FROM: James D. Herberg, General Manager
Originator: Lan C. Wiborg, Director of Environmental Services
SUBJECT:
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STRATEGIC PROCESS STUDY FOR MEIOFAUNA BASELINE ASSESSMENT
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GENERAL MANAGER'S RECOMMENDATION
recommendation
RECOMMENDATION: Recommend to the Board of Directors to:
A. Approve a Professional Consultant Services Agreement to Florida State University to provide a Meiofauna Baseline Strategic Process Study (Specification No. CS-2021-1266BD) for a total amount not to exceed $277,946; and
B. Approve a contingency of 27,795 (10%).
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BACKGROUND
The Orange County Sanitation District (OC San) is required, under its current ocean discharge permit, to conduct a Baseline Strategic Process Study to investigate the potential impacts of increased reverse osmosis concentrate flows from the Groundwater Replenishment System (GWRS) Final Expansion Project on the marine animals in the receiving water. This study will focus on meiofauna, which are very small sediment-dwelling animals less than one millimeter in size. They are known to be more sensitive to pollution than larger animals which are monitored as part of OC San's Ocean Monitoring Program. This project will require the contractor to collect samples within OC San's coastal monitoring area, and to then process/analyze the samples and provide a report on the findings. This work will characterize the existing meiofauna population around OC San's ocean discharge and evaluate the suitability of using these animals to study the potential environmental impacts of the GWRS Final Expansion Project.
RELEVANT STANDARDS
* Ensure the public's money is wisely spent
* Sustain 1, 5, 20-year planning horizons
* Comply with environmental permit requirements
* Maintain collaborative and cooperative relationships with regulators, stakeholders, and neighboring communities
PROBLEM
OC San does not have the specialized expertise to collect, extract, sort, identify, and analyze meiofauna s...
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