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Home My WebLink AboutMINUTES - 05242005 - C33 TO: � BOARD OF SUPERVISORS FROM: TRANSPORTATION AND WATER INFRASTRUCTURE COMMITTEE i DATE: MAY 245, 2005 SUBJECT: SUPPORT ASSEMBLY CONSTITUTIONAL AMENDMENT 13 SPECIFIC REQUEST(S)OR RECOMMENDATION(S)&BACKGROUND AND JUSTIFICATION I. Recommended Action: SUPPORT Assembly Constitutional Amendment 13 (ACA 13) sponsored by Assemblymember Tom Harman(Orange County)and AUTHORIZE the Chair,Board of Supervisors to send a letter of support,as recommended by the Transportation, Water and Infrastructure Committee. II. Financial Impact: ACA 13 could result in additional revenue for s wate,�pro s throughout the county. a� SIGNATU : M�aiii -0 Continued on Attachment: X SIGNATURE: FcAeral Glover _RECOMMENDATION OF COUNTY ADMINISTRATOR _RECOMMENDATION OF BOARD COMMITTEE _APPROVE _OTHER SIGNATURE (S): ACTION OF BOARD ON &y a 4 �,I APPROVED AS RECOMMENDED XOTHER �J VO T OF SUPERVISORS UNANIMOUS(ABSENT �14 ) I hereby certify that this �• s a true and correct copy AYES: NOES: of an action taken and entered on the minutes of ABSENT: ABSTAIN: the Board of Supervisors on the date shown. RMA:lz G:\GrpData\Admin\Mitch\bo\2005\Assembly Ammendment 13 5-24-05.doc Ong.Div: Public Works(Admin Svcs) ATTESTED. contact: Mitch Avalon(313-2203) John Sweeten C I e r f ' o the Board of Supervisors �: S.Hoffman,County Administrator's Office d Count M.Shiu,Public Works Director any Administrator G.Connaughton,Flood Control D.Freitas,Clean Water Program T.Dalziel,Clean Water Program S.Goetz,Community Development • J.Kopchik,Community Development B / Y r , Deputy S-IJBJECT: SUPPORT ASSEMBLY CONSTITUTIONAL AMENDMENT 13 DATE: MAY 249 2005 PAGE: 2 Ill. Reasons for Recommendations and Background: In 1996 the voters approved Proposition 218. Proposition 218 requires a vote of the people before local government can impose a tax,fee,or assessment. Section 6C of Proposition 218 exempts fees or charges for water,sewer,and refuse collection from the ballot provisions. This exemption provision covered most water related activities except stormwater. The City of Salinas established a stormwater fee several years ago, claiming that stormwater was either polluted water or"wastewater",and therefore exempt from Proposition 218,or it was a resource for recharging their water wells for potable water supply and therefore exempt from Proposition 218. The city was sued by the Howard Jarvis Taxpayers Association. The court found in favor of the city but the decision was appealed to the appellate court,which reversed the decision and held in favor of the Taxpayers Association. The California Supreme Court declined to hear the case. ACA 13 will provide clarification to Proposition 218 by including"flood control, stormwater drainage or surface water drainage"as an additional exemption to water and sewer. ACA 13 will allow this issue to be placed before the California electorate for decision to amend Proposition 218 or not. If ACA 13 is adopted, and if the California electorate support it,then Contra Costa County will be able to fund our Flood Control and Clean Water programs similar to a water or sewer utility and raise or lower rates in the same fashion. Staff is recommending support of ACA 13. ACA 13 is similar to its predecessor ACA 10. One difference, however, is that ACA 10 exempted "stormwater and urban runoff management"'. The original exemption language in ACA 13 only pertained to "flood control". County Counsel advised that if narrowly interpreted,"flood control9'may not include local drainage. In addition,ACA 13 did not include stormwater quality,which would preclude the County and cities from increasing assessments to fund our Clean Water Program. The California State Association of Counties and the California League of Cities lobbied the Administration and Assemblymember Harman to amend ACA 13 to include stormwater and urban runoff management. The exemption language in ACA 13 was recently amended to include "flood control, stormwater drainage or surface water drainage". This language is somewhat different than ACA 10 but will meet our needs. Another difference between ACA 10 and ACA 13 is that the