To: Board of Directors, Sonoma Valley County Sanitation District
Department or Agency Name(s): Sonoma Valley County Sanitation District
Staff Name and Phone Number: Parastou Hooshialsadat / 707-206-2984
Vote Requirement: 2/3rd
Supervisorial District(s): First
Title:
Title
2021 Update to Sonoma Valley County Sanitation District Local Hazard Mitigation Plan
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Recommended Action:
Recommended action
A) Adopt the resolution adopting the Sonoma Valley County Sanitation District’s Local Hazard Mitigation Plan.
B) Authorize the General Manager of Sonoma Water’s on behalf of the District to incorporate any California Governor’s Office of Emergency Services and/or Federal Emergency Management Agency required changes to the Local Hazard Mitigation Plan.
(2/3rd Vote Required) (First District)
end
Executive Summary:
On September 18, 2020, the Sonoma Valley County Sanitation District (District) was awarded a $125,000 Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) grant through the California Governor’s Office of Emergency Services (Cal OES) to update the single jurisdiction Local Hazard Mitigation Plan (LHMP) for the District. The LHMP, required to be updated every five years, is part of the District’s efforts to be prepared for natural and other disasters by identifying physical vulnerabilities and developing strategies to alleviate their impacts. Once approved by FEMA, the approved LHMP will also allow the District to apply for specific FEMA grant programs. The preparation, approval, and adoption of the LHMP are required before obtaining most FEMA funds. CalOES and FEMA have tentatively approved the 2021 LHMP, pending adoption by this Board of Directors. Once adopted by the Board and formally approved by FEMA, the LHMP will continue to guide the District’s priorities for mitigating potential threats to infrastructure.
Discussion:
In January 2008, the Board of Directors of the Sonoma County Water Agency (Water Agency), which manages the District’s operations, adopted an LHMP for its water transmission system in accordance with the Disaster Mitigation Act of 2000, and in 2012 and 2015, the Water Agency’s LHMP was updated.
The District’s wastewater collection, treatment, and disposal facilities, which also include recycled water storage and distribution facilities, are distributed over a large geographical area and traverse zones of varying geology and potential hazards. This comprehensive LHMP is prepared and updated in recognition of the District’s responsibility to the community and its role in preserving the economic vitality of the region. Uninterrupted collection and treatment of wastewater is essential for the health and safety of the community and to minimize the potential for loss of life and property damage following a major natural disaster.
The LHMP is organized into seven chapters and includes all relevant documentation required to meet the necessary criteria for FEMA approval. Federal regulations for mitigation plan approval requires that stakeholders and the general public are given opportunities to be involved in the planning process and in the plan’s maintenance and implementation. The District’s outreach began in the October 2020 edition of the e-newsletter, sent to inform the public that the LHMP update was beginning. In February 2021, the District launched an online public opinion survey dedicated to the LHMP effort and enabling stakeholders and the general public to help the District identify and develop projects for the LHMP. In the same month, the City of Sonoma newsletter announced the LHMP update. Additional outreach efforts included presentations in March 2021 to the District’s Board of Directors, including Supervisor Susan Gorin, and public presentations at the Sonoma Valley Citizens Advisory Committee Meeting, North Valley Municipal Advisory Council Meeting, and Springs Municipal Advisory Council Meeting; outreach through social media such as Twitter, Instagram, Nextdoor, and Facebook; press releases; and events calendar listings.
FEMA provides two funding mechanisms for projects or actions intended to limit the adverse effects of natural disasters, as follows: 1) Building Resilient Infrastructure and Communities (BRIC), and 2) Hazard Mitigation Grant Program (HMGP). Both programs are designed to identify and mitigate threats to local infrastructure by natural hazards. Both programs also require the jurisdiction to prepare and adopt a LHMP prior to application.
