CITY COUNCIL STAFF REPORT
Meeting Date: April 04, 2022
TO: THE HONORABLE MAYOR AND CITY COUNCILMEMBERS
SUBJECT: ADOPT RESOLUTION NO. ___-22 APPROVING CONTINUED
PARTICIPATION IN THE STORMWATER POLLUTION
MANAGEMENT UTILITY DISTRICT AND AUTHORIZING THE
CONTRA COSTA COUNTY FLOOD CONTROL AND WATER
CONSERVATION DISTRICT TO ADOPT THE FISCAL YEAR 2022/23
STORMWATER UTILITY AREA FEE FOR THE CITY OF PLEASANT
HILL
SYNOPSIS
The City of Pleasant Hill participates in the Contra Costa Clean Water Program (CCCWP), which was formed to enable jurisdictions to perform local and countywide clean water activities cost-effectively. The Contra Costa County Flood Control and Water Conservation District (Flood Control District) collects a stormwater utility fee through the property tax roll, on behalf of the City, to fund these activities. In order for the Flood Control District to collect these fees, the City is required to set the Stormwater Utility Assessment (SUA) rate by May of each year.
Staff recommends the City Council adopt the attached resolution, which renews the SUA rate for Fiscal Year 2022/23.
DISCUSSION
Background
In 1993, the City Council authorized the Flood Control District to create a Stormwater Pollution Management Utility District to collect fees on the City’s behalf, under Contra Costa County’s SUA Drainage Ordinance No. 93-47. The fees are collected through the property tax roll, and are used to fund clean water activities (including, but not limited to, regulating new development, inspections, public education, and water quality monitoring). The San Francisco Bay Regional Water Quality Control Board (RWQCB) under the Federal Water Pollution Control Act, through a countywide National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System (NPDES) permit mandates these activities. The permit is issued to the Contra Costa Clean Water Program (CCCWP) with the City of Pleasant Hill as a co-permittee (as well as all 18 incorporated Contra Costa cities, the unincorporated County, and the Flood Control District).
Pursuant to the Stormwater Utility Area Agreement executed with the Flood Control District in 2003, the City must set the SUA rate by May of each year. The SUA rate is based on the Equivalent Runoff Unit (ERU), which is the amount of runoff generated from a typical singlefamily home. Other land uses are assessed a fee based on their typical impervious surface area as a multiple of the ERU. Based on Flood Control District projections, there are approximately 16,400 ERUs in the City.
Analysis
Since 2001 the rate set by the City Council has been $30 per ERU, which is the maximum authorized by the Stormwater Pollution Management Utility District when it was formed in 1993. Based on the estimated 16,400 ERUs in the City, approximately $492,000 in revenue will be generated. The revenue generated (Fund 19) provides funding for the ongoing implementation of local and countywide NPDES permit requirements and local storm drain and creek maintenance programs. The Municipal Regional Permit (MRP), adopted in 2009, added enhanced requirements (i.e. more outreach, watershed monitoring, illicit discharge control, installation and maintenance of trash capture devices, and development of a long-term zero trash plan).
The new MRP (MRP 2.0) was re-issued on November 19, 2015, with additional requirements that went into effect on January 1, 2016. These requirements included:
• Trash reduction goal of 80% by June 2019. This goal was met by the City; to date over 83% trash reduction has been achieved and staff is considering several different options in preparation to meet the 100% trash reduction goal requirement for June 2025. • Development of a Green Infrastructure Plan (Plan):
1. The first step was to develop a Green Infrastructure Framework (GIF), which the City Council approved on May 15, 2017. The GIF identifies potential and future capital projects that can implement green infrastructure improvements.
2. The next step was to finalize the Plan by June 2019, which the City completed ahead of the schedule. The Plan was intended to fund and design capital projects that include stormwater treatment facilities. The City has implemented similar types of projects recently (Geary Road project, Buskirk Improvement project). These projects treat runoff within landscape areas prior to entering the storm drain system. City staff has identified the Linda Ditch Improvement project (currently seeking grant funds) and other capital projects as green infrastructure projects to help meet the goal and permit requirements. • Reduction of PCB’s and Mercury: The requirements and goals set by RWQCB will be achieved through green infrastructure projects; identifying countywide contaminated hotspot sites for credit; and developing countywide abatement guidelines for building demolition permits that local jurisdictions would implement to capture/abate PCB and Mercury containing materials during demolition projects. CCCWP and other local jurisdictions continue efforts with the RWQCB to obtain an exception to this requirement as CCCWP staff confirmed that thereare no hotspot parcels within any of the 18 incorporated cities or in Contra Costa County that require removal of such a large amount of PCB or Mercury per the current requirement.
The RWQCB staff is working on the NPDES (MRP3) permit planned to be adopted in May 2022 and effective July 1, 2022. The Contra Costa Program and other Bay Area Programs and member permittees are currently engaged in negotiations with the RWQCB Staff on the terms of that new permit.
FISCAL IMPACT
The proposed action provides approximately $492,000 in revenue to fund ongoing implementation of local and countywide NPDES permit requirements. Future cost analysis to implement new permit requirements is underway and has not been determined to date.
PUBLIC CONTACT
Public contact was made through posting of the City Council agenda on the City’s official notice bulletin board, at the Pleasant Hill Senior Center and at the Pleasant Hill Police Department. The agenda and staff report are posted on the City’s web page.
RECOMMENDED CITY COUNCIL ACTION
Adopt the resolution, approving the continued participation in the Stormwater Pollution Management Utility District and authorizing the Contra Costa County Flood Control and Water Conservation District to adopt the Fiscal Year 2022/23 Stormwater Utility Area Fee for the City of Pleasant Hill.
ALTERNATIVES TO RECOMMENDED ACTION
Should the Stormwater Utility Area Rate not be renewed for FY 2022/2023, there would be a loss of $492,000 in revenues to fund and implement local and countywide NPDES permit requirements. The City would need to fund these activities to comply with other funding sources or potentially be subject to fines.
ATTACHMENT(S):
Proposed Resolution
Prepared by: Ananthan Kanagasundaram, Interim City Engineer Reviewed by: Ethan Bindernagel, Director of Community Development/Assistant City Manager Approved by: June Catalano, City Manager