Contra Costa County Regional
Alternative Compliance (RAC) System
& Joint Powers Authority (JPA)
REGULATORYBACKGROUND
The City’s Stormwater Permit (NPDES) has difficult regulatory requirements, in particular for:
• New and Redevelopment - All developments over 5,000 SF are required to treat all stormwater on-site (excluding SFH). • Major Road Rehabilitation - All major road rehabilitation projects over 1 acre must treat all stormwater on-site.
• Population-Based Treatment – All jurisdictions have a population- based “impervious retrofit” target.
• Pollutants of Concern (PCBs & Mercury) – The regulatory deadline for PCB and Mercury (TMDL) is in 2030.
BAY AREA CONSTRAINTS WITH
STORMWATER FACILITIES
Subsurface
contamination
Dense urban area with
land use constraints
High groundwater and
tidally influenced areas
Soils not conducive to
infiltration
Funding constraints$
CURRENT SYSTEM
➢ 1,000s of “distributed” facilities across the Bay Area ➢ Expensive to design, construct, and maintain (smaller BMPs especially) ➢ Municipal oversight/enforcement required to review and approve design, construction, and maintenance CCC PCBs load distribution based on RAA Results
Category
Construction Cost Per
Impervious Acre
Treated
Median Mean
Green Street with
Infiltration $78,000 $137,000
Green Street without
Infiltration $419,000 $841,000
Parcel-Based GSI $460,000 $612,000
Regional with
Infiltration $74,000 $92,000
Regional without
Infiltration $112,000 $138,000
CONTRA COSTA COUNTY
REGIONAL ALTERNATIVE
COMPLIANCE (RAC) SYSTEM
ALTERNATIVE COMPLIANCE SYSTEMS
• Credit Programs allow for
large centralized treatment
facilities in place of onsite
treatment
• Similar to Habitat
Mitigation Programs
• Provides flexibility for new
development projects
RAC OBJECTIVES
7 Flexible compliance with the
stormwater permit (MRP)
Cost efficiencies through
implementation of larger
stormwater capture projects
Targeted facility
implementation to provide
higher load reduction for
pollutants of concern
Implementation of
projects that provide
multiple benefits
Flexibility to adapt the
System to meet future
water quality needs.
RAC JOINT POWERS
AUTHORITY (JPA) AND
COMMUNITY FACILITIES
DISTRICT (CFD)
• Sellers: Public Agencies, Developers, or NGOs
that build non-regulated treatment systems to
sell through the RAC system
• Buyers: Public Agencies and Developers that
need regulatory credits
• RAC Administration:
• Facilitates purchases between buyers and
sellers
• Assists with regulatory reporting
• Operates the Community Facilities District
(CFD)
Two Transactions
1. Capital – reimbursement of the capital
expenditure to build a treatment facility.
2. Operations and Maintenance – Ongoing
payments through a CFD (i.e., tax roll) to make
ongoing payments to facility operators for the
maintenance costs.
Water Board Approved System
RAC JOINT POWERS AUTHORITY (JPA)
• JPA Formation and Independence
o Formed to create a Countywide Community Facilities District (CFD) o A legally separate entity formed with its own liabilities, independent from agency members.
• JPA Agreement and Membership
o Outlines JPA powers; how new members are admitted, and legislative body approval.
• Operational Structure and Staffing
o Contract manager instead of hiring employees (avoid pension liabilities and increase flexibility).
• Financial Responsibilities
o Limited to the JPA and shared administrative expenses among members.
COMMUNITIES FACILITY DISTRICT (CFD)
• Community Facilities District (CFD): Special financing district created by a local government to fund public infrastructure and services. • JPA would establish a CFD and authorize it to levy special taxes to finance the acquisition, improvement, and maintenance of stormwater infrastructure.
CFD formed with initial taxable property and
multi-jurisdiction “future annexation area”
Properties are annexed into the CFD as
they opt to participate in RAC System
CFD formation requires three meetings
of JPA governing board
ESTIMATED AGENCY COSTS
• JPA Agreement (Covered by CCCWP)
• Meetings (2-3 per year)
• Annual State and County Filings
Estimated start-up costs: ~$4,000 per agency
Annual Costs: ~$3,000 per agency
No Impact to the General Fund; these costs
can be covered by the City’s Stormwater
Utility Assessment.
• Initial Set-up Costs (Covered by a Grant)
• Site annexations
• Preparation of annual special tax levy
• Other administrative items
All costs covered by CFD participants. No
cost to member agencies.
JPA CFD
SAN PABLO POTENTIAL
BENEFITS AND
OPPORTUNITIES
CITY OF SAN PABLO IMPACTS
• City of San Pablo already has one facility with credits ready to sell as part of the RAC and one under design; potential revenue includes:
1. Sutter Ave Green Street (2.3 acres)
• ~$90,000 per acre in capital ($207,000)
• ~$7,000* average annual per-acre cost for ongoing
maintenance
2. Lake Elementary Swale (10-12 acres)
• Three agencies have, and one developer has expressed interest in purchasing credits for the Sutter Facility.
• EPA Grant – Public Works was recently awarded a $1.7M grant with EPA to monitor the Sutter Ave Project and received 4 years of dedicated maintenance funding for facilities on Rumrill Blvd. • The project allows the City to sell an additional 3.45 acres of treatment area.
• $310,000 upfront revenue
*Based on the true cost of maintenance
CITY OF SAN PABLO IMPACTS
Intersection of 14th and Sutter,
2-year storm in 2019
Intersection of 14th and Sutter,
2-year storm in 2025
CITY OF SAN PABLO IMPACTS
• Other Potential Benefits Include:
• Smart development/assistance in meeting
housing needs
• Additional ongoing maintenance funding to
ensure City projects are working appropriately.
• Vegetation health (urban greening)
• Trash removal (litter and illegal dumping)
• General street beautification in areas of
projects
• Flood protection
NEXT STEPS AND
COUNCIL
AUTHORIZATION
AUTHORIZATION REQUEST
Staff recommends that the Standing Committee support implementation of the RAC System and recommends that the City Council authorize all necessary actions to facilitate successful program implementation.
1. Authorize participation in the Contra Costa County Regional Alternative Compliance (RAC) Joint Powers Authority (JPA).
2. Approve the proposed Joint Powers Agreement and authorize the City Manager to execute it.
3. Appoint a Board Representative for regulatory and technical compliance (recommended: Environmental Program Manager) and an alternate (Environmental Program Analyst).
4. Direct staff to take all necessary actions to participate in theRAC system, including amending the City’s stormwater ordinance to recognize RAC as an alternative compliance option.
5. Authorize staff to collaborate with the RAC JPA Administrator to support RAC System implementation.
6. Authorize the JPA to establish one or more Community Facilities Districts (CFDs), including the ability to accept applications, annex properties, and levy special taxes to fund ongoing maintenance of off-site stormwater projects; and approve a joint community facilities agreement.
7. Direct the City Clerk to certify the adoption of the Resolution and provide copies to the Contra Costa Flood Control District.
8. Direct staff to develop reports on JPA/CFD progress that will be reported to the City Council annually.
QUESTIONS?