HomeMy WebLinkAboutCity Council - 2001-69 RESOLUTION NO. 2001- 69
A RESOLUTION OF THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE
CITY OF HUNTINGTON BEACH RELATING TO THE
DISCHARGE OF WASTEWATER INTO THE PACIFIC OCEAN
WHEREAS, the City of Huntington Beach is a member agency of the Orange County
Sanitation District(OCSD); and
OCSD is a special district that provides wastewater collection, treatment, and disposal
services to 21 cities with about 2.35 million residents in central and northern Orange County,
including the residents and businesses of Huntington Beach; and
OCSD uses a 10' diameter Ocean Outfall to discharge approximately 236 million gallons
per day of wastewater from OCSD's 2.35 million customers; and
50% of the wastewater discharged out the Ocean Outfall is wastewater treated to a primary
treatment level and 50%is wastewater treated to a secondary treatment level; and
The Ocean Outfall that sits 190' below the ocean surface about 4.5 miles offshore from the
Santa Ana River mouth between Huntington Beach and Newport Beach; and
This discharge creates a wastewater plume in the ocean that can be up to 6 miles long, 2 to 3
miles wide and 100 feet thick; and
OCSD's 20-Meter Fecal Coliform Study in 1996 showed that the wastewater plume may—
under certain wave, tidal, and current conditions—approach the shoreline where it can contaminate
the beaches and swimming areas of Newport Beach and Huntington Beach; and
The 1972 Federal Clean Water Act requires most Publicly-Owned Treatment Works
(POTWs) to treat all wastewater to full secondary levels before such wastewater can be discharged
from a treatment facility; and
The Act authorizes POTWs to request a waiver of this full secondary requirement from the
US Environmental Protection Agency(US EPA) under Section 301(h) of the Act as long as the
POTW can show that the less-than-frill-secondary discharge does not harm the environment or harm
public health; and.
OCSD requested and was granted a waiver under Section 301(h)by US EPA in 1985, with
an extension granted in 1998; and
The current waiver(as extended) expires on January 1, 2003; and
As projected by a 1999 Environmental Impact Report associated with OCSD's Strategic
Plan, full secondary treatment of wastewater reduces nearly all parameters of ocean pollution
including levels of fecal coliform bacterial and viruses, and
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Sanitation agencies in Los Angeles County have not applied for new waivers under Section
301(h) and are in the process of treating all wastewater at full secondary levels; and
All or a significant portion of the additional expense of constructing and maintaining
facilities associated with full secondary treatment at OCSD will likely be borne by the ratepayers of
OCSD, including the residents and businesses of Huntington Beach; and
Huntington Beach relies upon a safe, clean ocean to sustain its quality of life and its
economic and tourism base; and
The residents of Huntington Beach use the ocean and its beaches for health, recreation, and
business endeavors, including fishing, boating, and swimming,
Now, THEREFORE, the City Council of the City of Huntington Beach does hereby resolve
as follows:
1. That it hereby opposes any extension of or application for a waiver of full secondary
discharge requirements under Section 301(h) of the federal Clean Water Act by OCSD; and
2. That it hereby supports the full secondary treatment of all wastewater discharged into
OCSD's Ocean Outfall, or some other technologically feasible method to improve the quality of the
effluent and reduce the amount of bio solid sent out the outfall; and
3. That it hereby urges its resident and business population to join with the Council in
advocating for safer, less environmentally impactful wastewater discharge into the Pacific Ocean
and in recognizing and accepting the community-wide obligation and financial costs that lie therein.
PASSED AND ADOPTED by the City Council of the City of Huntington Beach at a regular
meeting thereof held on the 17th day of September _f_, 2001.
ATTEST:
Lem
City Clerk of zy—ot Mayor
REVIEWED AND APPROVED: APPROVED AS TO FORM:
f
City Ad>< inistrator City Attorney
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Res. No. 2001-69
STATE OF CALIFORNIA )
COUNTY OF ORANGE ) ss:
CITY OF HUNTINGTON BEACH )
I, CONNIE BROCKWAY, the duly elected, qualified City Clerk of
the City of Huntington Beach, and ex-officio Clerk of the City Council of said
City, do hereby certify that the whole number of members of the City Council
of the City of Huntington Beach is seven, that the foregoing resolution was
passed and adopted by the affirmative vote of at least a majority of all the
members of said City Council at a regular meeting thereof held on the 17th
day of September, 2001 by the following vote:
AYES: Green, Boardman, Cook, Julien Houchen, Garofalo, Dettloff,
Bauer
NOES: None
ABSENT: None
ABSTAIN: None
E lY�i1GOK:l�'�'
City Clerk and ex-officio C erk of the
City Council of the City of
Huntington Beach, California