Agenda Item Wording:
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Affirm Submittal of Basin Grant & Appropriate Funds - Affirm the submission to the Environmental Protection Agency for grant funding in the amount of $959,752 for the Groundwater Recharge Basin F project; and upon award appropriate grant funds and $240,000 of local matching funds from the Groundwater Recharge Fund (224).
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Prepared by:
Dolores Verduzco, Financial Analyst, Dolores.Verduzco@visalia.city, (559) 713-4540
Rebecca Keenan, Senior Civil Engineer, Rebecca.Keenan@visalia.city (559) 713-4541
Chris Crawford, City Engineer, Chris.Crawford@visalia.city, (559) 713-4331
Jason Huckleberry, Engineering & Building Director, Jason.Huckleberry@visalia.city, (559) 713-4495
Department Recommendation:
Staff recommends City Council affirm the submission to the Environmental Protection Agency for grant funding in the amount of $959,752 for the Groundwater Recharge Basin F project; and upon award appropriate grant funds and $240,000 of local matching funds from the Groundwater Recharge Fund (224).
Summary:
The city has received approval of federal funds from the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Community Grants Program in the amount of $959,752 for development of groundwater recharge basins. In order to receive funding and enter into a funding agreement with the EPA, submission of a grant application is required. The grant program requires a local match contribution of 20% of the total project cost. Staff recommends $240,000 from the Groundwater Recharge Fund (224) be applied as the local match contribution for a total project cost of $1,199,752.
Background Discussion:
On February 6, 2023, Council authorized staff to submit funding requests to State and Federal Legislative Representatives for several projects, including funding for construction of basins at the East Side Regional Park. Subsequently a federal Congressional Community Project Funding request was submitted in the amount of $3.5 million for the development of groundwater recharge basins in the City of Visalia. Congressman Costa supported the funding request from the city and included a funding amount of $959,752, which was approved as part of the Fiscal Year 2023-24 Federal Appropriations Act. These types of Federal funds are managed by existing federal agencies, which in this case is the EPA. For this grant the city was required to work with the EPA and submit a grant application by the federal fiscal year cut-off date of June 15th, 2025, to receive the approved $959,752 in funds from the EPA. In an effort to ensure the timeliest grant award possible, staff submitted the grant application and the required Categorical Exclusion Checklist on June 13, 2025 prior to the date of this Council meeting. This was necessary to try to meet the federal fiscal year cut-off date. Projects submitted after that date are automatically rolled into the next fiscal year and are at greater risk of losing funding. Since these are federal EPA funds, there is a need to comply with the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) and have a NEPA determination before the funds can be released for construction. Filling out and submitting the Categorical Exclusion Checklist is the first step in the federal environmental review process. From there, the EPA will review the information provided and determine whether there are any extraordinary circumstances that would prevent the project from being eligible for a Categorical Exclusion (CATEX). If the EPA finds that the project meets the qualifications for a CATEX, the EPA will prepare a CATEX determinization and no further NEPA review is required. If the project is not eligible for a CATEX additional NEPA requirements may apply, such as preparation of an environmental impact statement, additional studies, or an environmental assessment. The EPA will review the submitted Categorical Exclusion Checklist and notify the City of their determination later this year.
