Mobility & Infrastructure Committee Memorandum
TO: MOBILITY & INFRASTRUCTURE COMMITTEE DATE: JANUARY 11, 2024 FROM: PUBLIC WORKS DEPARTMENT WARDS: ALL
SUBJECT: SEPTIC RECEIVING STATION RECEIPT OF DOMESTIC AND COMMERCIAL SEPTIC WASTE AND TIPPING FEES ISSUES:
Receive an update on the Liquid Waste Hauler Program and Septic Receiving Station; recommend that City Council adopt an Ordinance to amend the Riverside Municipal Code Title 14, Public Utilities, and Discharge of Wastes into the Public Sewer and Pollutants into the Storm Drain Systems, Sections 14.12.120 and 14.12.295 to allow receipt of specific non-industrial/non-automotive commercial waste; and recommend City Council adopt an ordinance to establish septic receiving station tipping fees for specific non-industrial/non-automotive commercial waste.
RECOMMENDATIONS:
That the Mobility & Infrastructure Committee:
Receive and file an update on the Liquid Waste Hauler Program and Septic Receiving Station; Recommend that the City Council adopt an Ordinance to amend the Riverside Municipal Code Title 14, Public Utilities, and Discharge of Wastes into the Public Sewer and Pollutants into the Storm Drain Systems, Section 14.12.120 Definitions, to include definitions for Commercial Septic Waste and Commercial Wastewater; Recommend that the City Council adopt an Ordinance to amend the Riverside Municipal Code Title 14, Public Utilities, and Discharge of Wastes into the Public Sewer and Pollutants into the Storm Drain Systems, Section 14.12.295 (M) Liquid Waste Haulers, to include Commercial Septic Waste; and Recommend that the City Council adopt a Resolution to amend the Septic Receiving Station tipping fees and amend Resolution 20976.
BACKGROUND:
The City of Riverside Public Works Department, Wastewater Division, is responsible for the collection, conveyance, and treatment of wastewater for over 93,000 customers within City limits. The facilities consist of over 800 miles of gravity sewers, 400 miles of City laterals, 20 wastewater lift stations, 16,000 sewer manholes, and the Riverside Regional Water Quality Control Plant (RWQCP) which has the capacity to treat 46 million gallons per day. Additionally, the RWQCP provides wastewater treatment for the Edgemont, Jurupa, and Rubidoux.
RWQCP also operates and maintains a Septic Receiving Station which permits liquid waste haulers to dispose of domestic septic waste. This domestic septic waste comes from residential septic tank systems in which quantities and constituent loading are similar to household septic waste conveyed through the collection system. The Septic Receiving Station is located at the Headworks Building and consists of a card reader, receiving hopper, pH and conductivity meters, and automated open/close valve. The Septic Receiving Station can service the 24 permitted domestic septic waste haulers in the region.
Acceptance of Domestic and Non-Industrial/Non-Automotive Commercial Wastes Riverside Municipal Code Title 14, Public Utilities, and Discharge of Wastes into Public Sewer and Pollutants into the Storm Drain System, section 14.12.295, only permits liquid waste haulers to dispose of domestic septic waste into the Septic Receiving Station at the RWQCP. Domestic wastewater is defined under section 14.12.120 as “wastewater from residences, offices, institutions or from other premises resulting from the use of water for personal washing, sanitary purposes or the discharge of human excrement and related matter.” Additionally, the Liquid Waste Hauler permit issued by Environmental Compliance (EC) staff, under Discharge Requirement #7 states “name and signature of the driver certifying the information included on the Liquid Waste Manifest Form is accurate and only domestic sewage is being dumped at the City of Riverside’s dump station.” Upon conclusion of the Septic Receiving Station audit conducted by EC staff in January 2023, instances of liquid waste haulers bringing commercial septic waste to the RWQCP were identified. This is in violation of section 14.12.205 of the Riverside Municipal Code. To protect the RWQCP against illicit discharges to the system, staff immediately gathered samples from these locations and set up a meeting with the Regional Water Quality Control Board, Region 8 (RWQCB-R8) to discuss the findings. RWQCP and RWQCB-R8 staff agreed that additional control measures were needed to maintain compliance and that the best avenue for receiving non-industrial and non-automotive commercial waste was to put those liquid waste haulers delivering commercial septic waste under a Compliance Order.
