1 STAFF REPORT
DATE
: June 13, 2023
TO: J
ustin Hess, City Manager
FR
OM: Dawn Roth Lindell, General Manager, Burbank Water and Power VIA: Mandip Kaur Samra, Assistant General Manager, Power Supply BY: Claudia Reyes, Senior Environmental Engineer
SUBJ
ECT: Adoption of a Resolution to Approve the Burbank Water and Power Campus Stormwater Improvement Project California Environmental Quality Act Mitigated N egative Declaration, Mitigation, M onitoring, a nd Reporting Program, and Authorizing the Burbank Water and Power General Manager to Execute the Notice of Determination
RECO
MMENDATION
Adopt A RESOLUTION OF THE COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF BURBANK ADOPTING THE MITIGATED NEGATIVE DECLARATION (SCN NO. 2019129091) FOR THE
BURBANK WATER AND POWER STORMWATER IMPROVEMENT PROJECT IN
ACCORDANCE WITH THE CALIFORNIA ENVIRONMENTAL QUALITY ACT (CEQA),
APPROVING MITIGATION MONITORING AND REPORTING PROGRAM AND
AUTHORIZING THE B URBANK WATER AND POWER GENERAL MANAGER TO EXECUTE THE NOTICE OF DETERMINATION (Attachment 1).
BACKGRO
UND
The Burbank Water and Power ( BWP) campus is an industrial site with stormwater discharges to the Burbank w estern channel subject to the National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System General Permit No. CAS00001 ( permit) issued under the Federal Water Pollution Control Act (Clean Water Act). The p ermit requires BWP to (a) develop its own stormwater pollution prevention plan, (b) control pollutant discharges using the best available technologies , and (c) implement such technologies through best management practices. The permit requires industrial facilities to collect, at a minimum, four stormwater samples per reporting year and compare them to eff luent limitations applicable to the site. If the effluent limitations are exceeded, then BWP must implement additional technologies and practices, as necessary. BWP ’s stormwater sample results continue to indicate issues with the p ermit’s metals effluent limitations, specifically iron, zinc, and copper.
To addres
s the stormwater compliance issues, BWP is in the process of implementing the proposed BWP c ampus stormwater improvement project. There are two major
WATER AND
POWER
2 components to this project. The first component of this project is re-routing the city-owned stormwater line, which currently discharges offsite commercial and industrial areas’ stormwater into the BWP campus stormwater system prior to being discharge d to the Burbank western channel. The separation of the stormwater line will eliminate the blending of offsite stormwater at the BWP campus and will reduce the volume of stormwater that will be collected for reuse and infiltration to a manageable amount. This will also limit the risk of off-site contaminants impacting the quality of BWP stormwater.
The second component of this project is the installation of an on-site stormwater capture, retention, reuse, and infiltration system designed to meet the requirements of the permit.
This system was designed based on a feasibility evaluation, taking into consideration the facility's existing stormwater infrastructure, site hydrology, desired metals reduction, available space, and options for stormwater retention systems.
Approximately $4,750,000 has been originally budgeted for this project . D ue to inflationary market increases, the most recent construction cost estimate for this project is $10,000,000. Additional funds have been proposed for fiscal year (FY) 2023-2024 and FY 2024-2025 to address the most recent cost estimate. Approximately 64% of the final costs will be allocated to BWP and 36% to the Southern California Public Power Authority for the Magnolia Power Project. The contract for the project will be presented to Council for approval at a later time.
As an interim measure, the Los Angeles Regional Water Quality Control Board (LAWQCB) issued BWP a time schedule order (TSO). The TSO includes interim stormwater limits, which are achievable for this site. These interim limits apply until the project is completed. The TSO also includes milestone achievements and project completion must be achieved as soon as possible, but not later than March 28, 2025.
As a result of the proposed project, BWP hired a consultant to complete the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) mitigated negative declaration (MND) and mitigation, monitoring, and reporting program (MMRP). The CEQA MND and MMRP have been reviewed and approved by staff. The CEQA public review process has been completed and responses to the comments received were prepared. Approval of the project’s CEQA MND is required prior to obtaining the necessary environmental permits for the project.
DISCUSSION
Based on the project’s i nitial study, it was determined that the proposed project could have a significant effect on the environment; however, due to revisions made in the project and the MND, there will not be any significant impact on the environment.
The MND includes mitigation measures for the following areas:
• Biological Resources: Project requirements during nesting bird season. • Cultural Resources : Project requirements if an archaeological resource is identified.
• G eology and Soils : Project requirements if a paleontological resource is identified. 3 • Hazards and Hazardous Materials : Requires a phase I e nvironmental site assessment to determine the possible presence of contaminated compounds or materials in the soil or groundwater near excavated or trenched areas. • T ransportation/Traffic : Requires a t raffic management plan approved by the City of Burbank Public Works Department prior to the commencement of construction. • T ribal Cultural Resources: Project requirements for the protection of tribal cultural resources and how to proceed if a tribal cultural resource is identified. • Ut ility and Service Systems : Requires a construction and demolition debris plan prior to issuance of an excavation permit by the City of Burbank.
These mitigation measures will be included in the proposed project plans and construction specifications.
On June 1, 2023, the BWP Board voted 5 to 0 to recommend that the Burbank City Council adopt a resolution to approve the BWP campus stormwater improvement project California E nvironmental Quality Act Mitigated Negative Declaration, Mitigation, Monitoring, and Reporting Program and authorize the BWP General Manager to execute the notice of determination.
ENVIRONMENTAL REVIEW
The project’s CEQA MND and the MMRP have been prepared and are being proposed for Council approval. BWP is working with regulatory agencies to obtain the necessary environmental permits for the proposed project.
FISCAL IMPACT
There is no additional cost associated with the approval of the project’s CEQA MND and the MMRP.
CONCLUSION
Implementing the proposed BWP campus stormwater improvement project is consistent with city and state goals for environmental sustainability. Hence, staff requests that the Burbank City Council adopt a resolution to approve the BWP campus stormwater improvement project California Environmental Quality Act Mitigated Negative Declaration, Mitigation, Monitoring, and Reporting Program and authorize the BWP General Manager to execute the notice of determination.
ATTACHMENT
Attachment 1 – Resolution
Attachment 2 – BWP Campus Stormwater Project MND and MMRP Attachment 3 – Notice of Determination