REPORT TO COUNCIL
SUBJECT
Title
Authorize the City Manager to Apply for a Discretionary Wastewater Discharge Permit from East Bay Municipal Utility District (EBMUD) for the Disposal of Source-Separated Residential and Commercial Organic Waste from the Sunnyvale SMaRT Station® in the Amount of $470,000
Report
REPORT IN BRIEF
Approval is requested to authorize the City Manager to apply for a Discretionary Wastewater Discharge Permit from East Bay Municipal Utility District (EBMUD), a publicly owned utility district, for the disposal of source-separated residential and commercial food scraps. Total annual costs for the disposal will not exceed $470,000. Approval is also requested to authorize the City Manager to apply for renewal of the permit for five additional one-year periods subject to available budget and as long as service and pricing remain acceptable.
EXISTING POLICY
Sunnyvale General Plan Chapter 7, Environmental Management
Goal EM-14: Reduce solid waste through recycling, source reduction, education and special programs.
Policy EM-14.3. Meet or exceed all federal, state and local laws and regulations concerning solid waste diversion and implementation of recycling and source reduction programs.
Goal EM-15. Dispose of solid waste in an environmentally sound, dependable and cost-effective manner.
ENVIRONMENTAL REVIEW
Operation of the SMaRT Station and marketing of these organic materials would be performed in a manner consistent with the Final Environmental Impact Report titled “Sunnyvale Material Recovery and Transportation Station (SMART)” dated September 14, 1990, and a subsequent addendum dated July 21, 1992 (SCH #89022812). The proposed permit will result in approximately one trip per day, five days a week. The total number of trips out of the SMaRT Station will remain significantly below the total anticipated traffic in the EIR. Delivery of organics to SVCW facilities would be accomplished by reloading the organics into transfer trucks at the SMaRT Station in the same manner that garbage is transferred to Kirby Canyon Landfill and other recyclables are shipped to markets in the US and abroad. The City is entering into hauling contracts with existing vendors of Bay County Smart (the contractor that operates the SMaRT Station) and the nature of the services will remain unchanged. The amount of tonnage and trips to Kirby Canyon Landfill has decreased since the initiation of these services. Therefore, no further environmental review is required pursuant to Section 15162 of the Guidelines to the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA Guidelines).
BACKGROUND AND DISCUSSION
The SMaRT Station is located on nine acres of City-owned property, north of Caribbean Drive and immediately adjacent to the closed Sunnyvale Landfill. The SMaRT Station is a large volume materials recovery facility and transfer station serving the cities of Mountain View and Sunnyvale. The SMaRT Station is designed to process 1,500 tons of material per day and is currently accepting about 700 tons per day. The facility became operational in October 1993 for use as a transfer station. It went into full operation as a Municipal Solid Waste (MSW) processing facility in July 1994. The SMaRT Station is currently operated by Bay Counties SMaRT (BCS) under an operating agreement through 2029.
Source-separated residential and commercial food scraps are pre-processed at the SMaRT Station. Previously, the resultant food mash was hauled to a processing facility in Santa Clara through an agreement with Sustainable Organic Solutions (SOS). When that facility closed the agreement was terminated in November 2023. The City’s food scraps pre-processing equipment is currently being replaced with a new more efficient system through a grant funded by CalRecycle. The new equipment will be operational by July 2024.
As such, staff has negotiated with EBMUD to accept the processed food mash from the City of Sunnyvale. EBMUD is a California special district that supplies water and provides wastewater treatment for parts of Alameda and Contra Costa counties. The processed food mash will be hauled by a sub-contractor for BCS under the current agreement for operation of the SMaRT Station.
EBMUD will accept and process the mash in anaerobic digesters at the treatment facility and will be responsible for handling products such as bio-solids generated from co-digestion process. Before EBMUD can accept and process the mash, Sunnyvale must apply for and obtain a permit from EBMUD. A draft of the permit is attached to this report as Attachment 1. Staff also recently obtained a similar permit from Silicon Valley Clean Water, a wastewater treatment plant located in Redwood City, giving the City multiple options for food mash processing. (See RTC No. 24-0466.) The City needs these options until Sunnyvale’s own Water Pollution Control Plant’s co-digestion facility is operational in FY 2027/28.
FISCAL IMPACT
Funding for this permit is budgeted and available in Program 14501 - SMaRT Station in the SMaRT Station Fund (fund 6141).
PUBLIC CONTACT
Public contact was made by posting the Council meeting agenda on the City's official-notice bulletin board at City Hall, at the Sunnyvale Public Library and in the Department of Public Safety Lobby. In addition, the agenda and this report are available at the NOVA Workforce Services reception desk located on the first floor of City Hall at 456 W. Olive Avenue (during normal business hours), and on the City's website.
RECOMMENDATION
Recommendation
Authorize the City Manager to apply for a Discretionary Wastewater Discharge Permit in the amount of $470,000 with East Bay Municipal Utility District (EBMUD) for the disposal of source-separated residential and commercial organic waste from the Sunnyvale SMaRT Station® and authorize the City Manager to renew this permit for five additional one-year periods subject to available budget and as long as service and pricing remain acceptable.
Levine Act
LEVINE ACT
The Levine Act (Gov. Code Section 84308) prohibits city officials from participating in certain decisions regarding licenses, permits, and other entitlements for use if the official has received a campaign contribution of more than $250 from a party, participant, or agent of a party or participant in the previous 12 months. The Levine Act is intended to prevent financial influence on decisions that affect specific, identifiable persons or participants. For more information see the Fair Political Practices Commission website: www.fppc.ca.gov/learn/pay-to-play-limits-and-prohibitions.html
A check or “Y” in the checklist below indicates that the action being considered falls under a Levine Act category or exemption:
SUBJECT TO THE LEVINE ACT
___ Land development entitlements
___ Other permit, license, or entitlement for use
_X_ Contract or franchise
EXEMPT FROM THE LEVINE ACT
___ Competitively bid contract
___ Labor or personal employment contract
___ General policy and legislative actions
Staff
Prepared by: Tim Kirby, Director of Finance
Reviewed by: Ramana Chinnakotla, Environmental Services Director
Reviewed by: Rebecca Moon, City Attorney
Reviewed by: Jaqui Guzmán, Deputy City Manager
Approved by: Kent Steffens, City Manager
ATTACHMENTS
1. Draft EBMUD permit