Agenda Item   

AGENDA STAFF REPORT

 

                                                                                                                        ASR Control  24-000651

 

MEETING DATE:

09/24/24

legal entity taking action:

Board of Supervisors

board of supervisors district(s):

4

SUBMITTING Agency/Department:

OC Waste & Recycling   (Approved)

Department contact person(s):

Tom Koutroulis (714-834-4122) 

 

 

Robert Sedita (714-834-4418)

 

 

Subject:  Approve the Cooperative Agreement with City of Brea

 

      ceo CONCUR

County Counsel Review

Clerk of the Board

          Concur

Approved Agreement to Form

Discussion

 

 

3 Votes Board Majority

 

 

 

    Budgeted: Yes

Current Year Cost:   $6,500,000

Annual Cost: See Financial Impact section

 

 

 

    Staffing Impact:

No

# of Positions:            

Sole Source:   N/A

    Current Fiscal Year Revenue: N/A

   Funding Source:     Fund 299: 100%

County Audit in last 3 years: No

   Levine Act Review Completed: N/A

 

    Prior Board Action:         7/14/2009 #38, 4/17/2007 #23

 

RECOMMENDED ACTION(S):

 

Approve and authorize the OC Waste & Recycling Director or designee to execute the Cooperative Agreement with the City of Brea regarding the Olinda Alpha Landfill.

 

 

 

 

 

SUMMARY:

 

Approval of the Cooperative Agreement between the County of Orange and the City of Brea will establish the terms and conditions regarding the continued operation of the Olinda Alpha Landfill.

 

 

 

 

 

BACKGROUND INFORMATION:

 

OC Waste & Recycling (OCWR) is responsible for managing Orange County’s (County) solid waste disposal system.  The system consists of three active regional landfill operations, 20 closed solid waste disposal sites, and four household hazardous waste collection centers.

The County has entered into Agreements with the three host cities (City of Brea, City of Irvine, and City of San Juan Capistrano) where the County’s three active regional landfills are located.  These Agreements address the mutual interests of County and each host city and have provided assurances regarding operational matters as well as compensation to host cities in the form of a per ton Host Fee paid for non-exempt disposed waste, lump sum payments, investments infrastructure and parks, among other elements for landfill related impacts not otherwise addressed through environmental mitigation at each site.

The Olinda Alpha Landfill (Landfill) opened in 1960 and was originally scheduled to close in 1992.  The Landfill was expanded in 1992 at which point an Agreement was entered into between the County and the City of Brea (City) for the purpose of outlining the County's duties and procedures related to the continued operation of the landfill. 

On April 17, 2007, the Orange County Board of Supervisors (Board) approved the Environmental Impact Report (EIR) 588 for the Regional Landfill Options for Orange County Strategic Plan (RELOOC) - Olinda Alpha Landfill Implementation, which analyzed the environmental impacts related to the expansion of the Landfill.  The project was a vertical and a horizontal expansion of the Landfill within the existing Landfill property boundary. The expanded Landfill would ultimately provide an additional 25.7 million cubic yards of air space or accommodate disposal of an additional 14.2 million tons of municipal solid waste. 

On July 14, 2009, the Board  approved the Cooperative Agreement with the City to address interests regarding the Landfill operations, to compensate the City for all costs and impacts incurred by the City related to the operations of the Landfill through anticipated Landfill closure date of December 31, 2021, and to include provisions that Landfill operations shall be limited to an annual average of 7,000 tons per day of municipal solid waste (MSW).

On May 3, 2016, the County and the City amended the Cooperative Agreement and increased Host Fees paid to the City for Out-of-County Waste disposed of at the Landfill and added educational funding for environmental education programs to be developed cooperatively between the City and County.

In accordance with the terms of the Cooperative Agreement, the County notified the City that the Landfill had not reached its permitted capacity of 1,415 feet average mean sea level (AMSL) and that the County intended to continue to operate the Landfill beyond previous estimates of Landfill closure on December 31, 2021.  At this time, the County amended Final Environmental Impact Report (EIR) 588 and Solid Waste Facility Permit (SWFP) in 2021, extending the Landfill operations until December 31, 2036.

Due to the County extending operations of the Landfill beyond 2021, and the significant legislative changes pertaining to disposal and diversion of organic material, the County and the City have entered into discussions regarding an amendment of the 2009 agreement to reflect these changes which is the subject of this Agenda item.

The proposed Cooperative Agreement includes many terms carried over from the prior Cooperative Agreement and continues to outline Landfill operational procedures, waste vehicle access routes and payment of $1.50 per ton of disposed municipal landfill waste Host Fee.  Changes to the Cooperative Agreement include, but are not limited to, updating the Cooperative Agreement to more closely mirror the Cooperative Agreements of the County’s other two Host Cities; removing the 7,000 tons/day annual average municipal solid waste cap, allowing County to use the full 8,000 ton/day as authorized in the SWFP; provides a restatement of City and County obligations; obtains City cooperation and support for the extended and expanded organics operations at the Landfill beyond 2036, ensuring organics processing operations can continue after the Landfill reaches the 1,415 amsl fill elevation; provides audit rights to the County to track City Host Fee expenditures; provides financial compensation to the City in the amount of $6.5 million for intangible impacts incurred by the City which might be associated with the Landfill and not otherwise mitigated and Extends Host Fee payments to cover in-bound organics material delivered to the Landfill for processing and diversion.

The City of Brea City Council approved the Cooperative Agreement at its July 16, 2024, Council meeting.

The Orange County Preference Policy is not applicable to this agreement.

Compliance with CEQA: The operations and requirements set forth in the proposed amendment to the Cooperative Agreement conform to Final EIR 588 which was approved by Orange County Board of Supervisors on 4/17/2007 for the vertical and horizontal expansion of the landfill; and Addendum 6 to Final EIR 588 which was adopted on 12/23/2020 to update the landfill closure date from 12/31/21 to 12/31/2036.  Final EIR 588 and Addendum #6 adequately addresses the impacts of Olinda Alpha Landfill continued operations and the proposed project to amend the Cooperative Agreement with the City of Brea.

 

 

 

 

FINANCIAL IMPACT:

 

A total payment of $6,500,000 will be made from County to the City of Brea within 60 days of executing the Cooperative Agreement.  The County shall continue to pay Host Fee payments to the City of $1.50 per ton of Disposed Municipal Landfill Waste.  Appropriations for these payments to the City are included in the FY 2024-25 Budget for OC Waste & Recycling Enterprise Fund 299 and will be included in the budgeting process for future years.

 

 

 

 

STAFFING IMPACT:

 

N/A

 

ATTACHMENT(S):

 

Attachment A - City of Brea Cooperative Agreement