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HomeMy WebLinkAbout023066 RES - 09/23/1997A RESOLUTION DIRECTING THE CITY MANAGER TO PREPARE AND FILE WITH THE TEXAS NATURAL RESOURCE CONSERVATION COMMISSION A MOTION TO AMEND THE 1995 OPERATING ORDER FOR THE CHOKE CANYON/LAKE CORPUS CHRISTI RESERVOIR SYSTEM, PROVIDING THAT IF THE CITY IMPLEMENTS THE PROPOSED DIVERSION OF TWENTY (20) MILLION GALLONS A DAY OF TREATED WASTEWATER EFFLUENT TO THE NUECES DELTA, THEN THE CITY COULD SUSPEND ALL REQUIREMENTS FOR THE PASSAGE OF FRESHWATER INFLOWS TO THE NUECES ESTUARY WHENEVER THE RESERVOIR SYSTEM COMBINED STORAGE IS BELOW 50% OF TOTAL STORAGE CAPACITY AND THE CITY HAS IMPLEMENTED CONDITION I OF ITS DROUGHT MANAGEMENT PLAN; DIRECTING THE CITY MANAGER TO PREPARE AND SUBMIT APPLICATIONS FOR FINANCIAL ASSISTANCE TO THE U.S. ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY AND OTHER AGENCIES; AND DIRECTING DISTRIBUTION OF THIS RESOLUTION WHEREAS, the Choke Canyon/Lake Corpus Christi Reservoir System, owned and operated by the City of Corpus Christi (City) and the Nueces River Authority provides water supplies to communities and industries in seven counties in the Corpus Christi area; and WHEREAS, on April 28, 1995, the Texas Natural Resource Conservation Commission (TNRCC) issued an Operating Order establishing procedures pertaining to Special Condition 5.B. of the City's and the Authority's Certificate of Adjudication No. 21-3214 for water rights in the Choke Canyon/Lake Corpus Christi Reservoir System; and WHEREAS, the 1995 Operating Order establishes a schedule of monthly targets for freshwater inflows to the Nueces Estuary and provides that the specified inflows to the Estuary will be no greater than either (a) the actual amounts of water measured flowing into the Choke Canyon/Lake Corpus Christi Reservoir System in any particular month or (b) that month's target amounts; and WHEREAS, the 1995 Operating Order now provides that during drought conditions, when reservoir storage falls below 40% of total reservoir system storage capacity and the City implements Condition II of its Drought Management Plan, inflow targets can be reduced to a drought contingency level of 1,200 acre-feet per month; and MICIt(FILMED WHEREAS, the passage of these amounts of inflows from the Choke Canyon/Lake Corpus Christi Reservoir System to the Nueces Estuary during the 1996 Drought created widespread public discontent with the 1995 Operating Order requirements; and WHEREAS, a proposal has been made to divert a total of twenty (20) million gallons per day (MGD) of treated wastewater effluent to locations in the Nueces River Delta in lieu of the freshwater inflows now required from the reservoir system during drought conditions; and WHEREAS, this proposed diversion project would increase both the amount of freshwater available to the Nueces Estuary and the amount of dependable water supply available for municipal and industrial use in the region; and WHEREAS, this project has received the support of a steering committee composed of representatives of the City and the Coastal Bend Bays Foundation as well as the staffs of the Texas Parks and Wildlife Department, the Texas General Land Office, the Texas Water Development Board and TNRCC because it protects both the environment and the local water supply; NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED BY THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF CORPUS CHRISTI, TEXAS: SECTION 1. That the City Manager, through the law firm of Brown & Potts, L.L.P., is directed to prepare and file with the Texas Natural Resource Conservation Commission a Motion to Amend the 1995 Operating Order for the Choke Canyon/Lake Corpus Christi reservoir system, requesting TNRCC to adopt the proposed "Work Plan regarding Freshwater Inflows to the Nueces Estuary," (a substantial copy of which is attached as "Exhibit A" and incorporated by reference) which would provide that if the City implements the proposed diversion of 20 million gallons a day of treated wastewater effluent to the Nueces Delta, then the City could suspend all requirements for the passage of freshwater inflows to the Nueces Estuary whenever the reservoir system combined storage is below 50% of total storage capacity and the City has implemented Condition I of its Drought Management Plan; and SECTION 2. That the City's attorney is instructed to inform the TNRCC that granting of 20/20 wastewater treatment permits for the effluent transferred to Nueces Bay is an important factor in the City's decision to implement the proposed diversion project; and SECTION 3. That the TNRCC is urged to approve the City's Motion to Amend the 1995 Operating Order for the Choke Canyon/Lake Corpus Christi reservoir system to include the proposed "Work Plan regarding Freshwater Inflows to the Nueces Estuary"; and SECTION 4. That the City Manager is directed to prepare and submit to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (USEPA), Region VI, in