City of Sacramento
City Council - 5PM Report
915 I Street Sacramento, CA 95814
www.cityofsacramento.org
File ID: 2023-01536 1/23/2024 Discussion Item 16.
Telecommunications on Department of Utilities Facilities File ID: 2023-01536
Location: Citywide
Recommendation: Pass a Motion authorizing the City Manager or the City Manager’s designee to terminate all Revocable Permit Agreements with private telecommunications providers at Department of Utilities (DOU) facilities and support the exclusion of DOU facilities from consideration as a City- owned property for future telecommunications siting.
Contact: Michelle Carrey, Supervising Engineer, (916) 808-1438 [email protected]; Sherill Huun, Engineering & Water Resources Division Manager, (916) 808-1455, [email protected]; Pravani Vandeyar, Director, (916) 808-3765, [email protected]; Department of Utilities Presenter: Michelle Carrey, Supervising Engineer, Department of Utilities (916) 808-1438, [email protected]; Pravani Vandeyar, Director, Department of Utilities (916) 808-3765, [email protected]; Steve Ward, Real Property Agent III, Public Works (916) 808- 1081, [email protected]; Long Thao, Development Project Manager, Public Works (916) 808-8577, [email protected]
Attachments:
1-Description/Analysis
Additional Description/Analysis
Issue Detail: Staff recommends Council approve the termination of existing Revocable Permit Agreements with private telecommunications providers at all Department of Utilities (DOU) facilities, with the removal of all equipment to be completed within one to three years of Council Approval, and to support the exclusion of DOU managed facilities from consideration as a City-owned property for future telecommunications siting.
Policy Considerations: Section 12.14.100 of the Sacramento City Code authorizes, subject to
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approval, telecommunications equipment to be located on City Property. The 2035 General Plan Telecommunications Policies also encourage co-location for siting telecommunications facilities on City-owned properties. However, subsection 12.14.100.F provides that the Telecommunications Facilities chapter does not waive the required proprietary approvals for siting of telecommunications facilities on City-owned property Finally, Section 12.14.400 provides that upon at least 12 months- notice, the City may revoke a permit for any reason. The recommendation in this report is consistent with existing policies but adds additional protection for critical infrastructure such as the City’s aging water reservoir tanks.
Economic Impacts: A Revocable Permit Agreement was issued by the City to telecommunications providers for each City-owned property at DOU facilities. The initial term of the agreement was for a period of ten years, with the right to renew upon expiration for the same terms and conditions, except as to the fee. The fee was increased annually by a percent agreed upon and fee adjustments were effective on the anniversary date of the agreement. Upon renewal, both initial fees and adjustment rates were re-negotiated between both parties. Initial Resolution (No. 97-0552) established that all proceeds be allocated to the department responsible for the City-owned property that the telecommunication equipment was installed on. However, resolutions in later years re-directed the proceeds, with 25% continuing to be allocated to the department responsible, while the other 75% was allocated first to the Neighborhood Enhancement Programs/Projects (Resolution No. 2002-0342) and later to the General Fund in Non-Department (Resolution No. 2012-020).
Environmental Considerations: This report concerns administrative activities that will not have a significant effect on the environment. The physical work associated with the action is exempt from the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA). CEQA Guidelines Section 15301 exempts activities that consist of the operation, repair, maintenance, permitting, leasing, licensing, or minor alteration of existing public or private facilities or mechanical equipment, involving negligible or no expansion of existing or former use including the demolition of accessory structures.
Sustainability: The recommendation in this report is consistent with the 2035 General Plan Goal U
1.1 as it helps maintain high-quality public infrastructure throughout the city.
Commission/Committee Action: None.
Rationale for Recommendation: Water utilities have become an attractive target for terrorists and domestic extremists, as safe drinking water is a critical societal lifeline and essential for all human health and welfare. Allowing any personnel other than properly vetted, trained and background-checked City of Sacramento Utilities professionals to access drinking water infrastructure creates unacceptable risk to the City’s drinking water supply. Increased understanding of the health hazards over radio frequency exposure has also raised concerns for the City’s operations and maintenance (O&M) staff working for long durations in close proximity to telecommunications antennae at these sites. Most of the City’s drinking water reservoirs that the telecommunications equipment is currently installed on are approximately 90
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years old. The frequent attachment, detachment, and reattachment of telecommunications equipment is causing structural distress to these reservoirs, thereby creating an unacceptable risk to the drinking water infrastructure. Additionally, costs incurred by the enterprise fund for staff time for coordination and repairs associated with telecommunications vendors has the potential to exceed program revenues, which would require additional reimbursement from the General Fund.
