18-0116_BLENHEIM FACILITY MANAGEMENT_F1a_Correspondence 11/16/2018
January 15, 2018
City of San Juan Capistrano F1a
City Council Members
I have reviewed the proposed Interim Management Agreement for the Riding Park and am greatly concerned about the
Implications of the agreement.
During the time when I was on the City Council, I brought up the issue that the current lease with Blenheim Facility
Management places the City in a precarious position because the lease probably violated the IRS regulations pertaining
to Private use of property financed by tax exempt bonds. At that time the City was assured by our legal counsel, Rutan
and Tucker, that the IRS regulations provided a "safe Harbor" that allowed the city to lease the riding park to Blenheim.
When Best Best & Krieger was awarded the City's legal contract, their review of the lease did not support the use of tax
exempt bonds to grant exclusive use of public property to Blenheim and instead recommended that the lease be
changed to a Facility Management agreement where Blenheim would become a tenant that uses the facilities under the
control of an Independent management company. At that time I was under the impression that Blenheim could not be
both the facility manager and the exclusive operator of the City owned Riding Park.
It appears to me that the new Interim Agreement will still operate under the IRS tax exempt bond regulations for the
remaining roughly 18 month period when the existing tax exempt bonds will be paid off and replaced with taxable
bonds. My concern is that Blenheim will still operate the horse events and will also act as the Facility Management
Company regardless of how the agreement is written.
We all know that the City of Norco was fined $500,000 by the IRS for misuse of tax exempt bonds in a deal with R:J.
Brandes, the owner of Blenheim. Before this agreement is ratified by the City Council, I believe it would be proper to
seek IRS approval of the proposed Riding Park Management Agreement in order to protect the city from a possible
violation and fine.
My other concern is the ongoing lawsuit by Orange County Coast Keepers over the alleged pollution of the San Juan
Creek by runoff from the Riding Park under the National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System (NPDES) regulations. If
the city is found to be guilty of violation of NPDES by the court, the city could face considerable fines that would exceed
the city's financial reserves, causing a bankruptcy to occur. Under this new agreement, the city seems to accept all
NPDES liabilities (see attached NPDES guidelines) for the Riding Park site operations and also the need to monitor any
pollutant violations because the Facility Manager reports to the city that has final approval over all operations.
A final concern is that the neither the City nor Blenheim possess the necessary Concentrated Animal Feeding Operation
(CAFO) permits. Federal regulations require CAFO permits when stabling between 150 and 400 horses for 45 non-
consecutive days over a 12 month period. This fact alone places the city precarious position of operating the Riding Park
without a permit which can also carry significant fines.
It would seem to me that the City Council's job is to protect the City's financial structure and to protect the people who
pay the taxes that keep the city going.
~~~.
San Juan Capistrano, CA 92675
5 • What Requirements Will My NPDES Permit Contain?
What minimum elements must my nutrient management plan address?
At th e least, your nutrient m anagement pl an must describ e how you plan to m anage nutrients and w as te
for each element shown in Tabl e 15 that applies to your operat io n.
Ta bl e 1 5 . Minimum Sta nd a rd s for Nutrie nt Ma nagement Pl an s
:! 'Ait~quatc'stci;age capacity · · · · · · . · -· . ·: · ... : -._.:-· · · · · · · · :·. ~-_.'i -' ·-:·· ~.-... -. . '.. . . .. . -. .-•' . . . .
You r nutrient management p lan must Include specific practices to ensure adequate storage capacity to protect water quality. mcluding
provisions to ens ure proper operation and maintenance of your s torage facilities. Your plan should demonstrate that you are
./ Maintaining enough storage capacity in all of your liquid manure. wastewater. or storm water storage s tructures to ensure that you
are complying with all of your permit requirements .
./ Stonng dry manure in producuon buildings or storage facilities , or otherwrse stonng it in such o way as to prevent polluted runorr .
./ Providing adequate storage capacity to ensure comp liance wit h your state's technical s tandards for nutrient management .