Dallas, an application for grant assistance under the USEPA's Wetlands Protection Grant Program in order to aid in the construction and monitoring of the proposed wastewater effluent diversion project, and to seek additional financial assistance for this project from other federal, state, private or non-profit agencies or organizations; and SECTION 5. That copies of this resolution be sent to the Executive Director of the Texas Natural Resource Conservation Commission; the Executive Director of the Texas Parks and Wildlife Department; the Texas Land Commissioner; the Executive Administrator of the Texas Water Development Board; County Judges in Nueces, San Patricio, Kleberg, Jim Wells, Live Oak, Bee, and Aransas Counties; Texas State Senators and Representatives representing these same counties; the Nueces River Authority; the San Patricio Municipal Water District; the South Texas Water Authority; the Alice Water Authority; the City of Mathis; the Beeville Water Supply District; Nueces County Water Control and Improvement District No. 4 (Port Aransas); and other interested officials; and SECTION 6. That the state agencies and the elected officials throughout the region served by the Choke Canyon/Lake Corpus Christi reservoir system are urged to support this request and are urged to express their support to the Texas Natural Resource Conservation Commission. ATTEST: Armando Chapa, City Secttary Samuel L. Neal, Jr. Mayor, City of Corpus Christi APPROVED: Ok3 DAY OF 5,1"aW997 JAMES R. BRAY, JR., CITY ATTORNEY By: City Attorney Corpus Christi, Texas (3'd day of A pi,Emaz,c , 19 C%7 The above resolution was passed by the following vote: Loyd Neal Jaime Capelo Melody Cooper Alex L. Garcia, Jr. Arnold Gonzales Betty Jean Longoria John Longoria Edward A. Martin Dr. David McNichols Work Plan regarding Freshwater Inflows to the Nueces Estuary Preamble The City of Corpus Christi (City), the Nueces River Authority, and the City of Three Rivers are the owners of, and the City is the principal operator of, the Lake Corpus Christi/Choke Canyon Reservoir System on the Nueces River. Currently, the Reservoir System is the primary water supply for the City and the surrounding twelve county area. The Nueces River is also the main source of fresh water to the Nueces Estuary. As part of its water rights permit for Choke Canyon Reservoir, the City is required to operate the Reservoir System in such a way that spills and releases from the Reservoir System and return flows provide not less than 151,000 acre-feet (acft) per year to the receiving estuaries. After the first operations plan for the Reservoir System was issued by the Texas Water Commission (predecessor to the Texas Natural Resource Conservation Commission (TNRCC)) in 1990, the City conducted a Nueces Estuary Regional Wastewater Planning Study (Wastewater Study) to assess the potential beneficial impacts of targeting wastewater return flows in the Nueces Delta to substitute, in part, for releases or pass throughs of inflows from the Reservoir System Phase 11 of the Wastewater Study was finished in June 1993 and concluded that targeting the return flows would have a beneficial impact on the productivity of the Nueces Estuary. Based on the findings in the Wastewater Study, two recommendations were made: 1. Establish one or two demonstration projects to show the project feasibility and to provide scientific evidence for the degree of productivity enhancements achievable by freshwater and wastewater diversions to the Nueces Delta; and 2. Establish a scientific monitoring program to routinely collect pertinent data for the continued operation and improvement of scientific knowledge in the Nueces Estuary. Currently, both recommendations are being implemented. Construction of the Allison Wastewater Treatment Plant demonstration project will be completed in September 1997, and the monitoring program was initiated prior to the construction of the demonstration project. In addition to implementing the recommendations of the Regional Wastewater Study, the City has been working with the Nueces Estuary Advisory Council (NEAC) and the TNRCC to gather information on the operating plan and other data on the importance of freshwater inflows to the Nueces Estuary. As a result of that ongoing work, the reservoir operating plan was amended in 1995 (1995 Agreed Order). The 1995 Agreed Order sets targeted monthly inflow amounts based on the amount of water impounded in the Reservoir System. Under the 1995 Agreed Order, the City is required to meet targeted inflow amounts of 138,000 acft, when the water impounded in the Reservoir is greater than or equal to 70 percent of storage capacity, and 97,000 acft, when the water impounded is less than 70 percent but greater than or equal to 40 percent of storage capacity, by a combination of releases and September 24, 1997 spills from the Reservoir System and return flows. The 1995 Agreed Order also provides that the City may reduce the inflows during times of