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HomeMy WebLinkAbout11-13-20 Agenda PacketTHE FULL PACKET IS POSTED ON THE WEBSITE www.mwmcpartners.org MWMC MEETING AGENDA Friday, November 13th, 2020 7:30 AM – 9:30 AM (PDT) Due to the Coronavirus Pandemic and Oregon Executive Order 20-16, the MWMC Meeting will be held remotely via computer or phone. To join the meeting by phone dial: Access Code: 7:30 – 7:35 I. ROLL CALL 7:35 – 7:40 II. CONSENT CALENDAR a.MWMC 10/9/20 Minutes Action Requested: By motion, approve the Consent Calendar 7:40 – 7:45 III. PUBLIC COMMENT: Public comment can be submitted by email to jbrennan@springfield-or.gov or by phone 541-726-3694 by 5 PM November 12, 2020 or made at the meeting. All public comments need to include your full name, address, if you are representing yourself or an organization (name of organization), and topic. 7:45 – 8:00 IV. COMMODITY RNG SALE NORTH AMERICA ENERGY STANDARDS BOARD………… …………………………………………………………………………..Mark VanEeckhout Action Requested: Approve, by motion, Resolution 20-14 8:00 – 9:00 V. CAPACITY MANAGEMENT OPERATIONS & MAINTENANCE (CMOM) UPDATE……… ……………………………………………………………….Adam May and Jennah Maier Action Requested: Informational and Discussion 9:00 – 9:15 VI. FATS, OILS, & GREASE (FOG) MOBILE APP……………………………………………… ………………….……………………………………………Destin Ranch and Emily Lane Action Requested: Informational and Discussion 9:15 – 9:30 VII. BUSINESS FROM COMMISSION, GENERAL MANAGER, & WASTEWATER DIRECTOR 9:30 VIII. ADJOURNMENT MWMC MEETING MINUTES Friday, October 9th, 2020 at 7:30 a.m. Due to the Coronavirus Pandemic and Oregon Executive Order 20-16, the MWMC Meeting was held remotely via computer or phone. Meeting was video recorded. President Farr opened up the meeting at 7:30 a.m. Roll call was taken by Josi Brennan. ROLL CALL Commissioners Present Remotely: Pat Farr, Doug Keeler, Walt Meyer, Joe Pishioneri (left at 8:30), Peter Ruffier and Jennifer Yeh Commissioner Absent: Bill Inge Staff Present Remotely: Lou Allocco, Meg Allocco, Katherine Bishop, Dave Breitenstein, Josi Brennan, Shawn Krueger, Barry Mays, Troy McAllister, James McClendon, April Miller, Todd Miller, Brain Millington, Brooke Mossefin, Brian Robinson, Matt Stouder, and Valerie Warner. Guests Present Remotely: Charles Wright with Kennedy/Jenks Commissioner Farr said there would be an adjustment to the agenda. Item VI would be discussed after the consent calendar. Matt Stouder proposed Item V and VI be switched. CONSENT CALENDAR a.MWMC 09/11/20 Minutes MOTION: IT WAS MOVED BY COMMISSIONER PISHIONERI WITH A SECOND BY COMMISSIONER YEH TO APPROVE THE CONSENT CALENDAR Comment: Commissioner Ruffier indicated that the abbreviation for WET testing needs to be capitalized. Matt Stouder said he would make that correction. THE MOTION PASSED UNANIMOUSLY 6/0, WITH COMMISSIONER INGE EXCUSED. PUBLIC COMMENT There was no public comment. AWARD OF DESIGN CONTRACT FOR CLASS A DISINFECTION FACILITIES (P80098) Todd Miller co-presented this item with Barry Mays. Charles Wright with Kennedy/Jenks was present for any technical questions. Mr. Miller reminded the commission this item was returning from the January 2020 presentation that was tabled including Resolution 20-01. October 9, 2020 MWMC Minutes Page 2 of 10 Review Planning Trajectory of Class A Recycled Water: Mr. Miller gave an overview of the Facilities Plan from 2004, saying this plan covered a timespan from 2005 – 2025. At that point, recycled water was a key component of the MWMC’s thermal load compliance strategy for offsetting temperature, as well as other benefits recycled water would have for the community. It did recommend initiating up to one million gallons per day (MGD) Class A demonstration with the expectation of adding filtration and a new ultraviolet (UV) disinfection, with the intention for building out up to10 MGD of capacity. Staff members have been working hard to move forward with those recommendations, while keeping in mind the changes to the temperature compliance regulatory landscape and the evolution of riparian shade as an optimal compliance strategy. In 2010, the West Bank Trail Pipeline was put in. This allowed for up to 10 MGD per day, which goes from the WPCF property to the Delta Sand & Gravel property. The Tertiary Filtration - Phase 1 project was also installed, which gives up to 10 MGD of Class A filtration capacity. This enables the team to produce a starting ingredient for Class A. Mr. Miller then discussed the three- phase planning study that he manages. In 2012, an initial alternative assessment was made to take a broad look across the community, assessing where the best uses of recycled water might be. Under that process Delta Sand and Gravel was confirmed as an ideal partner, because of both proximity and volume of use. An alternative evaluation and feasibility study was also made to evaluate recycled water use vs. riparian shade, for cost benefit for near term thermal load compliance. A recommendation was made that folded into the 2014 facilities plan update, looking primarily at shade credits and the Pure Water Partners program. This is the premier means for thermal load compliance. Phase 3 has been ongoing in developing a strategy for implementation, resulting in this blueprint for Class A conceptual design, which was presented in January. Demonstration Values: Mr. Miller discussed how to build out a successful recycled water program that would go outside the fence line, and into the community. He stated the purpose of recycled water demonstration is not to prove that the technology is feasible, but to develop awareness, comfort, and general value and acceptance. This is important across the operators, users, community partners, general public and regulators that facilitate permitting. The goal is to build widespread regard that MWMC recycled water is safe, reliable, consistent, and trusted. The chosen demonstration projects are also strategic because they are flexible and can revert to their traditional water sources as needed, if there are any adjustments or downtime in program startup. The initial uses are non-regulatory and will not be tied into the thermal load compliance, so there is no jeopardy for permit compliance if adjustments need to be made. Mr. Miller said this plan is very growth oriented, where it starts out as street tree watering and leads into full parks irrigation. In addition, the sand and gravel partners start out as equipment washing and lead into full scale aggregate processing. Drivers for Recycled Water: There are many internal and external drivers for recycled water use. In 2005, an executive order from the governor made the declaration to promote and support water reuse across the state agencies. In 2017, the Oregon Integrated Water Resources Strategy identified water reuse and encouraged additional water reuse as part of the state’s portfolio. In 2020, Oregon’s 100-year Water Vision emphasized community focus on conservation and reuse. On a federal level, the 2012 EPA guidance document was designed to facilitate the permitting of water reuse. In this past year, the National Water Reuse Action Plan was a collaborative document made among federal agencies and national associations, blazing the roadmap to enhance policy, collaboration, science, and to better advance reuse nationwide. Locally, EWEB has their conservation and reuse goals as part of their water rights compliance strategy. This is all guided internally by the MWMC strategic pillars. October 9, 2020 MWMC Minutes Page 3 of 10 Conceptual Layout: Mr. Miller said Kennedy/Jenks has evaluated what’s needed to produce reliable and consistent reused water, which is the conceptual layout of the purple pipe. This plan would be adding to the existing filters, the gallery of UV disinfection going to storage, which is dual purposing of the high rate HRCCB. This plan creates nearly a million gallons of storage capacity. A footprint set aside for future storage facilities is included in design considerations. The final project elements are pump station and distribution piping connecting to Delta Sand and Gravel, and allowing the parks personnel to fill up their watering trucks. He explained the layout of the truck fill station, and said it includes a card reader or keypad to monitor use. Key Questions for Approval: Mr. Miller recapped the key questions from the commission, involving the tabling of Resolution 20-01 in January. 