Governor and the Administration are supporting ACA 13, whereas they did not support ACA 10. IV. Consequences of Negative Action: The Board's position on ACA 13 will not be forwarded to the sponsor. SUBJECT: WATER QUALITY LEGISLATION—HOUSE RESOLUTION 6 DATE: MAY 249 2005 PAGE: 2 of 2 REASONS FOR RECOMMENDATIONS AND BACKGROUND: i 6(a Congress is considering an energy bill that has a provision n it that would provide safe harbor" to gasoline producers for claims against their use of Methyl Tertiary Butyl Ether (MTBE). MTBE has been used by some gasoline producers as a fuel additive over the last several years. This fuel additive,however,has contaminated the drinking water of hundreds of communities nationwide. Certain proposed provisions of the energy bill would retroactively block legitimate MTBE lawsuits that communities have already filed. In addition, these proposed provisions would eliminate defective product lawsuits which are the primary means communities use to have oil producers clean up contaminated water supplies from fuels containing MTBE. The result is that MTBE clean up costs are shifted to local communities. This is not fair, as local communities were not originally responsible for adding the MTBE to gasoline fuel. The proposed safe harbor provisions should be eliminated from HR 6. It has been pointed out that Congress never mandated MTBE be used as a fuel oxygenate so Congress is not obligated to provide safe harbor for gasoline producers. Gasoline producers do not have to use MTBE, as ethanol provides the same benefit without contaminating our water resources. Last year Congress considered an energy bill with the same MTBE provisions but it did not pass. The Board at that time (on February 3, 2004)took a position against the MTBE provisions. CONSEQUENCES OF NEGATIVE ACTION: The County's position and concerns regarding this legislative proposal on stormwater quality would not be known. The Board of Supervisors Contra John Sweeten Clerk of the Board Costa and County Administration Building County Administrator 651 Pine Street,Room 106County (925)335-1900 Martinez,California 9455 -4068 John Gioia,District I Gayle B.Uilkema,District II ;'• Mary Piepho,District III *' ' Mark DeSaulnier,District 1V �; 1 Federal D.Glover, District V ' • May 24, 2005 Assemblymember Harman State Capitol Room 5158 Sacramento, CA 94249 Dear Assemblymember Harman: The Contra Costa County Board of Supervisors supports Assembly Constitutional Amendment 13, which you have introduced into the Assembly. ACA 13 will allow the California public the opportunity to clarify a provision of Proposition 218. It will allow California voters to decide if"stormwater" should be funded similar to Sanitary Districts and Water Districts,which are currently exempt from Proposition 218. The requirements imposed by the Regional Water Quality Control Boards on our county have steadily increased over the years, driving up the compliance costs for our stormwater/clean water programs. The Regional Boards are also working on developing Total Maximum Daily Load requirements for our waterways, which will add yet more costs to our programs. The requirements and costs keep going up, yet we have no increased ability to fund these programs. ACA 13 represents the ability for our county to be able to fund our programs to comply with our clean water requirements. Water quality issues have continued to poll very high with California voters, as evidenced by the passage of several water related bond issues over the last several years. With this background, it seems likely the voters will agree that stormwater should be treated the same as water and sewer with regards to Proposition 218. At this point,the courts have held that stormwater is not the same. Again, we support ACA 13 and appreciate your efforts on improving the financial options for funding flood control, stormwater and water quality programs throughout the state. Very truly yours, f V Gayle B. Uilkema Chair,Board of Supervisors GBU:RMA:Iz G:1GrpDatalAdmin\Mitch120051Assemblymember Harman.doc c: J.Sweeten,County Administrator S.Hoffman,CAO M.Shiu,PWD,Director M.Avalon,PWD,Deputy G.Connoughton,PWD,Division Head D.Freitas,Clean Water Program