REPORT TO THE CITY COUNCIL
FROM: PAUL AMICO, PE, Director
Department of Public Utilities
BY: CORY ASHER, Assistant Director
Department of Public Utilities - Wastewater Management Division
KRISTINA MATTHEWS, Program Manager
Department of Public Utilities - Wastewater Management Division
SUBJECT
Title
Actions pertaining to the Sixth Amendment to the Consultant Services Agreement with Carollo Engineers, Inc., for arsenic and manganese monitoring and compliance support for the Fresno-Clovis Regional Wastewater Reclamation Facility Waste Discharge Requirements Order (Council District 3):
1. Approve the Sixth Amendment to the Consultant Services Agreement with Carollo Engineers, Inc., to extend the agreement term from December 31, 2025, to December 31, 2027, at no additional cost to the City;
2. Authorize the Director of Public Utilities, or designee, to sign the Sixth Amendment on behalf of the City.
Body
RECOMMENDATIONS
Staff recommends that City Council approve the Sixth Amendment to the Consultant Services Agreement (Agreement) with Carollo Engineers, Inc., (Consultant) to extend the Agreement term from December 31, 2025, to December 31, 2027, at no additional cost to the City, to allow continued support in responding to Central Valley Regional Water Quality Control Board comments, and authorize the Director of Public Utilities, or designee, to sign and execute all related documents on behalf of the City of Fresno (City).
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
The Department of Public Utilities (DPU) operates the Fresno-Clovis Regional Wastewater Reclamation Facility (RWRF) in accordance with Waste Discharge Requirements Order R5-2018-0080 (WDR), administered by the Central Valley Regional Water Quality Control Board (Regional Board). To comply with the WDR, the City entered into an Agreement with the Consultant to prepare required arsenic and manganese (As/Mn) workplans and reports. The Consultant has completed all required compliance activities and submitted the documents to the Regional Board for review. The Regional Board has not yet issued a final determination letter, and the Consultant is required to respond to any comments or revisions as part of the review process. The proposed Sixth Amendment extends the Agreement term from December 31, 2025, to December 31, 2027 with no additional cost, to allow for continued regulatory support. Approval will allow the City to finalize WDR compliance once the Regional Board responds.
BACKGROUND
The City owns, operates, and maintains the RWRF, and its operations are regulated under WDR Order R5-2018-0080 administered by the Regional Board. The WDR establishes effluent and groundwater quality requirements and includes a schedule for the preparation and submittal of required workplans and reports to maintain regulatory compliance.
On May 21, 2019, the City entered into a $250,000 Agreement with the Consultant to prepare workplans for the evaluation of the existing groundwater monitoring well network and an As/Mn assessment at the RWRF, as required by the WDR. As part of this effort, the Regional Board further required the City to conduct As/Mn water quality sampling of domestic and agricultural wells in the vicinity of the RWRF. On October 25, 2019, City Council approved the First Amendment to the Agreement, increasing the total fee by $49,287 and expanding the scope of services.
On April 9, 2020, City Council approved the Second Amendment to the Agreement, increasing the total fee by $690,044 and extending the term to October 29, 2021. This Amendment added Consultant support services for implementation of the As/Mn Assessment in accordance with the approved workplans, as well as preparation of the required As/Mn Report.
In accordance with the approved workplans, the City constructed additional groundwater monitoring wells to improve monitoring capabilities in the vicinity of the RWRF. On October 14, 2021, City Council approved the Third Amendment to the Agreement to expand the scope of services to include Consultant support during monitoring well construction and review of groundwater data collected from the new and existing wells. The Third Amendment utilized the remaining funds and extended the Agreement term to December 31, 2023.
City Council approved the Fourth Amendment to the Agreement on January 6, 2023, increasing the total contract amount by $111,810 for a total fee not to exceed $1,101,141. The Fourth Amendment captured additional efforts required to revise the As/Mn Report in response to WDR requirements and added services to include evaluation of water quality data and preparation of the first Annual Monitoring Report.
The Consultant has completed all required compliance activities and submitted the applicable workplans and reports to the Regional Board for review. To date, the Regional Board has not issued a final determination letter documenting compliance with the WDR. The Agreement requires the Consultant to respond to any review comments or requested revisions as part of the regulatory review process.
The proposed Sixth Amendment extends the term of the Agreement from December 31, 2025 to December 31, 2027, to allow continued Consultant support during the Regional Board’s review period. The Sixth Amendment does not increase the total contract amount and is necessary to complete the regulatory process and finalize compliance with the WDR.
The City Attorney’s Office has reviewed the Sixth Amendment to Agreement and approved as to form.
ENVIRONMENTAL FINDINGS
By the definition of the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) Guidelines Section 15378, the amending of this consultant services agreement is not a “Project” for the purposes of CEQA.
LOCAL PREFERENCE
Local preference does not apply to this action because this is an amendment to an existing consultant services agreement.
FISCAL IMPACT
There is no impact to the General Fund. Funding for the Agreement is included in the Wastewater Management Division’s Operations and Maintenance budget within the Wastewater Enterprise Fund 40501. No additional appropriations are necessary. The RWRF is located in Council District 3, however, the benefit of the services described is citywide.
Attachments:
Sixth Amendment to Agreement
Fifth Amendment to Agreement
Fourth Amendment to Agreement
Third Amendment to Agreement
Second Amendment to Agreement
First Amendment to Agreement
Consultant Services Agreement
Vicinity Map