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AGENDA BILL Agenda Item No. 5(D) Date: April 1, 2014 To: El Cerrito City Council From: Stephen Prée, Environmental Programs Manager / City Arborist Garth Schultz, Operations + Environmental Services Manager Yvetteh Ortiz, Interim Public Works Director / City Engineer Subject Annual Parcel Assessment for the National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System (NPDES) Program and Drainage Maintenance ACTION REQUESTED Adopt a resolution establishing the annual parcel assessment rate per the Equivalent Runoff Unit at the current rate of $38.00 for the National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System (NPDES) Program and Drainage Maintenance, and authorizing the Contra Costa County Flood Control & Water Conservation District to adopt Stormwater Utility Area levies based on this amount. DISCUSSION The City continues to participate in a countywide effort to comply with its National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System (NPDES) Permit. The activities undertaken through the program contribute to a cleaner El Cerrito and a cleaner San Francisco Bay. The program is mandated under the 1987 amendments to the Federal Water Pollution Control Act (Clean Water Act) and is administered in the Bay Area by the San Francisco Regional Water Quality Control Board Nineteen cities along with the County Flood Control District have established the Contra Costa County Clean Water Program (Clean Water Program) to coordinate compliance and collaborate on programmatic components of the NPDES Permit and Clean Water Program within Contra Costa County. Although the NPDES Permit and its programs are federally mandated, funding must be provided by the permittees. In order to comply with the requirements, the County established a countywide assessment district (Stormwater Utility Area or SUA) to fund the costs of the program, which include both group activities and individual city activities. Each year the per parcel rate for the assessment district must be re-established by the Board of Supervisors, which acts as the governing body for the Flood Control District and, thus, the Clean Water Program. Each city must first adopt a resolution designating the appropriate assessment for its jurisdiction and then forward that instructing resolution to the Clean Water Program. The resolution must be adopted by the City no later than April 15 in order for the county to have sufficient time to place the ---PAGE BREAK--- Agenda Item No. 5(D) Page 2 assessment on the property tax roles for Fiscal Year (FY) 2014-2015. The purpose of this agenda item is to provide an update on the City’s program and adopt a resolution establishing the assessment for El Cerrito. El Cerrito’s Clean Water Program The City’s Clean Water Program includes meeting multiple NPDES Permit provisions through activities that can be grouped in five general areas. Below is a brief description of each program area. Specific annual accomplishments are detailed in an Annual Report prepared each summer for submittal to the The activities are coordinated and carried out primarily by the Public Works Department, with assistance from the Building Division, Code Enforcement, and the Fire Department as needed. 1) New Development and Construction Control Activities: New development and construction activities have the potential to adversely affect water quality. Therefore, the City of El Cerrito’s goal is to prevent pollutants from entering storm drains during new development and construction activities, as well as for the life of the projects. Measures to achieve this include integrating and inspecting permanent stormwater pollution prevention measures during construction of public and private projects. Permanent stormwater pollution prevention measures, such as bioswales, are commonly referred to as “C.3” provisions. 2) Public Education and Industrial Outreach Activities (PEIO): The goal of El Cerrito’s PEIO program is to educate residents and businesses about the causes and effects of stormwater pollution, the difference between the sanitary sewer and the storm drain system, and our local watersheds. The City also aims to encourage residents and businesses to participate in ongoing creek protection and restoration efforts and to adopt less-polluting practices. 3) Municipal Maintenance Activities: The goals of the City of El Cerrito’s Municipal Maintenance Performance Standards are to optimize pollutant removal during routine maintenance activities (street sweeping and storm drain facility maintenance) and to prevent or minimize discharges to storm drains and watercourses from road and park maintenance, corporation yards, and other publicly-owned facilities. 4) Inspection Activities: The goal of the City of El Cerrito’s Industrial and Commercial Inspection program is to reduce or eliminate discharges to the storm drain system from industrial and commercial facilities. On November 19, 2013, the City Council adopted Resolution Number 2013-61 designating and authorizing the West County Wastewater District to perform the City’s commercial and industrial inspections, via a contract coordinated by the Clean Water Program. 5) Illicit Discharge Control Activities: The goal of the City of El Cerrito’s Illicit Discharge Control Activities program is to prevent pollution from entering storm drains and creeks. Public Works maintenance staff conducts regular inspections of all open creek segments, trash racks and headwalls on public property as part of routine procedure. The City also maintains a complete video file of all storm drain ---PAGE BREAK--- Agenda Item No. 5(D) Page 3 segments that can be easily referenced to investigate any possible illegal connections to the stormdrain system. Municipal Regional Permit The cities and municipalities that make up the Contra Costa Clean Water Program are currently permitted under a Municipal Regional Stormwater NPDES Permit (MRP) adopted by the on October 14, 2009. One of the goals of the MRP, as stated by the was to consolidate all Bay Area municipal permits into one consistent permit that is regional in scope. This includes more definitive NPDES Permit language and requirements such as: mandating specific stormwater management actions and levels of implementation, requiring certain