San Diego City Council Environmental Committee Meeting - July 12, 2018
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San Diego City Council Environmental Committee Meeting - July 12, 2018
The Environmental Committee of the San Diego City Council met on July 12, 2018, to discuss and take action on several items including the 100% renewable energy initiative, an energy efficient building benchmarking ordinance, an energy regulatory update, the Pure Water program, and a WIFIA loan authorization. The committee heard public comments and approved a consent agenda.
Consent Calendar
- Three items were approved unanimously by the committee.
Public Comments & Testimony
- Tyson Siegel (San Diego 350) criticized SDG&E's proposed 100% renewable energy plan, citing a third-party review that raised questions and the Sustainable Energy Advisory Board's rejection of the proposal. He argued that SDG&E's plan lacked transparency and would take 24-48 months for CPUC approval.
- Joyce Lane (San Diego 350 and San Diego Community Choice Alliance) expressed support for community choice aggregation (CCA), noting endorsements from the San Diego Unified School District, San Diego Community College District, Assemblymember Shirley Weber, union groups, and over 3,000 small businesses.
- Mark Hughes (utilities background) praised the city's work on the 100% renewable energy initiative and the city attorney's position on PCIA hearings. He argued that the utility business model serves shareholders, not customers, and that Moody's had given Marin Clean Energy a strong rating, showing CCA viability.
- Aaron Nieves (San Diego Community Choice Alliance) expressed excitement for the local build-out study and business plan, urging that the CCA program prioritize environmental justice communities and local renewable energy.
- Sebastian Sarria (Climate Action Campaign and Community Choice Alliance) thanked council members for supporting CCA and urged the council to demand a vote on CCA from the mayor's office, noting that Los Angeles has already launched a large CCA program.
- Vanessa Garcia (SDG&E Public Affairs Manager) stated that SDG&E appreciates working with the city and supports the city's goals, but emphasized that any proposal must ensure cost neutrality for SDG&E's other customers. She said SDG&E would support the city if it chooses CCA.
- Hannah Green (Center for Sustainable Energy) supported the building benchmarking ordinance, noting that it would align San Diego with 24 leading U.S. municipalities and help cut energy bills and carbon emissions.
- Sebastian Sarria (Climate Action Campaign) supported the benchmarking ordinance but noted the city is behind on residential energy conservation disclosure, asking for timelines on expanding to smaller commercial buildings and developing a residential ordinance.
- Rick Bramhall (San Diego 350) opposed SDG&E's petition to use ratepayer funds for lobbying against CCA, urging the committee to track the issue.
- Elaine Moltz (San Diego 350) criticized SDG&E's general rate case, noting that profits doubled from 2006 to 2016 while rates remained the highest in California, and that SDG&E is seeking another $218 million increase.
- Sebastian Sarria (Climate Action Campaign) thanked staff for tracking regulatory issues, noted that other jurisdictions are moving forward with CCA despite the PCIA proceeding, and opposed the CCA code of conduct modification.
- Brad Barnum (Associate General Contractors) expressed concerns about the Pure Water program's apprenticeship language, which he said only allows union-only apprenticeship programs, arguing it could face legal challenges. He urged the committee to work with AGC on the skilled workforce language.
- Tom Lemon (San Diego Building Trades) supported the Pure Water program, stating that union apprenticeship programs graduate 92% of all apprentices in the state and 95% of women and people of color, and that there is no legal challenge to the apprenticeship language.
- Gretchen Newsom (IBEW 569) urged the city to incorporate local hire, skilled and trained workforce provisions, and veteran training programs like Helmets to Hard Hats in Pure Water contracts.
- Brad Barnum (AGC) also commented on the WIFIA loan, supporting it but warning of potential legal challenges if state revolving fund loans are used with union-only contract language.
- Martha Welch (public speaker) criticized the Pure Water project, alleging past waste and misuse of funds, and questioned the city's debt and transparency.
Discussion Items
- Item 6: 100% Renewable Energy Initiative Update – Cody Hooven, Chief Sustainability Officer, presented an update on two pathways to reach the city's 100% renewable energy goal by 2035: Community Choice Aggregation (CCA) and an SDG&E proposal. The business plan for CCA is being finalized, but the committee is awaiting the California Public Utilities Commission's (CPUC) proposed decision on the Power Charge Indifference Adjustment (PCIA) exit fee, expected by end of July 2018. The SDG&E proposal is also being updated. Staff is developing criteria to evaluate both pathways, including cost, governance, and community impact. The city's Office of Sustainability has engaged stakeholders and plans to present a recommendation by the end of 2018. Committee members discussed the uncertainty of the PCIA decision, the need to prioritize disadvantaged communities, and the risk of spending resources on the SDG&E pathway if CCA is preferred. Councilmember Gomez expressed a preference for CCA and competition.
- Item 4: Energy Efficient Building Benchmarking Ordinance – Jack Clark and Aaron Lou presented an ordinance to require commercial and multifamily buildings over 50,000 square feet to benchmark and report energy use using Energy Star Portfolio Manager, aligning with state AB 802 but allowing local oversight. The ordinance includes a phase-in for smaller buildings (20,000 sq ft) in second phase. Stakeholder outreach involved over 30 organizations. Benefits include energy savings, market differentiation, and better data for climate action planning. The committee discussed enforcement, with concerns about premature fines. Councilmember Sherman proposed a grace period of several years before enforcement, and Councilmember Gomez requested a reexamination of building size thresholds after two years. The committee voted to forward the ordinance without recommendation, with direction to include a grace period and a review of building sizes.
