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Home My WebLink About0614.093• ' .. ,y .• ,,~:.v;..-: '-::-:j~~:::'~~-'';~'-:};,. ~-- ... co""'-"' ...:-:.:........- ~ . . . '. : ". ~" Pecernber 9, 1993 THE HONORABLE CITY COUNCIL Palo Alto, California Status of Negotiations on CQPper~~ducti9n5 from Ci!Y~tor_m Water and Wastewater Discharges Members of the Covncil: Report in Brief This is an informational report advising Council of ~he status cf preparation of a Memorandum of Understandin.g among local government entities in Santa Clara Count.y conce.rnin'3" the discharge of Copper to San Francisco Bay_ No action by Council is required. Background The July "1.993 discharge permit issued to the Re:gioniill Water Quality Control Plant (RWQCPi re~Jires the City to substantially reduce the copper content of the RWQCP discharge to San Francisco Bay. In addition, the Permit requires the City to negotiate with other Santa Clara County local government entities and prepare a plan for an additional .:::opper discharge reduction of 950 pounds per year. about 5 percent of Santa Clara Ccunty's total ave.r-age annual copper discharge to the Bay. This report focuses specifically on the planning for the additlcnal 95Q pound Countywide copper discharg~ reduction. Discussion In o.der to achieve the Countywide copper discharge reduction. all of the Santa Clara Valley Non-Feint Source Program co-permittees and the three waste·.-rater treatment plants will likely need to take specific actions. To develop a plan for achieving the required disc!'"....arge reduction. the Santa Clara Valley Water District convened the ·South Bay Ccpper Reduction Dialogue,· with the intent of ootaining broad support for the plan. The Copper Dialogue i.ncludes representatives of the Non-Point Source Program, the three cities with ·..,aste'wfater treatment plants (San ~ose, Sunnyvale and Palo Alto), the Regional Water Quality Control Board, area businesses and environmental groups. Through the Copper DialoTJe, the participating agencies intend to develop a Memorandum of Vnderst03nding (MO'J) detailing the jOint plan to achieve the required copper reduction. While the group has not selected a final format for the MOU, it is anticipated to contain the following elements: CMR.!614:93 -1- " _____ " .. _o~ __ _ • a table identifying sources of copper discharge to San Francisco 8ay from the Count)'; • a list of actions that ...,ill be taken by the local government e:r..tities to control ccpper discharges (examp!e at tached) ; • principles fer all::Jcation of programmatic and financial responsibility for pilot pr':lg.!"ams, source central p::-ogram development, and implementation of control measures; • protocols for monitoring the dis=harge redu~tions; e procedures for reporting progress with the plan's implementation; • a road map for implementation of the plan; • a procedure for revisiting elements of the agreement as more i~forrnation is obtained about the cost~ efficacy~ and feasibility of control measures; and • draft permit conditions that allow the Regional Water Quali~y Concrol Board to enforce the agreement. A draft MOU will be submitted to Council as soon as it is prepared (probably in January). Any guidance from Council io."ill be followed, and a final MOU ~ill be p~epared and returned to Council as soon as possible. The MOU w] 11 constitute the plan required by the discharge permit and will be submi tted to the Regional Water Quality Control Board (Regional Board) following action by Council. It does not appear that ~he current deadline {January 30, 1994) for pla."TJ. submittal allows sufficient time for action by all of the various political jurisdictions in the County. Therefore.. an extension of several mont.h.3 is likely to be requested and obtained due to the unique nature of this plarilling effort. Staff does not ~.ticipate that action items in the MOU will require budget changes in the current fiscal year. It is not yet certain whether FY 1994-1995 actic·n items would requi.r'e revisions to the budget now being prepared. Staff will report on any such issues during the upcoming budg~t process. Respectfully submitted Kd{D. 1Vl ____ !CELL YD. MORAN Manager, Environmental Control Programs iJ-jJ f?L.r GLENN S. ROBERTS Director of Public works CMR,614 ,93 -2- PHILIP BGBEL M~~ager, Environmental Compliance Division BER..~ARD M. STROJNY Assist~nt City Manager b~1 Status New Renearch Narrative Evaluation Goal/Data Description of Criteria .Forecast Program Desi~n or COntrol Strategy -Reduction Program ·Unit Cost. current Under Under Implementa.tion ·other Development Resea.roh Environmental Impacts PRODUCT suaSTITUTION b coppor-bea:rin brake pads -.----- X • Complete SCV NPS • r;liru.inate use • Reduction program study to of copper estimat.es determine a~ount of bear inq brake will come copper coming from pads. trom 5CV NPS brake pads:. study. • Evaluate above study and, if appropriate, -Draft state legislation to ban after market repairs witn offending pad£;, ·Consider feasibility of local bans. 'i •. I -Requas~ state or Fe,deral study to I ensure availability and i safety of non- _L. copper pads. -Request ePA to ban COppel: pads in new cars,