As of December 2023, one liquid waste hauler entered a Compliance Order with the City and a second hauler is being considered. If approved by the City Council, these Compliance Orders will be rescinded upon the adoption of a Resolution.
Rate History
In 1997, the Environmental Compliance section of the Public Works Department – Sewer Division created a Liquid Waste Hauler Permit Program to comply with the Federal Clean Water Act and established disposal fees for septic wastewater delivered to RWQCP for disposal and treatment. The initial disposal fee was $0.013/gallon.
In 2001, the City retained Carollo Engineers to prepare a rate analysis and revenue plan to evaluate charges imposed by the City for sewer service and Carollo issued a report, dated January 2001, entitled “City of Riverside Revenue Plan.” Carollo determined that all three cost measures (flow, chemical oxygen demand (COD) and total suspended solids (TSS)) were undercharged by as much as 213%.
In June 2005, the City Council approved Resolution 20976 establishing a $0.03/gallon fee for disposal of domestic septic waste.
Prop 218 Exemption
Tipping fees are not considered a “tax” under Proposition 26 and do not trigger Proposition 218 vote requirements.
DISCUSSION:
Acceptance of Commercial Septic Waste
Commercial septic waste accounts for 15% of the total septic waste received. The RWQCP can receive and treat approved septic waste from non-industrial/non-automotive commercial sources, pursuant to the above-mentioned Municipal Code amendments and additional safeguards put in place to deter illegal and illicit discharges to protect the wastewater treatment process. These safeguards include:
Initial and quarterly sample analysis for Oil & Grease, Biochemical Oxygen Demand (BOD), and TSS taken from each commercial site, paid for by the Liquid Waste Hauler.
Initial and annual submittal of the Grease Interceptor Inspection Form for all commercial sites not within the City’s jurisdiction. The inspection form must be signed by a licensed contractor who is a subject matter expert in the field and will describe the condition, maintenance schedule and list of recent repairs made.
Initial and annual submittal of a self-certification statement stating that to the best of their knowledge no hazardous waste or chemicals have been dumped or disposed of into their septic system. The self-certification form must be signed by the commercial business owner and the liquid waste hauler.
Staffing the Septic Receiving Station during normal operating hours.
To verify compliance with the Liquid Waste Hauler permit, random samples will be taken by EC staff and analyzed against the permit’s pollutant limitations. Septage and Commercial wastes are both held to the same pollutant and concentration limits. The Pollutants and Concentration Limits listed in the Liquid Waste Hauler Permit are as follows:
Pollutant
Concentration Limit
pH
6.0 – 9.5
Electrical Conductivity
3,000 umhos/cm3
Chromium
1 mg/L
COD
10,000 mg/L
Copper
3.3 mg/L
Lead
0.75 mg/L
Oil/Grease
500 mg/L
Oil/Grease (Total Petroleum Hydrocarbons)
100 mg/L
TDS
1,210 mg/L
TSS
8,700 mg/L
Zinc
12.5 mg/L
Waste Type and Load Origination
The RWQCP is one of only three wastewater treatment plants in the Inland Empire that accepts domestic septic waste from inside and out of its service area. Chart 1 demonstrates the percentages of septage vs. commercial waste volume and the comparison of where the loads originated from information identified in septic receiving station manifests for 2023.
Rate Study
The RWQCP currently receives an average of 1.06 million gallons of septage and commercial waste per month, equivalent to 12.7 million gallons a year. In April of 2023, the RWQCP subcontracted with Carollo Engineers to analyze the septic receiving station influent loading characteristics and tipping fees. Carollo issued a technical memorandum, dated October 2023, entitled “Septic and Commercial Waste Tipping Fees.” Within this document it specifies the specifics behind the results and the proposed rates.