1.What do we know about our partner’s commitment? If we build it, will they come? 2.What are the opportunities for growth? 3.How does recycled water fit in with the temperature compliance? What is the cost-benefit of that? 4.How the permitting process is unfolding, and is that anticipated and covered under the Kennedy/Jenks scope of work? 5.Have we looked at any outside funding, and grant funding to help with the project? 6.Can we scale this project back or design it into phases to reduce the initial capital outlay? Re-Assessment Approach: Mr. Miller is leading the planning program for thermal load compliance and the recycle water demonstration implementation, and will deal with any questions regarding permitting, implementation and strategy. Mr. Mays is leading the design and construction elements. Update on Partnerships: Formal written letters on intent were obtained from the three key partners, which are Delta Sand and Gravel, Knife River, and Eugene Parks and Open Space. These letters of commitment would help for grant applications, or other representation of partnership commitment. They also would underscore the importance to these partners that MWMC’s Class A recycled water development, in meeting their needs, is valued and recognized. Update on Potential Demand: The Class A disinfection facility is initially designed for 650,000 GPD, with a capacity to increase. What is the potential for growth beyond the initial design? The Delta Sand and Gravel and Knife River facility would be a big benefactor to that growth, along with Parks & Open Space (Washington Jefferson Park), industrial wood products energy production, and the fire training facility. If all those companies use the facility, it would mean having a total 3.6 MGD of recycled water use. Update on New User Demand: Beyond the currently identified growth opportunities, there is interest in the community expressed from previous stakeholder interviews. Staff is currently launching new website information and beginning outreach to engage community stakeholders. This would launch a recycled water advisory network and community-led expansion of future recycled water uses, and lead to the community and stakeholders informing us where recycled water would best be used in the community and for development. Update on Thermal Load Context: For every gallon not discharged into the river, it is an amount of thermal load kept out of the river. This means recycled water diversion remains a strategic option in the long-term. Demonstration projects are an initial investment in future opportunity, where doubling the capacity and securing grant funding can improve the overall cost-benefit. In the near term, riparian shade is projected to be the best compliance measure. In the long term, as significant shade project October 9, 2020 MWMC Minutes Page 4 of 10 opportunities decrease, costs increases are likely to increase. Seasonally, shade ineffectiveness can be complemented by recycled water effectiveness. In the future, shade credits could get more expensive, where recycled water projects could get less expensive. Update on Permitting: Permitting is covered under the Kennedy/Jenks contract. Mr. Miller anticipates most of the permitting will be handled in-house by staff. Discussions have already been made with DEQ staff. With the NPDES permit renewal slated officially for 2021, he expects there is good alignment of developing an updated recycled water use plan. Update on Funding: After consulting with regional and national partners, Mr. Miller came to the conclusion there is good alignment with both federal and state sources of funding. Neither is guaranteed, but the alignment is good for up to 25% of the costs thru federal and up to 75% of project costs thru state grant programs. Even though this adds up to 100% he does not envision getting all 100%, because of the heavy competition for grant money. Aiming for 50% of the total design and project cost would be more reasonable, while supplementing that with the clean water state revolving fund loan programs, and work with DEQ with any particular incentives that enhance the program. Concerning the federal program, the deadline for submitting the grant is September 2021, for the funding in 2022. This does align nicely with the construction schedule and is also retroactive. The state program would be next spring in order to get 2022 funding. Additionally the CWSRF loan application is a 4-month rolling cycle. Todd Miller handed off the presentation to Barry Mays for the remaining items. Mr. Mays asked the commissioners if they preferred to ask any questions about Mr. Miller’s presentation now, or wait until his portion was done. Commissioner Farr stated he would like to wait until the end of his presentation. Project Re-Evaluation: In January of 2020 the commission requested an evaluation of the scope and cost of the project design and construction. Mr. Mays and Mr. Miller both went back to Kennedy/Jenks and did exactly this. They started evaluating the bigger portions of the project, which are the disinfection system and the storage system. Some alternatives they found were sodium hypochlorite for a disinfectant. They also looked closer at the UV disinfection system. The most efficient way of disinfectant was the UV disinfection system. Looking more in depth at the storage system, existing CCD, existing HRCCB and dedicated storage tank, it was concluded the most cost efficient plan was to use the existing HRCCB. After this evaluation, they decided to reduce the project size. This meant reducing the production of Class A water to .65 MGD, meeting the demonstration needs and design for future expansion. Re-Evaluation Results: Mr. Mays discussed the plan to reduce production of Class A water to .65 MGD to meet demonstration needs, and making a system expandable to 1.3 MGD for future needs. This would include providing a .65 UV disinfection system, expandable to 1.3 MGD and use the HRCCB for water storage. Charlies Wright added that originally they sized the UV disinfection system for 3 MGD, which was essentially required because of the minimum capacity of the existing filters. To be able to see this reduction and closer alignment with the actual maximum of .65 MGD, would require some improvement to the filters. Now included in this project is the addition of two small filters feed pumps, allowing that reduction in capacity through the existing filters. Construction Cost Estimate: The scope of construction is essentially the same as it was in