San Diego Environment Committee Meeting - June 22, 2023
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San Diego Environment Committee Meeting - June 22, 2023
The Environment Committee of the San Diego City Council met on June 22, 2023, at 1:00 PM to discuss several items including sanitation services, water treatment plant maintenance, the utilities undergrounding program, and SDG&E presentations on customer and climate equity programs. The meeting was chaired by Councilmember Joel Ocava, with members Vice Chair Von Wilbert, Campbell, and Campillo present. The committee approved two action items and received informational updates.
Consent Calendar
- Approved the committee actions of May 25, 2023, by unanimous vote.
Public Comments & Testimony
- Non-agenda public comment: Speakers included César (District 9) who described ongoing toxicity from a ceramics manufacturing operation in a residential zone, asking for help. Lori Saldaña spoke about the Convention Center's need for cleaner energy alternatives and better maintenance planning. Becky Rapp expressed concern about the environmental and health impacts of tobacco and marijuana sales, urging counter-messaging. Kelly McCormick highlighted the harm of cigarette butts as microplastic waste and promoted the undo.org campaign. Andrew Meyer from San Diego Audubon Society provided an update on the Rewild Mission Bay project, noting collaboration with youth sports and tennis groups on buffer zone language. Joy Senata (District 3) praised the renovation of a downtown garden by Barona Indian Charter School. Nancy Perry Sheridan advocated for banning smoking in all multi-unit complexes due to health risks of secondhand smoke.
- Item 1 (Sanitation contract): Public speakers opposed the contract as treating symptoms without addressing root causes—lack of public restrooms and hygiene resources. One speaker argued the city spends millions on sanitation while neglecting menstrual supplies and bathroom access. Another called for a more compassionate approach with more restrooms and clean-up resources.
- Item 2 (Water treatment): Public comment expressed general support for clean water but one speaker criticized water reclamation and urged drilling for fresh water instead.
- Item 3 (Undergrounding): Multiple speakers expressed frustration with decades of delays and lack of performance standards. Robert Burkett, a civil engineer, noted the fund balance is losing value. Resident Russ highlighted that the La Jolla Community Plan approved in 2014 has seen no progress. Phil Ginsburg mentioned paying taxes for undergrounding since 1997 with no results. Lori Saldaña noted San Diego pays the highest rates in the nation and called for public power. Others requested accountability and ownership clarification of buried wires.
- Items 4 & 5 (SDG&E equity programs): Joy Senata praised the programs but urged embedding equity into the franchise structure. Another speaker criticized SDG&E for raising rates and questioned the equity of solar incentives and tree planting. John Stump called for these items to be re-docketed as action items with performance indicators.
Discussion Items
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Item 1: Approval of agreement for sanitation services and incidental hazardous waste removal on public rights of way with Clean Harbors Environmental Services. Franklin Cooper-Smith (Interim Deputy Director, Environmental Services) presented. The contract continues services started in 2018 after the Hepatitis A outbreak, focusing on areas impacted by homelessness. The new contract has a not-to-exceed amount of $15,954,000 (increase from previous). FY24 budget includes $1.7M. Services include sidewalk sanitizing, hazardous waste removal, and power washing. Vice Chair Von Wilbert praised the work and made a motion to approve, seconded by Campbell. Chair Ocava clarified the contract is time-and-materials with a potential second crew. Motion passed unanimously 4-0.
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Item 2: Award contract to ERS Industrial Services for filter medium and underdrain cap rehabilitation at the Alvarado Water Treatment Plant. Dan Daft and Greg Cross (Public Utilities) presented. The plant serves 600,000 customers, permits 200 million gallons/day. Contract competitively bid, lowest responsible bidder at $5.1 million (not-to-exceed). Councilmember Campillo moved to approve, seconded by Vice Chair. Passed 4-0.
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Item 3: Status update on the Utilities Undergrounding Program (UUP). Chelsea Clacius (Deputy Director, Transportation) and Jim DeBong presented. They explained project phases (allocation, project development, design, construction). Since 1970, over 400 miles have been undergrounded. A pause due to franchise renegotiation (expired 2020, new MOU executed April 2022) caused fund balance to grow to ~$281 million (start of FY24). New prioritization criteria include high fire risk and communities of concern. FY23 restarted 13 projects (11 met at least one criteria); FY24 plans 6 projects (hybrid approach). Cost estimates increased dramatically: FY23 projects went from $113M forecast to $246M; average cost per mile rose from $2.4M to $6.1M; average project cost from $9M to $23M. Future projects limited to 1-2 per year. SDG&E presented on their role: 11 projects resumed, legacy surcharge projects nearing closeout. Rule 20A work credits are sunsetting; only projects in construction will be completed. SDG&E microgrid presentation was deferred due to noticing issues. Committee members expressed frustration over delays, cost increases, and lack of accountability. Questions raised about cost estimate accuracy (attachment discrepancies), oversight, and the pace of undergrounding. Staff noted a franchise compliance audit is being procured.
