July 7, 2026
Public Works
DATE: July 7, 2026
TO: Mayor Martinez and Members of the City Council
FROM:
Daniel Chavarria, PE, Director of Public Works
Tawfic Halaby, PE, Deputy Director of Public Works
Subject:
Stormwater Utility Area Agreement with the Contra Costa County Flood Control and Water Conservation District
FINANCIAL IMPACT: There is no impact to the General Fund. Approval of this action will preserve the mechanism for the Contra Costa County Flood Control and Water Conservation District to collect, administer, and apply Stormwater Utility
Assessment revenues for eligible stormwater and
National Pollutant Discharge Elimination
System/Municipal Regional Permit compliance activities.
To the extent any separate inspection services
agreement is included or later approved, inspection-
related costs would be governed by the applicable
agreement, budget, and City authorization. Failure to
approve the required Stormwater Utility Area Agreement
documents could affect the District’s ability to continue collecting or applying these revenues for Richmond’s
share of county-wide stormwater program costs.
PREVIOUS COUNCIL
ACTION:
April 13, 2010
December 3, 2013
STATEMENT OF THE
ISSUE:
Approval of the proposed resolution will allow the City to maintain the Stormwater Utility Area Agreement
framework used to support compliance with the National
Pollutant Discharge Elimination System/Municipal
Regional Stormwater Permit and related Contra Costa
Clean Water Program activities. The Stormwater Utility
Area Agreement is separate from the Contra Costa Clean
AGENDA
REPORT
July 7, 2026
Water Program Agreement, but it supports the funding
and administrative mechanism used for Richmond’s
share of county-wide stormwater compliance costs.
Historically, the Stormwater Utility Area Agreement has also been used to authorize the Water Conservation
District to coordinate certain stormwater inspection
activities on the City’s behalf.
RECOMMENDED ACTION:
ADOPT a resolution to APPROVE a Stormwater Utility
Area Agreement with the Contra Costa County Flood
Control and Water Conservation District and
AUTHORIZE the city manager, or designee, to execute
the agreement, amendment, and related documents
necessary to continue the collection, administration, and use of Stormwater Utility Assessment revenues for
eligible stormwater and National Pollutant Discharge
Elimination System/Municipal Regional Permit
compliance activities, subject to approval as to form by the City Attorney – Public Works Department (Daniel
Chavarria 510-620-5478/Tawfic Halaby 510-620-
5482/Bradley Harms 510-307-8094).
DISCUSSION:
Background
The City of Richmond is subject to the Municipal Regional Stormwater National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System Permit (NPDES) Permit No. CAS612008, issued by the San Francisco Bay Regional Water Quality Control Board. The permit requires the City to implement stormwater pollution prevention and compliance activities, including municipal operations controls, illicit discharge detection and elimination, commercial and industrial facility oversight, public outreach, trash reduction, new development and redevelopment controls, and other stormwater management measures.
The City participates in the Contra Costa Clean Water Program, through which Contra Costa County, the Contra Costa County Flood Control and Water Conservation District, and participating cities and towns coordinate certain countywide stormwater compliance activities. The Contra Costa Clean Water Program Agreement identifies Richmond as a participating co-permittee and provides that the Program administers certain joint obligations under the Municipal Regional Permit on behalf of participating agencies, including administrative support, technical support, consultant contract administration, public information and participation, monitoring activities, compliance guidance, illicit discharge program support, construction and post-construction stormwater guidance, and expenditure of funds collected through Stormwater Utility Assessments and other sources in accordance with the Program budget.
July 7, 2026
Past Agreements
The City and the Contra Costa County Flood Control and Water Conservation District previously entered into a Stormwater Utility Area Agreement dated April 13, 2010 (Attachment 1). That agreement provides for the imposition, collection, and administration of Stormwater Utility Assessments for the funding of NPDES stormwater permit activities. The 2010 agreement has expired and must be renewed.
In 2013, the City Council adopted Resolution No. 113-13 approving the First Amendment to the Stormwater Utility Area Agreement for a joint inspection program with West County Wastewater District (District) that has expired and will not be renewed (Attachment 2).
Analysis
The Contra Costa Clean Water Program Agreement is the broader countywide participation and governance agreement. The proposed 2026 Stormwater Utility Area Agreement is the funding and administrative mechanism that allows the District to collect, administer, and apply assessment revenues for stormwater compliance activities (Attachment 3).
The Contra Costa Clean Water Program Agreement provides that each participating co- permittee must pay its share of the annual Program budget based on the adopted cost- sharing formula. Where a co-permittee receives Stormwater Utility Assessment revenues, the District applies lawfully collected assessment revenues to that agency’s share of annual Program costs. Maintaining current Stormwater Utility Area authority is therefore necessary to avoid disruption in the collection and application of assessment revenues for Fiscal Year 2026-27 and future years.
Without current authorization, the District may not be able to continue administering or applying Richmond’s Stormwater Utility Assessment revenues in the ordinary course.
This could create a funding gap or administrative issue for Richmond’s participation in countywide Municipal Regional Permit compliance activities. Adoption of the proposed resolution will authorize the City Manager, or their designee, to execute the applicable Stormwater Utility Area Agreement, amendment, or related documents, subject to approval as to form by the City Attorney.
Conclusion
Approval of the proposed resolution will preserve the Stormwater Utility Area Agreement framework necessary to support Richmond’s stormwater compliance obligations under the Municipal Regional Stormwater NPDES Permit (Attachment 4). The action will allow the Contra Costa County Flood Control and Water Conservation District to continue collecting, administering, and applying Stormwater Utility Assessment revenues for eligible stormwater program costs, while maintaining continuity in the City’s participation in countywide stormwater compliance activities. The action also allows the City to clarify, through legal review and final agreement documents, whether any separate inspection services agreement should be included in this Council action or handled separately.
July 7, 2026
DOCUMENTS ATTACHED:
Attachment 1 – 2010 Stormwater Utility Area Agreement (Expired) Attachment 2 – Resolution No.
Attachment 3 – 2026 Stormwater Utility Area Agreement (Proposed) Attachment 4 – Proposed Resolution