drought in any month when water impounded in the Reservoir System is less than 40 percent but greater than or equal to 30 percent and the City has implemented Condition II of the City Drought Contingency Plan, and that the City may suspend the inflows when the water impounded in the Reservoir System is less than 30 percent and the City has implemented Condition III of the City Drought Contingency Plan. Since the adoption of the 1995 Agreed Order, the Nueces Watershed and the Reservoir System has experienced a severe drought. As a result of this drought, the City implemented some of the drought contingency provisions of the 1995 Agreed Order in addition to ongoing water conservation measures. The City also secured additional supplies from Lake Texana. On March 25, 1997, the City filed a request with the TNRCC to amend the 1995 Agreed Order. Subsequently, the City requested a continuance in order to consider a proposal by the Coastal Bend Bays Foundation (CBBF) to redirect wastewater return flows into the Nueces Delta in exchange for modifying the 1995 Agreed Order to allow the City to suspend riverine inflows when the Reservoir System capacity is less than 50 percent and when the City has implemented all of the measures of Condition I of its Drought Contingency Plan. The City discussed its request with the staffs of the TNRCC, Texas Parks and Wildlife Department (TPWD), Texas Water Development Board (TWDB), and Texas General Land Office (GLO). Under the Cita s proposal, a total of 20 million gallons per day (MGD) of wastewater discharges would be redirected into the Nueces Delta as a substitute for riverine flows. Based on these discussions, in June 1997, these groups entered into an "Agreement in Principle" to support the development of a work plan for implementing the City and CBBF proposal to provide long-term freshwater inflows to the Nueces Estuary System. On June 25, 1997, based on the "Agreement in Principle," the TNRCC granted the City temporary relief until October 15, 1997, from the freshwater inflow requirements under the 1995 Agreed Order when the Reservoir System capacity is below 50 percent. The "Agreement in Principle" included an understanding that the City would request that the TNRCC amend the 1995 Agreed Order, under which the City is currently operating the Reservoir System, based on a work plan for redirecting wastewater return flows to the Nueces Delta. To assist in the development of the work plan, a Steering Committee and advisory subcommittees were established to examine specific issues identified in the "Agreement in Principle" and to identify and resolve other issues. The Steering Committee was comprised of the City, CBBF, and staffs of the TNRCC, TPWD, GLO, and TWDB. Three advisory subcommittees were established to examine biological, hydrological, and water quality/permitting issues. The following work plan addresses these issues. 2 September 24, 1997 Work Plan I. Proposal A. Objectives 1. The City of Corpus Christi will, subject to obtaining and in accordance with the applicable permits, redirect municipal and industrial return flows of not less than 1800 acre-feet per month (approximately 20 MGD) to the Nueces River delta according to the following anticipated schedule: a. Phase 1 (2.0 MGD) Allison Wastewater Treatment Plant (WWTP), 2.0 MGD. Completion in October 1997. b. Phase 2 (8.0 MGD) I. Industrial. Koch, 3.0 MGD. ii. Municipal. Broadway WWTP, 4.5 MGD. iii. Municipal. Allison WWTP, 0.5 MGD. Completion in 2-4 years from the date of the Order. c. Phase 3 (10.0 MGD) Greenwood and/or Oso WWTP, 10.0 MGD. Completion in 4-6 years from the date of the Order. 2. The City, in cooperation with the Steering Committee and the Nueces Estuary Advisory Council (NEAC), will monitor the discharge of the redirected return flows on the Nueces Estuary, assess the effects of these return flows to the Nueces Estuary system, and evaluate whether the redirected return flows and other changes create a need to modify the existing reservoir system management plan to optimize water availability for permitted uses and freshwater inflows to the Nueces Estuary system. 3. The City and TPWD, in cooperation with the Steering Committee and NEAC, will develop a program to educate and inform the public on the importance of freshwater inflows and water conservation to the ecology of the Nueces Estuary system, the need for this work plan, and the resulting benefits to the surrounding communities and their economies. The City and TPWD, in cooperation with the Steering Committee and NEAC, will also develop a schedule for implementing this educational program. B. Relief In consideration of the City's commitment to this work plan, the parties to this work plan agree to support the City's proposed revision to the 1995 Agreed Order as follows: 3 September 24, 1997 1. When water impounded in the Reservoir System is less than 70 percent but greater than or equal to 50 percent of storage capacity, a targeted amount of 97,000 acre-feet is to be delivered to Nueces Bay and/or the Nueces Delta by a comtmation of releases and spills from the Reservoir System as well as diversions and return flows. In accordance with the monthly schedule and except as provided otherwise in the 1995 Agreed Order, targeted inflows to Nueces Bay and/or the Nueces Delta shall be in the acre-foot amounts as follows: January 2,500 July 4,500 February 2,500 August 5,000 March 3,500 September 11,500 April 3,500 October 9,000 May 23,500 November 4,000 June 23,000 December 4,500 It is expressly provided, however, that releases from the Reservoir System storage shall not be required to satisfy the above targeted inflow amounts as calculated in Paragraph 1.d. of the 1995 Agreed Order. 