January, it’s only been reduced. Site work and yard piping’s are the same, yet the UV disinfection has been reduced with the future expansion of 1.3 MGD. The HRCCB is being modified, and there will be new tertiary pumps for a more even flow. This allows the larger pumps to switch on less often, so they don’t wear October 9, 2020 MWMC Minutes Page 5 of 10 out as fast. The recycle water pump station will be present, and could even be smaller now because less is pumped. The truck fill station and electrical and communications will all stay the same. After all of these changes the rough estimate for the project is $4,470,000. This amount provides a savings of around $480,000 from the original scope of work. Design Cost (Res. 20-01): Concerning the design costs, the engineering services for a .65 MGD are considerably smaller. Basically this is the same scope of work; it’s only been reduced to a smaller project. The project management stays the same, as well as the project design. Which is the 30%, 60%, 90%, and 100% design packages, cost estimating and design workshops. Other items that remain the same are bidding documents and assistance, construction services, start up, testing and commissioning. Added components are tertiary filter improvements, seismic resiliency, permitting, landscape design, additional meetings, and project inspection support. The staff has never run the tertiary filters with a chemical injection; therefore extra money has been added for a testing plan. There are seismic resiliencies that need to be done to the HRCCB during the project. Kennedy/Jenks will provide aid in the permitting, and will provide staff support. The landscape and design costs will also be included in case of any CCP permits or storm water issues. The previous project inspector is no long working on the project; therefore the project inspection support will allow the team to use Kennedy/Jenks for additional project inspections. In reevaluating the project, the contracting price for design is reduced to $1,503,813. This amount provides a savings of around $139,000 compared to the initial Resolution 20-01 submitted in January. To sum it up, the core work will be around $1,230,664 and the controlled optional $273,149. Mr. Mays concluded his presentation by asking the commissioners if they had any questions. DISCUSSION: Commissioner Farr let everyone know Commissioner Pishioneri would be leaving soon, and there would only be around 5 minutes to discuss this item. Commissioner Ruffier asked Barry Mays; By cutting the project in half from 1.3 MGD to .65 MGD, we save roughly 10% of the costs, is it possible to rescale it back up after making that initial investment? Mr. Mays said the majority of the cost is in the UV disinfectant system, and thought it would be around a half a million dollars or more to do that. Commissioner Ruffier stated it would not be double the cost of the initial investment, to double the size of the project. Mr. Mays replied, and confirmed that is correct. He added that essentially we have the infrastructure near for the filters (for the larger pumps), and the majority of the work would be adding new UV disinfectant systems. Mr. Miller said the design of the UV channel, the construction work and concrete is all very cost effective to build the capacity in now, making it modular to add the UV lamps later. Mr. Miller pointed out that would not include the additional storage. The storage currently in the HRCCB is just shy of 1 million gallons; potential Class A capacity could produce 1.3 million gallons. The full, peak-day demand of storage is a margin of safety design to ensure reliability to users – it is not necessary to have storage match the flow of the system. Commissioner Meyer expressed that $4.4 million dollars for less than 1 MGD of disinfection, does not make sense. Currently at the plant they are disinfecting 250 MGD, and $4.4 million dollars to disinfect 0.65 MGD is inconsistent with what is normally paid, even for UV disinfectant. Commissioner Meyer didn’t know why those numbers were so high. He also stated the cost of design is out of proportion. Mr. Mays let Commissioner Meyer know on the design; the core work is $1.2 million. October 9, 2020 MWMC Minutes Page 6 of 10 Staff has put in controlled options of approximately $273,000 for items that are controlled like seismic resiliency, permitting, and other optional tasks. Commissioner Meyer responded even at $1.23 million dollars, that it is still 28% of the construction costs which is very high. Commissioner Meyer wanted to know why the cost for disinfection so much higher than normal. Charles Wright said he did not have a simple answer for him. However, they have gone through and sized up the UV disinfection system, piping improvements, pumping station and new electrical building that is required. In doing that, Mr. Wright told Commissioner Meyer these are the initial estimates from gathering in all the data. Commissioner Meyer asked if the channel has enough capacity to double the number of lamps, and Mr. Wright assured him that it does. Mr. Wright also added it would basically include constructing a 24 inch channel, when initially you would only need an 18 inch channel for this initial 0.65 MGD of disinfection. Each bank would be designed to provide some additional modules to double the capacity. Mr. Miller added he has been in contact with Kennedy/Jenks and inquired on how to reduce the cost by asking the following questions. Are we over-building? Can we use the CCB for disinfection? Can we use the sodium hypochlorite on site and not adopt UV? In all those circumstances, what happened was it didn’t meet the metrics for the satisfactory design to meet Class A demonstration. The design would be actually bad money, because there would not be a guarantee of regular, consistent, and on-spec water flow. Mr. Miller stated the challenges in operational issues, and said there is no cost savings dealing with these challenges and potentially out of spec water. For the design, the reduction in flow is a very modest cost savings. The biggest benefit is it reduces the amount of O&M on the filters and operational concerns, so there was a savings in that regard. Commissioner Ruffier asked Mr. Miller if the water use for Delta Sand and Gravel was projected at 500,000 gallons per day, is there a possibility for a credit along the way, because of leaving that amount of water in the river as natural flow? Mr. Miller summed up that question by asking if he meant: can we negotiate with DEQ the certain amount of water left in the river in regards to recycled water use and can we get a thermal load credit for that? Commissioner Ruffier confirmed he had summarized the question correctly. Mr. Miller said it could be explored, it can become a policy question, and they have explored it in the past. DEQ does recognize there is a benefit there, but to quantify what that temperature benefit is would take an extensive modeling effort. In the long run, he said that it could certainly be investigated. Commissioner Ruffier thought it was important to grow it to 2.5 MGD, because that’s a sizable amount of water being left in the river. Commissioner Farr advised to do a time check in order to discuss the next resolution to be voted on. Matt Stouder announced that Commissioner Pishioneri was prepared to offer support for the next resolution, and the group could finish with the discussion of Resolution 20-01. Commissioner Pishioneri