REPORT/RECOMMENDATION TO THE BOARD OF SUPERVISORS
OF THE COUNTY OF SAN BERNARDINO
AND RECORD OF ACTION
April 6, 2021
FROM
BRENDON BIGGS, Director, Department of Public Works - Special Districts
SUBJECT
Title
California Environmental Quality Act Findings for Calico Phase Two Advanced Wastewater Treatment Project
End
RECOMMENDATION(S)
Recommendation
1. Find that the Calico Phase Two Advanced Wastewater Treatment Project at Calico Ghost Town Regional Park in Yermo is exempt under the California Environmental Quality Act Guidelines, Section 15302, Class 2, Replacement or Reconstruction.
2. Approve the Calico Phase Two Advanced Wastewater Treatment Project at Calico Ghost Town Regional Park in Yermo, as defined in the Notice of Exemption, and direct the Clerk of the Board of Supervisors to file and post the Notice of Exemption.
(Presenter: Trevor Leja, Deputy Director, 386-8811)
Body
COUNTY AND CHIEF EXECUTIVE OFFICER GOALS & OBJECTIVES
Provide for the Safety, Health and Social Service Needs of County Residents.
FINANCIAL IMPACT
Approval of this item will not result in the use of Discretionary General Funding (Net County Cost). The recommended actions for the Calico Phase Two Advanced Wastewater Treatment Project at Calico Ghost Town Regional Park in Yermo (Project) are administrative in nature and will have minimal financial impact.
BACKGROUND INFORMATION
The Department of Public Works - Special Districts (Department) provides water treatment and sewer system design, construction, operations, and maintenance support services to the Regional Parks Department (Regional Parks). Calico Ghost Town Regional Park (Calico) currently treats wastewater using a septic tank system. There are three septic tanks consisting of one 5,000 gallon septic tank and two 7,500 gallon septic tanks. The effluent flow from the septic tanks discharges into a percolation basin for final disposal.
The Lahontan Regional Water Quality Control Board (LRWQCB) informed Regional Parks that it must commit to providing an advanced wastewater treatment system for Calico. In response, Regional Parks issued a letter to LRWQCB on February 6, 2019 agreeing to the proposed Project. The Project, which will replace and abandon the three existing septic tanks, will require site work, new sewer lines, septic tank abandonment, new reverse osmosis discharge line, and electrical and instrumentation work. The deadline to complete construction is March 2022. The new wastewater treatment facility will be located south of the road and the existing septic tanks.
The Project will improve wastewater quality effluent by removing the total nitrogen to less than 10 mg/l. The wastewater discharge from the Project and the discharge from the recently completed Reverse Osmosis water treatment system will continue to discharge into the existing percolation basin.
California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) Guidelines require that an environmental document be prepared, circulated for public review and comment, and adopted by the Board of Supervisors. Under CEQA Guidelines, the Project is exempt based on Categorical Exemption, Section 15302, Class 2, (c). Replacement or reconstruction of existing structures and facilities where the new structure will be located on the same site and will have substantially the same purpose and capacity as the structure replaced.
PROCUREMENT
Not applicable.
REVIEW BY OTHERS
This item has been reviewed by County Counsel (Dawn Martin, Deputy County Counsel, 387-5455) on March 12, 2021; Finance (Tom Forster, Administrative Analyst, 387-4635) on March 16, 2021; and County Finance and Administration (Matthew Erickson, County Chief Financial Officer, 387-5423) on March 21, 2021.