Caltrans Cooperative Implementation Agreement – City of Richmond
Introduction
Caltrans and the City of Richmond (City) are seeking to create a regional partnership that will provide multi-pollutant removal of trash, polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs), and mercury from stormwater before discharging from the storm drain system to the San Francisco Bay.
The proposed multi-site, multi-benefit stormwater capture projects will capture runoff from approximately 411 acres of City of Richmond and 67 acres of Caltrans right-of-way (ROW), of which 50.5 acres are designated as Significant Trash Generating Areas (STGA) (Table 1). The project will control trash and remove PCBs and mercury total maximum daily load (TMDL) pollutants from stormwater runoff, primarily through the removal of contaminated sediment.
Background
The City of Richmond is a member of the Contra Costa Countywide Clean Water Program (CCCWP), a joint powers agency1. CCCWP supports its member agencies in complying with the Municipal Regional Permit (MRP) (version 3.0) issued by the San Francisco Bay Regional Water Quality Control Board (RWQCB). MRP 3.0 Provision C.10 Trash Reduction requires the City to implement trash load reduction control actions, including full trash capture systems, to meet the goal of 100 percent trash load reduction or no adverse impact to receiving waters from trash by June 30, 2025. These required reductions will largely be accomplished through the implementation of full trash capture devices.
Caltrans is required to prevent the discharge of trash from 8,910 acres in accordance with the San Francisco Bay RWQCB issued trash discharge Cease and Desist (CDO) Order (Order No.
R2-2019-0007 as amended by R2-2021-0030) by June 30, 2026. Further, Caltrans is required to reduce mercury and PCB loading from 2,970 acres of ROW that are located within the San Francisco Bay RWQCB region in accordance with Attachment D of the Caltrans NPDES Permit (Order 2022-0033-DWQ).
The Caltrans NPDES Permit allows an acreage credit of three times the credit recognized for Caltrans funded regional partnership projects that reduce PCB and mercury loading in old industrial areas. Caltrans and the City will work with the San Francisco Bay RWQCB individually to determine appropriate PCB and mercury reduction crediting toward their respective stormwater permit requirements based on the land uses within the treatment shed and removal efficiencies of the installed devices.
Proposed Multi-Site Project
The four proposed trash capture locations include (see Attachment II-A):
Burlingame & Monterey St.,
S 51st St. & Bayview Ave.,
700 W Cutting Blvd., and
7th St. Gross Solids Removal Device (GSRD).
For all of these locations, the project sites and storm drain pipes are owned by the City.
1 The Program’s member agencies are Contra Costa County, the 19 incorporated cities and towns of Contra Costa, and the Contra Costa County Flood Control & Water Conservation District.
Caltrans Cooperative Implementation Agreement – City of Richmond
The sites at Burlingame & Monterey St., S 51st St. & Bayview Ave., and 700 W Cutting Blvd. will each have a large trash capture device installed to remove trash and sediment before conveying the stormwater back into the storm drain system which flows to the San Francisco Bay. The 7th St. GSRD is an existing trash capture device that will be repaired and secured so that it remains operational. The specific attributes for each location are summarized below in Table 1.
Table 1. City of Richmond Project Location Information
Device Device Type1 City Jurisdiction
Drainage Area
(Acres)
Caltrans
STGA
(Acres)
Total Device
Drainage
Area (Acres)
Burlingame & Monterey St. TBD 66.7 14.1 80.8
S 51st St. & Bayview Ave. TBD 30.8 13.4 62.6
700 W Cutting Blvd. TBD 154.7 23.0 195.6
7th St. GSRD GSRD 159.3 TBD2 159.3
Total 411.5 50.5 498.3
1 Devices may be Continuous Deflective System (CDS), Debris Separating Baffle Box (DSBB), or Hydrodynamic Separator (HDS) 2 The amount of compliance credited will be determined based on discussions with the San Francisco Bay RWQCB (see the discussion under “Alternative Compliance Project”)
The project generally involves initial engineering and geotechnical assessments, detailed design, environmental compliance, permitting, excavation to install the trash capture device into the existing storm drain system, and reconstruction of disturbed portions of the site.
The City will ensure and lead the long-term operation and maintenance of the constructed trash capture devices.
