STATE WATER RESOURCES CONTROL BOARD
BOARD MEETING SESSION -- DIVISION OF
CLEAN WATER PROGRAMS
MARCH 15, 2000
ITEM 4
APPROVAL OF A
STATE REVOLVING FUND (SRF) LOAN FOR THE WASTEWATER EFFLUENT DISPOSAL/GEYSERS RECHARGE
PROJECT, CITY OF SANTA ROSA (CITY), SRF LOAN PROJECT NO. C-06-4062
In accordance with the State Water
Resources Control Board's (SWRCB) Policy
for Implementing the State Revolving Fund for Construction of Wastewater
Treatment Facilities (Policy), adopted on February 16, 1995, and amended on
June 18, 1998, projects on the adopted priority list need SWRCB approval
to receive a SRF loan. Loans can be
approved by the SWRCB after the Division of Clean Water Programs (Division) has
approved the facilities plan, including (1) the project report; (2) the
environmental documents; (3) the draft revenue program; and (4) the water
conservation plan or the schedule for the local adoption of a water
conservation plan.
The Division issued Facilities Plan Approval on February 4, 2000,
to the City for the Wastewater Effluent Disposal/Geysers Recharge project. The City agreed in writing with the approval
on February 8, 2000.
The City is located in Sonoma County and about 60 miles North of
San Francisco. The City’s Subregional
Wastewater Treatment Plant (Laguna Plant) is located in the Western part of the
City and provides tertiary treatment to wastewater collected from the Cities of
Santa Rosa, Rohnert Park, Cotati, and Sebastopol, and from the South Park
County Sanitation District. The current
average dry weather flow is at 18 million gallons per day (mgd) and the peak
wet weather flow is at 70 mgd.
Effluent discharge to the Russian River is not allowed from May 15
through September 31 based on Waste Discharge Requirements Order No. 98-84
issued by the North Coast Regional Water Quality Control Board (NCRWQCB). During the no discharge period, the treated
effluent from the Laguna Plant is being reused for irrigation and wetland
discharge. Effluent is being disposed
to the Russian River between October 1 through May 14 each year. The permitted discharge is limited to a
maximum of five percent of the Russian River flow. Storage is provided to hold the effluent so as not to exceed the
maximum allowable discharge based on the River flow. However, the City has exceeded the maximum allowable discharge in
adverse weather conditions. A permanent
solution to the discharge problem is needed to prevent future recurrence. The City is proposing to construct a 41 mile
pipeline to pump the effluent to the Geysers thermal area for steam field
recharge. The Geysers Recharge project
will resolve the Laguna Plant effluent discharge problem which has hampered the
Santa Rosa community for the last 20 years.
The Geysers Recharge project consists of the following ten
contracts:
Contract 1 – Llano – Mark West
Pipeline, $15.1 million
Contract 2 – Upper & Lower Pine
Flat Pipeline, $9.1 million
Contract 3 – Yr. 2000 Restoration
Contract, $0.7 million
Contract 4 – Equipment Procurement
Contract, $6.8 million
Contract 5 – Windsor Pipeline, $12.8
million
Contract 6 – Yr. 2001 Restoration
Contract, $1.2 million
Contract 7 – Mid-North Pipeline
& Pump Stations, $16.9 million
Contract 8 – Mid-South Pipeline, $12.5
million
Contract 9 – Healdsburg
Pipeline,$14.6 million
Contract 10 – Llano Pump Station,
&1.5 million
The estimated construction cost of the project is $91
million. The City has received a $3.5
million grant commitment from the California Energy Commission for this
project. The estimated loan eligible
construction cost of the project is $87.5 million. The estimated total eligible construction cost including
allowances is $101 million.
The Sonoma County Water Agency (SCWA) is the water purveyor for
the project sewer service area. The
Cities of Santa Rosa, Rohnert Park and Cotati have signed an agreement with the
SCWA for approximately 75 mgd of Russian River water for the service area (the
SCWA has four water right permits, Nos.12947A, 12949, 12950, and 16596, for
Russian River water). The City and SCWA
are signatories to the Memorandum of
Understanding regarding Urban Water Conservation in California.
In July
1996, the City and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers prepared an Environmental
Impact Report/Environmental Impact Statement (EIR/EIS) that evaluated several
alternatives for a Long-Term Wastewater Project. The 1996 draft EIR/EIS was distributed to the public and
circulated through the State Clearinghouse (SCH# 94103069) for a 65 day review
period commencing July 31, 1996.
During the review period, one hundred and thirty-eight (138) comment
letters were received from public agencies, organizations and individuals. The City prepared written responses to the
comments, made revisions to the draft EIR/EIS and certified the Final EIR in
June 1997.