2. Since relief from freshwater inflow requirements contained in the Certificate of Adjudication 21-3214, and based on reservoir system operating rules contained in the 1995 Agreed Order, are contingent upon the implementation of the City's Drought Contingency Plan adopted in 1987 and as amended in 1996, any subsequent changes to demand reduction measures during the implementation of the work plan may constitute cause for review and action by the TNRCC as provided by Section VI below. 3. Provided the objectives of this work plan are being met according to the schedules set forth in Section II, below, and this work plan is in effect by order of the TNRCC, in any month when water impounded in the Reservoir System is less than 50 percent of storage capacity, the City of Corpus Christi may suspend the passage of inflow from the Reservoir System for targeted inflow purposes to Nueces Bay, when the City has implemented and required its customers to implement, at a minimum, all measures of Condition I as described in the City of Corpus Christi's "Water Conservation and Drought Contingency Plan," as amended. These measures are: a. daily monitoring of lake levels; b. check operation of city -owned or leased wells for mechanical or electrical problems; c. discuss water conservation and rationing possibility with City's wholesale customers, including the San Patricio Municipal Water District, Alice Water Authority, City of Mathis, and Beeville Water Authority; d. discuss water conservation and rationing possibility with other holders of Nueces River water rights not controlled by the City and notify the Nueces River Authority of all actions being taken; 4 September 24, 1997 e. discuss possibility of a water conservation and rationing program with large water volume industrial users; f. City Council declares that water shortage conditions exist and implements drought contingency plan; g. request voluntary conservation of water by all users and mandatory conservation by municipal operations; h. restrict watering of lawns to specified day or days of the week; i. restrict watering lawns and vegetation between 10 am and 6 p.m; and j. make treated wastewater effluent available to public for non -potable beneficial purposes in accordance with the water right. 4. The City may continue to obtain relief from targeted Nueces Bay inflows in any month when water impounded in the Reservoir System is less than 40 percent of storage capacity, provided the City has implemented and continues to enforce all measures of Condition II as described in the City of Corpus Christi's "Water Conservation and Drought Contingency Plan," as amended. These measures are: a. shut off water in ornamental fountains that do not recycle water; b. repair or shut off defective plumbing allowing the waste of water; c. restrict use of potable water for outdoor uses such as car washing, dust control, exterior building, sidewalk, and driveway washing; d. restrict use of fire hydrants for any use other than fire fighting; e. restrict the watering of lawns to once every two weeks, with no watering allowed between 10 a.m. and 6 p.m; f restrict the watering of vegetation as provided by the City Manager; g. prohibit the use of potable water by a golf course to irrigate any portion of its grounds, except those areas designated as tees and greens, and only between the hours of 6 a.m and 10 am on Mondays, Wednesdays, Fridays, and Sundays; and h. appoint an Allocation and Review Committee. Additional measures may be implemented as the City Manager deems appropriate. II. Redirection of Return Flows (Objective 1) The following sets out schedules for the redirection of return flows to the Nueces Delta. These schedules are subject to review and revision as provided in Section VI below. A. Phase 1 (Allison WWTP) Phase 1 involves the discharge of 2.0 MGD from the Allison WWTP demonstration project to the South Lake area of the Nueces Estuary. This project has been approved and permitted by the TNRCC and is currently under construction. 5 September 24, 1997 1. Completion Date. October 31, 1997 2. Monitoring. Monitoring must be performed according to the program described in Section III, below. 