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Home My WebLink About2013 Resolution No. 037• RESOLUTION NU . j7 SERJES OF 2013 -- A RESOLlITTON SUPPORTING THE P•SSAGE OF H.B. 1191 ESTABLISHING A NUTRIENT GRANT FUND FOR POTW :; WHEREAS, The Colorodo Water Qunlity Control Commission ha,; adopted two nutrient control regula~ons -Regulation 31 setting water quality standards for nutrients (phosphorw and nitrogen) and nut:ient related corunitu:nt• (such as cltlorophyll a, an indi ca tor uf tl,c a111ow11 of algae present in streams and lakes) and Regulation 85 setting nutrient removal requirements for the 44 largest publicly owned treatment worlcs (POTW) m the state, includmg the Lilllcton/Englewood WWTP (1./E); and \\ llEREAS, Regulation 85 requirements arc effective ir. 20 l •'. and will be inrotpornted in the Lffi discharge permit during the ne.xl renew•I cycle ,hat hegms in 2014 when the CUffelll pennil expires :ind Rc,:ul ation 31 becorn•s effective i,, 2022 ; and \l.l!EREAS, H.B . 13 -1191 which will csta,lish a nutrient grams fund has hcen introduced in the Colorado legislature 10 pruvid• fuuu,ci•I ussistunce tu mu.,icipalities tl1a1 own aud operate publicly owned treatment works (l'OTW) and rnuy need additional 1rca1mcn.1 sy,tems 10 comply with these new regulations ; and WHEREAS , The fund will be used 10 assist municipalities with the ''planninp, design, consm,ctinn or improvemen1 " of POTWs and requires such crite.ia 10 include µriority to municipalities with \he lowest ftna.,cial ability to pay for improvements . NOW, TIIEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED BY THE CITY COUNCn. OF THE CITY OF ENGLEWOOD, COLORADO , AS FOLLOWS : Sec\iQn...!. '!be City Council of the <.:ily of Englewood, Colorado hereby suppons H.B 13·1191 and its associated funding level ofSIS,000,000 .00. ADOPTED AND APPROVED this l/41!_;.y of )7U/2d,.__, 2013 . I, Loucrislu a A. Ellis , City Clerk for J}~ity of Englewood , Colora o, hereby conify the obovcis a true copy of Resolution No . '2:..J_, Serie~ of 2013 . _ ~ £; ucrishia A. Ellis, City Clerk COUNCIL COMMUNICATION Date: I Agenda Item: Mard 4, 20 L' 11 c i Initiated By: Liltleton/Englewood \f\/WTP Supervisory Commitlee I Subject: HB 13-1191 j Nulrienl Granl Fund Bill I Staff Source: S1ewar1 Fonda , Utlll1ies Director COUNCIL GOAL AND PREVIOUS COUNCIL ACTION Th is issue was discussed al the Cily Council Slt,dy Session o n February 25 , 2011 RECOMMENDED ACTION The recommended aclion is 10 suµpun HB 13 -1191, e,1alili,hi11g a Nu1rie11l> G,a111 Fu11d i11 11,~ Sl•le Treasury, in the current sess i on of lhe Colorado General Assembl y. RACKC.ROlJND, ANALYSIS, AND ALTERNATIVES IDENTIFIED The conlrol of nutrients, p1imarily phosph o rus and nitro gen, has been a high priority ior the Environmental f'rotection Age~cy (~PA) far over a decade. The EPA has strong~• advocated for numeric criteria for both of :hese nutrients in t~e State oi Colorado. In 2012 , the Colorado Water Quality Control Commission adopled two !ilate regul;ttion!i ronn~rning nutrients : .Reguldlion 31 : This regulation was amende d to include numeric water qualicy 'interim values· far phospho,us and nitrogen, as well as sev~: al other water quality parameters. These 'I nterim values· become effe ct ive ,n 20 22 . The 'interim val ues ' are inlended l o n eet EPA 's need for num eric criteria . Regula tion 85: Thi s regulativn sets efflu ent treatmenl requirements for wastewaler treatment plants ;ased on existillH 1realme11l lechuoluKv fur 11utrie 111 re111oval . Only 44 of tae stale's wastewater l reatment plants will need to meet lhese requirements, including the Littleton/Englewood WVt/TP. Th is is purely a slate regulation, is not required by EPA and is effective lhis yea r. Meeling these two regulalions will be expensive and the bill as p ro posed