Item 125-Service Extension Requests (SERs)

[Atha Phillips]

Colleagues,

Item 125 of this week’s agenda deals with the requirement for staff to bring Service Extension Requests (SERs) to council for approval and allows for wastewater projects outside of the City’s jurisdiction to cost-participate in infrastructure.

This change puts these decisions back into staff's capable hands. Doing this does not alter existing stringent environmental rules found in the code; instead, it enables projects to move forward administratively without the extra time and money it takes to go to the many commissions and then finally the council for approval.

At the Council meeting on May 18, two months ago, Council approved two SERs on consent, with no fanfare. In Q and A from that meeting, I asked the following questions:

1. Do we require that all SERs come to Council for approval?
Austin Water (AW) processes over 400 SER applications per year, of which the vast majority are administratively approved by AW at the Department level consistent with City codes and policies. There are two scenarios under City code in which SERs require City Council consideration: 1) sites that are located within the Drinking Water Protection Zone (DWPZ) and outside the City’s full-purpose jurisdiction, or 2) SERs where AW has proposed “oversized” infrastructure improvements to meet regional needs and the Applicant is requesting City cost participation. In the past 3 years, approximately 27 out of 1,032 SERS (just under 3% of all SERs processed) required City Council action. 9 of those required Council consideration due to DWPZ considerations and 18 required Council approval because of cost participation requests.

2. What regulations already exist in code to protect environmentally sensitive areas?
Based on AW consultation with the Watershed Protection Department, the following is a general list of code provisions that protect environmentally sensitive areas:
• 25-7-31 Director Authorized to Require Erosion Hazard Zone Analysis
• 25-8 Article 3 Environmental Resource Inventory; Pollutant Attenuation Plan
• 25-8 Article 5 Erosion and Sedimentation Control; Overland Flow
• 25-8-261 Critical Water Quality Zone Development
• 25-8-281 Critical Environmental Features
• 25-8-282 Wetland Protection
• 25-8-321 Clearing of Vegetation
• 25-8-323 Temporary Storage Areas; Topsoil Protection
• 25-8 Article 12 Barton Springs Zone Requirements
• 25-8 Article 13 Save Our Springs Initiative
• 6-5-51 Discharges into Storm Sewers or Watercourses As well as:
• Environmental Criteria Manual
• Drainage Criteria Manual
• Utilities Criteria Manual

3. In the past 3 years, how many Service Extension Requests in the DWPZ have been requested? How many were denied by Council?
In the past 3 years, 9 SERs were presented to City Council due to their location within the DWPZ and outside the City’s full-purpose jurisdiction. All of these SERs were approved by Council.

My intent in bringing Item 125 is to adjust some steps that prolong the approvals timeline while still retaining long-standing protections for these sensitive areas. These protections will continue to be the most restrictive in the City of Austin.

Best,
Leslie