- Item 7: Energy Regulatory Update – Jack Clark provided a high-level overview of several regulatory proceedings: PCIA rulemaking, CCA code of conduct petition for modification, resource adequacy program, integrated resource planning, SDG&E's Energy Resource Recovery Account, SDG&E's general rate case (Phase 1 and 2), and Senate Bill 100. The city is actively participating in or tracking these proceedings. The PCIA decision is expected by end of July 2018. The petition for modification would allow utilities to use ratepayer funds for lobbying; the city opposed it. The resource adequacy program may affect CCA start-up costs. SDG&E's rate case requests a $1.7 billion electric revenue requirement for 2019. SB 100 would increase the renewable portfolio standard to 60% by 2030 with a goal of 100% by 2045. This item was informational.
- Item 8: Pure Water Program Implementation Update – John Helminski reported on Phase 1 of the Pure Water program, including design progress (100% for some elements), a dispute with SDG&E over utility relocation costs (estimated $98 million, with potential litigation), and the formation of a governance committee. Community working groups have been formed in four areas. The program is also developing an Owner Controlled Insurance Program (OCIP) to streamline coverage. Regulatory approvals are underway: Title 22 report expected by October 2018, NPDES permit by February 2019. Construction authorization for all Phase 1 packages is planned for committee approval in September and council in October 2018. The committee discussed the SDG&E dispute and community engagement.
- Item 5: Authorizing WIFIA Loan for Pure Water Program – Lakshmi Komi presented a request to authorize a loan from the EPA Water Infrastructure Finance and Innovation Act (WIFIA) of up to $530 million for the water system portion of Pure Water Phase 1. The loan has a fixed interest rate of about 3% (versus 4% for bonds), a 35-year term, and is subordinate to existing water system debt. The city also plans to use state SRF loans and pay-as-you-go funding. The fiscal impact includes annual debt service estimated at $24.5 million after construction, plus interest during construction. The committee discussed the repayment options and the need to present a full financial picture to the council. The motion to approve and forward to council passed unanimously.
Key Outcomes
- Consent calendar approved unanimously.
- Energy efficient building benchmarking ordinance forwarded to the full council without recommendation, with direction to staff to include a grace period before enforcement and to reexamine building size thresholds after two years.
- WIFIA loan authorization approved by the committee and forwarded to the city council for final approval. Staff recommended paying interest during construction rather than deferring.
- Other items (100% renewable energy update, energy regulatory update, Pure Water update) were informational; no formal action taken.
- The committee noted that the August 2018 meeting is expected to have a heavy agenda and will be scheduled accordingly.
Meeting Transcript
I don't think you can care about the ocean. I know you have an EP waiver, but I don't think you follow the law. Because why? There's a car there's a person whose threads off of the phone 20 years, Bill Horn, uses his own number. 51355. Anybody does, he's not saying another name and all the and you of that's you that's what's going on. And you don't look everywhere, you don't look. Now in the library and Gary Mist, um they have two trash roads of cycle and this. They pick it up, goes the same trash. I've seen that one. You don't care about that recycle either because you don't have it on the street either. You don't have the recycle everywhere. So you don't care about trash or anything like that. Now, what happens um right now um the county doesn't have a dump. So what they do, go to the city. And so the city has the city picks up with the county and doesn't do because that's what you do, and you don't care about that. For years the county just step up and they make you do that, and they don't have a dump. So you don't have a dump either with them, and you you just do everything you you're like there's a slave to the county because you don't do what you do with what they say because the dump is the city, but the county uses it because they don't want to they don't want to spend money. That's the problem with the county. They don't spend money on anything. They they're they're they're shell and they don't care. And so they're making you step up and do everything they should do. And recycling is is a rely in this city, and you don't care about water, you don't care about recycling, you don't care about the dump, how full it is. I read the reader how bad it is and all this stuff. So you don't care about what goes on here. But someday the EPA and the FBI and ocean are gonna come back to San Diego and you'd be up to you'll be up to test what everything you do in the city. Okay, thank you very much. Um we have no other public speakers on items on the agenda, so we will move on to any committee member comment. I see none. I just want to remind you all that our August meeting most likely is uh going to be a very um heavy agenda, packed agenda, uh especially compared to today. So we're trying to schedule things accordingly to to try to respect everybody's time, but August will probably be very busy. Uh and today we'll probably be on the lighter side. So just want to share that with you all. Uh does the mayor's office, city attorney's office, or IBA have any comments to share with us? No, welcome all. Okay, so we'll move on to our consent agenda, which has three items. Uh do any members want to questions or comments? Okay. We have a motion by Mr. Kate, second by Mr. Sherman on the three consent agenda items. All in favor? Motion carries unanimously. Thank you all for your work on those three items. So also been uh requested that I take some items in order uh an order for uh to accommodate schedules from from staff that is here. So we are gonna start with item number six. It's an update on the 100% renewable energy initiative. Then we will go to item number four, then we will be at item number seven. Um these three items are related, and then we'll take uh two water-related items, which is item number eight and then item number five. So um we will then start with this one.
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