confirmed Matt’s assumption, and said he read the next item thoroughly and was very happy with it. Commissioner Keeler added to the discussion by saying he felt divided, and could relate to Commissioner Ruffier’s concerns about the project. He recommended if the project is taken on, it should be built out in the full scale and the capacity initially intended for. On the other hand, he could relate to what Commissioner Meyer said about the generally high costs per flow. Overall, Commissioner Keeler was ready to support not doing the project, or if it was taken on, building it at the larger capacity. October 9, 2020 MWMC Minutes Page 7 of 10 Matt Stouder added to the discussion and said he realizes the cost is a concern. He mentioned we are on DEQ’s permit plan for this year, and knows there are some stringent temperature requirements to meet. A fairly mature training program will be beneficial, however the impact of the fires on the McKenzie River and what options remain, are presently unclear. He did state those factors would be a part of the portfolio, and added that recycled water is a major component to temperature control. It also falls in line with the strategic plan that was just adopted, specifically with regards to building relationships in the community. Although a further analysis could be done, the timing is right for moving a project like this forward. He added it might take 1.5 years before a permit would be obtained, in addition to having compliance deadlines. Whether there is success on getting a deadline that goes beyond our 5 year permit or not, he wasn’t sure yet. Mr. Stouder didn’t think they were terribly premature in the work that is currently being done, but wanted to leave it to the commission on how to move forward. Mr. Miller added if the commission wanted to move forward with the resolution today it would be for the design, not a commitment for the construction. He also assured the commission there can be check- in points at 60% design, to evaluate what the project is looking like at that time. Meanwhile, approving this plan will allow staff to start researching and discussing the grant alignment to see if we can obtain grant funding for the construction costs. If the commission is willing to move ahead there is still time to get a 50% cost share on the construction costs, which would bring down the full price tag for the commission. Commissioner Meyer asked if we wanted to move ahead with the full 1.3 MGD, is adding lamps all we have to do, or is there other work that would need to be added to the project? Mr. Mays answered by saying it involves just adding the additional lamps. Mr. Wright confirmed this. Commissioner Meyer said they could do what Commissioner Keeler talked about earlier, and move ahead on the bases of doing the full 1.3 MGD. The only difference would be the design, because the lamps would need to be added. Charles Wright confirmed this is correct. Commissioner Ruffier asked if we move forward with the full design at 1.3 MGD; will there be any effect on the design cost at all? Charles Wright confirmed there would be no effect. Commissioner Ruffier asked if it is possible to get the full 1.3 MGD design for the same price as the .65 MGD. Mr. Wright confirmed this to be true. Commissioner Farr asked in regards to the storage capacity; we are at one million dollars moving forward with 1.3 MGD, and questioned if it would exceed those numbers at any one time? Todd Miller confirmed that information was correct and added it could exceed that total daily flow. He assured everyone that would be explained in the design phase. The value of the full storage capacity is it can give you more reserve when taking the system offline, so you can have a full 24 hours. This is a conservative design and could top out at 1.3 MGD with only having the .98 MGD storage. Charles Wright confirmed this. MOTION: IT WAS MOVED BY COMMISSIONER MEYER TO IMPROVE RESOLUTION 20-01 WITH THE CHANGES TO DESIGN THE SYSTEM FOR A FULL 1.3 MGD. COMMISSIONER KEELER SECONDED THIS MOTION. THE MOTION PASSED UNANIMOUSLY 6/0, WITH COMMISSIONER INGE ABSENT. October 9, 2020 MWMC Minutes Page 8 of 10 AMENDMENT TO 2020 MWMC PROCUREMENT RULES - DISPOSAL OF PROPERTY Brian Millington explained to the commission he adopted updates to the procurement rules. One of those rules dealt with the disposition of personal property, that being property other than real estate. More specifically, a section of the rule dealing with disposition of property valued at less than $500, or where the cost of the sale would exceed the proceeds. There is no limitation on how many times that type of disposition could happen, in the course of a year. It was previously asked by at least one commissioner that he revise the rule further to put a limitation on disposition. These limitations would include adding in the clause for once a year or upon approval by commission, to the section dealing with the disposition of that property. Mr. Millington indicated this all sums up the modification to the procurement rule, and that it is mostly a housekeeping matter. This will be adequate in a lot of instances to the extent it ever comes up, if dealing with operation and maintenance property under the operation maintenance and administrative services agreement. Those dispositions would be handled under the Eugene rule, which is very similar to this rule. However, the MWMC property will be addressed by this rule. MOTION: IT WAS MOVED BY COMMISSIONER RUFFIER AND SECONDED BY COMMISSIONER YEH, WITH NO DISCUSSION TO THE MOTION. RESOLUTION 20-13 PASSED UNANIMOUSLY 5/0, WITH COMMISSIONER PISHIONERI AND COMMISSIONER INGE EXCUSED. FY2019-20 ANNUAL FINANCIAL SUMMARY, BUDGET RECONCILIATION: Valerie Warner, the MWMC Accountant talked about the budget to actual results, and the adjustments to 2021 budget previously discussed in detail last month. Ms. Warner referred to the two attachments, memos and slides she would be using, along with the many percentages shown in the documents. She informed the commissioners they might see percentages that do not match or add up, because these discrepancies are from the category of items. For example Capital Revenue shows 2% over budget, and there are components of Capital Revenue that are way over or under budget. Capital Interest is 131% over, which is from giving the percent of the item or category that is being talked about. She informed the commissioners to stop her in the presentation, if the information gets confusing. Budget to Actual: This subject was discussed first, along with some highlights from the FY20 Operations results. Overall operating revenue came in very close to budget, with an overall variance of .13 of 1%. User fees are within budget by .74 of 1%, which is a component of the .13. User fees, which are close to $35 million dollars, were $252,000 below the budget. Operating revenues incidentally include COVID relief funds for both cities. The City of Springfield will obtain $22,000 and the City of Eugene will obtain around $3,500. This money would be used as a reimbursement for the time spent by management or other staff members serving in the EOC’s. Operating costs overall were under budget by 4.18%. The breakdown is very similar to last year regarding the personal service savings due to vacancies, materials of services savings in Springfield, in the categories of attorney fees and litigation. Contributing to that is the small home SDC subsidy, insurance costs and