Financial Considerations: Termination of existing agreements at DOU facilities will result in an annual revenue loss of approximately $164,250 to the General Fund. Prior year revenue was reported at approximately $252,000 for the General Fund. One major provider canceled their revocable permit agreements resulting in decreased revenue of $87,750. The Water Enterprise Fund (fund 6005) will lose approximately $54,750 in revenues. However, the expenses associated with managing the equipment on water infrastructure likely exceeds the revenue collected.
Local Business Enterprise (LBE): Not applicable.
Background: A moratorium was issued on new vendor equipment/upgrade requests at DOU managed facilities at the beginning of 2022 and later extended through December 31, 2023. This was prompted due to concerns regarding physical security and safety risks for DOU critical infrastructure.
The Water Information Sharing and Analysis Center (WaterISAC) provides all-threats security information for the water and wastewater sector. The foundation has been tracking hundreds of physical security incidents at utilities across the U.S. and other parts of the world. While specific details are classified for water sector members only, their member-only Threat Analysis for the Water and Wastewater Sector May 2023 issue warned of the increasing view of the water sector as a viable target by terrorists and extremists for harming U.S. interests and furthering their goals, and that these physical security incidents will likely continue to increase.
In accordance with the American Water Works Association (AWWA), as referenced in DOU’s State issued drinking water permit, ensuring the supply of safe, high quality drinking water is the principal responsibility of all water purveyors. As such, water security, sabotage, and cyberthreats are all threats of serious concern that jeopardize water safety, which was acknowledged in America’s Water Infrastructure Act of 2018, emphasizing the need for improved cybersecurity and physical security at critical infrastructure sites. The Water Information Sharing and Analysis Center (WaterISAC) has also been tracking hundreds of physical security incidents at utilities across the U.S. and in Australia, New Zealand, and Canada. In their May 2023 Threat Analysis for the Water and Wastewater Sector publication, they warned of the increasing view of the water sector as a viable target by terrorists and extremists for harming U.S. interests and furthering their goals, and that these physical security incidents will likely continue to increase.
DOU has a strict access control policy to limit access to critical infrastructure to only vetted,
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authorized, and trained persons. For outside vendors contracted with DOU, work at DOU facilities is supervised by DOU staff, which is not the case with telecommunications vendors. Instead, when telecommunication vendors require access, DOU staff unlocks the gates and disarms the intrusion alarms at the beginning of the workday and re-arms them at the end of the workday. Specific past examples that warrant security concerns include a vendor inappropriately setting up residence within a trailer at a facility while completing construction and rerouting onsite electricity for personal use, gates being left unlocked, facilities left unsupervised, and telecommunication vendors being on-site without any notification to DOU staff. Recent public awareness regarding the unauthorized entry at Alhambra Reservoir with direct access to City drinking water further stresses DOU’s need to intensify security and limit access to non-DOU personnel. These types of incidents not only threaten our drinking water but can create public distrust.
Failure of any of DOU’s critical infrastructure has catastrophic impact to public health and safety.
While vendors provide structural analyses on their projects to ensure building codes and structural requirements are met, the equipment designers and installation contractors typically have no water tank design experience. No consideration is given to the existing coating on the tank, condition of the concrete, or added corrosion sites that result from telecommunication equipment installation. Three of DOU’s oldest elevated concrete tanks, all nearing 90 years old, are the favored facilities due to their location and height. A 2022 structural evaluation on these tanks noted the limited concrete cover at certain areas, namely on the walls at the top of each structure which are at the level of the water tank itself. Unfortunately, this is also where most of the telecom equipment is installed and is the preferred height by vendors because it has minimal obstruction and provides the necessary range and exposure of their antennas (Image 1).
Image 1. View of telecommunications equipment attached at City College Reservoir.
