To: Honorable Mayor and Members of City Council
From: Phil Brun, Utilities Director
Prepared By: Kevin Miller, Materials Diversion Administrator
TITLE:
Title
SB 1383 Local Assistance Grant Program
LABEL
RECOMMENDED ACTION:
Recommendation
Adopt a resolution authorizing the Utilities Director, or designee, to execute all documents necessary to implement and secure payment for the Department of Resources Recycling and Recovery (CalRecycle) SB 1383 Local Assistance Grant in an amount not to exceed $175,000.
Body
DISCUSSION:
Governor Brown signed into law Senate Bill 1383 (Lara, Chapter 395, Statutes of 2016) (SB 1383) in 2016 establishing methane emissions reduction targets in a statewide effort to reduce emissions of short-lived climate pollutants (SLCP) in various sectors of California's economy. SB 1383 is the State’s most aggressive waste reduction law in the last 30 years and enacts the following targets to reduce organic waste in landfills:
• Achieve a 50% reduction in statewide disposal of organic waste from 2014 levels by 2020 and a 75% reduction by 2025; and
• Recover at least 20% of currently disposed surplus food by 2025.
Landfills are the third largest producer of methane. Food scraps, yard trimmings, paper, and wood are organic materials that account for a significant portion of California's
overall waste stream that is ultimately disposed in landfills. As a result, the State’s SLCP strategy includes managing disposal of organic waste to reach the reduction targets noted above. Increasing food waste prevention, encouraging edible food rescue, and expanding the composting and in-vessel digestion of compostable waste will reduce methane from landfill operations.
While implementation costs for SB 1383 programs remain largely an unfunded state mandate, the State Legislature did set aside some funds to assist local governments with the costs related to complying with the requirements of SB 1383.
Eligibility for these funds were dependent on the City’s passage of an SB 1383 Ordinance, which the City adopted on January 4, 2022. These funds are non-competitive and based on population (with minimum awards for counties and smaller cities). A first round of this one-time funding was secured in 2022 with the City receiving a final grant award of $112,923 (which was higher than the original estimate of $105,516 at the time of the grant application). All of the first-round SB 1383 local assistance funding received by the City was used to offset the cost of a new Napa Recycling & Waste Services (NRWS) commercial organics collection truck in support of SB 1383 programs (with the purchase price of $522,814 being lowered to $409,891 and fully addressed in the SB 1383 Contract Amendment between the City and NRWS). For this second round of available funding, the City is eligible for an estimated award of $145,177 but may receive a larger amount similar to the first round of funding.
The City, in collaboration with NRWS, proposes to utilize this second round of SB 1383 local assistance grant funding to provide new labels to approximately 80,000 residential and commercial containers. Prior to 2015, residential brown compost carts were labeled for traditional greenwaste/yard trimmings only. Beginning in April of 2015, City (NRWS) residential customers were permitted to also accept food scraps and soiled paper that were then “co-collected” with traditional yard waste/yard trimmings. In 2018, NRWS updated the “inmold” graphics on the lids of residential and commercial carts to reflect the full range of accepted compostable and recyclable materials (curbside recycling was expanded to accept rigid plastic containers and crates beginning in 2008). Starting in early 2021 (when upcoming SB 1383 regulations were being finalized), the City directed NRWS to begin purchasing green colored carts for organics collection to be compliant with the long-term color-coding requirements of SB 1383, as the law dictates that all future organics collection equipment be colored green by 2036 (with blue as the designated color for curbside recyclables containers and grey/black for landfill carts and bins).
While the purchasing of the new green compost and blue recycling carts is incrementally occurring, NRWS and the City estimate approximately 80% of all residential carts are older carts. While the color has not changed for blue recycling carts, the “in-mold” graphics on the lids of older carts have faded and/or disappeared from sunlight and overall age to the point where they are now illegible. The new labels purchased with the SB 1383 local assistance grant funding will allow the City to provide updated and legible labels to these carts. The City will require UV resistant decals manufactured to last at least five years in outdoor conditions.
Staff will be submitting the grant application on or before November 15, 2023, in order to meet the application deadline. In order to complete the City’s grant application, a resolution that provides authorization to execute grant documents on behalf of the City is required by CalRecycle (See Attachment 1 to this staff report).
FINANCIAL IMPACTS:
The recommended grant application will provide an estimated $145,177 (or up to $175,000 if awarded by CalRecycle) towards the purchase of approximately 80,000 durable, outdoor UV resistant decals ($170,000 is the estimated total cost of the decals). Once approved, the local assistance grant funds are slated to be paid to the City by the State of California (CalRecycle). These funds would essentially serve as the main payment towards the decal purchase with the remaining balance to be subsidized by unspent funds from the contractual 2021 and 2022 annual recycling awards funding paid to NRWS (as these programs were postponed by both the COVID-19 pandemic and City staffing vacancies) as well as some limited non-recurring funds in the Solid Waste and Recycling (SWR) Enterprise Fund.
CEQA:
The Utilities Director has determined that the Recommended Action described in this Agenda Report is not subject to CEQA, pursuant to CEQA Guidelines Section 15060(c).
DOCUMENTS ATTACHED:
ATCH 1 - Resolution
NOTIFICATION:
Courtesy Copy (via electronic mail) to:
Greg Kelley, General Manager/Managing Partner, Napa Recycling & Waste Services
Mike Murray, Chief Financial Officer, Napa Recycling & Waste Services
Tim Dewey-Mattia, Recycling and Public Education Manager, Napa Recycling & Waste Services