13. Phase 2 (Koch and Broadway WWTP) Phase 2 involves discharging into the Nueces Delta 8.0 MGD of municipal and industrial effluent. The diversions will include 3.0 MGD that is currently being discharged from the Koch Refining Company Plant into the Ship Channel, and 5.0 MGD of municipal effluent being discharged to the Nueces River Tidal and Ship Channel. The municipal discharges will consist of 0.5 MGD from the Allison WWTP and 4.5 MGD from the Broadway WWTP. The 0.5 MGD from the Allison WWTP can be provided if the City obtains a permit amendment and conveys the wastewater through the pipeline currently under construction. 1. Permitting a. Information and analysis to be furnished to TNRCC by January 31, 1998, in preparation for TNRCC discharge permits, EPA/NPDES wastewater discharge permits, and U.S. Arany Corps of Engineers (Corps) 404 permits: i. Identification of potential sources of effluent from industry and municipal sources. ii. Identification of quantity of water available from each source. iii. Detailed analysis of water quality from each source. iv. Analysis of storage/treatment alternatives. v. Analysis of alternative collection systems and routes for both industrial and municipal wastewaters. vi. Detailed description of existing discharge points. vii. Detailed description of proposed discharge points. viii. Identify existing and proposed discharge points on topographic maps. x. Description of habitat at existing and proposed discharge sites. x. Identify specific stream quality standards that will affect the issuance of a TNRCC discharge permit. xi. Perform tests on the effluent to determine potential for meeting or exceeding the stream standards. 6 September 24, 1997 b. Completion Dates i. Applications A. File complete applications for all TNRCC discharge permits by January 30, 1998, and the applications will be administratively complete in accordance with the timelines set forth in the TNRCC rules. B. File complete applications for EPA/NPDES permits and Corps 404 permits by April 1, 1998. ii. Permits A. The applicant and TNRCC staff will diligently pursue the processing of the applications with the goal of having the Commission take formal action for all uncontested applications by August 31, 1998. 2. Design and Construction for industrial and municipal projects a. Submit plans and specifications to TNRCC for approval within 240 days of the issuance of all permits, if required. b. The City shall complete this phase of the project within four years of the date of the Order, unless extended under Section VI below. C. Phase 3 (Greenwood and/or Oso WWTP) Phase 3 involves the expansion of the Greenwood WWTP and the discharge of an additional 10.0 MGD of municipal wastewater into the Delta from the Greenwood WWTP. After the expansion of the Greenwood WWTP, the Broadway WWTP will be closed, and the Greenwood WWTP will treat the wastewater previously treated at the Broadway WWTP. The additional 10.0 MGD to be diverted in Phase 3 will be obtained from population growth and from internal system transfers of individual service areas from the Oso WWTP, as available. 1. Permitting a. The City will complete and provide to TNRCC the following information and analysis by April 1, 1999 in preparation for amending the TNRCC discharge permit, amending the EPA/NPDES wastewater discharge permit, and applying for a U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (Corps) 404 permit: i. Identify timing of the Broadway Wastewater Treatment Plant (WWTP) shutdown. ii. Prepare facility plan for the Greenwood WWTP. 7 September 24, 1997 topographic maps. iii. Identify sites within the delta for distribution of effluent on iv. Description of habitat at existing and proposed discharge sites. b. Completion Dates. i. Applications A. File complete applications for all TNRCC discharge permits by May 1, 1999, and the applications will be administratively complete in accordance with the timelines set forth in the TNRCC rules. B. File complete applications for EPA/NPDES permits and Corps 404 permits by July 1, 1999. ii. Permits A. The applicant and TNRCC staff will diligently pursue the processing of the applications with the goal of having the Commission take formal action on all uncontested applications by August 31, 2000. 2. Design and Construction a. Submit plans and specifications to TNRCC for approval within 240 days of the issuance of all permits, if required. b. The City shall complete this phase of the project within six years of the date of the Order, unless extended under Section VI below. 