To: Boards of Directors, Sonoma County Water Agency and Russian River County Sanitation District
Department or Agency Name(s): Sonoma County Water Agency, Russian River County Sanitation District
Staff Name and Phone Number: Joan Hultberg / 707-547-1902
Vote Requirement: 4/5th
Supervisorial District(s): Fourth and Fifth
Title:
Title
Community Power Resilience Grants
End
Recommended Action:
Recommended action
Board of Directors of the Sonoma County Water Agency:
A) Authorize Sonoma County Water Agency’s General Manager to accept Community Power Resilience Grant funds, enter into an agreement with Cal OES for the Sonoma Water Community Power Resilience Project, and take all actions necessary to implement the grant agreement.
B) Authorize the Chair to sign Cal OES form 2-104 certifying that authorizations have been given to the General Manager relative to the Sonoma Water Community Power Resilience Project.
(Fourth District)
Board of Directors of the Russian River County Sanitation District:
C) Authorize Sonoma County Water Agency’s General Manager to accept Community Power Resilience Grant funds, enter into an agreement with Cal OES for the Russian River County Sanitation District Community Power Resilience Project, and take all actions necessary to implement the grant agreement.
D) Authorize the Chair to sign Cal OES form 2-104 certifying that authorizations have been given to the General Manager relative to the Russian River County Sanitation District Community Power Resilience Project.
(Fifth District)
Boards of Directors of Sonoma County Water Agency and the Russian River County Sanitation District
E) Adopt a Resolution Authorizing Adjustments to the Sonoma County Water Agency Board Adopted Budget for Fiscal Year 2020-2021 for the Airport/Larkfield/Wikiup Sanitation Zone Operations Fund in the Amount of $36,000, for the Geyserville Sanitation Zone Operations Fund in the Amount of $41,000, and for the Russian River County Sanitation District Board Adopted Budget for Fiscal Year 2020-2021 for the Operations Fund in the Amount of $169,000 for the Community Power Resilience Grants. (4/5th Vote Required)
end
Executive Summary:
The Governor’s Office of Emergency Services (CalOES) on October 9, 2020 released the 2020-2021 Community Power Resiliency Allocation to Special Districts Program grants to support California in preparing for and responding to power outage events. The State general fund has allocated $20 million for special districts, and applicants can apply for up to $300,000 with no local match cost requirements. The deadline to apply for these funds was Friday, October 30, 2020.
Sonoma County Water Agency (Sonoma Water) and the Russian River County Sanitation District (District) have each submitted proposals to Cal OES to serve two of Sonoma Water’s sanitation zones (Airport-Larkfield-Wikiup and Geyserville) and the District for $71,000, and $160,300 respectively, to pay for portable standby generators in the event of power loss to ensure uninterrupted service to more than 4,700 sanitation customers.
This item requests that the Boards of Directors of Sonoma Water and the District each authorize the General Manager to accept grant funds, enter into separate agreements with Cal OES for the respective projects, and take all actions necessary to implement the grant agreements, and requests that the Board Chairs certify by signature that these authorizations have been granted to the General Manager by the respective governing boards. It also requests adoption of a budgetary resolution adjusting the respective Board adopted budgets for Fiscal Year 2020-2021 to reflect these additional funds.
Discussion:
Background
The purpose of the Community Power Resiliency Allocation to Special Districts Program (Program) is to support California special districts with additional preparedness measures in response to power outage events. California special districts that have an identified critical facility or facilities, or provide critical infrastructure, pursuant to the de-energization guidelines adopted by the California Public Utilities Commission are the only eligible applicants.
There is $20,000,000 of State General Fund available for the Program. Special districts may apply for up to $300,000 for the 16-month Grant Subaward performance period.
Sonoma County Water Agency (Sonoma Water) and the Russian River County Sanitation District (District) have submitted proposals in the amounts of $71,000 and $160,300, respectively, to purchase portable standby generators.
This item requests that the Boards of Directors of Sonoma Water and the District each authorize the General Manager to accept grant funds, if awarded; enter into separate agreements with Cal OES for the respective projects, and take all actions necessary to implement the grant agreements.
Sonoma Water Community Power Resilience Project: Geyserville and ALW Sanitation Zones
Sonoma Water owns, operates, and manages the Airport/Larkfield/Wikiup Sanitation Zone (ALWSZ) and the Geyserville Sanitation Zone (GVSZ). ALWSZ began operations in 1983 and provides service to a suburban, northeastern Santa Rosa community. The service area is 2,100 acres. ALWSZ serves 3,639 Equivalent Single-Family Dwellings. The Median Household Income (MHI) was $71,347 for 2014-2018 (US Census). GVSZ began operations in 1978. Geyserville is a rural community in northern Sonoma County. The service area is 177 acres. GVSZ serves 356 Equivalent Single-Family Dwellings. The MHI in 2017 was $65,328 (<http://www.city-data.com/income/income-Geyserville-California.html>).
Recurring power outages are attributed to wildfires and Public Safety Power Shutoffs (PSPS). Many significant fires have decimated the region over recent years. In 2020, the Walbridge Fire, part of the LNU Lightning Complex Fires, came within ten miles of both the ALWSZ and GVSZ (CalFIRE). In 2019, the Kincade Fire started northeast of Geyserville <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Geyserville,_California> in The Geysers <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Geysers> and burned 77,758 acres (CalFIRE). The fire threatened over 90,000 structures and caused widespread evacuations throughout the communities of Northeast Santa Rosa and Geyserville, affecting both the ALWSZ and GVSZ service areas. The fire was the largest of the 2019 California wildfire season <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2019_California_wildfires>, and also the largest wildfire recorded in Sonoma County (CalFIRE). The 2017 Tubbs Fire heavily impacted the neighborhood of Larkfield Estates in ALWSZ’s service area. In 2017, the Pocket Fire burned 17,357 acres of vegetation to the northeast of Geyserville in the State Responsibility Area (CalFIRE). Pacific Gas & Electric Company (PG&E) has implemented a program of PSPS to reduce the likelihood of PG&E equipment causing fires during high wind events. Power outages at the ALWSZ since July 1, 2019 have totaled 96 hours, and at the GVSZ the total is 180.5 hours.
