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HomeMy WebLinkAbout10 ADOPT RESOLUTION NO. 22-06 AUTHORIZING SUBMITTAL OF A NOI TO COMPLY WITH SB 1383DocuSign Envelope ID: CAC4A696-58C1-404C-9BOD-A2B5CB7177CA Agenda Item AGENDA REPORT Reviewed: 60 10 Ds City Manager El -- Finance Director N/A MEETING DATE: FEBRUARY 15, 2022 TO: MATTHEW S. WEST, CITY MANAGER FROM: DOUGLAS S. STACK, DIRECTOR OF PUBLIC WORKS/CITY ENGINEER SUBJECT: ADOPT RESOLUTION 22-06 AUTHORIZING SUBMITTAL OF A NOTIFICATION OF INTENT TO COMPLY WITH THE SB 1383 REGULATIONS PURSUANT TO SENATE BILL 619 SUMMARY Senate Bill 1383 (SB 1383) was signed into law in September 2016 setting statewide methane reduction targets, although regulations were not finalized until November 2020. The targets include requirements to reduce organic waste sent to landfills and rescue edible food. These requirements were effective on January 1, 2022. In light of the challenges facing local jurisdictions due to the COVID-19 pandemic, Senate Bill 619 (SB 619) was signed into law allowing local jurisdictions relief from civil penalties for calendar year 2022. RECOMMENDATION That the City Council adopt Resolution 22-06 authorizing the submittal of a Notification of Intent to Comply with Senate Bill 1383 to the California Department of Resources Recycling and Recovery (CalRecycle), pursuant to Senate Bill 619. FISCAL IMPACT Under the SB 1383 regulations, if a local jurisdiction fails to adopt enforceable mechanisms (ordinances, contract agreements, etc.) to implement the SB 1383 regulations by January 1, 2022, CalRecycle can impose administrative civil penalties against the jurisdiction. Penalties vary based on the severity of the violation and can range from $500 to $10,000 per violation per day. The recommended action must be approved in order for CalRecycle to provide relief from these potential penalties at least through calendar year 2022. Additional relief in 2023 may be possible at the discretion of CalRecycle. CORRELATION TO THE STRATEGIC PLAN This item contributes to the fulfillment of the City's Strategic Plan, Goal D: Strong Community and Regional Relationships, Strategy #2, by working collaboratively with other agencies to address issues of mutual interest and concern. DISCUSSION/BACKGROUND SB 619 creates a process for jurisdictions to apply for a sort of "safe harbor" if they anticipate they will not fully comply beginning January 1, 2022. The statute gives jurisdictions more time to locally implement the SB 1383 regulations before fines may be imposed. DocuSign Envelope ID: CAC4A696-58C1-404C-9BOD-A2B5CB7177CA CalRecycle Resolution 22-06 February 15, 2022 Page 2 SB 1383 requires cities to implement the following actions by January 1, 2022: 1. Adopt a mandatory recycling ordinance (Tustin ordinance effective January 7, 2022); 2. Provide new organics recycling services to all residential, multi -family properties, and commercial businesses (all required programs available to the Tustin community on July 1, 2021); 3. Track edible food recovery efforts in the community (outreach efforts began in December 2021); 4. Purchase organic materials and recycled content paper products (ongoing); and 5. Establish compliance, enforcement, education, and reporting programs (ongoing). City implementation of these items is well underway, but not fully implemented. Pursuant to SB 619, the City can seek relief from civil penalties by approving Resolution No. 22-06 and submitting the Notification of Intent to Comply (NOIC) by March 1, 2022. The NOIC describes the SB 1383 regulatory items that are delayed, the reason for the delay, and an action plan to ensure compliance. Specifically, the NOIC focuses on implementation of multifamily organics programs. Multifamily properties are historically the most challenging properties to implement recycling programs at. Challenges include connecting with decisions makers in person or by phone, limited space for additional containers, and providing resident education in multiple languages. For these reasons, implementing any type of recycling program at multifamily complexes takes a substantial amount of time and resources. As with many industries, CR&R had to change some of its operating procedures during the COVID- 19 pandemic. At the beginning of the pandemic and then during periods of high transmission, CR&Rs recycling coordinators conducted outreach by phone to limit potential exposure to the virus. In person site visits result in program implementation at a higher rate than conducting