poway, as a member of the Metro Wastewater JPA,
supports the PLWTP to remain operating at an Advanced Primary Treatment Level.
Section 2: That the City of Poway, as a member of the Metro Wastewater JPA,
supports the concept of secondary equivalency for the PLWTP and supports proposing
the passage of federal legislation in accordance with the proposal titled the Ocean
Pollution Reduction Act II (OPRA 11), attached hereto as Exhibit "A" and incorporated
herein. OPRA 11 will allow the City's NPDES permit to be based on secondary
equivalency that includes a commitment to implement potable reuse of wastewater and
allows the PLWTP to remain operating at the Advanced Primary Treatment Level.
Section 3: That the City of Poway, as a member of the Metro Wastewater JPA,
supports the City of San Diego's NPDES Modified Permit application for the PLWTP as
further described in the Basis of Point Loma Permit Application, attached hereto as
Exhibit "B" and incorporated herein.
Resolution No. 14 -057
Page 3
PASSED, ADOPTED AND APPROVED by the City Council of the City of
Poway at a regular meeting this 7th day of October, 2014.
ATTEST:
Sheila R. Cobian, CMC, City Clerk
STATE OF CALIFORNIA )
) SS
COUNTY OF SAN DIEGO )
Don Higginson, Mayor
I, Sheila Cobian, CMC, City Clerk of the City of Poway, do hereby certify under
penalty of perjury that the foregoing Resolution No. 14 -057 was duly adopted by the City
Council at a meeting of said City Council held on the 7th day of October, 2014, and that it
was so adopted by the following vote:
AYES:
NOES:
ABSENT:
DISQUALIFIED
ATTACHMENTS:
CUNNINGHAM, VAUS, MULLIN, GROSCH, HIGGINSON
NONE
NONE
NONE
Sheila R. )Cobian, CMC, City Clerk
City of Poway
Exhibit A: Ocean Pollution Reduction Act II
Exhibit B: Basis of Point Loma Permit Application
Resolution No. 14 -057
Page 4
EXHIBIT A
OCEAN POLLUTION REDUCTION ACT II
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.
This Act may be cited as the "Ocean Pollution Reduction Act II."
SECTION 2. FINDINGS AND POLICY
In 1972, Congress passed the Federal Water Pollution Control Act Amendments, which
required Publicly Owned Treatment Works to achieve secondary treatment capability by 1977.
In 1994, the Federal District Court for the Southern District of California determined that
upgrading the City of San Diego's Point Loma Wastewater Treatment Plant to secondary
treatment level would not be in the public interest, being excessively costly without producing
additional environmental benefits.
The Point Loma Plant currently meets all the requirements of secondary treatment except
for the removal of total suspended solids and biological oxygen demand.
At the direction of Congress, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) requested that
the National Research Council advise the agency on ways to improve wastewater management in
coastal urban areas. The resulting study, "Managing Wastewater in Coastal Urban Areas,"
produced several important findings, including:
- Biological oxygen demand discharged thru a well- designed outfall is generally of no
ecological concern in open coastal waters.
- Total suspended solids can be adequately controlled by advanced primary treatment
and high dilution outfalls.
- Over - control is particularly likely along ocean coasts, but nevertheless full secondary
treatment is required regardless of cost or lack of benefits.
Past reviews by the City, the EPA, the State of California, and scientists affiliated with
the Scripps Institution of Oceanography and the University of California at San Diego, as well as
other organizations have concluded the Point Loma Plant does not have a significant adverse
impact on the ocean environment.
The ocean outfall for the Point Loma Plant discharges effluent 4.5 miles from the coast at
a depth of over 300 feet, one of the longest and deepest in the world.
Implementing full secondary treatment at the Point Loma Plant will cost approximately
$2.1 billion.
OPRA II Legislation -
Exhibit A
Resolution No. 14 -057
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Implementing full secondary treatment is contrary to the national interest, in that it will
compromise views from the Cabrillo National Monument and interfere with the Navy's use of
adjacent property.
The City generates all the energy it needs to operate the Point Loma Plant onsite through
co- generation. Implementing full secondary treatment will turn a "green" facility into one of the
region's largest energy consumers, requiring the purchase of over $17 million each year in
electricity and producing more than 100,000 tons of greenhouse gas emissions annually.
Implementing full secondary treatment at the Point Loma Plant will require removal of
1,250,000 tons of earth from environmentally sensitive habitat immediately adjacent to the Point
Loma Ecological Reserve.
Recognizing the unique situation surrounding the Point Loma Plant, Congress adopted
the Ocean Pollution Reduction Act of 1994 (OPRA). OPRA allowed the Point Loma Plant to
avoid conversion to full secondary treatment and instead operate under a modified permit
according to standards contained in OPRA and section 301(h) of the Clean Water Act.
The City has complied with all requirements of OPRA and the results have been
significant, including reduction in the discharge of total suspended solids and biological oxygen
demand, advanced ocean monitoring, and construction of 45 million gallons per day of reclaimed
water capacity at a cost of approximately $340 million.
Successor legislation to OPRA will capitalize on the record of improvements initiated
under OPRA and provide a framework for further enhancements to the City's water and
wastewater systems, increased potable water reliability, and additional meaningful
environmental protection.
The City has completed its Water Purification Demonstration Project showing that
municipal wastewater can successfully be treated to levels suitable for potable reuse. The City
completed its Recycled Water Study in 2012 describing how wastewater can be diverted from
the Point Loma Plant to new treatment facilities to generate water suitable for potable reuse.
Through the construction and operation of new treatment facilities, the City can reduce the total
suspended solids discharged by the Point Loma Plant to the same or lower levels as would be
achieved by implementing full secondary treatment, while creating an important new local
source of water.