contractual services. On the Eugene side, they also had personal service savings due to vacancies, materials and service savings in utilities. These savings are also similar to the previous year. There was COVID related savings due to delayed training and related travel, temp agency extra help, materials and supplies, along with tools and minor equipment. Concerning the Capital results, this year is very typical to the recent years of Capital expenses, which are under budget by 55%. Capital Revenue is over budget by 2.06%, which is the overall amount. This includes the transfers for operations and interest, which is 130% over budget. October 9, 2020 MWMC Minutes Page 9 of 10 Operating – Estimated vs. Actual: This information was identical to the presentation last month, and shows the operating results were $497,000 under budget. An adjustment was made to the beginning cash of FY2020-21, this balanced out by reducing the transfer to capital by $562,000, and then carrying over the $65,000 for the small homes subsidy. As mentioned last month, that is the original $100,000 which was appropriated in 2019, less the amount used in 2020, giving the remaining amount of $65,000. Capital – Estimated vs. Actual: Also identical to the discussion last month, the Capital reserve came in $5 million dollars over. To create this amount, $3.4 million was distributed for Capital projects, and other carry overs for major rehab. Capital outlay and equipment replacement had new appropriation, as well as reducing the transfer from the operating funds. Altogether, it created the $74,000 reduction to the overall ending capital reserve. Reserve Balances: Ms. Warner explained the reserve balances for the last two years. In which the total overall reserve fluctuated between $80 and $90 million. The balance has gone down in the years where the early debt payoffs were done, but have also gone up in some years from underspending capital and over collecting on interest. In many years, an over collection of SDC’s has also happened. Ms. Warner concluded her presentation by displaying a spaghetti diagram. This diagram is used to give a picture of the different resources and reserves, and how they are used to support operating capital. The pink boxes represent the operating activities and the blue boxes represent the capital activities. Commissioner Keeler requested this spaghetti diagram be emailed to him, as well as everyone on the commission. . DISCUSSION: Commissioner Ruffier questioned the Statement of Revenue and expenses that were attached, and wanted clarification on the column under “current” as to what it stands for. Ms. Warner explained this is the month of June, along with any adjustments that were made. For instance, it contains accruals for the end of the year. Commissioner Ruffier thought from a year end standpoint, the column was unnecessary. Ms. Warner agreed and said she would make the changes. Commissioner Meyer questioned the user fees revenue, which showed $700,000 under. He explained looking at the attachments; it shows a difference much less than that number. Whereas, looking at the statement of revenue and expenses ending June 30th, the user fees were within $100,000. He wanted to know why the information was portrayed that way. Ms. Warner explained to him this meeting talked about the budget to actual difference, and the estimated to actual difference. This budget was put together for FY2019-20, and was set around $347,520. The budget was also made up around January 2020, and in December of 2020 (6 months into the year) this is evaluated again. In the new evaluation, a different number is established and used to estimate the carryover for FY2020-21. She added that being off on the budget is informational, but being off on the estimated actual means a new revision needs to happen for the FY2020-21 budget. Therefore, the $747,000 is the difference between the actual result and the estimate prepared around December 2019 or January 2020. Mr. Stouder asked if it is fair to say between the times we estimated and the current slide, there were COVID impacts. He also mentioned it was determined by the commissioners to not do a rate increase. Ms. Warner informed everyone the rate increase does not impact this number, and the number is not far under given the starting point of $35 million. Mr. Stouder mentioned the rate increase might show up next year. Ms. Warner thought next years budged does reflect our knowledge of not doing a rate increase. She then confirmed with Commissioner Farr that no further action was necessary, because it is a discussion only topic. October 9, 2020 MWMC Minutes Page 10 of 10 BUSINESS FROM COMMISSION, GENERAL MANAGER, & WASTEWATER DIRECTOR: Matt Stouder presented two items. He stated MWMC is on the permit plan this year with DEQ. They expect to begin working on a permit in the 4th quarter of FY2020-21, and most likely will not have a permit until 2022. Currently there are 51 permit holders for this year, these permits are issued for 5 years, and MWMC is 49th on the list. Even with 51 permit holders, MWMC’s permit will probably take 75% of the effort of all the permit holders. He added lots of small permit holders are not necessarily municipal or government. Mr. Stouder indicated this is good news from his perspective, and that MWMC has been on an administrative extension since around 2006. The second item discussed was the decision making process in coordination with communication staff about the holiday farm fire, and how COVID has affected the schools. He mentioned there was a decision to move the virtual Clean Water University to winter term instead of fall term. This was because the communications schedule for the university happened the same time as the fire. With the risk of lower participation, the decision was based on the comfort level of teachers and students. In the next month, more information on this will be sent out to everyone. Commissioner Farr had concerns regarding the Holiday Farm Fire, and stated the solid waste disposal is being severely challenged by the hazardous material. He presumed there would be no impact in the MWMC operations. Matt Stouder was not aware of any impact from the hauled waste, and said there have not been any special requests. Dave Breitenstein informed the commissioners he did not have any additional information and has not received any special requests. David Breitenstein presented two items. The first item pertained to the COVID wastewater sampling. He mentioned they have initiated participation on the OHSU OHA study, and have been sampling the last four weeks. He has sent in a weekly sample to OHSU. The idea behind the study is to acquire data about the onset duration and termination of COVID outbreaks. The plan is to have that data be available along with other information collected, for instance caseloads and hospitalization rates to assist in important decision making. He said they are very interested in their own results, but have not received the results back, even though an inquiry was made about obtaining this information. He was told OHA is creating a dashboard of the results, which will be available online once the dashboard is completed, and are expected anytime. Mr. Breitenstein told the commissioners he would email them the information, once the results were available. The second item discussed pertained to the Laboratory. Each year EPA requires all major dischargers to undergo a discharge monitoring report