DATE: 03/05/2025
TO: Honorable Mayor and City Council Members
FROM: Public Works Department
2025-79
REQUEST FOR CITY COUNCIL ACTION
SUBJECT:
ADMINISTRATIVE SERVICES AGREEMENT FOR THE COUNTY SERVICE AREA 152 NATIONAL POLLUTANT DISCHARGE ELIMINATION SYSTEM PROGRAM EXECUTIVE SUMMARY:
This staff report asks the City Council to authorize a new 5-year Administrative Services Agreement (Agreement) for the County Service Area 152 (CSA 152) National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System (NPDES) Program between the City of Corona and the County of Riverside. The NPDES Program is a Permit that allows the City to discharge storm water into the waters of the United States. The agreement enables the City to work with the County to process the Benefit Assessment Unit Levy for parcels within the City as required to help fund the NPDES Program.
RECOMMENDED ACTION:
That City Council authorizes the City Manager, or his designee, to execute the Administrative Services Agreement for the County Service Area 152 NPDES Program between the City and the County.
BACKGROUND & HISTORY:
Amendments to the Federal Clean Water Act (“CWA”), enacted by Congress in 1987, established environmental programs, including the NPDES Permit program, to protect the Nation's waters. The CWA also directs the Environmental Protection Agency to develop, implement, and enforce regulations consistent with this law. For the State of California, these federal responsibilities were given to the State's nine Regional Water Quality Control Boards to regulate at the local levels.
The CWA prohibits any entity from discharging rain and other water runoff into the Nation's creeks, rivers, and other waters unless they are issued an NPDES permit. The NPDES permit contains regulations, monitoring, and reporting requirements to protect water quality and public health. Local agencies and municipalities who own and operate municipal separate storm sewer systems (“MS4”) for conveying stormwater runoff are considered dischargers to the Nation's waters. They are, therefore, required to obtain an NPDES Permit.
CSA 152 was formed to fund a federally-mandated program to reduce and control pollution carried in stormwater runoff. The CSA comprises all unincorporated lands within Riverside County, as well as cities within the County that have requested to be included within the boundaries of this service area. In 1992, the County established CSA 152 as a funding mechanism to help pay for anticipated compliance costs for its NPDES Permit requirements. On December 1, 1992, the County annexed Corona into CSA 152, and on November 1, 1994, the County and Corona entered into an Administrative Services Agreement, allowing the City to utilize CSA 152 assessments from properties within its boundaries to help fund the NPDES Program. Since 1994, Corona and the County have executed multiple iterations of the Agreement. The existing Agreement was executed on July 26, 2016; the language is the same for this 2025 Agreement.
ANALYSIS:
While this new Administrative Services Agreement will replace the existing agreement, the language remains the same. Additionally, the agreement may be renewed at the end of each 5-year term. To help fund the City’s NPDES Program, the new 5-year Agreement identifies responsibilities and processes for the City and County to manage and finance CSA 152 through collaborative efforts such as:
The City provides the County with annual property tax information for parcels within its jurisdiction; prepares documentation for City Council to annually approve property tax amount (currently $10 per parcel) and the City’s CSA budget each fiscal year (approximately $822,000 revenue for fiscal year 2026); informs the County of any changes to Tax Rate Area for individual parcels; researches parcels rejected from the list of Assessor Parcel Numbers (APNs) submitted to the County; informs the County of any corrections to rejected parcels to communicate to the Auditor Controller; and provides the County requests for reimbursement of actual spendings incurred for its CSA 152 budget.
The County forwards APNs received from the City to the Auditor-Controller, informs the City of any rejected parcels; forwards the City’s corrections of rejected parcels to the Auditor-Controller; provides CSA property tax fiscal year financial summary; collects property tax for CSA 152 on behalf of the City; and reimburses the City for actual expenditures incurred through the City CSA 152 budget.
FINANCIAL IMPACT:
There is no financial impact associated with the agreement. The 6 percent fee charged by the County for administering the CSA 152 program will remain the same as the prior agreement.
ENVIRONMENTAL ANALYSIS:
This action is exempt pursuant to Section 15061 (b)(3) of the Guidelines for the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA), which states that a project is exempt from CEQA if the activity is covered by the general rule that CEQA applies only to projects that have the potential for causing a significant effect on the environment. Where it can be seen with certainty that there is no possibility that the activity in question may have a significant effect on the environment, the activity is not subject to CEQA. This action is for the City’s continued partnership with Riverside County through an Administrative Services Agreement for the CSA 152 NPDES Program, and there is no possibility this will have a significant effect on the environment. Therefore, no environmental analysis is required.
PREPARED BY: CORDELL CHAVEZ, ENVIRONMENTAL COMPLIANCE
SUPERVISOR
REVIEWED BY: SAVAT KHAMPHOU, PUBLIC WORKS DIRECTOR
ATTACHMENTS:
1. Exhibit 1 – Administrative Services Agreement