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ORDINANCE NO. 10312
AN ORDINANCE APPROVING A MEMORANDUM OF
UNDERSTANDING BETWEEN THE CITY OF PUEBLO, THE
COLORADO DEPARTMENT OF PUBLIC HEALTH AND
ENVIRONMENT, AND THE COLORADO STATE UNIVERSITY
TO MONITOR FOR SARS-COV-2 AND OTHER PATHOGENS
OF CONCERN AND AUTHORIZING THE MAYOR TO EXECUTE
SAME
BE IT ORDAINED BY THE CITY COUNCIL OF PUEBLO, that:
SECTION 1.
The Memorandum of Understanding between the City of Pueblo, the Colorado
Department of Public Health and Environment, and the Colorado State University attached
hereto, having been approved as to form by the City Attorney, is hereby approved. The Mayor
is authorized to execute said Agreement for and on behalf of the City and the City Clerk is
authorized to affix the seal of the City thereto and attest same.
SECTION 2.
The officers and staff of the City are authorized to perform any and all acts consistent
with this Ordinance and the attached Agreement which are necessary or desirable to implement
the transactions described therein.
SECTION 3.
This Ordinance shall become effective on the date of final action by the Mayor and City
Council.
Action by City Council:
Introduced and initial adoption of Ordinance by City Council on October 11, 2022 .
Final adoption of Ordinance by City Council on October 24, 2022 .
President of City Council
Action by the Mayor:
☒ Approved on October 27, 2022 .
□ Disapproved on based on the following objections:
_
Mayor
Action by City Council After Disapproval by the Mayor:
□ Council did not act to override the Mayor's veto.
□ Ordinance re-adopted on a vote of , on
□ Council action on _______ failed to override the Mayor’s veto.
President of City Council
ATTEST
Deputy City Clerk
City Clerk's Office Item # R9
Background Paper for Proposed
Ordinance
October 11, 2022
COUNCIL MEETING DATE:
TO: President Heather Graham and Members of City Council
CC: Mayor Nicholas A. Gradisar
VIA: Marisa Stoller, City Clerk
FROM:
Andra Ahrens, Director Wastewater
SUBJECT: AN ORDINANCE APPROVING A MEMORANDUM OF
UNDERSTANDING BETWEEN THE CITY OF PUEBLO, THE
COLORADO DEPARTMENT OF PUBLIC HEALTH AND
ENVIRONMENT, AND THE COLORADO STATE UNIVERSITY TO
MONITOR FOR SARS-COV-2 AND OTHER PATHOGENS OF
CONCERN AND AUTHORIZING THE MAYOR TO EXECUTE SAME
SUMMARY:
This Ordinance approves a memorandum of understanding to provide wastewater
influent samples to develop a statewide surveillance system of SARS-CoV-2 RNA and
other pathogens of concern in the wastewater though funding the Colorado Department
of Pueblo Health and Environment has received.
PREVIOUS COUNCIL ACTION:
Ordinance No. 9765 approved the memorandum of understanding to sample SARS-
CoV-2 RNA from the incoming wastewater at the James R. DiIorio for SARS-CoV-2, on
August 13, 2020.
BACKGROUND:
The wastewater entering the James R. DiIorio Water Reclamation Facility along with 18
other facilities across the state will be analyzed two times per week for 52 weeks to
develop a surveillance system to provide early warning for state and local health
authorities of significant changes in fecal shedding of SARS-CoV RNA, the etiological
agent of COVID 19. The wastewater will also be evaluated for pathogens or target of
public health concern. This testing will be performed by Colorado State University to
obtain comparable data to determine trends to indicate the rate of infection and
potentially identify hot spots statewide. Initial studies have shown good correlation with
outbreaks.
FINANCIAL IMPLICATIONS:
The only cost will be to collect the samples and ship them to the lab to perform the
analysis. This will be paid from sewer user fees.
BOARD/COMMISSION RECOMMENDATION:
Not applicable
STAKEHOLDER PROCESS:
None
ALTERNATIVES:
The no-action alternative would not provide the infection rate information that might
help the local health officials make good decisions.
RECOMMENDATION:
Approval of the Ordinance.
ATTACHMENTS:
1. 10-11-22 Sampling MOU
Colorado Wastewater Monitoring Program
Memorandum of Understanding
September 2022
Section 1: Background
The Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment (CDPHE) is continuing to partner with Colorado State
University and Colorado Wastewater Utilities to monitor for SARS-CoV-2 and other pathogens of concern in
wastewater influent at wastewater utilities across the state. The goal of wastewater monitoring is to provide data
that can be used by local public health agencies to understand the presence and/or trends of disease in their
communities for public health action. Public health action may include community messaging about the pathogen
detected, the importance of handwashing, encouragement to receive vaccines, and other resources providing more
information about disease control for a specific pathogen.
Section 2: Purpose
The purpose of this Memorandum of Understanding is to set forth the terms and conditions, scope of work, and
responsibilities of the parties associated with their collaboration on wastewater surveillance. The effort is scalable and
may be expanded through future agreements.