and quality assurance study. This study insures all laboratories are capable of performing accurate and reliable self-monitoring. The process includes EPA sending over 40 blind samples of many different antilights that the labs test for. The score this year was 100%, which has been the same now for three consecutive years. Commissioner Ruffier had a question regarding the waste water COVID testing. He wondered with Corvallis and OSU in the news lately, if anyone has received any direct inquiries through social media about our status from the public. Matt Stouder did not know of any inquires made, but was going to double check with staff. David Breitenstein also stated he has not heard of any inquiries from the public in Eugene. Commissioner Keeler wanted to congratulate the lab and thank David Breitenstein for sharing his presentation. He mentioned over 120 separate analyses were done in a three year span, and coming in perfectly within that range is a great accomplishment. Commissioner Farr adjourned the meeting at 9:00am DATE: November 5, 2020 TO: Metropolitan Wastewater Management Commission (MWMC) FROM: Mark Van Eeckhout, Civil Engineer SUBJECT: Commodity RNG Sale NAESB – (North American Energy Standards Board) ACTION REQUESTED: Approve Resolution 20-14 ISSUE Staff requests the Commission, by motion, approve Resolution 20-14 (Attachment 1). Resolution 20- 14 allows for the negotiation and execution of an agreement for the sale of the commodity portion of the Renewable Natural Gas (RNG) also known as “brown gas” from the MWMC’s facilities to Northwest Natural Gas (NWN) as sole source procurement at an annually adjusted contract price. BACKGROUND As part of the Commission’s goal to reduce/eliminate gas flaring at the Water Pollution Control Facility (WPCF) staff has been executing the RNG Upgrades Project. Progress on this project continues with an expected completion date in spring 2021. In addition to the environmental benefit of the reduction/elimination of gas flaring, there is an anticipated revenue side to the project for the MWMC. The revenue from the sale of MWMC created RNG will be realized from three different categories. These include: 1.Environmental Attribute Credits from the Federal Renewable Fuel Standards Program – (RIN – Renewable Identification Number) 2.Environmental Attribute Credits form the Low Carbon Fuel Standards (LCFS) currently in Oregon and California 3.Commodity sale of Renewable Natural Gas into the natural gas market “brown gas” Pursuant to the “Offtaker Services” Resolution 19-15 (Attachment 2) approved in October of 2019, an agreement has been reached with BlueSource LLC for the sale and marketing of categories 1 & 2 above. Regarding category 3, it has always been anticipated that the MWMC would sell the commodity brown gas to NWN as a partner to this unique project. Memo: Commodity RNG Sale NAESB November 5, 2020 Page 2 of 2 DISCUSSION In the oil and gas industry, sale of gas commonly occurs via a standard contract commonly referred to as the NAESB contract, which is produced by the North American Energy Standards Board (NAESB). With the intent to facilitate the sale of the commodity gas to NWN, staff and MWMC legal have been working with NWN to draft this contract and ensure there is not conflicting language with MWMC standard terms. Additionally, staff has drafted the contract to have the same time limits as the existing contract with BlueSource. The benefit of having the same time limit is that the MWMC will be able to package the sale of the three categories together in the future if so desired. The price for the sale of the gas in the contract will be set yearly by taking a weighted average of delivered costs of gas purchased by NWN during the twelve previous months, ending in June. The new rate will then be set beginning in November and ending in October every year. The current rate quoted by NWN is $3.06/Dth. The project currently anticipates the production of approximately 100,000 Dth/year, although this number may vary significantly due to several factors beyond the control of the MWMC or NWN. This would result in approximately $300,000 in revenue annually due to the sale of the brown gas from the project. ACTION REQUESTED Staff requests that the Commission, by motion, approve Resolution 20-14 (Attachment 1) authorizing the MWMC Executive Officer to execute a sole source contract for the sale of the commodity portion of the Renewable Natural Gas “brown gas” as part of the RNG Upgrades Project P80095 with Northwest Natural Gas Company. ATTACHMENTS 1.Resolution 20-14 RNG “Brown Gas” Sole Source 2.Resolution 19-15 RNG Offtake Services METROPOLITAN WASTEWATER MANAGEMENT COMMISSION RESOLUTION 20-14 ) IN THE MATTER OF AWARDING A CONTRACT ) FOR THE SALE OF GOODS WITHOUT COMPETITION ) AND THROUGH A SOLE-SOURCE PROCUREMENT WHEREAS, the Oregon Revised Statutes and the MWMC Procurement Rules require that all “public contracts” for goods and/or services be based upon competitive bids or proposals, unless an exception applies. WHEREAS, the Public Contracting Code defines a “public contract,” in pertinent part, as a “sale or other disposal by a contracting agency of personal property.” WHEREAS, an exception to the requirement for competitive bids or proposals is permitted when the goods or services are “available only from one source.” Sole-source procurement must be justified by “findings” pursuant to Oregon law. The following are those “findings.” WHEREAS, the goods are for use in a pilot or experimental project. MWMC has previously entered into a series of contracts regarding the Renewal Natural Gas (RNG) Upgrades Project P80095 at the Water Pollution Control Facility. As a part of this project, the MWMC will produce RNG. Associated environmental credits will be sold pursuant to the contract authorized under Resolution No. 19-15, leaving the physical gas (“brown gas”) which the MWMC desires to sell to Northwest Natural Gas Company. Northwest Natural Gas Company is a partner to the MWMC for the associated Interconnection Agreement and the design and construction of the Receipt Point Facilities. NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED BY THE METROPOLITAN WASTEWATER MANAGEMENT COMMISSION THAT: 1. The specific “findings of fact” set forth above are hereby adopted; 2. The “findings” show that award of the contract without competition and through a sole-source procurement complies with the requirements of Oregon law, and the MWMC Procurement Rules, for sole-source procurements; 3. Once any protest period has passed and no protests being received and/or such protests being resolved in accordance with MWMC Rule 137-047-0275, the duly authorized Executive Officer of the MWMC, or his designee, is hereby authorized to: (a) negotiate and execute an agreement for the sale of brown gas from the MWMC’s facilities at an annually adjusted contract price for a contract term of six (6) years starting November 1, 2020; and (b) as needed, execute amendments to the agreement. ADOPTED BY THE METROPOLITAN WASTEWATER MANAGEMENT COMMISSION OF THE SPRINGFIELD/EUGENE METROPOLITAN AREA ON THE 13th DAY OF NOVEMBER, 2020. __________________________________________ Pat Farr, MWMC President Approved as to form: ________________________ Kristin Denmark, MWMC Legal Counsel Attest: ____________________________________ Josi Brennan, MWMC Secretary M E M O R A N D U M DATE: November 5, 2020 TO: Metropolitan Wastewater Management Commission (MWMC) FROM: Brian Conlon, Springfield Operations Division Director Rob Hallett, Eugene PW Sub-Surface Operations Manager Adam May, Springfield Operations Division Associate Manager Jennah Maier, Associate Engineering Technician SUBJECT: 2020 Capacity Management, Operations & Maintenance (CMOM) Update ACTION REQUESTED: Informational and Discussion ISSUE Over the last several years, the cities of Eugene and Springfield have collaborated to develop and implement local Capacity, Management, Operations and Maintenance (CMOM) plans. At the November 13, 2020 MWMC meeting, staff from the two cities will provide a status update on activities and elements contained within their CMOM plans. BACKGROUND CMOM is an industry standard asset management tool that guides fundamental program elements that support sustainable and responsible management of the cities’ wastewater collection systems. The cities of Eugene and Springfield each own and operate their respective public wastewater collection and conveyance systems. Wastewater from Springfield and Eugene is combined and treated in regional facilities owned and operated by the MWMC in accordance with regulatory requirements described in the National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System (NPDES) permit jointly held by the MWMC and the two cities. In addition to water quality limits and treatment requirements, the NPDES permit contains standard federal permit conditions related to Sanitary Sewer Overflows (SSOs) that apply to all portions of the collection system for which the permit holder has ownership and/or operational control. These provisions include establishing “Duty to Mitigate”, requirements for proper operation and maintenance of the collection system, noncompliance reporting, and recordkeeping. Collectively, these requirements result in an NPDES permit obligation for each city to: Eliminate avoidable Sanitary Sewer Overflows Have a program in place to identify and reduce inflow and infiltration (I/I) into the collection system. Memo: 2020 Capacity Management, Operations & Maintenance (CMOM) Update November 5, 2020 Page 2 of 3 Beginning in 2011, staff from Eugene and Springfield discussed CMOM as a strategy that each city could use to identify future wastewater collection system rehabilitation and repair projects. In 2014, regional wastewater program staff worked with the Commission to develop a CMOM Framework Document that outlined the Commission’s expectations of the essential elements to be addressed in a CMOM program approach. In addition to the framework document, Eugene and Springfield performed CMOM gap analyses using the US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) CMOM Checklist as a guidance tool. Since 2015, Eugene and Springfield have co-presented annually to the MWMC on their respective CMOM programs. The program’s outline five core areas to direct program improvement strategies: these include Planning, Design, Construction, Operation and Maintenance, and System Monitoring and Assessment. Although the cities’ CMOM plans differ in outline form, both embrace the adaptive planning approach with the same general objective of achieving effective conveyance management, with an over-arching goal of SSO prevention. DISCUSSION Eugene and Springfield Public Works staff have established a strong record of proactive maintenance, operations and oversight of their wastewater collection systems. Both cities have dedicated substantial and necessary resources to maintain over 900 combined miles of publicly owned sewer pipe. The cities employ key preventive maintenance and rehabilitation strategies that have paid dividends toward mitigating SSO frequency and reduction of pipe I/I. Strategic operational activities are also implemented, which accurately identify areas within the collection system (manholes, mains, laterals) that have high I/I occurrence for targeted Capital Improvement Projects and in-house isolated rehabilitation. Below are some of the vital work processes that the cities undertake: Pipe Flow Monitoring and Capital Rehabilitation Project Planning Pipe flow monitoring is an effective analytical tool to evaluate system performance and hydraulic modeling characteristics. Flow monitors measure the amount of wastewater passing a particular manhole over time. Eugene currently deploys a fleet of 51 flow monitors. Also, Eugene continues to improve a calibrated hydraulic model that was created in 2016 using flow data collected since 2013. Springfield currently deploys a fleet of 14 flow monitors. The data and models are used in multiple ways: tracking down the sources of I/I in the collection system, measuring the effectiveness of rehab projects, and to help quantify the impact of I/I from private laterals. Developing an effective flow monitoring program is central to finding and reducing system I/I. Paired with rain data from rain gauges throughout the cities, flow data reveals which monitored areas are experiencing the most inflow and infiltration. When a monitored area of the wastewater system shows significant amounts of I/I, it is added to a list of potential rehab projects. This prioritized list is used to select the next rehab project. In this way, Eugene can eliminate the most I/I per dollar spent on rehab. Springfield’s program is moving in the same direction and will prioritize their system rehabilitation decisions based on their collection system data and hydraulic modeling. Springfield is actively monitoring their second micro basin, currently in the Thurston area, as a means to identify potential rehabilitation projects. In addition, in early 2021 Springfield also plans to begin the update to the City’s Wastewater Master Plan which was last updated and adopted in 2008. Memo: 2020 Capacity Management, Operations & Maintenance (CMOM) Update November 5, 2020 Page 3 of 3 Effectiveness of Capital Rehabilitation Projects In Eugene, the most common methods of rehabilitation are cured-in-place pipe lining, manhole sealing and chemical grouting or lining of laterals. Other methods may also include pipe bursting and reconstruction. In 2020, Eugene rehabilitated approximately 9,000 feet of pipe with cured-in-place pipe lining in the Trainsong neighborhood, as well as sealed the manholes, built cleanouts, and lined the public laterals within the project areas. Springfield’s Capital Improvement Program currently utilizes information from the City’s asset management program and the Operations Division to identify key locations and basins for system rehabilitation and I/I control. Several methods of rehabilitation are utilized, with the most common being reconstruction (dig and replace), pipe bursting, and cured-in-place pipe lining. In addition, the City maintains and upgrades service laterals within the public right of way or easement, typically installing new pipes and manufactured tees or Inserta Tees to ensure tight residential connections at mainlines. Inflow and Infiltration from Private Laterals In 2019, Eugene reported that their first monitored rehab site showed that 74% of I/I was reduced by rehabbing the public side of the system. Additional data is being gathered as more rehab projects are constructed, and staff plans to report back next year, when a more robust dataset has been collected. Operations During the COVID-19 Pandemic Due to the unknown nature of COVID-19 in the sewer system, the City of Springfield has taken a proactive step in minimizing exposure to operators and