TO:
Honorable Mayor and Members of the City Council
THROUGH:
Bruce Moe, City Manager
FROM:
Erick Lee, Public Work s Director
Lou Vargas, Utilities Manager
Nicholle Petroff, Management Analyst
SUBJECT:Title
Consideration of a Resolution Approving a Three-Year Agreement with McGowan Consulting, LLC for Environmental Professional Services Pertaining to the Implementation of the Municipal Separate Storm Sewer System at a Cost Not-to-Exceed $260,500 (Public Works Director Lee).
ADOPT RESOLUTION NO. 22-0075
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Recommended Action
RECOMMENDATION:
Staff recommends that the City Council adopt a resolution approving a three-year agreement with McGowan Consulting, LLC for continued environmental professional services and assistance in the implementation of the Municipal Separate Storm Sewer System (MS4) permit to meet stormwater quality objectives at a cost not-to-exceed $260,500.
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FISCAL IMPLICATIONS:
There are sufficient funds available in the Stormwater Fund to support this agreement. The total contract amount exceeds the City Manager’s awarding authority per the City’s purchasing policy; therefore, City Council approval is required.
BACKGROUND:
Under the Federal Clean Water Act and the California Porter-Cologne Act, the Los Angeles Regional MS4 Permit (Regional Permit) identifies conditions, requirements, and programs that municipalities must implement to protect regional water resources from adverse impacts associated with pollutants in stormwater and urban runoff. On July 23, 2021, a new Regional Permit was adopted and became effective on September 11, 2021, replacing the previous 2012 LA MS4 Permit. While the new Regional Permit is similar to the last 2012 MS4 Permit, there are changes and expanded requirements in existing programs, and the City must implement these new requirements. Some examples of these new requirements include annual stormwater training of City staff in targeted roles, the tracking and reporting of implementation activities, and an update to the performance metrics.
DISCUSSION:
McGowan Consulting (McGowan) has assisted the City in meeting the requirements of the MS4 Permit, including technical and regulatory support in the development and implementation of compliance strategies to meet bacteria, trash and metals water quality objectives under the Santa Monica Bay Beaches Bacteria Wet and Dry Weather Total Maximum Daily Loads (TMDLs), the Santa Monica Bay Trash TMDLs, and the Dominguez Channel Toxics TMDLs. McGowan also represented the City’s interests during the negotiation of the 2012 Permit and, most recently, during negotiations of the 2021 Permit by providing written comments and verbal testimony resulting in positive changes to permit terms.
Additionally, McGowan has assisted the City in achieving many of its key accomplishments related to MS4 compliance in recent years, including:
Grant Funding Assistance
• Prepared winning grant proposals to secure funding for stormwater capital projects for TMDL compliance including: $4.9M in Prop 68 Urban Flood Protection funding for the Manhattan Beach 28th Street Infiltration Project, $500K for the Manhattan Greenbelt Infiltration Project, and $5M in Prop 13 and Prop 12 Grant funding for Beach Cities joint Watershed Management Group projects in the Santa Monica Bay Watershed.
Safe Clean Water (Measure W) Municipal Funding Assistance
• Assisted the City in preparing and submitting expenditure plans for three years of Safe, Clean Water Municipal funds as required by the fund Transfer Agreement with LA County Flood Control District.
• Prepared the City’s first annual expenditure report summarizing how the first tranche of Municipal Program funding was expended as required by the fund Transfer Agreement.
Municipal Permit Implementation Requirements
• Prepared the assessment & evaluation plan, monitoring plan, quality assurance plan and final report consistent with Prop 50 Grant Agreement requirements to document the effectiveness of the City’s Porous Paving Project, which retrofitted six city parking lots with over 128,000 square feet of permeable concrete paving.
• Worked with City staff to develop a strategy for meeting the Statewide Trash Provisions in the City’s Dominguez Channel Watershed area, in response to the order requiring submittal of the City’s intended compliance approach for trash control from Priority Land Uses.
• Reviewed the City’s business license database for miscategorized industrial facilities. The resulting corrections reduced the number of businesses in the City that were required to obtain coverage under the Industrial General Stormwater National Pollution Discharge Elimination System (NPDES) Permit from thirty-three (33) to only one (1) business.
