San Clemente council authorizes $1.6 million emergency appropriation to repair trunk sewer line

The San Clemente City Council on Dec. 9 approved a resolution authorizing an exemption to the formal bidding rules and a supplemental appropriation of $1,600,000 from the sewer fund depreciation reserve to reimburse the Orange County Transportation Authority for repair and replacement of a city trunk sewer line.

City staff described the item as an emergency repair requiring expedited action. A councilmember moved to adopt the staff recommendation; the council voted unanimously to approve the resolution and found the project categorically exempt under the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA).

The resolution authorizes the city manager to negotiate and finalize the emergency agreement and to execute related documents to complete the repair work. The transcript records the council accepting staff’s recommendation and approving the appropriation; no additional public comment was made on the item.

Separately, the council approved a related staff request to use University of California, Irvine students to perform a lower-cost engineering study for a nearby trunk-line/pump-station project. Public Works Director Dave Reardon explained that the UCI study would inform any later licensed-engineer work and that a certified engineering firm would be hired if the student work yielded suitable solutions. A resident asked whether the study duplicated staffed work; Reardon said the UCI work could reduce overall consultant costs because the city still expects to commission a certified engineering firm only if necessary.