In the completed study, the proposed tipping fees are calculated by determining the City’s unit costs to treat septage or commercial waste at the RWQCP per gallon of flow, pounds of biochemical oxygen demand (BOD), and pounds of Total Suspended Solids (TSS). This calculation is also used to determine wastewater treatment costs for the Edgemont, Jurupa, and Rubidoux Community Service Districts. Those unit costs are applied to the assumed BOD and TSS concentrations for septage or commercial waste to determine a tipping fee per 1,000 gallons.
Table 1 - Septage and Commercial Waste Volume and Concentrations Table 2 - Treatment Unit Costs
The analysis used in Carollo’s study utilizes the financial model and the performance-based budget model that were developed during the 2019 master planning effort. The performance-based budget model is used to allocate those revenue requirements to the functional constituents of flow, BOD, and TSS.
RWQCP currently has one septic receiving station and is expected to complete construction of the second station this fiscal year. The total cost for the receiving stations and attendance structure will be approximately $314,000. Assuming a 10-year useful life of the assets and 5-percent interest rate for amortization, the annualized capital cost for receiving stations is $41,000 a year, or $3.20 per 1,000 gallons.
Additional staff members will be needed to operate the receiving station. The septic receiving station operates 7 days a week, requiring 2 new staff members. They will help with compliance by logging deliveries, unloading trucks, receiving & documenting manifests, taking samples and verifying each delivery is in compliance with Federal, State and Local laws. The cost for 2 staff members and administrative startup costs is $264,000 a year, or $20.76 per 1,000 gallons.
Table 3 - Rate Calculations (per 1,000 gal)
The recommended tipping fee rates are the sum of the treatment cost, receiving station capital and operation and maintenance costs, as well as the receiving station staffing costs. The recommended tipping fee is $100.60 per 1,000 gallons of domestic septage or $81.35 per 1,000 gallons of commercial waste received at the RWQCP.
In comparison to other municipalities who accept domestic septic waste, only five, including Riverside, accept waste that originated outside their respective service area, these are Orange County Sanitation District, Los Angeles County Sanitation District, City of Redlands, and City of San Bernardino. Additionally, to be permitted to discharge domestic septic in San Bernardino, the septic company must have one active account within the service area. No local municipality accepts restaurant waste or waste from holding tanks.
Chart 2
STRATEGIC PLAN ALIGNMENT:
This item contributes to Strategic Priority 4 – Environmental Stewardship and Goal 4.4 – Implement measures and educate the community to responsibly manage goods, products, and services throughout their life cycle to achieve waste reduction outcomes, and Strategic Priority 5 – High Performing Government and Goal 5.4 – Achieve and maintain financial health by addressing gaps between revenues and expenditures and aligning resources with strategic priorities to yield the greatest impact.
This project aligns with each of the five Cross-Cutting Threads as follows:
1. Community Trust – The proposed rates will allow the City to significantly improve the septage receiving station for residents and regional customers on septic systems.
2. Equity – The proposed tipping fee increase provides that every member of the community pay the same rate to treat sewer and that rate payers do not subsidize the cost of septic receiving customers.
3. Fiscal Responsibility – Adopting new rates will minimize revenue losses to the Sewer fund and allow for critical investment in service.
4. Innovation – Adopting the new rates will facilitate innovative technologies to improve septic load delivery and monitor influent streams for illicit and illegal discharges to the sewer treatment system.
5. Sustainability & Resiliency – The new rates will allow the City to continue to meet compliance requirements of federal, state and local permit requirements.
FISCAL IMPACT:
There is no immediate fiscal impact related to the report. Any increases in fees related to this report will be brought back to Council should it proceed.
In FY 2023/24, the Septic Receiving Station is operating at a deficit of approximately $760,000.
Prepared by: Edward Filadelfia, Deputy Public Works Director - Wastewater Approved by: Gilbert Hernandez, Public Works Director Certified as to
availability of funds: Kristie Thomas, Finance Director/Assistant Chief Financial Officer Approved by: Kris Martinez, Assistant City Manager Approved as to form: Phaedra A. Norton, City Attorney
Attachments:
1. Septic and Commercial Waste Tipping Fees, October 2023
2. Presentation
3. Draft Ordinances
4. Draft Resolution
5. Presentation
Septic Receiving Station and Tipping Fees ● Page 7