seeks 10 provide funding primarily ior meeting Regulati,m P 5 ; the regulation effective this ytar. The proposed fund ing level is curre11tly set al S 15,000,000. The attached memorandum dated fabruary 25, 2013 provides more iniormal,on, including the porposed bill and fi scal s1atement. FI NANCIAL IMPACT There is no fiscal impacl to supponing HB 13-1191 UST OF ATTACHMENTS • Memorandum 10 Michael Penny, G,'ry Sears and Stewart Fonda dated February 25 , 2013 Proposed Resolution • MEMORANDUM TO: Michael l'enny, Littleton City Manager Gary Sc ars, Englewood City Manager Stewan Fonda, Er.glcwood Utilities Director •·ROM: Dennis Stowe , L/F. WWTP Manager DATE: February 25, 2013 SUIJ.IEC.T: Littleton/Englewood Wastewater Treatment l'lant l'acket A bill to establish a nutrient grants titnd has been introduced in the Colorado legislature. The purpose of the fund is to provide financial assistance to municipalities that own and operate publically owned treatment wurks (POTW) ti1at may need additional treatment systems to comply with re~ulations recently adopted by the Colorado Water Quality Control Commission (WQCC). Attached are the bill as introduced and 1he most recent fiscal note. The fund will be used lo assist municipalities with the "plannins , design, construction or improvement" of POTW's. The WQCC is to establish the criteria for awarding/administering the grants, which can be expected to be similar to the existing re11olving loan program for wastewater facilities . The bill requires such criteria to include priori',. to municipalities with the lowest financial abili1y to pay for improvements. 11 also includes a self repeal provision on September 1, 2016. Initially, the fund will receive $15 ,000 ,000 . BACKGROUND Th e WQCC adopted two nutr:ent control regulations -Regulation 31 setting water quality standards for nutrients (phosphorus and nitrogen) and nutrient related constituents (such as chlorophyll a, an indicator oJ' the amount of algae present in streams and lakes) a~d Regulation 85 setting nutrient removal requirements for the 44 lariest POTW 's in the state, including the Littleton/Englewooct WWTP (LIE). Regulation 85 requirements are effective in l014 and will be incorporated in the LIE discharge permit during ,he next renewal cycle tha1 ':>egins in 2014 when the cuITent permit expires . Regulation 31 does not become effective until 2022. The Cities and IJE have a mong track record in the development of the nutrient regulations and subsequent legislative activities : • We were active members of the Colorado Nutrient Coalition , • group of u1ilit ies and othe rs that worked on the ,kveloponent of the regulat ions . We provided tc,aimony to 1hc WQ~C on the rcijulalions, in cluding the cost of !he 1\!gululionr.. • We pruviJcJ tes1i111nr1y al 1hc House hea ring on I ID 12·1 I 61 , requiring lcgislu1ivc rcvicv. of lh..: cost of the rcijulations (the bill wus Jc,feuteJ in cu111111ittcc). • We provided testimony to the interi m wa ler resources committee 011 1hc cos1 of 1hc rcgulutions (on behalf of the Col ora do Wustewutcr Utili1y Council and in re sponse :o quc stinns rcgurding 1../E spccilicully). The J\inds that nrny be avail:1hlc under this bill arc ctuile smoll coi:1parcd to the total wst of the nutricnl rcgulaticms tn the stntc as n whole , nJ>proximatcly 2% uf the lotal eslimut cd cost. lfowcvcr, 1hc hill is rccng11itin11 nf 1h is cost nnd docs prnvicl~ some funding , Suppon ing the bill would he con,;istent with previ o us actions hy the Cities. A..;\ i<Hl Rcco1111n endcd We rccn111mc11d the Cit y Crn mcil s suppon HD 13· I I 91 and it s :i sso~tatcd fumling lev el uf' $15 ,0(I0 ,000 . cc : Charlie 131ostc11 , Lilllcton Pub lic Services Dire ctor Rick Kahm . Englcwuo<l J>uhlic Wmks Director .lcnnifcr Hunt , Hill & Robbins Mary Gnrd11er, LIE WW TI' • •