pages: CityCouncil/2019-05-07.pdf, 17
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CityCouncil | 2019-05-07 | 17 | approvals and getting sign-off that there are no significant adverse impacts; he welcomes working with the Sierra Club should the conditional lease be approved. Vice Mayor Knox White outlined questions and responses from the Sierra Club; noted the State regulatory board approval of the project could be wrong, causing difficulty for the project to shut down; inquired whether the staff report includes which boards address regulatory issues, monitoring, and contingency; stated the monitoring portion is not included in the exhibits; expressed support for monitoring the water temperature; inquired whether the requests can be built into the project. Mayor Ezzy Ashcraft expressed support for independent monitoring, as opposed to tenant monitoring. Mr. Connaughton stated the State Water Board and other regulators impose substantial monitoring requirements; Nautilus is happy to perform monitoring and bear the business risk; noted the thermal load will not be measureable at the discharge site since the amount of heat is not significant enough; stated Nautilus provides independent modeling; outlined monitoring efforts for all potential impacts. Councilmember Oddie expressed concern about monitoring and potentially finding toxic algae; noted once an adverse effect occurs, it is often too late; expressed concern over the negative impacts of allowing the project to move forward if irreversible environmental issues occur; stated Council should do the right thing from the beginning and prioritize the environment. Mayor Ezzy Ashcraft stated a clause or condition may be added to give the City recourse if there are significant environmental impacts. The Interim City Attorney stated provisions will need to be added to the lease; a "poison pill" provision could state: "if significant environmental impacts occur that the tenant cannot adequately mitigate, there will be grounds to terminate the lease." Mayor Ezzy Ashcraft stated some concerns may be answered by a regulatory body looking at the likelihood of conditions leading to toxic algae blooms; the tenant can address some of the concerns; there are not answers for every question, but significant environmental issues should be addressed. Councilmember Daysog stated whether the project moves forward and the proponent attempts to get approval from regulatory bodies, City staff should also be involved in the process so a clear understanding and adequacies of the technologies can be evaluated. Mr. Connaughton stated Nautilus will first have to go through the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) process; the City will be engaged through the entire process; the process calls for the City to be involved in each permitting process; if significant impacts arise, Nautilus will not move forward with the project. Regular Meeting Alameda City Council May 7, 2019 16 | CityCouncil/2019-05-07.pdf |