In December
1997, the City prepared an Addendum to the Certified EIR to evaluate the
Geysers Recharge Alternative. In
January 1998 the City Council and the Board of Public Utilities approved the
Geysers Recharge Project Alternative, certified the Addendum, and incorporated
the Addendum into the Final EIR. The
City filed a Notice of Determination with the Sonoma County Clerk and the
Governor’s Office of Planning and Research.
In March
and April 1999, the City prepared a distinct Supplemental EIR for each of three
sections of the Geysers pipeline alignment (Southern Section, Mid-Section, and
Northern Section). The Southern Section
Supplemental EIR was distributed for public review and circulated through the
State Clearinghouse (SCH# 99032063) from March 23, 1999, through May 11,
1999. During the review period, the
City received comment letters from six government agencies, one organization,
and seventeen individuals. In addition,
two petitions with a total of 133 signatures were submitted. The Mid-Section Supplemental EIR was
distributed for public review and circulated through the State Clearinghouse
(SCH# 99032063) from March 5, 1999, through June 9, 1999. During the review period, the City received
comment letters from six government agencies, four organizations, and eight
individuals. In addition a petition
with 53 signatures and a standardized comment letter signed by 351 individuals
were submitted. The Northern Section
Supplemental EIR was distributed for public review and circulated through the
State Clearinghouse (SCH# 99032063) from April 9, 1999, through May 25,
1999. During the review period, the
City received comment letters from four government agencies, three
organizations, and eight individuals.
The City provided written responses to all comments. The City Council and the Board of Public
Utilities certified the three Supplemental EIRs on July 1, 1999.
The
Northern Section Supplemental EIR incorporated an October 1998 Supplemental EIR
which was prepared to evaluate a modification to the pipeline alignment in the
Northern Section. The October 1998
Supplemental EIR was distributed for public review from October 9, 1998,
through November 23, 1998. During the
review period, the City received comment letters from five government agencies,
four organizations, and one individual.
Evaluation of the 1998 Supplemental EIR was combined with evaluation of
the Northern Section Supplemental EIR including incorporation of comments and
responses.
In July
1999, the City prepared an Addendum to the Certified Final EIR and Supplements
EIRs in preparation for selection of a final pipeline route and to consolidate
evaluation of environmental effects related to the Geysers Recharge Project. The City Council determined that information
in the Addendum does not constitute significant new information requiring
recirculation. The City Council
certified the Addendum, adopted a Mitigation Monitoring and Reporting Program
and a Statement of Overriding Considerations, and incorporated the Addendum
into the Certified EIR. The City filed
a Notice of Determination with the Sonoma County Clerk and the Governor’s
Office of Planning and Research.
In October
1999, the City prepared a Supplemental EIR to further evaluate potential
modifications and refinements to the pipeline alignment. The Supplement EIR was distributed to the
public and circulated through the State Clearinghouse (SCH# 94103069) for
review from October 22, 1999, through December 6. 1999. During the review period, the City received
comment letters from three government agencies, one organization, and 16
individuals. In addition a petition was
submitted with thirty-three signatures.
The City provided written responses to all comment letters and made appropriate
revisions to the Supplemental EIR. The
Board of Public Utilities (on January 20, 2000) and the City Council (on
January 25, 2000) certified the EIR, approved the pipeline alignment, adopted a
Statement of Overriding Considerations and adopted a final Mitigation
Monitoring Program for the whole of the project. The City filed a Notice of Determination with the Sonoma County
Clerk and the Governor’s Office of Planning and Research.
The City has provided the Division with a schedule for the submittal
of final plans and specifications and other milestones. These dates are included in the Division’s
facilities plan approval letter. In
accordance with Section IX (J) of the SRF Policy, the resolution will include
an expiration date for the preliminary loan commitment. The Division may approve up to a 90-day
extension for good cause.
The District has applied for the full estimated eligible SRF loan
amount of $101 million for the project.
However, due to the current funding cap of $25 million per year per
agency, the District requests the SWRCB to approve a loan of $25 million for
this project for state fiscal year 2000, with a 20 year repayment period and
with the first SRF loan repayment due one year after completion of
construction, and to allocate the remaining $76 million consistent with the
construction schedule and availability of funds.
Should the SWRCB approve SRF loan funding for the proposed
project, including a 20-year repayment period, with the first repayment due one
year after completion of construction?
Should the SWRCB, in accordance with Section IX (J) of the SRF Policy,
condition this approval by requiring expiration of the preliminary loan
commitment if final plans and specifications are not submitted by April 30, 2001?
NCRWQCB. Completion of this project will improve the
City’s ability to comply with the NCRWQCB‘s Waste Discharge Requirement and
should improve the water quality in Russian River when the dilution ratio of 20
to one cannot be met.