3. Monitoring. Monitoring must be performed according to the program described in Section 111, below. III. Monitoring A monitoring program will be implemented to detect the occurrence of impacts, particularly degradation, due to the wastewater discharge on biota and wetlands in the immediate Nueces Delta discharge zone and along the gradient from the discharge site out through the delta to the upper edge of Nueces Bay. This biological monitoring program will be carefully designed after all proposed details of the wastewater discharge project (including source and quantity of wastewaters, their composition, the location of the exact discharge site, and an operating plan for discharging) are known and decided. The scope of the bio -monitoring work will then be developed jointly by the City, resource agencies (TPWD, TNRCC, GLO), and knowledgeable research scientists from the University of Texas Marine Sciences Institute and Texas A&M University Corpus Christi. Intensive, multi -seasonal monitoring and sampling would be planned for a minimum length of time starting one year prior to and extending 8 September 24, 1997 five years after the start of the wastewater return flow project. Further monitoring after the initial five year period would be on an annual basis. 1. Continuous monitoring of water -column salinity and dissolved oxygen (DO) with automated hydrosonde units at three or more points ranging from near the wastewater discharge outfall out to the edge of Nueces Bay in order to detect the physical extent of wastewater mixing. 2. Water -column primary production (biomass by chlorophyll), productivity (photosynthesis), total organic loading (particulate and dissolved), and phytoplankton and zooplankton taxonomy to detect population changes in plankton communities. 3. Emergent vegetation measurements (plant cover/biomass, species composition, and soil chemistry) along fixed ground transects three times per year (spring, mid -summer, and late fall). The number and location of stations would be chosen to detect responses of marsh plant communities to lower salinity water and higher loads of nutrients and trace metals. This sampling scheme would closely follow the discharge gradient. Aerial, color infrared photography will be performed each October for five years over the entire lower delta (around the discharge sites out to the open bay). After five years, the photography could be done every two years. 4. Benthic sampling of invertebrates and other infaunal populations would quantitatively determine the effects of the freshwater diversions and the wastewater discharges. 5. Nekton sampling would be done in the delta for larval/juvenile fish, shellfish, and other invertebrates by trawling or seining. This would complement sampling being done on a regular basis by the TPWD Coastal Fisheries in the open waters of Nueces Bay. 6 Sampling of mammals, reptiles, and bird populations would be done in the delta habitat areas. 7. A program of contaminant sampling and analysis will be designed to monitor bioaccumulation of key toxic materials (e.g. mercury, zinc, lead, etc.) found in the wastewater discharges. This program would focus on contaminant levels in the sediments and in tissue of sessile (stationary) plant and animal populations (e.g. oysters) and be designed to detect any gradient or bioaccumulation between the discharge outfalls and the open waters of Nueces Bay. This program will be designed and coordinated with TNRCC, the state and local Health Departments, and other agency programs. IV. Evaluation (Objective 2) A. Compliance with this Work plan shall be monitored by a Steering Committee comprised of one or more representatives from the City, the Coastal Bend Bays Foundation (CBBF), TNRCC, TPWD, TWDB, and GLO. 9 September 24, 1997 B. The Steering Committee, in cooperation with NEAC, will evaluate the monitoring of the wastewater return flow projects and other changes to the ecology of the Nueces Estuary to assess the benefits of the return flows to the Nueces Estuary. At the request of any member of the Steering Committee, but no later than October 1, 2002, and periodically thereafter, the Steering Committee will determine whether there is a need to revise the existing monitoring programs and whether there is a need for a new reservoir system management plan to optimize water availability for permitted uses and freshwater inflows to the Nueces Estuary system Recommendations for revisions to the monitoring programs or reservoir management plan will be forwarded by the Steering Committee to NEAC. V. Educational Program (Objective 3) By April, 1998, the City and TPWD, in cooperation with the Steering Committee and NEAC, will develop a program to educate and inform the public on the importance of freshwater inflows and water conservation planning to the ecology of the Nueces Estuary system, the need for this work plan, and the resulting benefits to the surrounding communities and their economies. The City and TPWD, in cooperation with the Steering Committee and NEAC, will also develop a schedule for implementing this educational program. Upon approval of the program by NEAC, the City will implement the program. VI. Review and Reconsideration of Workplan A. Upon completion of the work plan, the City shall provide not less than 20 MGD to the Nueces River Delta through the discharge of treated effluent of acceptable quality for the purposes of maintaining the proper ecological environment and health of related living