The City currently relies on imported water for over 85% of its water supply. A new local
source of water can significantly reduce the environmental impacts of importing water to San
Diego from the Colorado River and the California Bay -Delta by offsetting the City's demand for
imported water.
Due to severe drought in California, the 2014 water allocation from the State Water
Project is only 5% of normal, forcing water agencies to draw down water reserves, implement
mandatory conservation measures, and search for new, dependable sources of water.
OPRA II Legislation
Exhibit A
Resolution No. 14 -057
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SECTION 3. SAN DIEGO SECONDARY TREATMENT EQUIVALENCY.
Section 3010)(5) of the Federal Water Pollution Control Act (33 U.S.C. 13110)(5)) is
amended to read as follows:
(5) SAN DIEGO SECONDARY TREATMENT EQUIVALENCY.
(A) IN GENERAL. Notwithstanding anything to the contrary in the Federal Water
Pollution Control Act or the Coastal Zone Management Act, an application for the Point
Loma Wastewater Treatment Plant shall be reviewed and processed as the equivalent of
an application for a secondary treatment discharge pursuant to subsection (b)(1)(B) and
section 402 of the Federal Water Pollution Control Act, provided that the application
includes a commitment to:
(i) maintain a deep ocean outfall from the Point Loma Wastewater Treatment
Plant with a discharge depth of no less than 300 feet.
(ii) discharge no more than 12,000 metric tons of total suspended solids per year
commencing on December 31, 2015, no more than 11,500 metric tons of total
suspended solids per year commencing on December 31, 2025, and no more than
9,942 metric tons of total suspended solids per year commencing on December
31, 2027.
(iii) discharge no more than a concentration of 60 milligrams per liter of total
suspended solids calculated as a thirty day average.
(iv) remove no less than 80% of total suspended solids on a monthly average, and
no less than 58% of biological oxygen demand on an annual average, from
wastewater flow tributary to the Point Loma Plant. Wastewater flow is tributary to
the Point Loma Plant if it is discharged into the applicant's wastewater system, or
into any wastewater system connected to the applicant's wastewater system,
excluding wastewater flow treated and discharged from facilities separately
permitted under section 402.
(v) meet all other effluent limitations of secondary treatment, as defined by the
Administrator pursuant to section 304(d)(1), except for any effluent concentration
limits for biological oxygen demand.
(vi) comply with federal anti- degradation policy as determined by the
Administrator.
(vii) perform ocean monitoring that meets or exceeds the Administrator's
requirements for section 301(h) dischargers.
OPRA II Legislation
Exhibit A
Resolution No. 14 -057
Page 7
(B) POTABLE REUSE. To be eligible to submit an application under this paragraph, the
applicant must demonstrate to the satisfaction of the Administrator that to the extent
potable reuse is permitted by federal and state regulatory agencies, at least 83 million
gallons per day of water suitable for potable reuse on an annual average will be produced
by December 31, 2035, from wastewater in the applicant's wastewater system and
wastewater systems connected to the applicant's wastewater system as of the date of this
Act. The Administrator shall determine development milestones necessary to ensure
compliance with this paragraph and include said milestones as conditions in each permit
issued prior to December 31, 2035.
(C) PREVIOUS OCEAN MONITORING DATA. The applicant must demonstrate to the
satisfaction of the Administrator that the applicant has performed monitoring that meets
or exceeds the requirements for section 301(h) dischargers for at least the last 10 years.
(D) PENDING APPLICATIONS. Any application for the Point Loma Wastewater
Treatment Plant pending on the effective date of this Act shall be reviewed and processed
under this paragraph.
(E) SECONDARY TREATMENT. Nothing in this Act shall prevent the applicant from
submitting an application for the Point Loma Wastewater Treatment Plant that complies
with secondary treatment pursuant to subsection (b)(1)(B) and section 402
OPRA II Legislation
Exhibit A
Resolution No. 14 -057
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Exhibit B September 11, 2014
Summary of the Basis of the Application for the
Point Loma Wastewater Treatment Plant
2015 NPDES Modified Permit Renewal
The application will be based on:
a. Compliance with CWA section 301(h) requirements for waivers. (required)
b. Compliance with CWA section 301(1) requirements (Ocean Pollution Reduction Act). (required)
c. Point Loma will remain as an Advanced Primary Treatment Plant with a capacity of 240 mgd.
d. It will also contain specific provisions voluntarily included to enhance the application: These include
the following provisions that would be included in the final modified NPDES permit as program
goals, as well as some enforceable permit requirements.
e. The goals related to water produced will be calculated based on wastewater in the applicant's
wastewater system and wastewater systems connected to the applicant's wastewater system:
Task
Date (Not later than)
New Permit Enforceable Provisions .
Cap total suspended solids mass emission at 12,000 metric tons /year
December 31, 2015
Issue Notice of Preparation for a programmatic EIR
January 31, 2015
Publish draft programmatic EIR for public review
January 31, 2017
Issue NTP for final design of 15 mgd pipeline from NCWRP to San Vincente Reservoir
January 31, 2017
Issue NTP for final design of 15 mgd NCWRP potable reuse
May 31, 2017
Certify final programmatic EIR
January 31, 2018
Complete design of 15 mgd pipeline from NCWRP to San Vincente Reservoir
October 31, 2019
Complete design of 15 mgd NCWRP potable reuse
January 31, 2020
Goals,subject to approval of oPRA Il.legslation
Produce at least 15 mgd of potable reuse water
December 31, 2023
Cap total suspended solids mass emission at 11,500 metric tons /year
December 31, 2025
Produce a cumulative total of at least 30 mgd of potable reuse water
December 31, 2027
Cap total suspended solids mass emission at 9,942 metric tons /year
December 31, 2027
Produce a cumulative total of at least 83 mgd of potable reuse water
December 31, 2035