RANCHO PALOS VERDES CITY COUNCIL MEETING DATE: 04/06/2021 AGENDA REPORT AGENDA HEADING: Consent Calendar

AGENDA TITLE:

Consideration and possible action to authorize the Mayor to sign a letter in support of Assembly Joint Resolution (AJR) No. 2.

RECOMMENDED COUNCIL ACTION:

(1) Authorize the Mayor to sign a letter in support of AJR No. 2, which calls on Congress and the EPA to take action on the rediscovered DDT waste site off the coast of Catalina Island.

FISCAL IMPACT: None

Amount Budgeted: N/A Additional Appropriation: N/A Account Number(s): N/A

ORIGINATED BY: Megan Barnes, Senior Administrative Analyst REVIEWED BY: Karina Bañales, Deputy City Manager APPROVED BY: Ara Mihranian, AICP, City Manager

ATTACHED SUPPORTING DOCUMENTS:

A. Draft letter in support of AJR No. 2 (page A-1) B. Text of AJR No. 2 (as introduced December 7, 2020) (page B-1)

BACKGROUND AND DISCUSSION:

In October 2020, the Los Angeles Times reported that the seafloor off the coast of Catalina Island may be scattered with as many as 500,000 barrels of waste containing dichlorodiphenyltrichloroethane (DDT) produced by the South Bay-based Montrose Chemical Corporation from 1947 to 1961. DDT is a toxic pesticide that was later banned by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) due to its harmful effects on wildlife and humans. Although the barrel dumping activity was not unknown to government agencies that went on to take legal action against Montrose for causing environmental contamination, it was not the focus of a $140 million settlement with the chemical maker.

More background on this issue is available in the March 2, 2021 staff report: https://rpv.granicus.com/MetaViewer.php?view_id=5&clip_id=3870&meta_id=91557

In the months since the Los Angeles Times investigation was published, environmental organizations and elected officials, including the City Council, have called for the federal government to take action to assess the true extent of the barrel dumping and contamination and its effects on the ecosystem.

At the request of Senator Dianne Feinstein, UC San Diego’s Scripps Institution of Oceanography and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), with assistance from the Department of Defense, UC Santa Barbara and other partners, recently launched a mission to map 50,000 acres of the ocean floor near Catalina Island to identify the precise location, condition and number of barrels. This is the first step toward understanding the scope and scale of the problem in order to develop solutions to resolve it.

Additionally, Assemblymember Patrick O’Donnell of Long Beach has introduced legislation on this issue. Assembly Joint Resolution No. 2 calls on Congress and the EPA to take action on the rediscovered DDT waste site (Attachment B). Joint resolutions express the Legislature's opinion about a matter within the jurisdiction of the federal government, which is forwarded to Congress for its information.

AJR No. 2 is set for hearing in the Assembly Committee on Environmental Safety and Toxic Materials on April 21.

Staff has prepared a draft letter in support of AJR No. 2 for the City Council’s consideration (Attachment A). Given the City Council’s and residents’ interest in this issue, Staff recommends the City Council authorize the Mayor to sign the letter as drafted, or with revisions.

ALTERNATIVES:

In addition to the Staff recommendation, the following alternative actions are available for the City Council’s consideration:

1. Identify revised language to add to the letter. 2. Do not authorize the Mayor to sign the letter. 3. Take other action as deemed appropriate by the City Council.

April 6, 2021 Via Email

The Honorable Patrick O’Donnell California State Assembly State Capitol, Rm. 4001 Sacramento, CA 95814

SUBJECT: Notice of Support for AJR No. 2

Dear Assemblymember O’Donnell,

The City of Rancho Palos Verdes supports AJR No. 2, which calls on Congress and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency to take action on the re-discovered DDT waste site off the north coast of Catalina Island.

We recently shared our concerns about the true extent of environmental damage caused by offshore DDT dumping by the Montrose Chemical Corporation in a letter with you and other legislators. This issue is of high importance to our community. A recent survey of Rancho Palos Verdes residents found that the impacts of chemical dumping in our coastal waters was the second most concerning local environmental issue among respondents after ocean and beach pollution. Health of marine life was ranked the fourth most concerning local environmental issue by respondents.

While the City is pleased that efforts are underway to identify the precise location, condition and number of barrels of DDT-laden waste, this is only the first step in addressing the untold harm done to our ecosystem by this long-hidden hazard. We must hold the federal government accountable to make this issue a high priority and to identify and implement effective long-term solutions.

For these reasons, the City of Rancho Palos Verdes supports AJR No. 2.