The proposal to Cal OES requests $33,000 for ALWSZ and $38,000 for GVSZ, for a total amount of $71,000 to obtain portable standby generators and associated cabling at both sites, neither of which currently have a dedicated backup generator. Sonoma Water will purchase and install one towable portable standby generator and cabling for the ALWSZ lift station (35kW) and one towable portable standby generator and cabling for the GVSZ treatment plant (45 kW). Tasks necessary to complete the project include: 1) Design Specification and Permitting, and 2) Installation and Setup. The portable generators will be stored at the treatment plants when not in use.
Russian River County Sanitation District Community Power Resilience Project
The District is located in western Sonoma County, California, and serves communities located along the Russian River. The District consists of a wastewater treatment plant, which is located next to the town of Guerneville, and 11 wastewater lift stations located around Guerneville and other nearby communities. The District treats wastewater from approximately 3,200 equivalent single-family dwellings. The service area has been identified as a Disadvantaged Community with a median household income under 80% of the State’s average. This region the most economically disadvantaged area in Sonoma County.
Due to the topography of the District, there is no gravity flow of wastewater to the wastewater treatment plant. Any mechanical or electrical system failure at a lift station presents a high risk of a sanitary sewer overflow, which results in significant public health and safety risks. Several lift stations presently lack a dedicated electrical utility service or dedicated standby generator.
Recurring power outages are attributed to wildfires, PSPS, or floods. Pacific Gas & Electric Company has implemented a program of PSPS events to reduce the likelihood of its equipment causing fires during high wind events. In addition, the District is subject to devastating flooding, most recently in 2019, which also results in power loss. Power outages at the District due to PSPS events since 7/1/2019 have totaled 129 hours. Power outages due to the winter 2019 flood events lasted approximately 144 hours.
The $160,300 in requested grant funds will be used to procure and test three towable portable standby generators and associated cables to prepare for electric disruption. Funds will support three standby generators to be located at three District lift stations: 1) Guernewood Park Lift Station (35kW); 2) Guerneville Lift Station (120kW); and 3) Beanwood Lift Station (35kW). Tasks include: 1) Design Specification and Permitting, and 2) Installation and Setup. The portable generators will be stored at the treatment plant when not in use.
Recommendations and Next Steps
Staff recommends your respective boards authorize the General Manager to enter into grant agreements with Cal OES for these two grant projects and adopt the respective budget resolution. Standby power generators for the sanitation zones and District will be an important step forward for ensuring continued operation of sanitation services during PSPS or disasters. Because the Community Power Resilience grant program does not require local match funds, it is a particularly beneficial program during the financial constraints induced by the COVID-19 pandemic.
If the grants are awarded, the generators will be procured through a federally compliant bid process, conducted by the County Purchasing department. Documents submitted with the application (Cal OES Form 2-104 Certificate of Assurance of Compliance) required that the applicant have prior Board authority to enter into agreements if awarded. Sonoma Water would need to produce these documents upon notice of award.
Prior Board Actions:
None
Fiscal Summary
|
Expenditures |
FY 20-21 Adopted |
FY21-22 Projected |
FY 22-23 Projected |
|
Budgeted Expenses |
|
$20,000 |
|
|
Additional Appropriation Requested |
$246,000 |
|
|
|
Total Expenditures |
$246,000 |
$20,000 |
|
|
Funding Sources |
|
|
|
|
General Fund/WA GF |
|
|
|
|
State/Federal |
$231,300 |
|
|
|
Fees/Other |
|
$20,000 |
|
|
Use of Fund Balance |
$14,700 |
|
|
|
Contingencies |
|
|
|
|
Total Sources |
$246,000 |
$20,000 |
|
Narrative Explanation of Fiscal Impacts:
With approval of the Boards of Sonoma Water and the District, additional appropriations of $36,000 for ALWSZ, $41,000 for GVSZ, and $169,000 for the District will be made in their respective operations funds, with offsetting grant revenue of $33,000, $38,000, and $160,300, respectively. Additional appropriations represent fully loaded staff costs. In each case, the ending fund balance will be below target fund balance but would be impacted even further without the availability of grant revenue for the proposed projects. ALWSZ, GVSZ, and the District expect that the proposed projects will reduce planned and corrective maintenance over time. Management will monitor fund balance during the fiscal year and will provide revenue from the Sonoma Water General Fund if needed.
Future appropriations will be budgeted in those fiscal years.
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Staffing Impacts: |
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Position Title (Payroll Classification) |
Monthly Salary Range (A-I Step) |
Additions (Number) |
Deletions (Number) |
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Narrative Explanation of Staffing Impacts (If Required):
N/A
Attachments:
1. Resolution
2. Sonoma Water Community Power Resilience Grant Proposal (dated 10/30/2020)
3. Cal OES Form 2-104 Certificate of Assurance of Compliance for Sonoma Water
4. Russian River County Sanitation District Community Power Resilience Grant Proposal (dated 10/30/2020)
5. Cal OES Form 2-104 Certificate of Assurance of Compliance for Russian River County Sanitation District
Related Items “On File” with the Clerk of the Board:
None