marine resources. This is to be accomplished in Phase 3 by the expansion and increased discharges from wastewater treatment facilities owned by the City. Should it appear that these wastewater discharges will not amount to at least 20 MGD by the completion of all three phases of the work plan, then the Steering Committee and NEAC shall meet and develop recommendations on how the remaining amount shall be provided, either from riverine flows or other acceptable sources. B. The City, should it determine that it will not meet any deadline contained in the work plan or will fail to cavy out the objectives of the work plan, must so inform the members of the Steering Committee as well as the Executive Director of the TNRCC. This notice must be provided in writing as soon as practical after the City's determination and as much in advance of any deadline or projected failure as possible. The City, should it determine that there are better or more feasible alternatives for meeting the objectives or the work plan, may propose revisions or additions to the work plan to the Steering Committee. C. Process for Revisions, Extensions, or Determining Compliance I. Notice by the City or a written request from one or more Steering Committee members stating that a deadline is not being met, the objectives of the work plan are not being met or 10 September 24, 1997 that there are better or more feasible alternatives for meeting the objectives of the work plan, shall cause the NEAC to be convened for a full review. 2. If the NEAC finds that a deadline has been missed, that the objectives are not being met or that there are better or more feasible alternatives, the NEAC shall certify such findings to the Executive Director of the TNRCC, together with any recommendations for deadline extensions, revisions or amendments to the work plan, or for reversion to the terms and conditions of the 1995 Agreed Order. 3. As provided in Section 4 of the 1995 Agreed Order, the Executive Director shall forward the findings and recommendations of NEAC to the TNRCC, together with any comments of the Executive Director, and shall set the matter on the next available Commission agenda for consideration. The failure of the NEAC to make affirmative findings or recommendations will not prevent the Executive Director from setting the matter on a Commission agenda. 4. The TNRCC upon a showing of good cause, may approve extensions of deadlines or revisions or amendments to the work plan. Should the TNRCC fail to approve any deadline extensions or ford no good cause exists for failure to meet the objectives of the work plan, the monthly inflow targets and drought contingency provisions of the 1995 Agreed Order shall be reinstated, unless otherwise ordered by the TNRCC. D. By consenting to the adoption of this work plan, no party admits or denies any claim, nor waives with respect to any subsequent proceeding any interpretation or argument which may be contrary to the provisions of this work plan. The City, the Executive Director of the TNRCC, TPWD, TWDB, GLO, and CBBF reserve the right, at any time, to request the TNRCC to amend the monthly targeted inflow and drought contingency provisions or other provisions of the 1995 Agreed Order or as it may be amended. The order implementing this plan shall provide that nothing therein affects the authority of TNRCC or its Executive Director to enforce its orders and regulate water and water quality under Chapters 11 and 26 of the Texas Water Code or other applicable law. VII. Temporary or Interim Restoration of Inflows A. Documented Emergencies. In the event of a documented emergency, the Executive Director of the TPWD may request the TNRCC to order a temporary return to the freshwater inflow amounts targeted under the 1995 Agreed Order. Documentation for the emergency shall be based on major declines in species and/or the abundance of species in Nueces Bay as determined by the TPWD's Coastal Fisheries Program. B. May and June Inflows. The following special condition shall apply each year during the months of May and June until Phase 2 of the project, as described in Section II.B above, is completed. If the water impounded in the Reservoir System is less than 50 percent but greater than or equal to 30 percent of storage capacity, targeted riverine inflows of up to 700 acre-feet in each of May and June will be made based on environmental needs determined by the TPWD. The TPWD will notify the 11 September 24, 1997 TNRCC and the City of Corpus Christi by letter of the need to make such inflows, and such inflows shall be provided in the months requested. Within 30 days of notifying the TNRCC and the City of the need for such inflows, the TPWD will provide the TNRCC and the City with monitoring data justifying the need for such inflows. The monitoring data documenting the need for such inflows will be developed based on TPWD fishery sampling surveys and water quality monitoring of the Nueces River and Delta, 12 September 24, 1997