reporting and effectiveness evaluation processes; implementing and enhancing actions to control 303(d) listed pollutants, pollutants of concern (POCs), Total Maximum Daily Load (TMDL) limits; and requiring more complete and comprehensive stormwater monitoring. The MRP places significant regulatory and reporting emphasis in the areas of New Development/Redevelopment project infrastructure and planning as well as Trash Load reduction and monitoring. In accordance with the Permit schedule, each of the various requirements has stepped-up annually during the term of the Permit with a new MRP that is anticipated to be implemented by July 1, 2015. Consequently, the increased compliance costs motivated the Contra Costa County Clean Water Program to conduct a property-owner mail ballot election in 2012 on a new property-related fee to fund the expanded mandates of the MRP. The County-wide initiative failed (although support in El Cerrito was 54%). Stormwater Utility Assessment The Clean Water Program is funded through the countywide Stormwater Utility Area assessment district. Specific assessments are calculated through determining Equivalent Runoff Units (ERUs). An ERU is a value that reflects the amount of impervious (paved) surface of a given parcel. Impervious surfaces result in storm water runoff to the storm drain system, which potentially carry pollutants to the Bay and into the ground water. Parcels that contain large areas of paved surfaces are assigned a greater number of ERUs. A residential lot in El Cerrito between 5,000-20,000 square feet is assigned one ERU. Industrial or commercial parcels with paved parking or other impervious surfaces may be assigned two or more ERUs depending on their size. El Cerrito’s current rate of $38.00 per ERU was established by Council in FY 2004- 2005 and reflected an increase from the previous rate of $30.00 established in FY 2003- 2004. The current $38.00 ERU rate generates approximately $391,000 annually. The City has reached its “cap” of $38.00, and the ERU cannot be increased without approval from the voters. ---PAGE BREAK--- Agenda Item No. 5(0) STRATEGIC PLAN CONSIDERATIONS Maintaining funding for El Cerrito's Clean Water Program activities via the proposed ERU rate, enables the continuation of City programs that meet the intent of the City of El Cerrito Strategic Plan's Goal F "to foster environmental sustainability citywide." ENVIRONMENTAL CONSIDERATIONS El Cerrito's Clean Water Program activities comprise one of the City's most important and required environmental efforts. Implementation of the program is not only essential to meeting the terms of the MRP and being in compliance with the Clean Water Act, but also to the health and sustainability of the City's waterways and ecology. Continuing to establish the ERU rate at the maximum available level enables the City to maintain existing efforts on these important environmental and compliance matters. FINANCIAL CONSIDERATIONS Staff is proposing that the rate for FY 2014-2015 remain at the maximum $38.00 per ERU. This rate would generate approximately $391,000 in FY 2014-2015 ahd will continue to fund current NPDES activities, including municipal maintenance activities, such as storm drain cleaning, as well as Clean Water Program activities, such as water quality monitoring and illicit discharge detection and elimination. Following adoption by the City Council, the County Board of Supervisors, acting as the district's governing body, will adopt the annual property assessments for the FY 2014-2015 tax rolls. LEGAL CONSIDERATIONS The proposed actions are consistent with established processes for City adoption of the annual ERU rate; no legal concerns have been identified. ScottHanin City Manager Attachments: 1. Resolution establishing the City's ERU rate for FY 2014-15 Page4 ---PAGE BREAK--- Agenda Item No. 5(D) Attachment 1 RESOLUTION 2014–XX RESOLUTION OF THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF EL CERRITO ESTABLISHING THE RATE AND ADOPTING AN ANNUAL PARCEL ASSESSMENT FOR THE NATIONAL POLLUTANT DISCHARGE ELIMINATION SYSTEM (NPDES) PROGRAM AND DRAINAGE MAINTENANCE WHEREAS, under the Federal Water Pollution Control Act, prescribed discharges of stormwater require a permit from the appropriate California Regional Water Quality Board under the National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System (NPDES) program; and WHEREAS, the City of El Cerrito did apply for, and did receive, a NPDES permit which requires the implementation of selected Best Management Practices to minimize or eliminate pollutants from entering stormwaters; and WHEREAS, it is the intent of the City of El Cerrito to utilize funds received from its Stormwater Utility Area (SUA) for implementation of the NPDES program and drainage maintenance activities; and WHEREAS, at the request of the City of El Cerrito, the Contra Costa County Flood Control & Water Conservation District (DISTRICT) has completed the process for formation of a SUA, including the adoption of the Stormwater Utility Assessment Drainage Ordinance No. 93-47; and WHEREAS, the SUA and Program Group Costs Payment Agreement between the City of El Cerrito and the DISTRICT require that the City of El Cerrito annually, by April 15, determine the rate to be assessed to a single Equivalent Runoff Unit (ERU) for the forthcoming fiscal year. NOW THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED by the City Council of the City of El Cerrito that it hereby determines that the rate to be assigned to a single ERU for fiscal year 2014-2015 shall be set at $38.00. BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the City Council of the City of El Cerrito does hereby request the DISTRICT to adopt SUA levies based on said amount. BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, that this Resolution shall become effective immediately upon passage and adoption. I CERTIFY that at a regular meeting on April 1, 2014 the City Council of the City of El Cerrito passed this Resolution by the following vote: AYES: COUNCILMEMBERS: NOES: COUNCILMEMBERS: ABSENT: COUNCILMEMBERS: ---PAGE BREAK--- Agenda Item No. 5(D) Attachment 1 IN WITNESS of this action, I sign this document and affix the corporate seal of the City of El Cerrito on 2014. Cheryl Morse, City Clerk APPROVED: Janet Abelson, Mayor