San Diego Environment Committee Meeting – July 18, 2019

The Environment Committee of the San Diego City Council met on July 18, 2019, with Councilmembers Moreno, Bree, and Sherman present. The committee approved its June 13, 2019 actions, handled a two-item consent calendar, received an informational water quality report, and took action on three discussion items: a library energy grant amendment, an underground utilities policy update, and the creation of an environment advisory board. All votes were unanimous.

Consent Calendar

• Adoption of Committee Actions (June 13, 2019): Approved unanimously.
• Item 1 – Fourth Amendment to 2007 San Diego Regional Stormwater Committee Co-Permittees Memorandum of Understanding: Staff noted the item was changed to require an ordinance rather than a resolution. Approved unanimously.
• Item 2 – Agreement with Wood Environment & Infrastructure Inc. for Municipal Stormwater Environmental Monitoring Professional Services (H197056): Approved unanimously.

Public Comments & Testimony

• Non-Agenda Public Comments:
  • Martha Welch: Urged the committee to provide updates on the city's Pure Water program every 90 days, expressing concern that storm drains pollute the ocean and that the city relies on an outdated solid waste system.
  • Chris Ng: A local energy management and finance consultant voiced support for the city's Climate Action Plan but noted 2020 goals may fall short, especially for municipal building energy reduction, and offered his expertise to help the city meet or exceed its goals.
  • Becky Johnson: Raised concerns about marijuana production facilities, citing explosions, illegal hazardous waste dumping, and a UT article about hash oil labs. She asked the committee to hear from the county environmental health department.
  • Stacy Plaikatis, Brian Chavez, Doreen Nasser, Liz Jacobelli, Cammy Hoffman, and Audrey Reese: All spoke in support of a San Diego fur ban, citing animal cruelty, environmental pollution, and similar bans in other cities. Several asked the committee to place a fur ban on the September 12, 2019 docket.
• Agenda Item 4 – Underground Utilities Policy Update: Jay Powell spoke in opposition, saying the changes were confusing, appeared to give more discretion to the mayor/city manager regarding timelines, and that outreach was only to affected utilities rather than the broader community.
• Agenda Item 5 – Environment Advisory Board: Jim Pugh and Andrew Meyer spoke in favor but with concerns about preserving specialized expertise, water quality, habitat conservation, and the need for subcommittees. Julia Brown, chair of the Sustainable Energy Advisory Board (speaking as an individual), supported the reform while noting mixed reactions from her board. Jason Anderson registered support but did not speak. Jay Powell spoke in opposition, requesting the item be continued and referred back to the affected boards for more input.

Discussion Items

• Item 6 – Public Health Goals Report (Informational): Water system staff presented the 2016–2018 report required by the California Health and Safety Code. While no constituents exceeded state or federal maximum contaminant levels (MCLs), six constituents were above public health goals (PHGs) or MCLGs: coliform bacteria, bromate, chlorite, gross alpha particles, gross beta particles, and uranium. Staff stated reverse osmosis would be the best available technology for several constituents, with estimated annual operation and maintenance costs of $251–580 million at the city's three treatment plants, but concluded no action is proposed because the health protection benefits of further hypothetical reductions are unclear. A councilmember noted only 6 of 92 PHGs were exceeded and praised staff.

• Item 3 – Second Amendment to Grant Host Agreement with Center for Sustainable Energy: Staff presented a California Energy Commission-funded demonstration project to make three public libraries as close to zero net energy as possible. The grant provides $2.7 million plus approximately $480,000 in city match funds. The requested second amendment would bring on a different contractor and authorize a tri-party agreement. Approved unanimously.

• Item 4 – Update to Council Policy 600-08 (Underground Conversion of Utility Lines): Staff recommended minor updates, including removing project timeline requirements from the policy to avoid confusion with enforceable timelines in the municipal code, adding a boundary preparation participation clause for utility companies, and replacing “city engineer” with “city manager.” The city attorney's office noted legal review was still being completed. Approved unanimously and forwarded to the full City Council.

• Item 5 – Creation of an Environment Advisory Board: Staff proposed consolidating the Community Forest Advisory Board, Sustainable Energy Advisory Board, and Wetlands Advisory Board into a 15-member Environment Advisory Board, with six members appointed by the mayor and nine nominated by council members, including expertise in environmental justice, climate resilience, zero waste, and other areas, plus one student seat. Councilmember Moreno requested an additional seat for a Tijuana River Valley representative, which was accepted. Approved unanimously and forwarded to the full City Council, subject to city attorney review.

Key Outcomes

• Approved the June 13, 2019 committee actions.
• Approved consent items 1 and 2.
• Received the informational Public Health Goals Report with no action taken.
• Approved the library demonstration project grant amendment (item 3).
• Approved the Council Policy 600-08 update and forwarded it to full council (item 4).
• Approved the Environment Advisory Board creation, with an added Tijuana River Valley representative, and forwarded it to full council subject to legal review (item 5).
• The committee will not meet in August 2019; the next scheduled meeting is Thursday, September 12, 2019, at 1 p.m.