Attachment A
Memorandum of
Understanding By and
Among the City of Victorville,
the City of Hesperia, and the
Victor Valley Wastewater
Reclamation Authority
1 MEMORANDUM OF UNDERSTANDING
BY AND AMONG
THE CITY OF VICTORVILLE,
THE CITY OF HESPERIA
AND
THE VICTOR VALLEY WASTEWATER RECLAMATION AUTHORITY
This Memorandum of Understanding (“MOU”) is entered into this _________ day of ________ 2025, by and among the City of Victorville (“Victorville”), the City of Hesperia (“Hesperia”) and the Victor Valley Wastewater Reclamation Authority (“VVWRA”)(each a “Party”, and collectively the “Parties”) with reference to the following facts:
RECITALS
WHEREAS, Victorville, Hesperia-Hesperia Water District, Apple Valley, and County Service Areas #42 and #64 are the Member Entities of the VVWRA and they previously entered into that certain joint exercise of powers agreement originally dated December 13, 1977, and amended on December 1988 (the “ JPA”), and that certain Service Agreement dated November 23 , 1976 (the “Service Agreement“);and
WHEREAS, the Member Entities previously deemed it
desirable to update the JPA and integrate the terms of the Service Agreement therein and undertook efforts to draft a new joint powers agreement which efforts stalled as a result of actions taken by various Member Entities; and
WHEREAS, certain disputes arose amongst the Member
Entities with respect to, among other things, the establishment of subregional plants, Victorville’s development of its own wastewater treatment plant, and the withholding of connection fees from the VVWRA by certain Member Entities; and
WHEREAS, because of the disputes , Victorville and
2 Hesperia both independently submitted thirty (30) year notices of termination of their participation in VVWRA (“Notices of Termination”), which had the effect of curtailing the VVWRA’s ability to finance and expand operations at its regional wastewater treatment plant (the “Regional Plant”); and
WHEREAS, in an attempt to resolve some of the disputes, both Victorville and Hesperia entered into settlement agreements with the VVWRA (the “Settlement Agreements”); and
WHEREAS, the Member Entities have deemed it appropriate to try and resolve the disputes in a manner that allows for the continued operation and expansion of the VVWRA Regional Plant, the operation of two subregional plants and also allows for the Member Entities to construct their own local wastewater treatment plants; provided, however, that any such local plan ts do not negatively impact the operations and expansion of the Regional Plant; and
WHEREAS, the Parties now deem it desirable to enter into this MOU to provide for a path forward to the settlement of all disputes, the rescission of the Settlement Agreements, the withdrawal of the Notices of Termination by Hesperia and Victorville, and to engage in renewed effort s to establish a mutually agreeable new joint powers agreement.
NOW, THEREFORE, THE PARTIES AGREE AS FOLLOWS:
Section 1. Terms of a New Joint Powers Agreement.
The Member Entities shall cooperate and use good faith
efforts to negotiate and enter into a new joint powers agreemen t (the “2025 JPA”) that incorporates certain relevant terms of the existing JPA as well as relevant provisions of the Service Agreement and which also incorporates the following terms set forth in this MOU:
A. The 2025 JPA shall clearly state that Member
Entities have the right to divert local flows from
the VVWRA interceptor system provided that Member
Entities shall do so at their own cost.
B. Member Entity flow diversion shall only be
permitted in amounts that do not diminish a Member
3 Entity’s proportionate share of the California
Department of Fish and Wildlife discharge
obligation to the Mojave River from the Regional
Plant (the “CDFW Discharge Obligation”).
C. Subject to subparagraph B above, the 2025 JPA shall
clearly state that a Member Entity can own and
operate its own wastewater treatment plant.
D. Treatment capacity expansion and optimization of
the Regional Plant shall be a first priority of
VVWRA before considering treatment capacity
expansions at other locations. An agreed upon
Master Plan and Feasibility Study will be necessary
if VVWRA is to consider an alternative to Regional
Plant expansion.
E. To support a Regional Plant expansion and
optimization, VVWRA shall shift its priority focus
to adding capacity to the existing interceptor
system through the Mojave Narrows. An agreed upon
Master Plan and Feasibility Study will be necessary
should VVWRA consider an alternative to Regional
Plant expansion.