Section 3: MOU Parties
The following entities are parties to this MOU, individually referred to as Wastewater Utilities, Universities, and
Regulatory Agencies.
Participating Parties
Regulatory Agencies: Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment
Universities: Colorado State University
Wastewater Utility: City of Pueblo
Section 4 Responsibilities
The following is a description of the responsibilities of the MOU parties.
Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment
• Work with the Wastewater Utility to collect data necessary for interpretation of results. This may include
wastewater collection catchment boundaries to allow for correlation with clinical case data for that area, flow
rates, or other data as is requested by the CDC.
• Update, maintain, and enhance the CDPHE internal wastewater dashboard for participants of the program to
view their data before it is published to the public dashboard.
For SARS-CoV-2 (the virus that causes COVID-19), data will include RNA viral concentration (reported as
copies/L), case counts, and variant data by sewershed.
0 Other pathogens or targets of public health concern may be tested in wastewater samples and shared on the
public dashboard.
• Update and maintain the public dashboard on the CDPHE website.
• Coordinate with CDC's National Wastewater Surveillance System (NWSS) to better understand the extent
of disease in communities across the US.
• Quantify pathogen or other target concentrations from wastewater influent samples using reverse transcription
digital droplet PCR, when possible.
• Test wastewater influent samples from all participating utilities for mutations indicative of SARS-CoV-2 variants of
concern.
• Establish trend classifications and alert local public health agency partners to trends in their area.
Provide technical assistance to local public health agencies to interpret the data.
• Recruit and onboard additional utilities to participate in the wastewater monitoring program.
• Provide a courier service to wastewater utilities to pick up samples and transport them to the CDPHE or CSU lab.
• Notify utilities and local public health partners when CDPHE begins testing for a new pathogen of concern.
Colorado State University
• Extract SARS-CoV-2 RNA from wastewater influent samples from participating samples who elect to send samples to
CSU.
• Quantify SARS-CoV-2 RNA concentration from wastewater influent samples (from participating utilities who elect to
send samples to CSU) using reverse transcription digital droplet PCR.
• Data will be reported to the WWTP and CDPHE as viral copies per liter.
• Will report results to CDPHE from each testing run within 3 days of sample receipt.
Participating Wastewater Facilities
• Follow sampling methods as outlined in the 'SOP for Transportation of Samples to CSU Molecular Quantification
Core'.
• Sample wastewater influent at regular intervals that may be pathogen or target specific to ensure data
consistency, at a minimum of twice per week.
• Sampling will be conducted through July 31, 2023.
• Samples will be left for the CDPHE courier at the designated pick-up spot and time to be transported to the
selected lab for testing.
• Furnish GIS layer of the catchment area to CDPHE for interpretation of data on the dashboard.
• Provide CDPHE with information necessary for the interpretation of results. This may include flow rates or other
data as is requested by the CDC.
Section 5: Special Provisions
Nonbinding Agreement
The parties agree that this MOU is to memorialize the intent of the parties regarding the program but does not create a
legal agreement between the parties. It is agreed by the parties that nothing in this MOU will be deemed or construed
as creating a joint venture, trust, partnership, or any other legal relationship among the parties. This MOU is for the
benefit of the parties and does not create third-party rights.
Communications
Any communications affecting the operations covered by this agreement given by CDPHE, Colorado State University, or
the Wastewater Utility is sufficient only if in writing and delivered in person, mailed, or transmitted electronically by
e-mail or fax, as follows:
• To CDPHE or Colorado State University at the address specified in the MOU.
• To Wastewater Utilities, at the party's address shown in the MOU or such other address designated within the MOU.
• All communications with the media will be coordinated with CDPHE prior to the issuance of press releases
and interviews.
Access to records and data flow
• Nothing in the agreement shall be deemed to waive or modify any public access or provision of the Colorado
Open Records Act.
• All data relating to the project will be provided to CDPHE including, but not limited to, sample
locations, frequencies, collection methods, analysis methods, results, and any analysis statistics.
• Laboratory results will also be made available to the wastewater entity that generated the samples.
• All data will be analyzed by CDPHE and provided to the wastewater utilities and local public health agencies
concurrently via the CDPHE internal dashboard. If deemed appropriate to share on the public dashboard by CDPHE,
data will be published to the public dashboard 24 hours after being available on the CDPHE internal dashboard.
• CDPHE will share the results of wastewater testing with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).
This includes the CDC's National Wastewater Surveillance System, which houses a secure dashboard only accessible
by public health departments.
• All abstracts, presentations, and publications that include data from this project must be reviewed by CDPHE staff
prior to presentation or publication.
Effective date
This agreement shall become effective on the date of execution by the last signatory party. It may be amended or
extended upon the mutual agreement of the MOU Parties. The MOU may be terminated by any party after thirty (30)
days advance written notice. The MOU will expire on July 31, 2023, unless extended in writing by the parties.
Section 6: Approvals
The following pages include the approval of this MOU by the MOU Parties.
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Nick Gradisar, Mayor
City of Puebl