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Items 4 & 5: SDG&E presentations on climate equity and customer equity programs. Holly Beerman presented customer assistance programs: CARE (159,000 San Diegans enrolled, up to 35% discount), FERA (6,000 enrolled), Medical Baseline, Energy Savings Assistance (4,500 homes treated since 2022), Neighbor-to-Neighbor ($600 hardship assistance, shareholder-funded), LIHEAP. Energy efficiency and demand response: Power Saver Rewards (340,000 San Diegans enrolled). Renewables: DAC-SASH, SGIP, SOMAH (18 projects in San Diego). Climate equity: Solar Equity Program (37 customers active in year one), tree planting (1,360 trees planted toward 2,500 target, including 981 trees in three recent collaborations), Community Tree Rebate Program. SDG&E also reported supporting the city on grants and applied for $100M federal grant for undergrounding in high fire areas. Chair Ocava noted the 55% renewable energy claim and requested more detail on customer arrearage trends.
Key Outcomes
- Item 1: Motion to approve staff recommendation passed 4-0. The contract continues sanitation services on public rights-of-way.
- Item 2: Motion to award contract to ERS Industrial Services for $5.1 million passed 4-0. The work ensures continued compliance with drinking water standards.
- Item 3: Informational only; no vote. Staff committed to update the interactive undergrounding map, pilot newsletters to council districts, and enhance cost estimation transparency. A future update will address reprioritization of allocated and Rule 20A projects.
- Items 4 & 5: Informational only; no vote. SDG&E will return with more data on customer hardship and renewable energy percentages. Microgrid presentation deferred to a future meeting.
- Next meeting: Scheduled for Thursday, July 20, 2023, at 1:00 PM.
Meeting Transcript
All right, everyone. It's one o'clock, so we do have at least three, and I know a fourth one is on the way, but uh we've got a lot on the agenda, so let's get started. Good afternoon, and welcome to the environment committee meeting of June 22nd, 2023. I am Joel Ocava, Councilmember for District 1 and Chair of the Committee. Our committee's manager, Ty Birch will go over instructions for today's meeting. Ty. Thank you very much, Chair Locava. While members of the public are able to attend this meeting in person, the meeting is also being televised and live streamed on the CES website, and council administration will continue to make arrangements for the public to comment using the Zoom webinar platform. Members of the public who wish to provide virtual testimony must enter the virtual speaking queue by raising their hand before the virtual queue closes. The queue will close when the last virtual speaker finishes speaking or five minutes after in-person testimony concludes, whichever occurs first. This will allow for bearing management between the two platforms and ensure that the committee is able to manage and conduct city business. We appreciate the public's cooperation. Chair. Vice Chair Von Wilbert. Member Campbell. Member Campillo here. And I am here, so we have all four members in attendance. Also attending the meeting today is Jordan Moore with the office of the independent budget analyst and sneaking in at the neck of time, Deputy City Attorney Nicole Dino. And Randy Wilde, Senior Policy Advisor in the Office of Mayor Todd Gloria. Ty, please continue with public comment instructions. Thank you very much, Chair. If you are in person, please complete a speaker slip located at the entrance of chambers and place it on top of the box indicated at the speaker's electron at the front of the room. Please do so in a timely manner to ensure proper main management. In-person testimony will conclude before virtual testimony begins. Members of the public can also join the webinar by computer tablet or smartphone by accessing the link, which is listed online in the preamble language of the agenda on the C's webpage. If you need to participate by phone, you may dial 1669-254-5252 and input webinar ID 161-163-9403 pound. This information is also available on the agenda and will appear on the screen during the public comment period for each agenda item. Members of the public who wish to provide virtual testimony must enter the virtual speaking queue by raising their hand before the queue closes. The queue will close when the last virtual speaker finishes speaking or five minutes after in-person testimony concludes, whichever occurs first. Please note that if you're watching VSC TV 24 online, there may be a delay, so please participate via the audio on your phone and mute your TV or computer when it is your turn to speak. If you wish to speak on a particular item, please wait for that item to be called. Then raise your hand to speak by tapping the raise your hand icon, or if you're a calling participant, star nine on your cell phone or landline. If you raise your hand during a non-comment period, your hand will be lowered. Chair. Thank you, Ty, for reviewing those instructions for the benefit of the public. As I mentioned, all four members are here, so we do have a quorum. We will now dispense with the approval of the committee actions of May 25th, 2023. Ty, please proceed. Thank you very much, Chair. The public comment period for the committee actions of May 25th, 2023 is now open. Chair, we have not received any speaker slips for the committee actions nor any hands in the virtual queue, so that will conclude public testimony on the committee actions. So moved. And we have uh a motion by Vice Chair Baum Wilbert and a second by member Campbell. We'll take the roll electronically. Thank you very much, Chair. Per rule 2.7 non-agenda public comment is an opportunity for members of the public to comment on items that are not on the agenda but within the subject matter jurisdiction of the committee. Each speaker will have two minutes. If you've already joined the Zoom webinar online or by phone, please raise your hand if you wish to speak at this time. If you are in person, please come up to the reserve seats at the front of the room when your name is called and be prepared to come up to lectern in the order called. Uh beginning with, we have two individuals in chambers uh that have submitted speaker slips for non-agenda.
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