F. For a Regional Plant/interceptor expansion that
relies on growth from its current points of
connection to support a new debt issuance, a
surviving obligation to a diverting Member Entity
shall be a debt service cost equal to the proportion
of flow and associated revenue relied upon to cover
such debt service obligation.
G. The opportunity to generate and use reclaimed water
shall not drive any decision on where to locate the
capacity expansion of the sewer system.
H. Reclaimed water generation and availability should
stand alone financially with its own fund, rate
plan, and business model.
I. Reclaimed water costs shall not be subsidized by
the sewer and wastewater ratepayers of the Member
Entities.
4 J. Excess reclaimed water generated by a Member Entity and discharged to the headworks of the Regional
Plant will be charged a discounted rate to the
adopted full treatment rate. The discounted rate
shall be sixty percent ( 60%) of the adopted full
treatment rate. Said discounted rate would become
effective immediately upon the execution of this
MOU.
K. All Member Entity claims to reclaimed water will be
returned to VVWRA ; provided, however, that this
return of claims will not be permitted to impair
the level of service to existing reclaimed water
customers of any Member Entity.
L. Member Entities shall be permitted to discharge, to
the VVWRA system, sludge generated by any Member
Entity. VVWRA will not charge for sludge that meets
municipal standards. However, for sludge that does
not meet municipal standards, each Member Entity
will be required to obtain an Industrial Permit.
Member Entity sludge shall be charged a t a rate
that is based on existing VVWRA billing
methodology.
Section 2. Administrative Matters.
The following Administrative Matters shall be included
in the 2025 JPA:
A. A City Manager , a Finance, and an Engineering
Technical Advisory Committee (TAC) shall be created
and comprised of appointed staff of each Member
Entity.
B. A formal recommendation from the TAC(s) shall be
provided in staff reports to the VVWRA Board, as a
part of the VVWRA Board considering any changes to
its governance documents, rate increases, Regional
Plant expansion (s), budget adoptions, capital
improvements, system planning documents , or the
incurrence of any form of debt.
5 C. TAC meetings shall comply with the Brown Act.
D. All presentations, studies and reports shared with
the VVWRA Board at an open meeting will be published
along with the Board agenda on VVWRA's website for
transparency purposes.
E. Incurrence of any form of debt must be recommended
favorably by the City Manager and Finance TAC and
approved with a unanimous vote by the VVWRA Board.
F. In addition to the requirement of a 30-year notice
to terminate membership from the JPA, each
withdrawing Member Agency shall have a surviving
obligation to continue flowing and paying for the
cost of treatment of its proportional share of the
CDFW Discharge Obligation.
Section 3. Issues Pertaining to Victorville.
The following terms directly pertain to Victorville in
light of its existing Industrial Waste water Treatment Plant (“IWWTP”):
A. Utilizing the existing purple pipe that delivers
reclaimed water to the former West Winds Golf
Course, Victorville shall be permitted to install
the necessary infrastructure that will allow it to
discharge its excess reclaimed water directly
through the existing VVWRA outfall at the Mojave
River. Before doing so, Victorville shall be
permitted to design any required infrastructure to
make the connection and apply for and obtain an
NPDES perm it. It is intended that this shared
outfall will be an interim solu tion until such a
time that Victorville can obtain a permit for and
construct its own outfall, generally situated on
VVWRA property located south of the existing
outfall. Nothing shall preclude Victorville or
VVWRA from exploring other locations ; h owever,
mutual agreement must be achieved to pursue an
alternate location for this permanent outfall.
B. Victorville shall be permitted to apply for an
6 NPDES permit and ultimately construct and operate
its own outfall to the Mojave River. This outfall
will be fed from the same purple pipeline that feeds
the former West Winds Golf Course and will deliver
Victorville’s excess reclaimed water to the Mojave
River. VVWRA and Victorville will negotiate a Lease
or Purchase Agreement, with price and terms to be
determined, providing Victorville with the right to
use the pipeline and the property that is
underlying the outfall.
Section 4. Mutual Cooperation.