outreach over the phone. This was then compounded by difficulty recruiting new recycling coordinators and the loss of a key staff. Currently, CR&R has two (2) full time staff dedicated to implementing recycling programs in Tustin and has been making progress in implementing recycling programs. CR&R is shifting their focus to the multifamily sector while a consultant retained by the City will focus on program implementation in the commercial sector. Staff believes this strategy will result in 100% compliant multifamily and commercial accounts. Commercial accounts are expected to be at 100% compliance this summer, which CalRecycle has indicated is sufficient and would not expect to see in the City's NOIC. Multifamily compliance of 100% is not expected until December 31, 2023 and therefore has been included in the NOIC at the recommendation of CalRecycle staff. ,6tack, P.E. Public Works/City Engineer Attachment: Resolution 22-06 DocuSign Envelope ID: CAC4A696-58C1-404C-9BOD-A2B5CB7177CA RESOLUTION NO. 22-06 A RESOLUTION OF THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF TUSTIN, CALIFORNIA, AUTHORIZING THE SUBMITTAL OF A NOTIFICATION OF INTENT TO COMPLY WITH CALRECYCLE IN COMPLIANCE WITH SB 619 WHEREAS, CalRecycle, in consultation with the California Air Resources Board, has adopted regulatory requirements (Regulations), consistent with the mandate of Senate Bill 1383 (Lara, 2016), that are designed to achieve the organic waste reduction goals established in Section 39730.6 of the Health and Safety Code through a 50 percent reduction in the level of the statewide disposal of organic waste from the 2014 level by 2020 and a 75 percent reduction in the level of the statewide disposal of organic waste from the 2014 level by 2025. WHEREAS, the City of Tustin is a local jurisdiction required to comply with the Regulations; WHEREAS, the City of Tustin is or expects to be facing continuing violations of the Regulations commencing during the 2022 calendar year; WHEREAS, Senate Bill 619 (Laird, 2021), through amendments to Section 42652.5 of the Public Resources Code (Statute), created a mechanism called a Notification of Intent to Comply through which a local jurisdiction may secure administrative civil penalty relief from any continuing violations of the Regulations for the 2022 calendar year and may be eligible for a broader and longer-term regulatory compliance path, including suspended administrative civil penalties, through a corrective action plan. WHEREAS, the City of Tustin is a local jurisdiction authorized by the Statute to submit a Notification of Intent to Comply for CalRecycle approval; WHEREAS, CalRecycle shall approve a Notification of Intent to Comply that is duly adopted by the jurisdiction by formal written resolution and meets the requirements of the Statute. NOW THEREFORE BE IT RESOLVED that the City of Tustin formally adopts the Notification of Intent to Comply attached as Exhibit A. BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the Tustin City Council hereby authorizes and directs the City Manager or his designee, on its behalf, to submit the Notification of Intent to Comply attached as Exhibit A to CalRecycle for approval pursuant to the Statute. BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that by submitting the Notification of Intent to Comply pursuant to and subject to the above referenced requirements, the City of Tustin represents and certifies that it will implement the proposed actions to remedy the violations according to the proposed schedule as approved by CalRecycle and in accordance with the Statute and Regulations. Page 1 of 2 DocuSign Envelope ID: CAC4A696-58C1-404C-9BOD-A2B5CB7177CA BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the City of Tustin by and through its City Manager also acknowledges and agrees to comply with any maximum compliance deadline in any corrective action plan that CalRecycle, in its sole discretion, determines to be necessary and appropriate under the circumstances for the correction of any violation(s) of the Statute and Regulations identified in its Notification of Intent to Comply. PASSED AND ADOPTED at a regular meeting of the City Council of the City of Tustin this 15th day of February, 2022. AUSTIN LUMBARD, Mayor ATTEST: ERICA N. YASUDA, City Clerk STATE OF CALIFORNIA ) COUNTY OF ORANGE ) SS CITY OF TUSTIN ) I, Erica N. Yasuda, City Clerk and ex -officio Clerk of the City Council of the City of Tustin, California, do hereby certify that the whole number of the members