• Conducted field assessments and prepared a stormwater inventory of 31 municipal facilities in the City and identified opportunities for stormwater capture retrofits.
• Developed the 2015 update of the City’s stormwater ordinance, in collaboration with City staff and the City Attorney.
• Worked with Public Works Director to develop the City’s 2015 Green Street Policy, as required by the 2012 Permit, and secured LA Water Board staff approval.
Watershed Group Coordination
• Assisted the City and its watershed partners in developing and securing LA Water Board approval for the 2016 Beach Cities Enhanced Watershed Management Program (EWMP), as well as subsequent 2018 and 2019 EWMP updates, and the 2016 Coordinated Integrated Monitoring Program (CIMP).
• Through coordination, implementation, and reporting of joint EWMP activities, the City and its watershed partners were one of only four watershed groups to maintain ‘deemed compliance’ status consistent with the State Water Board’s 2020 Proposed Order on WMP/EWMP Petitions.
• Supported the City Attorney in preparing oral testimony on the State Water Board proposed Order on WMP/EWMP Petitions to clarify the applicability of the Order.
TMDL Implementation
• Conducted field assessment and prepared documentation supporting the exclusion of eleven (11) Strand sumps from the need to retrofit them with trash exclusion devices for the Santa Monica Bay Trash TMDL.
• Prepared documentation to successfully exclude the City from the plastic pellet provisions of the Santa Monica Bay Trash TMDL, which would have required ongoing plastic pellet monitoring.
• Obtained a 3-year extension for the City to meet the final compliance deadline for the trash provisions of the Santa Monica Bay Trash TMDL. Manhattan Beach was one of only three cities under the TMDL to receive the extension.
• Revised the City’s Santa Monica Bay Trash TMDL Implementation strategy and received approval from the LA Water Board for a compliance approach combining centralized high-flow capacity devices, regional projects, and distributed catch basin devices.
• Assisted staff and the City Attorney in evaluating, responding to, and successfully defending the Notice of Violation (NOV) and Order Pursuant to California Water Code Section 13383 issued in 2008 by the LA Water Board against the City (among 21 other municipalities) for exceedances of the summer dry weather bacteria objectives under the Santa Monica Bay Beaches Bacteria TMDL. The NOV and Order were subsequently withdrawn by the LA Water Board based on the successful defense.
• Based on the strategy used to defend the dry weather bacteria TMDL NOVs, proposed and successfully negotiated key compliance options in the 2012 LA MS4 Permit, which have carried over into the 2021 Permit and provide multiple ways to demonstrate compliance with TMDLs.
Based on McGowan’s thorough knowledge of the City’s MS4 compliance program and strategies, staff recommends continuing a contractual relationship with this firm. Therefore, staff recommends that the City Council approve a three-year professional services agreement with McGowan Consulting, LLC, for environmental services pertaining to the implementation of the MS4 permit at a cost not to exceed $260,500.
Under the proposed agreement, the consultant will be responsible for implementing activities required under the Regional Permit and providing support for decision making and implementation of responsibilities under the Beach Cities Enhanced Watershed Management Program (EWMP), including:
a) Assisting staff in planning and budgeting for the expenditure of the City’s Municipal Safe Clean Water funds,
b) Pursuing external funding for stormwater capital improvement projects,
c) Representing the City’s interests at stakeholder and co-permittee meetings, and
d) Tracking and reviewing regulatory actions affecting the stormwater program and informing City staff of changing requirements and emerging issues.
In addition, McGowan serves as watershed coordinator for the Beach Cities Watershed Management Group (WMG). McGowan facilitates the WMG in implementing the Beach Cities Coordinated Integrated Monitoring Program (CIMP), the EWMP, and the watershed annual reporting.
PUBLIC OUTREACH:
After analysis, staff determined that public outreach was not required for this issue.
ENVIRONMENTAL REVIEW:
The City has reviewed the proposed activity for compliance with the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) and has determined that the activity is not a “Project” as defined under Section 15378 of the State CEQA Guidelines; therefore, pursuant to Section 15060(c)(3) of the State CEQA Guidelines the activity is not subject to CEQA. Thus, no environmental review is necessary.
LEGAL REVIEW:
The City Attorney has approved the agreement as to form.
ATTACHMENTS:
1. Resolution No. 22-0075
2. Agreement - McGowan Consulting, LLC