Consider Recommendation to City Council Approving Proposal to Comply with America's Water Infrastructure Act of 2018

Purpose:
The purpose of this case is to consider a recommendation to City Council authorizing Requests for Quotes for America's Water Infrastructure Act of 2018.  

Background:
On October 23, 2018, America’s Water Infrastructure Act (AWIA) was signed into law, amending numerous provisions of the Safe Drinking Water Act (SDWA). The SDWA was originally passed by Congress in 1974 to protect public health by regulating the nation’s public drinking water supply. The law was amended in 1986 and 1996 and requires many actions to protect drinking water and its sources including rivers, lakes, reservoirs, springs, and ground water wells. The SDWA does not regulate private wells which serve fewer than 25 individuals. The SDWA authorizes the United States Environmental Protection Agency (US EPA) to set national health-based standards for drinking water to protect against both naturally-occurring and man-made contaminants that may be found in drinking water. More information on the SDWA is contained in the attached 4 page summary.
 
The AWIA also amended the Emergency Planning and Community Right-to-Know Act (EPCRA). The revisions to EPCRA require that community water systems (1) receive prompt notification of any reportable release of an EPCRA extremely hazardous substance (EHS) or a Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act (CERCLA) hazardous substance (HS) that potentially affects their source water, and (2) have access to EPCRA Tier II information (i.e., hazardous chemical inventory data). These requirements went into effect immediately upon signing the law.
 
The AWIA is a federal law that requires community water systems serving more than 3,300 people to develop or update Risk and Resilience Assessments (RRA’s) and Emergency Response Plans (ERP’s). The law specifies the components that the RRA’s and ERP’s must address, and establishes deadlines by which water systems must certify to the US EPA completion of the RRA and ERP. These community water systems, or utilities, must:

• Conduct a Risk and Resilience Assessment (RRA)
• Prepare or revise an Emergency Response Plan (ERP)
• Submit a certification letter upon completion to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (U.S. EPA) for each (RRA and ERP)
• Review, update, revise as necessary and submit a recertification for both at least every 5 years thereafter
• Maintain records (keep copies of RRA and ERP and any updates for 5 years after certification submittal)

 
Below is a table showing the AWIA compliance deadlines, which is based on population served by the community water system, or utility. 
 


The City of Ramsey must comply with the AWIA by June 30, 2021 (RRA) and December 30, 2021 (ERP). If the City does not certify that it has complied with the AIWA by these deadlines, the US EPA can initiate enforcement actions and assess a penalty of up to $25,000 per day for non-compliance.
 
Several qualified consultants had contacted the City to inquire if the City needs assistance with this effort.  On October 20, 2020, Staff requested that the Public Works Committee (PWC) recommend City Council approval to submit Requests for Quotes to qualified consultants in an attempt to receive at least three quotes.
 
During the October PWC meeting, the Committee members felt Staff should look into potential cost savings measures such as completing some or all of the work in-house, contacting other cities to see if opportunities might exist to prepare parts of the plans that have information common to some or all of the cities, and to ask our consultant that is preparing the Centralized Water Treatment Plant Feasibility Study to see if they could prepare the plans at a reduced fee since they already have ready access to the City of Ramsey’s water supply system data.
 
Staff contacted the cities of Anoka, Andover, Coon Rapids, Fridley, and Saint Francis.  All but Saint Francis responded and said they had already hired consultants to prepare their plans so partnering with these cities would not be an option without first restructuring their consultant’s contracts.
 
Staff also requested proposals for preparing the RRA and ERP plans from SEH, Inc., the consultant currently completing the City’s Water Treatment Plant Feasibility Study, and to do so using hourly rates that could be reduced if City Staff is able to complete portions of the work in-house.  
 
Staff is therefore requesting that the Public Works Committee recommend City Council approval to accept the attached proposals from SEH, Inc. to assist the City in preparing the RRA to comply with the AWIA by the required deadline of June 30, 2021, at a total cost not to exceed $11,000, and the ERP by the required deadline of December 30, 2021, at a total cost not to exceed $2,500.  This would cap the work at a maximum not-to-exceed fee of $13,500.
 
Staff will also work to complete as much of the RRA and the ERP as possible in-house, and to use SEH, Inc. to complete the remainder of the tasks that Staff is not able to complete by the required deadlines.  Per the proposal, the rates will be invoiced hourly so any work Staff can complete will reduce their fees accordingly.   

Staff estimates approximately 20 minutes will be required for presentation and discussion of this case.   

Alternative #1: Motion to recommend City Council approval of the proposal from SEH, Inc. to assist City Staff in complying with America's Water Infrastructure Act of 2018.    

Alternative #2: Motion of other.   

All consultant costs are proposed to be paid from the Water funds.  

Staff recommends alternative #1. 

Motion to recommend City Council approval of the proposal from SEH, Inc. to assist City Staff in complying with America's Water Infrastructure Act of 2018.