Subject:
Title
Adoption of the Save Our Indian River Lagoon Project Plan 2021 Update unanimously recommended by the Save Our Indian River Lagoon Citizens Oversight Committee
End
Fiscal Impact:
The recommended plan update recognizes a $5 million decrease in total revenues to be generated by the Save Our Indian River Lagoon Surtax over its 10-year life (reduced from $494 million to $489 million) and a net increase of $1.3 million allocated to projects. These changes are covered by the $6.3 million of trust fund revenue that was left unallocated in the 2020 Plan. The net changes in allocation, broken down by project type, are as follows:
• $2.6 million more for connecting the worst package treatment plants to central sewer;
• $0.4 million less for added treatment at package plant infiltration basins and spray-fields;
• $0.4 million more for additional septic to sewer projects;
• $0.3 million more for stormwater treatments and vegetative harvesting projects;
• $0.3 million more for oyster gardening, per April 7, 2020 Board direction;
• $0.2 million less in the 5% contingency; and
• $1.7 million less for inflation, based on a 2.5% construction index rate.
Dept/Office:
Natural Resources Management
Requested Action:
Recommendation
1) Adopt the Save Our Indian River Lagoon Project Plan 2021 Update, as recommended by the Save Our Indian River Lagoon Citizen Oversight Committee (Committee) on January 15, 2021;
2) authorize associated budget change requests;
3) approve continued signature authority to the Chair (or designee, in accordance with the threshold limits provided in Brevard County Code (B.C.C.)-25, B.C.C.-27, and Administrative Order (A.O.)-29) to execute Interlocal, Non-Governmental Organization, University and Private Agreements, task orders, change orders, and contract renewals, using contract terms and templates previously approved by the Board, subject to review and approval by the County Attorney, Risk Management and Purchasing, as appropriate, to provide cost share from the Save Our Indian River Lagoon Trust Fund for projects and programs approved in the Save Our Indian River Lagoon Project Plan;
4) approve continued authority for the County Manager to execute contract amendments;
5) approve continued authority for the Director of Natural Resources Management to execute up to two no-cost time extensions up to six months each;
6) permission to advertise formal solicitation of bids and proposals, and to award to the qualified bidder having the lowest, responsible and best response for tangible items, capital improvement projects, and/or equipment, when funding is available; and
7) authorize the County Manager or his designee to submit grant applications for leveraging cost share for projects approved in the Save Our Indian River Lagoon Project Plan.
End
Summary Explanation and Background:
Each year, in order to account for new information and opportunities, the Save Our Indian River Lagoon Citizen Oversight Committee is tasked with recommending an Update to the Save Our Indian River Lagoon Project Plan (SOIRLPP). The Committee has held monthly public meetings throughout the year to keep informed, gather ideas from the community, review potential changes, and recommend an annual plan update to the County Commission. The Committee’s annually recommended SOIRLPP Updates are posted on the Committee’s webpage for public access at least 15 days prior to being brought to the County Commission for consideration. The County Commission may adopt or modify the Committee’s recommended Plan Update.
An email was sent to cities on July 31st, 2020 to review the process for submitting project requests to be considered for addition in the 2021 annual update. Project requests were due October 1st. Year 5 Project Submissions listed in the summary table (attached) were reviewed by the Committee during a November 20th public meeting. New projects that were recommended in November, as well as other changes based on new information gathered and analyzed throughout the year, were incorporated into the attached Draft Save Our Indian River Lagoon Project Plan 2021 Update, as recommended by the Committee on January 15th.
The draft 2021 Update (attached) includes 26 new projects and two amended projects, bringing the total number of funded projects during the 10-year plan to 327, plus 876 individual quick connections to sewer, 1625 septic upgrades and 20 miles of filter feeding living shorelines. The plan also includes performance updates and refinements on a number of project types. To help readers find all areas of the SOIRLPP that contain proposed updates or modifications, the attached Draft 2021 Update uses yellow highlighted text, table and figure captions to indicate additions and revisions.
Significant updates in the draft 2021 Update include:
• Changing the plan format to consolidate information by project type and eliminate iterative annual update sections;
• Deleting old information made obsolete by more recent updates;
• Recalculating the benefits of wastewater treatment and package treatment plant improvements based on modified state standards adopted in 2020 through Senate Bill 712;
• Expanding the funds for leaky sewer laterals to fund repairs county-wide within the watershed of the Indian River Lagoon;
• Allowing the funds for sewer connections and septic upgrades to be available county-wide with cost share amounts to be prorated based on the load reduction benefit;
• Updating information on an enhanced circulation pilot study being conducted by Florida Institute of Technology with funding from the Florida Legislature and modeling completed by St Johns River Water Management District on the benefits of replacing causeways with bridge spans;
• Adding information on clam restoration and an aquaculture stimulus pilot program;
• Reporting on the costs, benefits, successes and lessons learned from completed projects and resulting, science-based plan modifications;
• Revising the revenue projection and construction index rate to reflect economic changes related to covid-19; and
• Making formatting changes to simplify compliance with the Americans with Disabilities Act.
During fiscal year 19/20, tax collections were $46.8 million instead of the budgeted estimate of $47.1 million. Large monthly fluctuations in revenue during the fiscal year led to multiple forecasting iterations for future revenues and modification of economic growth projections and construction price index assumptions. Using actual revenues collected in 2016 through September 2020, the state’s latest consumer price index of 1.8% for projecting the last quarter of 2020, and assuming 2% revenue growth in 2021 through 2026, the estimate of 10-year collections was decreased from $494 million to $489 million. Revenue forecasting adjustments will continue to be considered as part of the annual Plan Update process.
Available funding is divided between projects that reduce the incoming load of new pollution, remove accumulations of old pollution, restore natural stabilization and filtration systems, or facilitate processes to respond to new information. The original distribution of funds between project types was guided by best available data in 2016 regarding major contributing sources of pollution to the Indian River Lagoon.
In the 2021 Update, $185 million (46%, up from 24% in the original plan) is directed to projects that improve the treatment of human waste through upgraded treatment of reclaimed water, connection of package treatment plants to central sewer, nutrient removal from treatment plant spray-fields and rapid infiltration basins, smoke testing to identify leaky sewer infrastructure coupled with funding to incentivize repairs, conversion of septic neighborhoods to sewer service, connection of septic homes to adjacent sewer lines, and upgrade of high-risk conventional septic to advanced septic systems. The 2021 Update allocates 26% for muck removal (down from 66% in the original plan) plus 11% for stripping nutrients from the dredge outflow water.
The recommended changes in the 2021 update are consistent with the prior year shifts in emphasis that reduced muck dredging and increased human wastewater related projects and stormwater treatment, as illustrated in the cost allocation pie charts (below).
Clerk to the Board Instructions:
N/A