The LHMP assesses the natural hazards that are most likely to impact facilities operated by the District and includes a vulnerability/risk assessment of the infrastructure. Hazards produced by a seismic event pose the greatest risk to the District. The five primary hazards related to an earthquake include ground shaking, liquefaction, creek hazards, landslides, and surface faulting. Flood, fire, and other hazards such as tornados, hurricanes, tsunamis, and climate change were also identified and evaluated in the NHRA. Damage to one or more critical elements of the facilities can significantly jeopardize the District’s ability to provide continuous sanitation services during and following a natural disaster.
Once approved by FEMA, the approved LHMP will also allow the District to apply for BRIC and HMGP FEMA grant programs to implement mitigation actions identified in the LHMP. FEMA requires the District to update the LHMP every five years to document the progress toward mitigation of hazards identified, and to provide a vision for the next five years to further reduce the exposure to the identified hazards.
County of Sonoma Strategic Plan Alignment:
This item directly supports the County’s Five-year Strategic Plan and is aligned with the following pillar, goal, and objective. An LHMP allows the District to apply for FEMA grant funding which helps fund critical capital projects and make infrastructure more resilient to natural hazards.
Pillar: Organizational Excellence
Goal: Goal 4: Seek out grant funding to enhance programs and improve infrastructure
Objective: Objective 1: Secure a total of $60 million in grant funding by 2026 for strategic priorities, including technology tools, climate resiliency, and other capital projects.
Sonoma Water Strategic Plan Alignment
Our Organization, Goal 3: Continue to improve emergency preparation and response to natural disasters.
Keeping in view the desires of the community and the understanding of the system vulnerabilities, the District has formulated the following three main strategies:
Strategy 1: Update or create critical emergency preparedness planning documents
Strategy 2: Create a cost-effective energy resiliency plan for key facilities and equipment in the event of a catastrophic emergency
Strategy 3: Improve emergency management implementation skills
Strategy 4: Update LHMPs and implement natural hazard mitigation projects
For each strategy, actions that more specifically address particular areas of mitigation opportunity have been developed along with related mitigation actions that support implementation of those objectives.
Prior Board Actions:
05/08/18: Adopted the resolution
12/15/15: Adopted resolution adopting the Sonoma Valley County Sanitation District’s Local Hazard Mitigation Plan. Authorized the Sonoma Valley County Sanitation District’s General Manager to incorporate any California Governor’s Office of Emergency Services and/or Federal Emergency Management Agency required changes to the Local Hazard Mitigation Plan.
10/21/14: Authorized the General Manager, on behalf of the District to accept a grant award from FEMA in the amount of $75,000 for the preparation of a LHMP, to provide the assurances and agreements required by the funding agencies, and to execute any amendments to such assurances or agreements, provided the amendments have no cost to the Water Agency or the District and do not substantially change the scope of work, following review and approval of the County Counsel as to form.
06/04/13: Authorized Chair of the District to execute an agreement with GHD Inc. to provide Natural Hazard Reliability Assessment services for the amount of $225,000.
Fiscal Summary
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Narrative Explanation of Fiscal Impacts:
No fiscal impact with this item. Should the Plan be adopted by this Board, the District will be eligible to apply for funding for implementation of mitigation actions identified in the LHMP.
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Narrative Explanation of Staffing Impacts (If Required):
N/A
Attachments:
Resolution
Related Items “On File” with the Clerk of the Board:
https://www.sonomawater.org/svlhmp <https://gcc02.safelinks.protection.outlook.com/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.sonomawater.org%2Fsvlhmp&data=05%7C01%7CSCWA.AgendaItems%40scwa.ca.gov%7C2c8cafb2f1c44793b1d008daedb27089%7Cc93b7179f57841648fe1c2704c730887%7C0%7C0%7C638083647900473581%7CUnknown%7CTWFpbGZsb3d8eyJWIjoiMC4wLjAwMDAiLCJQIjoiV2luMzIiLCJBTiI6Ik1haWwiLCJXVCI6Mn0%3D%7C3000%7C%7C%7C&sdata=yuz0VkOMrTS2lcMvc6KuYYlDlEauykcdLuERyGbf25U%3D&reserved=0>