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Date: To: From: Subject AGENDA BILL Agenda Item No. 5(0) April3, 2012 El Cerrito City Council Stephen Pree, Environmental Programs Manager I City Arborist Jerry Bradshaw, Public Works Director I City Engineer Annual Parcel Assessment for the National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System Program (NPDES) ACTION REQUESTED Adopt a resolution establishing the annual NPDES assessment Equivalent Runoff Unit rate at the current rate of $38.00 and direct the Contra Costa County Flood Control & Water Conservation District to adopt Storm water Utility Area levies based on this amount. BACKGROUND 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 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 includes 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 first must 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 El Cerrito no later than April 15th in order for the county to have sufficient time to place the ---PAGE BREAK--- Agenda Item No. 5(0) assessment on the property tax roles. ~or fiscal year (FY) 2012-2013. 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 for FY 2012-2013. 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 fall for submittal to the The activities are carried out primarily by the Public Works Engineering and Maintenance Divisions, the Building Division and the Environmental Services Division, with assistance from 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 project. Measures to achieve this include integrating and inspecting stormwater pollution prevention measures during construction of public and private projects and integrating and inspecting permanent stormwater pollution prevention measures on both 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. Since FY 2003-2004, the East Bay Municipal Utility District (EBMUD) performs the City's commercial and industrial inspections through a contract coordinated by the Contra Costa 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 Page 2 ---PAGE BREAK--- Agenda Item No. 5(0) drains and creeks. Public W qrks maintenance staff conduct 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 stormdrain segments which 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 new Municipal Regional Permit (MRP) adopted by the on October 14, 2009. The goals of the MRP, as stated by the include: consolidating all Bay Area municipal permits into one consistent permit which is regional in scope; including more specificity in NPDES permit language and requirements, such as requiring specific stormwater management actions, specifying level of implementation, and requiring certain reporting and effectiveness evaluation processes; implementing and enhancing actions to control 303( d) listed pollutants, pollutants of concern (POCs), and Total Maximum Daily Load (TMDL) limits; and implementing more specific and comprehensive stormwater monitoring. The new MRP requirements change the scope of the Clean Water Program and will increase the City's future annual NPDES costs. The Contra Costa County Clean Water Program is currently conducting a property-owner mail ballot election on a new property-related fee to fund the expanded mandates of the MRP. 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 carries 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 Equivalent Runoff Unit (ERU) was established by Council in FY 2004-2005 and reflected a modest 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 it's "cap" of $3 8.00, and the ERU cannot be increased without approval from the voters. Page 3 ---PAGE BREAK--- Agenda Item No. 5(0) FINANCIAL CONSIDERATIONS Staff is proposing that the fee for FY 2012-2013 remain at the maximum cap rate of $38.00 per ERU. This rate would generate approximately $391,000 and 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 City Council, the County Board of Supervisors, acting as the district's governing body, will adopt the annual property assessments for the FY 2012- 2013 tax rolls. Attachments: 1. Resolution establishing the City's ERU rate for FY 2012-13 Page4 ---PAGE BREAK--- RESOLUTION NO. 2012-XX Agenda Item No. S(D) Attachment 1 RESOLUTION OF THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF EL CERRITO ESTABLISHING THE RATE AND ADOPTING AN ANNUAL PARCEL ASSESSMENT FOR THE DRAINAGE MAINTENANCE AND THE NATIONAL POLLUTANT DISCHARGE ELIMINATION SYSTEM PROGRAM (NPDES) WHEREAS, under the Federal Water Pollution Control Act, prescribed discharges ofstormwater require a permit from the appropriate California Regional Water Quality Board under the National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System (NPDES) program; and WHEREAS, the City ofEl 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 ofEl 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 ofEl 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 DISTRICT requires that the City ofEl Cerrito annually, by April 15th, determine the rate to be assessed to a single Equivalent Runoff Unit (ERU) for the forthcoming fiscal year. NOW THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED that the City Council of the City of El Cerrito does determine that the rate to be assigned to a single ERU for fiscal year 2012-2013 shall be set at $38.00. BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the City Council of the City ofEl 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 April3, 2012 the City Council ofthe City ofEI Cerrito passed this Resolution by the following vote: AYES: COUNCILMEMBERS: NOES: COUNCILMEMBERS: ABSENT: COUNCILMEMBERS: ---PAGE BREAK--- • t 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 , 2012. Cheryl Morse, City Clerk APPROVED: William C. Jones III, Mayor