FISCAL
IMPACT
The SWRCB adopted Resolution No. 99-40 on May
20, 1999, which changed the method for determining the amount of funding
available for new loans to a system based on the availability of cash to make
disbursements to the project under consideration by the SWRCB. A minimum cash balance of $25,000,000 will
be maintained. The SRF account
balances, anticipated repayment amounts, and project approvals under
consideration by the SWRCB in March 2000 are as follows:
|
|
SFY |
SFY |
SFY |
SFY |
SFY |
|
|
1999-00 |
2000-01 |
2001-02 |
2002-03 |
2003-04 |
|
|
___________ |
__________ |
__________ |
_________ |
_________ |
|
Beginning
Balance: |
$518,269,168 |
$330,548,159 |
$149,849,199 |
$128,226,188 |
$149,804,767 |
|
Est.
Repayments:[1] |
75,859,855 |
91,170,889 |
102,198,380 |
118,379,704 |
141,975,512 |
|
Cap
Grants:[2] |
111,300,181 |
63,800,000[3] |
63,800,000 |
0 |
0 |
|
Est.
SMIF Interest: |
10,000,000 |
6,000,000 |
1,000,000 |
1,000,000 |
1,000,000 |
|
Est.
Disbursements:[4] |
-384,881,045 |
-315,969,849 |
-163,621,391 |
-72,801,125 |
-5,601,507 |
|
Subtotal: |
$330,548,159 |
$175,549,199 |
$153,226,188 |
$174,804,767 |
$287,178,772 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
City
of Santa Rosa 4062 |
|
-25,000,000 |
-25,000,000 |
-25,000,000 |
-25,000,000[5] |
|
Crockett-Valona
Sanitary D. 4675 |
|
-700,000 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Balance: |
$330,548,159 |
$149,849,199 |
$128,226,188[6] |
$149,804,767 |
$262,178,772 |
The SWRCB adopts a resolution approving a SRF loan of $101 million
for this project, with $25 million from the SFY 2000 account, with a repayment
period of up to 20 years, and with the first repayment due one year after
completion of construction for each contract.
In accordance with the June 18, 1998 SRF Policy, the proposed resolution
includes (a) an expiration date for this preliminary loan commitment if the
final plans and specifications are not submitted by April 30, 2001.
_____________________________________________________
DRAFT February 18, 2000
STATE WATER RESOURCES CONTROL BOARD
RESOLUTION NO. 2000 –
APPROVAL
OF A STATE REVOLVING FUND (SRF) LOAN
FOR
THE WASTEWATER EFFLUENT DISPOSAL/GEYSERS RECHARGE PROJECT
CITY
OF SANTA ROSA (CITY)
SRF
LOAN PROJECT NO. C-06-4060
WHEREAS:
1. The State Water Resources Control Board
(SWRCB), on February 16, 1995, adopted the “Policy
for Implementing the State Revolving Fund for Construction of Wastewater
Treatment Facilities,” and revised it on June 18, 1998;
2. The SWRCB, on June 18, 1999, adopted the state fiscal year 1999/2000 SRF Loan Program Priority List which included the Wastewater Effluent Discharge Geysers Recharge Project for the City in Priority Class C;
3. The Division of Clean Water Programs (Division)
has approved the Facility Plan for the Project;
4. The Sonoma County Water Agency (SCWA) is the
water purveyor for the sewer service area and both the City and SCWA are
signatories to the Memorandum of
Understanding Regarding Urban Water Conservation in California; and
5.
The City of
Santa Rosa and the Santa Rosa Board of Public Utilities have certified an
Environmental Impact Report/Environmental Impact Statement (State Clearinghouse
No. 94103069), two Addendums and four Supplemental EIRs (State Clearinghouse
No. 99032063) which have been review and considered, and it has been determined
that:
(a) As stated in the EIR/EIS, Addendums, and
Supplemental EIRs, the project may result in significant and unavoidable
impacts with respect to (i) geologic impacts from locating the pipeline
component in areas of unstable slope conditions; (ii) water quality impacts
from increased algal growth during discharge operations; (iii) traffic and
circulation impacts from construction and operation of the pipeline component,
pump stations, and geysers steamfield component; (iv) air quality impacts from
odors related to the headworks expansion; (v) noise impacts from construction
activities and operation of the pump station component; and (vi) aesthetic
impacts on foreground and middleground views from roadways, recreation use
areas and other public use areas.
The SWRCB
hereby adopts the following statement of overriding considerations to address the
unmitigable significant impacts that may potentially occur from approval of the
project:
Implementation of the Geysers Recharge
Project would result in benefits, including: superior use of water resources,
maximizing current reuse opportunities, protecting beneficial uses by
minimizing discharge to the Russian River, providing best degree of weather
independence in accordance with Regional Board discharge requirements, and
affording a high level of reliability for diverse types of reuse. In balancing the project benefits against
the potential significant impacts regarding geology, water quality, traffic and
circulation, air quality, and noise, the SWRCB finds that the public benefits
of the project outweigh the unavoidable impacts and, therefore, determines that
the impacts are acceptable.