With increased frequency of telecommunications equipment upgrades, new or additional anchor mounts are constantly drilled into the concrete, increasing potential for both additional corrosion and concrete spalling as water penetrates through microcracks in the concrete causing rebar to rust and expand and push on the existing concrete exterior. It was noted in the 2022 structural analysis that this upper section where the water tank is located should be avoided for mounting equipment and existing equipment should be removed. Though the approved construction plans included in the Revocable Permit Agreement contains construction notes for removing abandoned equipment, as required by DOU, abandoned equipment is often not removed (Image 2). Inappropriate sealing of anchor holes and inadequate protection to conduit access points are additional challenges to
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structural integrity of these old infrastructures.
Image 2. Images of abandoned (a) mounting bracket and (b) unused conduits inside the reservoir located at City College.
Consideration for safety of DOU staff that conduct maintenance work at these sites is also lacking in the design of telecommunications installations. A primary example is at Freeport Reservoir where significant amounts of equipment have been directly mounted to the exterior tank access walkway guardrail, which serves as a primary fall protection for water reservoir maintenance staff and operators. The equipment is concentrated in certain sections that provide the optimum line of site for telecommunications equipment, at times encroaching into the walkway (Image 3). The amount of equipment in some sections makes it difficult if not impassable for staff when carrying equipment for cleaning and maintaining the water reservoir (Image 3). Additionally, it was observed that these sections of the guardrail are more easily set into motion as they were not designed to hold the weight of the antennae, as opposed to the sections without equipment, making it a potential fall hazard for staff if the guardrail fails.
Image 3. Views of walkway and guardrail impacted by telecommunications equipment at Freeport Reservoir.
Growing awareness over the health and safety to radio frequency exposure has prompted firefighter groups throughout the nation to lobby for exempting fire stations from telecommunications installations. They were successful in obtaining an exemption with AB57 (approved by the Governor, Chaptered by Secretary of State - Chapter 685, Statues of 2015). The law provides an exemption for wireless telecommunications to be located on firefighters facilities unless an application is taken to
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the courts for approval. It was codified in California legislation in 2015. Recently, the Sierra Nevada Region of the Western Area Power Administration (WAPA) decided to no longer allow cellular antennas on their transmission towers due to the hazard to maintenance personnel. They cited the need for the antennas to be powered down for their maintenance personnel to complete their work, and the difficulty doing so in a timely manner, especially during emergency situations. Many telecommunications providers also rejected their request to have onsite power override to turn the antenna off during emergency situations. Additionally, WAPA cited the difficulty for maintenance personnel to haul tools and equipment up the towers for fear of ropes and equipment snagging on the antennas. Arguments posed by WAPA are all shared by DOU O&M staff. At Freeport Reservoir, a large antenna is located less than a foot from a tank access door. For confined space access, this requires DOU O&M staff to stand guard at the entrance for up to 6-8 hours at a time during reservoir maintenance. The City has recently required radio frequency studies from all vendors who have applied for upgrades to their existing equipment per the 2021 FCC rule changes. The required studies are predictive rather than reporting actual emissions from the existing equipment and radio frequency exposures. The City is currently evaluating the submitted studies and are waiting for remaining studies to be submitted for review. It should be noted no assessment of radio frequency exposure levels following equipment installation is conducted to confirm compliance with FCC’s Maximum Possible Exposure levels. The City of Poway has implemented a policy in which the vendor is required to hire a qualified electrical engineer to measure exposure levels after the equipment is in operation and provide a report of the findings.
The amount of DOU staff time to manage and coordinate with vendors, provide access to sites before and after hours, and to repair damages incurred during telecommunications installation has the potential to exceed program revenues. During equipment installation or replacement, telecommunication vendors are not notifying DOU of damages, and while before and after photos are a requirement in the agreement, follow through has not been readily tracked, thus no records of damage to our infrastructure are available to hold vendors accountable. This results in DOU incurring costs for repairs to structural and property damages by vendors. An example includes road repair of over $10,000 at City College Reservoir as a result of a vendor causing damage due to inappropriate operation of heavy equipment.
For these reasons, some cities such as Newport Beach have established that placement of telecommunications equipment that would conflict with existing structures, including utilities, or otherwise impact use of the facility or property for its designated purpose should not be eligible sites as a telecommunication facility. Other cities have also set stricter guidelines on what, where, and how telecommunications equipment can be installed within their city.