City of Corona
Staff Report
400 S. Vicentia Ave.
Corona, CA 92882
File #: 22-0256
REQUEST FOR CITY COUNCIL AND
CORONA UTILITY AUTHORITY ACTION
DATE: 04/06/2022
TO: Honorable Mayor and City Council Members
Honorable President and Board Members
FROM: Utilities Department
SUBJECT:
Second Amendment to the Maintenance/General Services Agreement with Hoyt Transportation, Inc. for the transportation of Biosolids.
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY:
Biosolids are a byproduct of the wastewater treatment process. The removal of such byproducts has strict regulations to which the City must adhere. The Second Amendment to the Maintenance/General Services Agreement with Hoyt Transportation, Inc. for supplemental transportation of biosolids will allow the Utilities Department to remain compliant in accordance with the State Water Resources Control Board permit to operate a water reclamation facility and other applicable laws and regulations.
RECOMMENDED ACTION:
That the:
a. City Council approve the Second Amendment to the Maintenance/General Services Agreement with Hoyt Transportation, Inc. to increase the total compensation for Fiscal Year 2022 by $120,000 to provide for the transportation of Biosolids. b. City Council authorize the City Manager, or his designee, to execute the Second Amendment to the Maintenance/General Services Agreement with Hoyt Transportation, Inc. for a total contract amount of $520,000 in Fiscal Year 2022.
c. City Council authorize the Purchasing Manager to issue Change Order No. 2 to Purchase Order B220026 to Hoyt Transportation, Inc. for $520,000.
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File #: 22-0256
d. City Council authorize the City Manager, or his designee, to approve amendments necessary for the execution of the work, in accordance with the Corona Municipal Code Section 3.08.060 (J), up to $52,000 or 10 percent of the amended contract amount. e. Corona Utility Authority (CUA) review, ratify, and to the extent necessary, direct that the City Council take the above actions.
BACKGROUND & HISTORY:
The Utilities Department’s (UD) Water Reclamation Facility No. 1 (WRF1) generates biosolids as a byproduct from the wastewater treatment process. During wastewater treatment, the liquids are separated from the solids. Those solids are then treated physically and chemically to produce a semisolid, nutrient-rich product referenced herein as biosolids. WRF1 currently generates approximately 43 wet tons of biosolids per day and approximately 16,000 wet tons of biosolids per year. WRF1 has a National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System (NPDES) permit issued by the State Water Resources Control Board (SWRCB). One of the permit requirements is the lawful management of biosolids per Title 40 of the Federal Code of Regulations (CFR), Part 503.
Synagro-WWT, Inc. (Synagro) has an agreement and Purchase Order (PO) for biosolids end use management. The end-use management of biosolids includes, but is not limited to: collecting, transporting, composting, recycling, and/or its disposal. All actions and activities must comply with all applicable federal, state, and local laws and regulations. Synagro collects biosolids from WRF1 and transports each load to a Synagro composting facility either in Vicksburg, Arizona or in Helendale, California.
Due to a shortage of commercial drivers nationwide, Synagro has had difficulty obtaining and maintaining a requisite number of commercial drivers to collect and transport the volume of biosolids generated at WRF1. Synagro is currently averaging four hauls per week. This is an inadequate number of hauls to meet the City’s operational needs, which has severely impacted the operations at WRF1. As a result, the City has contracted the services of Hoyt Transportation, Inc. (Hoyt) for the transportation of biosolids to Synagro for processing to increase available hauling capacity. Hoyt picks-up biosolids from WRF1 and transports them to a Synagro facility that further processes the biosolids for compost.
A delay in the processing and removal of biosolids at WRF1 could result in the accumulation of biosolids at the facility. An overaccumulation of biosolids in the system could trigger violations of WRF1’s State permit, resulting in fines issued by the State Water Resources Control Board. Such noncompliance constitutes a violation of the Clean Water Act (CWA) and the California Water Code and is grounds for: an enforcement action; permit termination, revocation, and re-issuance, or modification; denial of a permit renewal application; or a combination thereof. These violations are also subject to monetary fines up to $25,000 per day per violation and $1 per gallon per day of treated wastewater. WRF1’s daily flow of treated wastewater averages approximately eleven million gallons per day. In order to ensure such actions do not occur, staff recommends that additional hauling capacity be obtained.
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File #: 22-0256
ANALYSIS:
The basis of the Hoyt agreement was to have an additional vendor, other than Synagro, to provide biosolids hauling services for redundancy purposes. Given Synagro’s inability to meet the City’s current biosolid hauling needs, staff recommends the continued use of Hoyt’s services to continue to meet the operational needs of the City’s water reclamation function. As a result, WRF1 will remain compliant with permit conditions and applicable laws and regulations and prevent potential violations, fines, and penalties.
Hoyt has consistently provided two hauls per day, five days per week since December of 2021. Using both Synagro and Hoyt to transport biosolids has increased the number of hauls to a combined average of 14 hauls per week (10 by Hoyt, 4 by Synagro). At this current rate, staff projects the Hoyt Purchase Order for Fiscal Year 2022 will be spent by April 29, 2022. The current Hoyt agreement and Fiscal Year 2022 PO have a maximum compensation of $400,000. The cost of the Hoyt contract is offset by the savings in reduced services from Synagro.
Staff requests the City Council’s approval of the Second Amendment to the Maintenance/General Services Agreement with Hoyt Transportation, Inc. to increase the total agreement compensation and PO (B220026) amount by $120,000, from $400,000 to $520,000. The increased budget will allow the UD to continue the existing contracted services, allowing Hoyt to supplement the biosolids removal demands at WRF1.
FINANCIAL IMPACT:
Funding for the recommended action is included in the Fiscal Year 2022 Utilities Department Operating Budget. Funding in future fiscal years will be recommended through the budget process.
ENVIRONMENTAL ANALYSIS:
This action is categorically exempt pursuant to Section 15301 of the Guidelines for the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA), which states that operation, repair, maintenance, permitting, leasing, licensing, or minor alteration of existing public or private structures, facilities, mechanical equipment, or topographical features, involving negligible or no expansion of use beyond that existing at the time of the CEQA determination is exempt from CEQA. This action merely approves a second amendment to an existing agreement to provide for the transportation of biosolids.
Therefore, no environmental review is required.
PREPARED BY: KRISTIAN ALFELOR, UTILITIES OPERATIONS MANAGER REVIEWED BY: TOM MOODY, DIRECTOR OF UTILITIES
Attachment:
1. Exhibit 1 - Second Amendment to the Maintenance/General Services Agreement with Hoyt Transportation, Inc.
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