REQUEST FOR CITY COUNCIL ACTION
SUBMITTED TO: Honorable Mayor and City Council Members
SUBMITTED BY: Eric G. Parra, Interim City Manager
VIA: Chau Vu, Director of Public Works
PREPARED BY: Jim Merid, Environmental Services Manager
Subject:
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Appropriate $50,000 from the Storm Water Quality fund balance for the deployment of water quality monitoring buoys (2) to support initial water quality monitoring and scoping for water quality improvement projects in the Huntington Harbour
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Statement of Issue:
In April of 2023, the City received $3,549,149 as part of a class action settlement agreement with the Monsanto Company. Plaintiffs alleged that Monsanto manufactured a class of industrial chemicals called polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) between the 1930s and 1977 that caused environmental impairments to water bodies; the plaintiffs sought funds to compensate for the damages and receive equitable relief. The City received these funds as a result of Huntington Harbour being identified in the 303(d) list of impaired water bodies under the Clean Water Act. The Public Works Department is requesting to appropriate $50,000 from the settlement which have been deposited into the Storm Water Quality Fund for the deployment of water quality monitoring buoys (2) to support initial water quality monitoring and scoping for water quality improvement projects in the Harbour.
Financial Impact:
The Public Works Department is requesting an appropriation of $50,000 from the Storm Water Quality Fund (892) undesignated fund balance to account 89285201.82500 for the deployment of water quality monitoring buoys (2) to support initial water quality monitoring and scoping for water quality improvement projects in the Harbour.
Recommended Action:
recommendation
Appropriate $50,000 from the Storm Water Quality Fund (892) fund balance to account 89285201.82500. Sufficient fund balance is available to support this request.
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Alternative Action(s):
Do not appropriate funds from the Storm Water Quality Fund to fund water quality monitoring and project/scoping programs for Huntington Harbour.
Analysis:
The settlement funds from Monsanto Company were intended to be used for programs and projects that improve water quality and mitigate the effects of pollutants. Staff has identified water quality monitoring projects to assess water quality in Huntington Harbour including the use of monitoring buoys that can collect samples periodically and provide real-time data as to pH, turbidity, nutrient level, amount of dissolved oxygen, and other metrics. In addition to deploying these buoys, staff would like to allocate funds to analyze and scope water quality improvement related projects based on the data provided by the buoys and historical data as collected and analyzed by the County of Orange’s Stormwater Monitoring program. This initial effort will require a budget appropriation of $50,000 from the Storm Water Quality Fund.
Once a viable project(s) has been identified, staff will return to Council with a request to appropriate additional funding to support the project(s).
Environmental Status:
This action is not subject to the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) pursuant to Sections 15060(c)(2) (the activity will not result in a direct or reasonably foreseeable indirect physical change in the environment) and 15060(c)(3) (the activity is not a project as defined in Section 15378) of the CEQA Guidelines, California Code of Regulations, Title 14, Chapter 3, because it has no potential for resulting in physical change to the environment, directly or indirectly.
Strategic Plan Goal:
Non Applicable - Administrative Item
This action will support water quality monitoring and scoping for water quality improvement projects in Huntington Harbour.
For details, visit www.huntingtonbeachca.gov/strategicplan <http://www.huntingtonbeachca.gov/strategicplan>.
Attachment(s):
1. Final PCB Class Action Settlement Agreement
2. PowerPoint Presentation