of the City Council is five; that the above and foregoing Resolution No. 22-06 was duly and regularly passed and adopted at a regular meeting of the City Council held on the 15th day of February, 2022 by the following vote: COUNCILMEMBER AYES: COUNCILMEMBER NOES; COUNCILMEMBER ABSTAINED: COUNCILMEMBER ABSENT ERICA N. YASUDA, City Clerk Page 2 of 2 DocuSign Envelope ID: CAC4A696-58C1-404C-9BOD-A2B5CB7177CA Exhibit A NOTICE OF INTENT TO COMPLY WITH SENATE BILL 1383 Jurisdiction Name: City of Tustin County: Orange Person Completing the Form: Name/Title: Stacev Cuevas. Public Works Manaaer Mailing Address: 300 Centennial Way, Tustin, CA 92780 Email Address: scuevas(a�tustinca.orq Phone Number: 714-573-3037 1. Continuing Violation: 14 CCR section 18984.1 Three -Container Organic Waste Collection Services 2. A detailed explanation of the reasons why the jurisdiction is unable to com supported by documentation, if applicable. Under a previous contract for solid waste and recycling services, Tustin commercial and multifamily customers had access to recycling programs since 2007 and organics programs since 2015. The City completed a competitive Request for Proposals process that began in 2016. Ultimately, a contract was awarded to CR&R and incorporated many of the programmatic requirements of SB 1383. The contract was effective April 1, 2019. A SB 1383 compliant residential organics program was implemented on July 1, 2021. A critical component of the contract is annual site visits by CR&R staff to every business and multifamily property for the purpose of discussing existing services and the requirement to have recycling and organics programs. CR&R recycling coordinators are required to evaluate the waste stream and create tailored proposals based on the generators needs to attain compliance with SB 1383. CR&R is required to exhaust all options before they are able to refer non-compliant accounts to the City for further action. Due to the pandemic and other factors, CR&R was unable to complete this process for all non-compliant accounts and, as a result, there was not 100% commercial and multifamily compliance on January 1, 2022. 3. A description of the impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic on compliance. Per the City's agreement, CR&R is required to have three staff members (two recycling coordinators and a city liaison) dedicated to assisting Tustin commercial and multifamily customers. The recycling coordinators are to dedicate 100% of their Page 1 of 2 DocuSign Envelope ID: CAC4A696-58C1-404C-9BOD-A2B5CB7177CA Exhibit A time to implementing recycling programs, with a focus on business and multifamily accounts. At the beginning of the pandemic, CR&R outreach activities moved from in person to by phone or email. This is not consistent with the agreement, but was permitted due to the unknowns associated with the virus. The move away from in person contact was compounded by CR&R being unable to staff all three of these positions during most of the pandemic due to the loss of the city liaison and recruiting difficulties to fill a vacant recycling coordinator position. When stay-at- home orders were announced in the spring of 2020, businesses closed and solid waste and recycling programs were stopped. Once open, many businesses were struggling and were reluctant to adjust their service to implement recycling programs. All three of the CR&R positions are currently filled and will be focusing on multifamily compliance efforts. The City has retained the services of a consultant to work with non-compliant businesses. 4. Provide a description of the proposed actions the jurisdiction will take to remedy the violations with a proposed schedule for completing each action. The proposed actions shall be tailored to remedy the violations in a timely manner. The City's consultant is dedicating three full-time staff to implementing SB 1383 programs at businesses. All recommendations of compliance via waivers will be forwarded to the City for review and approval. Anticipated completion date: September 1, 2022. CR&R is dedicating the two recycling coordinators to implementing SB 1383 programs at multifamily complexes. All recommendations of compliance via waivers will be forwarded to the City for review and approval. Anticipated completion date: December 31, 2023. I hereby certify under penalty of perjury that the information provided herein is true and correct to the best of my knowledge. JX,4� �-� Signature Public Works Manager Title Page 2 of 2 2/15/2022 Date