Alternative Compliance Credit
Under CDO provision 5.c.i, Caltrans may claim alternative compliance credits through demonstration of infeasibility:
If the Department and Regional Water Board agree that it is infeasible to implement trash controls sufficient to reach full trash capture equivalency within significant trash generating portions of ROW or in areas managed by municipalities or local agencies to which trash from Department ROW is discharged, or other trash control projects within watersheds that reduce trash discharges from Department ROW, the Department may seek alternative compliance credits. Two acres of local ROW or watershed area treated will yield one acre of alternative compliance credit based on similar trash generation rating, i.e., the non-Department ROW treated area must be of equivalent trash generation to the ROW determined to be infeasible to treat.
The 7th St. GSRD is an existing trash capture device installed and maintained by the City.
However, the device has suffered from vandalism multiple times and is currently non- operational and will remain so until the device can be repaired and protected by a fence.
Although the 7th St. GSRD does not directly treat runoff from Caltrans ROW, the San Francisco Bay RWQCB has agreed to grant Caltrans 100 acres of alternative compliance credit, creating a compliance generating nexus to the use of public funds to repair the device.
Caltrans Cooperative Implementation Agreement – City of Richmond
Preliminary Cost Estimate
The following planning-level cost estimate has been prepared for the multi-site Project (Table 2). This estimate includes the costs associated with design, permits, an environmental assessment, construction, construction administration and inspections, contingency, bonding, and mobilization. The cost estimate will be subject to adjustment as more information becomes available during the development of the detailed designs. The total cost for the multi-site project is estimated to be $10.25M (see table 2).
Table 2. City of Richmond Multi-Site Project Preliminary Planning-Level Cost Estimate Device Status Estimated
Preliminary
Engineering
Costs
Estimated
Construction
Costs
Estimated
Construction
Engineering
Costs
Total
Burlingame &
Monterey St.
Proposed $150,000 $2,100,000 $250,000 $2,500,000
S 51st St. &
Bayview Ave.
Proposed $200,000 $2,050,000 $250,000 $2,500,000
700 W Cutting
Blvd.
Proposed $200,000 $2,950,000 $350,000 $3,500,000
7th St. GSRD Existing – To
Be Repaired
$150,000 $1,425,000 $175,000 $1,750,000
Total $700,000 $8,525,000 $1,025,000 $10,250,000
Preliminary Project Schedule
The preliminary schedule is as follows, subject to refinement as the project is developed:
Task Schedule
Finalize Funding 10/2025
Execute Design Contract 12/2025
Approval of 20% Design (including necessary precuring of permits) 04/2026 Approval of Development Agreement 05/2026
Complete Additional Site Investigation 07/2026
Construction Drawings – 60% Milestone 10/2026
Construction Drawings – 90% Milestone 02/2027
Construction Drawings – 100% Milestone 05/2027
Advertise for Bids 06/2027
Award Construction Contract 09/2027
Commence Construction (1 month) 10/2027
*Invoicing Deadline for FY 2026-2027 Funding Allocation May 2029 *City may request adjustments to the schedule line items except for the deadlines to extend Caltrans funding allocations.
Caltrans Cooperative Implementation Agreement – City of Richmond
Encumbrance Schedule
The encumbrance schedule and final invoice dates are shown below.
Fiscal Year Encumbrance Final Invoice Date
FY 2025-2026 $2,000,000 May 1, 2028
FY 2026-2027 $3,000,000 May 1, 2029
FY 2027-2028 $2,000,000 May 1, 2030
FY 2028-2029 $3,250,000 May 1, 2031
Caltrans Cooperative Implementation Agreement – City of Richmond Attachment II-A
Attachment II-A
Maps of Proposed Trash Capture Locations and Drainage Area Treated
Caltrans Cooperative Implementation Agreement – City of Richmond Attachment II-A
Figure II-A-1. Overview of Proposed Large Device Locations (4 Devices)
Caltrans Cooperative Implementation Agreement – City of Richmond Attachment II-A
Figure II-A-2. Burlingame & Monterey St. Device
Caltrans Cooperative Implementation Agreement – City of Richmond Attachment II-A
Figure II-A-3. S 51st St. & Bayview Ave. Device
Caltrans Cooperative Implementation Agreement – City of Richmond Attachment II-A
Figure II-A-4. 700 W Cutting Blvd. Device
Caltrans Cooperative Implementation Agreement – City of Richmond Attachment II-A
Figure II-A-5. 7th St. Device