Sincerely,

Eric Alegria Mayor

A-1 cc: Assemblymember Bill Quirk, Chair, Environmental Safety and Toxic Materials Committee Michael Regan, Administrator, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency Deborah Jordan, Deputy Regional Administrator, EPA Region 9 Radhika Fox, Principal Deputy Assistant Administrator, EPA Officer of Water Gina Raimondo, Secretary, U.S. Department of Commerce Brenda Mallory, Nominee to be Chair of the White House Council on Environmental Quality Benjamin Friedman, Acting Administrator, National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration Karen Hyun, Chief of Staff, National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration Lawrence Yee, Chair, Los Angeles Regional Water Quality Control Board Steve Padilla, Chair, California Coastal Commission Dianne Feinstein, U.S. Senator, California Alex Padilla, U.S. Senator, California Ted Lieu, U.S. Representative, 33rd Congressional District Alan Lowenthal, U.S. Representative, 47th Congressional District Nanette Barragán, U.S. Representative, 44th Congressional District Ben Allen, Senator, 26th State Senate District Steven Bradford, Senator, 35th State Senate District Al Muratsuchi, Assembly Member, 66th Assembly District Janice Hahn, L.A. County Supervisor, 4th District Joe Buscaino, L.A. City Councilmember, 15th District Ann Marshall, Mayor, City of Avalon Shelley Luce, President and CEO, Heal the Bay Bruce Reznik, Executive Director, LA Waterkeeper Tom Ford, CEO, The Bay Foundation Rancho Palos Verdes City Council Ara Mihranian, City Manager Karina Bañales, Deputy City Manager

A-2 california legislature—2021–22 regular session

Assembly Joint Resolution No. 2

Introduced by Assembly Member O'Donnell

December 7, 2020

Assembly Joint Resolution No. 2ÐRelative to coastal and marine waters.

legislative counsel’s digest AJR 2, as introduced, O'Donnell. Coastal and marine waters: Santa Catalina Island: dichloro-diphenyl-trichloroethane. This measure would request that the Congress of the United States and the United States Environmental Protection Agency take all measures necessary to prevent further damage to California's citizens, wildlife, and natural resources by the dichloro-diphenyl-trichloroethane waste dumped in the waters near Santa Catalina Island. Fiscal committee: no.

line 1 WHEREAS, California's coastal and marine waters are among line 2 the state's most precious resources and their conservation is line 3 essential to the preservation of both marine wildlife and line 4 California's thriving ocean economy, including ®shing, tourism, line 5 commerce, and recreation sectors; and line 6 WHEREAS, Santa Catalina Island and its surrounding waters line 7 provide habitats for a variety of marine creatures, including mantis line 8 shrimp, horn and leopard sharks, moray eels, and several species line 9 of sea birds; and line 10 WHEREAS, Santa Catalina Island also serves as a key part of line 11 Southern California's ocean tourism economy, generating over

B-1 AJR 2 Ð 2 Ð

line 1 one hundred sixty million dollars ($160,000,000) in economic line 2 activity in 2016 and receiving over 1,000,000 visitors in 2019; and line 3 WHEREAS, Despite critical protections provided by the federal line 4 Marine Protection, Research, and Sanctuaries Act of 1972 (Public line 5 Law 92-532), the dumping of hazardous material in ocean waters line 6 before the implementation of that act continues to threaten the line 7 health of California's citizens and wildlife to this day; and line 8 WHEREAS, The rediscovered dichloro-diphenyl-trichloroethane line 9 (DDT) waste dumping site off the north coast of Santa Catalina line 10 Island represents a signi®cant threat to the health of marine life in line 11 those waters and all animals in the food chain dependent on that line 12 marine life; and line 13 WHEREAS, The threat posed by these contaminants to the line 14 ecosystems on and around Santa Catalina Island also constitutes line 15 a threat to the ocean economy of the island and California, which line 16 depends on the continued health of marine life and safety of those line 17 experiencing California's waters; and line 18 WHEREAS, It is incumbent upon both the state and federal line 19 government to ensure these precious natural resources are preserved line 20 for future generations and protected from further damage by past line 21 ecological mistakes; now, therefore, be it line 22 Resolved by the Assembly and the Senate of the State of line 23 California, jointly, That the Legislature requests that the Congress line 24 of the United States and the United States Environmental Protection line 25 Agency take all measures necessary to prevent further damage to line 26 California's citizens, wildlife, and natural resources by the DDT line 27 waste dumped in the waters near Santa Catalina Island; and be it line 28 further line 29 Resolved, That the Chief Clerk of the Assembly transmit copies line 30 of this resolution to the President and Vice President of the United line 31 States, to the Speaker of the United States House of line 32 Representatives, to the Majority Leader of the United States Senate, line 33 to each Senator and Representative from California in the Congress line 34 of the United States, and to the author for appropriate distribution.

B-2