(b)
Changes or alternations have been required or incorporated into the
proposed project which avoid or reduce to less than significant levels other
potentially significant impacts identified in the environmental documents with
respect to (i) water quality impacts from soils erosion and construction
activities which will be mitigated by removing deposited sediments, restoring
original contours and drainage patterns, implementing stream bank stabilization
measures, encouraging natural regeneration of native herbaceous vegetation,
revegetating riparian habitat and stream banks with native seed stock or
cuttings, using jack and bore construction for live streams, limiting
construction during the rainy season, minimizing soil exposure and cut and fill
along streams, limiting pulling of tree stumps and leaving existing vegetation
root systems intact, using sediment control facilities, berming construction
storage areas, diverting runoff from construction areas, preventing contamination
from construction vehicles and equipment, and providing employee training
programs; (ii) water quality impacts from discharge activities which will be
mitigated by annually evaluating EPA-approved analytical methods for specified
constituents and implementing new technologies and methodologies, implementing
a source identification program as necessary, revising discharge operations to
reduce effects of reclaimed water on waterways, emphasizing winter discharge
while reducing fall and spring discharge, and implementing a Total and Ammonia
Nitrogen Source Control Program; (iii) cultural resource impacts which will be
mitigated by complying with provisions contained in a Memorandum of Agreement
(effective January 21, 2000) developed among the SWRCB, Bureau of Land
Management, and the State Historic Preservation Officer for the project; and
(iv) threatened and endangered species which will be mitigated by complying
with provisions contained in a July 17, 1998, Programmatic Biological Opinion
developed by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife
Service (FWS) for endangered plant species on the Santa Rosa Plain, conducting
pre-construction surveys, consulting with the FWS to determine suitable
setbacks to avoid impacts to the northern spotted owl and other sensitive
species, clearly delineating exclusionary buffer zones, consulting with the
National Marine Fisheries Service regarding potential impacts to coho salmon
and steelhead trout, ensuring that culvert construction does not occur in live
streams, constructing coffer dams to divert flow and requiring a fishery
biologist to capture and relocate fish and other vertebrates, preventing
deposition of downstream sedimentation, using jack and bore or microtunneling
for stream crossings, and revegetating disturbed areas.
(c)
With respect to other potentially significant environmental impacts
identified in the environmental documents, appropriate changes or alternations
are within the jurisdiction of other public agencies. Such other changes or alterations have been adopted or should be
adopted by such other agencies.
THEREFORE
BE IT RESOLVED THAT:
The
State Water Resources Control Board:
1. Approves a preliminary SRF loan commitment of $101 million with $25 million the first year of the Geysers Recharge Project construction, with a repayment period of up to 20 years, and the first repayment due one year after completion of construction for each contract;
2. Will withdraw this preliminary SRF loan commitment if final plans and specifications are not submitted by April 30, 2001. The Division may approve up to a 90-day extension for good cause; and
3. Directs the Division to allocate the remaining $76 million consistent with the construction schedule and availability of funds.
CERTIFICATION
The undersigned, Administrative
Assistant to the Board, does hereby certify that the foregoing is a full, true,
and correct copy of a resolution duly and regularly adopted at a meeting of the
State Water Resources Control Board held on March 15, 2000.
Maureen
Marché
Administrative
Assistant to the Board
[1] Est. repayments include
repayments from existing loans and from loans expected to be executed in the next
few years for projects with existing commitments.
[2] An EPA Capitalization Grant
of $95,948,432 for SFY 2000 is anticipated (the final 0.38% reduction in the
federal budget is not approved at this time) plus State match funds of
$19,189,686. $3,837,937 is deducted for
administrative costs.
[3] An EPA Capitalization Grant
of $55,000,000 for SFY’s 2001 and 2002 is forecast. The 20% state match as added and the 4% administrative allowance
is deducted.
[4] Estimated disbursements
include disbursements remaining on existing loans as well as disbursements
anticipated on loans executed for projects with existing commitments (including
FY2000 commitments). The Division will
revise the estimated disbursements total each month as cash draw forecasts are
updated.
[5] Total project cost estimated
to be $101,000,000. Maximum loan amount
is capped at $25,000,000 per year.
Final year’s commitment of $1,000,000 in SFY 2004-05 is not shown for clarity.
[6] The cash balance on June 30, 2002, is estimated to be $103,226,188 above the level needed to maintain a $25,000,000 reserve.