./ Ensuring p roper o pera tion And mai ntenance of all manure. wDs tewa t er. and storm wa te r s t orage facUl ties.
Storoeo Includes stru ct ures li ke was te ponds , lagoon s . t anks (abovo ancl b e low g ro\lnd ), s tockpllos, o ncl ot he r s tn rcturcs.
You r nutrient management plan must describe how you handle and dispose of dead animals rna manner that protects water quc:1lity.
Common practices include composting, incineration, rendering, and landfi ll disposal. EPA recommend s that you do not bury dead
animals 1n pits because they might contaminate groundwater. You must not put dead animals in any liquid manure, storm water, or
process wastewater storage or treatment system unless the system is d esigned to handle deod onimals.
Keeping clean storm water away from producuon areas can reduce the amount or wastewater storage needed. Your plan must descnbe
how you design and implement management practices to divert clean water from the production area. where appropriate. Clean water
includes rain falling on tho roofs or facilities, runoff from adjacent land . and rainwa ter from other sources. If you don't prevent c lean
wat er f rom coming into co ntac:t with manure o r process was tewa ter, yo u mu st co ll ec t i t in accord ance with you r permit re qui re men ts.
Your plan must show how you handle chemicals and other contamina nts. Unused and waste cllomlcals and other contaminants must
not be allowed to enter waste lagoons or other structures for storing manure, litter. or process wastewater. or any storm water storage
or treatment system, unless the system is designed to trea t the chemicals and other contaminants . Examples or such chemicals are
pest rcides, hazardous and tox ic chemicals, and petroleum products and by·products.
Yo ur pla n must desc ri be 11 ow you d ev elop and impleme nt BMPs to control th e runoff of pollutants from your produc tion and land
application areas to waters of tho United States. These practices may include rcsicl ue management. conservation crop rotation.
grossed waterways. strip cropping. veg etated buffers, riparia n buffers. sctbncl<s. terracing. diversions. Dnd other practices that ore
appropriate for the conditions ot your operation.
~ ~.;, ~t:~·.r..:~ .. -,~--_, ;·· .,.. • • ., ,· . ' ---•-.-.~ ·'"'"':·~· ... ,.. . . -•. ·-•• '• . ''•\,... •'
. • ~o~t1.'1g ~anure, Litter, Process Wastewater, and Soil . : . _ . · · . . . · · . _ · . ·
Your plan rnust describe the specific methods you use to test tho nutrient content of manure . litter, and process wastewat er. If you
apply manure from your CAFO to the land. your plan must also describe the methods yo u use to test tM soil. Your NPDES permit will
tell you how often to test manure, litter, process wastewater, and soil.
~· ....... -·---·-·-.. ' • . . .. . r . -. --.. ,. ,· . ·;: ' , . • ·. . ; '·~Methods for the Land Application of Manure, Litter, and Proccsa Wastewater . · ~ I~ •• • ~· ..... -----.-• ·--·-·· • •. -• ·-• ' • • ',' , "' •"'-........ • • • • ~ ___ _._ ••
If you a p ply manure , litter, o r p ro cess waste wat er f rom yo ur CAFO to land areas, yo ur plan mu s t d escri be t he s ite -s pecific proce dures
a n d practices you will uso to en sure ap pro p riat e agricultura l use of the nutrion l s in th es e ma teria ls . These pro ce dures should ad dress
the rates, timing, and method or land i.ippllcation. Your p lan should describe the site-specific conditions that control t he amount ot
nutncnts you apply to your land. Site -speci fic conditions Include tile resu lts of your nutrient a no lyses. past nutncnt applications, and
the soli types in your application fields. as well as terrain, weather conditions. and any other conditions specific to your operation.
You must keep records that document your nutrient management practices. Your nutrient management plan should describe the
kmds of records you will keep to show how you are c arrying out and ma naging the min imum standards described above. (See "What
records do I have to keep?" on page 37 of this guide.)
34 • PRODUCERS' COMPLIANCE GUIDE FOR CAFOs