The Parties hereto agree that they will each cooperate
with each other and shall provide such information and documentation as is reasonably necessary to fulfill the intent of this MOU and diligently respond to inquiries and requests for information from another Party.
Upon consummation of a new JPA, Hesperia and Victorville would rescind their Notices of Termination.
Section 5. Effect of Memorandum of Understanding.
i. The Parties acknowledge that nothing contained in
this MOU shall be deemed a covenant, promise , or commitment by Victorville, Hesperia, or the VVWRA to enter into a new 2025 Joint Powers Agreement on any particular terms or conditions . The Parties’ execution of this MOU is merely an agreement to enter into a period of good faith negotiations according to the terms hereof, reserving final discretion and approval by the Member Entities and the legislative bodies thereof.
ii. This MOU is the complete and total understanding of the Parties with regard to the subject matter hereof. Any changes, modifications or addendums to this MOU must be in writing, signed by all Parties.
iii. Nothing contained in this MOU shall be construed to require, or have the effect of requiring, any Party to take any action which is inconsistent with any applicable law, rule or regulation which governs the actions of such Party or its legislative body.
7 iv. The Parties acknowledge that the final form of any proposed new 2025 Joint Powers Agreement may have to contain matters not contemplated by this MOU, and the provisions hereof are not intended to comprehensively identify all issues or matters which will be included within the terms of such 2025 Joint Powers Agreement.
Section 6. Notices.
Any notice, required or permitted by this MOU, or desired to be given by any Party hereto, to be given or delivered to any party or other person shall be deemed to have been received: (i) on the day of delivery if personally delivered; (ii) on the day following the date such notice is sent by recognized overnight delivery service; (iii) on the date sent if sent by electronic email; or (iv) on the date two (2) days after deposit in the United States mail, certified or registered mail, with postage prepaid.
Notices shall be addressed as follows:
Victorville: City of Victorville
14343 Civic Drive
Victorville, California 92392
Attn: Keith C. Metzler
With a copy to: Green de Bortnowsky, LLP
30077 Agoura Court, Suite 210
Agoura Hills, CA 91301
Attn: Andre de Bortnowsky
Hesperia: City of Hesperia
9700 Seventh Avenue
Hesperia, CA 92345
Attn: Rachel Molina
With a copy to: Aleshire & Wynder, LLP
1 Park Plaza Suite 1000
Irvine, CA 92614
Attn: Pam Lee
8 VVWRA: Victor Valley Wastewater Reclamation
20111 Shay Road
Victorville, CA 92394
Attn: Darron Poulsen
With a copy to: Best Best & Krieger, LLP
3390 University Ave., 5th Floor
Riverside, CA 92501
Attn: Piero Dallarda
Any Party may change its address for delivery of notice by delivering written notice of such change to the other Parties.
Section 7. Captions.
The captions to sections of this MOU are for convenience only and are not part of this MOU.
Section 8. Severability.
If any portion of this MOU is declared by a court of
competent jurisdiction to be invalid or unenforceable, such portion shall be deemed severed from this MOU and the remaining parts shall remain in full force and effect as though such invalid or unenforceable provision had not been a part of this MOU.
Section 9. No Third Party Beneficiaries.
The Parties do not intend the benefits of this MOU to
inure to any third party, nor shall any portion of this MOU be so construed.
Section 10. No Joint Venture or Partnership.
Nothing contained in this MOU shall create or be deemed to create any form of joint venture, partnership or any form of association of any kind or nature between the Parties.
Section 11. Successors and Assigns.
This MOU may not be assigned by any Party to any other person or entity, but shall be binding upon and inure to the benefit of the successors and permitted assigns of the Parties hereto.
9 Section 12. Counterparts.
This MOU may be simultaneously executed in several
counterparts, each of which shall be an original, and all of which shall establish but one in the same instrument.
10 IN WITNESS WHEREOF, the Parties hereto have executed this MOU to be in effect as of the date as set forth above.
APPROVED AS TO FORM:
By:
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CITY OF VICTORVILLE
By:
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Its:
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APPROVED AS TO FORM:
By:
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APPROVED AS TO FORM:
By:
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CITY OF HESPERIA
By:
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Its:
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VVWRA
By:
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Its:
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