Staff proposes to use the $959,752 EPA grant to construct a portion of groundwater recharge Basin F, which is located at the ESRP. The EPA funding can be used to construct any of the planned recharge basins, however staff recommends to start the construction of a portion of Basin F at this time since the City has been working with a consulting engineer on the design of the overall basin. The overall site allocated for Basin F is approximately 33-acres, however a portion of that will be impacted by a new upcoming Caltrans interchange to be located at State Route 198 and the Road 148 alignment. Caltrans will determine the final alignment of the interchange in the next few years as it starts the environmental phase of the interchange project. The city is working with Caltrans to minimize impacts to the ESRP, but no final determination has been made regarding the configuration. In addition, of the available 33-acres, approximately 6-acres will be allocated to new trails, riparian areas, and other vegetated storm water swales, and a portion will be allocated to Road 152 frontage improvements. Staff estimate that after allocating areas for all the additional features, there will be approximately 20-acres available to be dedicated specifically as recharge Basin F, which will also include the installation of dry wells to assist in the recharge efforts. Therefore, since there are many unknowns related to the development of Basin F staff recommends that the available funding be used to construct an approximately 6-acre to 7-acre portion of the east end of Basin F, focusing on the following groundwater recharge components only:
• Approximately 260’ of 42” storm water pipe
• New outfall structure
• Approximately 32,000 cubic yards of basin earthwork
• Erosion control hydroseed
• Miscellaneous site costs, including a grant acknowledgement sign
As previously coordinated with the Parks & Recreation committee, the ultimate construction of Basin F may include active recreation features, such as perimeter trails, pedestrian bridges over the Packwood Creek, par course exercise equipment, and disc golf. Construction of these features is not currently funded, and they will be revisited in the future, prior to implementation. It is not expected that any of these features will be implemented until the final configuration of Basin F is established. Basin F will be constructed in phases as additional federal and/or state grants are awarded. Therefore, the current funding from the EPA will only be utilized to construct approximately 6 to 7-acres of the recharge basin and will not include any dry wells, riparian areas, or any of the active recreation features.
Reducing the size of Basin F will require that the consultant prepare a new set of plans, specifications, and estimates for construction bidding, using the existing design as the basis. This work can be amended to their existing agreement. As stated above, staff has submitted the CATEX checklist for initial EPA review and depending on their determination, additional local funding may be required to prepare additional impact statements, studies, or an environmental assessment. This will be determined after the EPA completes their review of the submitted CATEX checklist. Through coordination with the EPA it has been clarified that each federal agency is independently responsible for the implementation of NEPA for their projects, and as such, implementation procedures may differ between federal agencies. As required, the CATEX checklist was completed to include only the EPA grant funded proposed project area. The documents related to this NEPA will only be applicable to the EPA grant funded project area. If future federal funding is sought for construction of the remaining area of Basin F the project area will need to comply with the environmental requirements set forth by the corresponding federal agency.
Fiscal Impact:
Design of the Groundwater Recharge Basin F project is currently funded by local funds, see table 1. Phase 1 of construction of the Groundwater Recharge Basin F will be funded by federal funds from the EPA and local matching funds from the Groundwater Recharge Fund (224), see table 2.
Table 1
|
Design Project Budget Summary (CP0371): |
|
|
Gas Tax (111) |
$16,520 |
|
Measure R Trails (132) |
$116,750 |
|
Park & Recreational Facilities (211) |
$539,050 |
|
Groundwater Recharge (224) |
$589,050 |
|
Waterways (261) |
$15,430 |
|
Total Design Budget |
$1,276,800 |
Table 2
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Phase 1 Construction Budget Summary: |
|
|
EPA Grant Funds |
$959,752 |
|
Ground Water Recharge (224) |
$240,000 |
|
Total Phase 1 Construction Budget |
$1,199,752 |
Prior Council Action:
February 6, 2023
Authorized staff to pursue funding through State and Federal government for the projects proposed in the staff report.
January 21, 2020
Authorized the City Manager to award the contract for RFB 19-20-20, Professional Design Services for ESRP Basins G & F to CWE.
Alternatives: Not affirm submission of grant application.
Recommended Motion (and Alternative Motions if expected):
recommendation
I move to affirm submission to the EPA for grant funding in the amount of $959,752 for the Groundwater Recharge Basin F project; and upon award appropriate grant funds and $240,000 of local matching funds from the Groundwater Recharge Fund (224).
Environmental Assessment Status: NA
CEQA Review: Initial Study and Notice of Determination (NOD) for a Mitigated Negative Declaration (NMD) No. 2018-05
Deadline for Action: 6/16/2025
Attachments: Project Location Map