HomeMy WebLinkAbout2001-83 - Section 301H Waiver from Federal Clean Water ActResolution 2001 -83
A RESOLUTION OF THE CITY COUNCIL
OF THE CITY OF NEWPORT BEACH
IN OPPOSITION TO THE APPLICATION BY THE ORANGE COUNTY
SANITATION DISTRICT FOR A SECTION 301(H) WAIVER FROM
THE FEDERAL CLEAN WATER ACT
WHEREAS, the City of Newport Beach is a member agency of the Orange County
Sanitation District (OCSD); and
WHEREAS, OCSD is a special district that provides wastewater collection, treatment, and
disposal services to 21 cities, three special districts and unincorporated Orange County with
about 2.2 million residents in central and northern Orange County, including the residents and
businesses of Newport Beach, and
WHEREAS, OCSD uses a 10' diameter Ocean Outfall to discharge approximately 240
million gallons per day of wastewater from OCSD's 2.2 million customers; and
WHEREAS, 50% of the wastewater discharged out the Ocean Outfall is wastewater treated
to an advanced primary treatment level and 50% is wastewater treated to a secondary treatment
level; and
WHEREAS, the Ocean Outfall that sits 200' below the ocean surface about 4.5 miles offshore
from the Santa Ana River mouth between Huntington Beach and Newport Beach, and
WHEREAS, this discharge creates a treated wastewater plume in the ocean that can be up to
6 miles long, 2 to 3 miles wide and 100 feet thick, and
WHEREAS, OCSD's 20 -Meter Fecal Coliform Study in 1996 showed that the wastewater
plume may - under certain wave, tidal, and current conditions - approach the shoreline where
it can contaminate the beaches and swimming areas of Newport Beach and Huntington Beach;
and
WHEREAS, data from testing station C2 - between l/4 and 1/2 of a mile off of the ocean
beaches of Newport Beach - may show that the wastewater plume approaches swimming areas
used by thousands of visitors daily; and
WHEREAS, the 1972 federal Clean Water Act requires most Publicly -Owned Treatment
Works (POTWs) to treat all wastewater to full secondary levels before such wastewater can be
discharged from a treatment facility; and
WHEREAS, the Act was amended in 1977 to authorize POTWs to request a waiver of this
full secondary requirement from the US Environmental Protection Agency (US EPA) under
Section 301(h) of the Act as long as the POTW can show that the less - then - full- secondary
discharge does not harm the environment or harm public health; and
WHEREAS, OCSD requested and was granted a waiver under Section 301(h) by US EPA in
1985, with an extension granted in 1998pursuant to the treatment and monitoring requirements;
and
WHEREAS, the current waiver (as extended) expires June 2003; and
WHEREAS, as projected by a 1999 Environmental Impact Report associated with OCSD's
Strategic Plan, full secondary treatment of wastewater further reduces but does not eliminate
levels of fecal coliform bacteria and viruses, and
WHEREAS, sanitation agencies in Los Angeles County have not applied for new waivers
under Section 301(h) and are in the process of treating all wastewater at full secondary levels;
and
WHEREAS, all or a significant portion of the additional expense of constructing and
maintaining facilities associated with full secondary treatment at OCSD will likely be borne by
the ratepayers of OCSD, including the residents and businesses of Newport Beach; and
WHEREAS, Newport Beach relies upon a safe, clean ocean to sustain its quality of life and
its economic and tourism base; and
WHEREAS, the residents of Newport Beach use the ocean and its beaches for health,
recreation, and business endeavors, including fishing, boating, and swimming; now, therefore
be it
RESOLVED by the City Council of the City of Newport Beach that it hereby opposes any
extension of or application for a waiver of full secondary discharge requirements under Section
301(h) of the federal Clean Water Act by OCSD; and be it also
RESOLVED by the City Council of the City of Newport Beach that it hereby supports the
full secondary treatment of all wastewater discharged into OCSD's Ocean Outfall; and be it also
RESOLVED by the City Council of the City of Newport Beach that it hereby urges its
resident and business population to join with the Council in advocating for safer, less
environmentally impactful wastewater discharge into the Pacific Ocean and in recognizing and
accepting the community -wide obligation and financial costs that lie therein.
ADOPTED this 25th Day of September, 2001.
=�`04 7n9-:t-5 - Poft
GAROLD B. ADAMS
Mayor of Newport Beach
ATTEST:
�v&UnC M - A1CvIYA1,10 ��,-��Rr6
LAVONNE HARKLESS
Newport Beach City Clerk u
o+u Foa`'
STATE OF CALIFORNIA }
COUNTY OF ORANGE } ss.
CITY OF NEWPORT BEACH }
I, LAVONNE M. HARKLESS, City Clerk of the City of Newport Beach, California, do
hereby certify that the whole number of members of the City Council is seven; that the foregoing
resolution, being Resolution No. 2001 -83 was duly and regularly introduced before and adopted by
the City Council of said City at a regular meeting of said Council, duly and regularly held on the
25th day of September, 2001, and that the same was so passed and adopted by the following vote, to
wit:
Ayes: Heffernan, O'Neil, Ridgeway, Glover, Bromberg, Proctor, Mayor Adams
Noes: None
Absent: None
Abstain: None
IN WITNESS WHEREOF, I have hereunto subscribed my name and affixed the
official seal of said City this 26th day of September, 2001.
(Seal)
City Clerk
Newport Beach, California