For City Council and Rialto Utility Authority Meeting August 27, 2024
TO: Honorable Mayor and City Council
FROM: G. Michael Milhiser, Interim City Manager
AUTHOR: Toyasha Sebbag, Assistant to the City Manager
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Request that the City Council and Rialto Utility Authority Board 1) Authorize the Interim City Manager to execute a reimbursement Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with Inland Empire Utilities Agency for the City of Rialto Wastewater Treatment Plant Change Petition and 2) Authorize a reimbursement to the Inland Empire Utilities Agency for the City of Rialto Wastewater Treatment Plant Change Petition for an amount not to exceed $99,944.
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RECOMMENDATION:
Staff recommends that the City Council and Rialto Utility Authority Board 1) Authorize the Interim City Manager to execute a reimbursement Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with Inland Empire Utilities Agency for the City of Rialto Wastewater Treatment Plant Change Petition and 2) Authorize a reimbursement to the Inland Empire Utilities Agency for the City of Rialto Wastewater Treatment Plant Change Petition for an amount not to exceed $99,944.
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BACKGROUND:
On April 23, 2024, the City Council (City) and Rialto Utility Authority (RUA) Board signed a 50-year Final Agreement with the Inland Empire Utilities Agency (IEUA) consistent with the term sheet and all related documents for the long-term sale of wastewater effluent for recycled water purposes. A component of the Final Agreement is that the City/RUA is responsible for completing the necessary Change Petition with the State Water Resources Control Board’s Division of Water Rights (State Water Board) to change the condition of our wastewater permit. In addition, the City/RUA must also provide a copy of the petition to the Regional Water Quality Control Board and the California Department of Fish and Wildlife.
Water Code § 1211 requires the owner of a wastewater treatment plant to obtain approval from the State Water Board prior to making any change in the point of discharge, place of use, or purpose of use of treated wastewater where changes in the discharge or use of treated wastewater result in decreasing the flow in any portion of a watercourse.
ANALYSIS/DISCUSSION
On July 19, 2023, IEUA awarded a competitive bid contract to Jacobs Engineering Group, Inc. (Jacobs) to provide program management, engineering services, and strategic funding advisory services for the Chino Basin Program - a major regional water management program that would incorporate indirect potable reuse to create a more sustainable, drought-resilient local water supply in the Chino Basin. The contract was awarded by IEUA to Jacobs for $9,113,805. (ATTACHMENT 1)
A component of the Chino Basin Program is the Final Agreement between the City/RUA and IEUA for the sale of wastewater effluent to IEUA.
To streamline parallel change of use permitting efforts, staff negotiated with IEUA to jointly pursue each agency’s respective permits utilizing IEUA’s Chino Basin Program contract with Jacobs. Under this approach, the City will realize cost savings versus separately pursuing a change of use permit. An additional benefit is that a cooperative approach will demonstrate overall regional benefits.
The project would be performed under the Master Agreement between IEUA and Jacobs, Contract No. 4600003420, for the preparation of a Wastewater Change Petition application for the City/RUA. The project would reduce the amount of treated effluent that is discharged from the Rialto wastewater treatment plant into the Rialto Channel, which is a tributary to the Santa Ana River. Instead of being discharged, the treated effluent would be diverted into a new City of Rialto Recycled Water Supplemental Supply pipeline, a project of the Inland Empire Utilities Agency to provide source water to a new Advanced Water Purification Facility for local reuse. The discharge reduction is expected to be consistent with the description of the project included in the draft Upper Santa Ana River Habitat Conservation Plan (HCP), Rial.1 Project.
Specifically, the Wastewater Change Petition application would cover both parts of the Rial.1 Project as described in the HCP:
• Part 1: A reduction in the current wastewater discharge by about 25%, or an annual average of 1,665 acre-feet per year (afy)/2.3 cubic feet per second (cfs)/1.5 million gallons per day (mgd).
• Part 2: An additional reduction of 1,448 afy/2 cfs/2.8 mgd.
The scope of work of the project tasks includes:
• Data Gathering: Background Research and Agency Coordination.
• Application Preparation.
• Project Meetings.
• Project Management.
IEUA is the lead agency on this project and has prepared a reimbursement MOU for project costs not to exceed $99,944 (ATTACHMENT 2).
ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACT:
The requested City Council action is not a “Project” as defined by the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA). Pursuant to Section 15378(a), a “Project” means the whole of an action, which has the potential to result in either a direct physical change in the environment or a reasonably foreseeable indirect physical change in the environment. According to Section 15378(b), a Project does not include (5) Organizational or administrative activities of governments that will not result in direct or indirect physical changes in the environment.
GENERAL PLAN CONSISTENCY:
Approval of this action complies with the following:
Our City government will lead by example and will operate in an open, transparent, and responsive manner that meets the needs of the citizens and is a good place to do business.
LEGAL REVIEW:
The City Attorney has reviewed this staff report and MOU.
FINANCIAL IMPACT:
Operating Budget Impact
Funds are budgeted and available in Wastewater Contract Services Account No. 56607860-52011.
The project would be performed under the Master Agreement between IEUA and Jacobs, Contract No. 4600003420, Purchase Order No. 4500042491.
The total fee for the City of Rialto Wastewater Treatment Plant Change Petition is $99,944 and would be performed on a not-to-exceed, time and materials basis.
The Change Petition is anticipated to be completed by December 31, 2024.
Capital Improvement Budget Impact
There is no impact on the Capital Improvement Budget through this action.