field staff. Springfield has established staggered lunch break periods to minimize large gatherings and practice social distancing. Exposure to COVID-19 increases when fluids from the sewer system are released in the form of droplets or fine mist. To combat this, the use of a splash guard is required with all high velocity cleaning activities. The use of face shields, nonabsorbent clothing, and nonabsorbent boots are also recommended for use during sewer cleaning activities. To minimize personnel contact, Eugene’s Subsurface Operations team has staggered work shift start times and incorporated mask requirements. Outside of those adjustments, operations have remained consistent throughout Covid-10 pandemic. Communication and Outreach Both cities are working to be more transparent about their wastewater programs by increasing communication and available information. Eugene has created a story map explaining the basics of their wastewater rehabilitation work. Springfield is creating an educational video that shows operational activities related to CMOM. Staff will discuss in more detail at the 11/13/2020 meeting. Conclusion A successful CMOM program is dependent on cities’ staff to attain and maintain a thorough understanding of the wastewater collection system. To ensure a responsible management plan is in place for oversight of the collection system, staff is applying CMOM guidance now and into the future. Moreover, staff must invest in continual process improvement strategies that develop, share, work, and revise the plan. The cities are invested in using the CMOM framework to provide planning structure, management insight, and system design and maintenance standards to ensure that core environmental goals and regulatory compliance is met. ACTION REQUESTED Informational and Discussion M E M O R A N D U M DATE: November 5, 2020 TO: Metropolitan Wastewater Management Commission (MWMC) FROM: Destin Ranch, Industrial Source Control Inspector Emily Lane, Environmental Services Technician SUBJECT: Fats, Oils, and Grease (FOG) Food Service Program Update ACTION REQUESTED: Informational and Discussion ISSUE An important component of the MWMC’s Industrial Pretreatment Program is the Fats, Oils, and Grease (FOG) Program. FOG comes from a variety of commercial and residential sources. Staff plans to provide an update of the MWMC’s FOG program at the November 13, 2020 Commission meeting. BACKGROUND Oregon State Statutes stipulate that publicly owned treatment works which discharge more than one million gallons per day to waters of the State must implement an Industrial Pretreatment Program that meets the requirements of the Federal Code of Regulations (CFR 403). Schedule E of the MWMC’s National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System permit contains the Pretreatment Program requirements. MWMC’s Program was initially approved by the Oregon Department of Environmental Quality (DEQ) in 1983. Included in the initial Industrial Pretreatment Program was a Model Pretreatment Ordinance and technically based local discharge limitations for industrial users of the MWMC publicly owned treatment works. The 1996 Model Ordinance revision provided for the implementation of Pollution Management Practices and Pollution Prevention activities. In agreement with the DEQ, the MWMC’s Industrial Pretreatment Program maintains the Pollution Management Practices for food service establishments. This agreement allows the use of Pollution Management Practices in place of enforcing a numeric limit on the volume of food grease contained in wastewater discharges. Pollution Management Practices are designed to address and reduce discharge constituents specific to individual businesses without resorting to a Significant Industrial User designation and the subsequent issuance of individual wastewater discharge permits. Pollution Management Practices are effective with low flow commercial sources where it would be cost prohibitive to formally permit them, particularly when there are large numbers of a particular business type in an area like food service establishments. Pollution Management Practices outline specific practices and devices which, when properly implemented, will reduce or eliminate the discharge of specific contaminants into the wastewater collection system. Administration of a Pollution Management Practices program consists of the initial issuance of a general requirement letter and education material designed for individual business sectors, periodic inspections, tracking, record keeping, investigations, compliance follow-up, and enforcement. The MWMC Industrial Pretreatment Program is committed to maintaining service-oriented relationships with area businesses and strives to create flexible and cost-effective solutions which take into account the business needs of customers, while assuring the MWMC is in compliance with all applicable environmental regulations. Pollution Management Practices have proven to be a successful part of this program. DISCUSSION Over the past two years, staff has been implementing technical improvements to expand the field mobility of staff. These improvements utilize tablets and field apps to increase the efficiency of the inspection process. Engaging our internal resources, the field mobility app was developed with ease of use in mind for: mapping, tracking, scheduling inspections, data storage and sharing, as well as limiting the redundancy of paperwork. Through the implementation of field mobility, staff has the potential (once past COVID-19) to increase the amount of inspections substantially due to the reduced amount of paperwork associated with each inspection. Upon completion of each inspection, a copy of the report is automatically emailed to the owner/manager of the food service establishments and saved in our ArcGIS database. The data collected can easily be searched and compiled to gather useful information about grease hot spot areas within our cities. This helps us focus our education & outreach to the food service establishments who contribute more FOG to our collection system. The data collected so far shows that most food service establishments have very high grease loads going through very small grease control devices. With this being the case, it is very important for food service establishment’s owners to understand what the proper cleaning frequency is for their grease control devices. Our inspection app has a Grease Production Calculator, which provides a good estimate for the amount of grease the food service establishment’s is producing. Staff can provide a more realistic cleaning frequency to the food service establishment’s owner. In most cases, it is a shorter time in between cleanings than the standard three months that most food service establishment’s use. In addition to the FOG inspection app, our cities have partnered with a company called FOGQuestTM, which offers online Best Management Practice training courses for food service establishments. This partnership allows every food service establishment’s within our city limits to access the online training program free of charge. This online program provides easy to follow guidelines for their staff to follow and aids in reducing the amount of FOG going down their drains. The training also includes an online test that reinforces understanding of Best Management Practices, which are a part of our cities General Requirements. ACTION REQUESTED Informational and Discussion