The Contra Costa Clean Water Program (the “CCCWP”) consists of Contra Costa County, its 19 incorporated cities/towns and the Contra Costa County Flood Control and Water Conservation District (hereinafter referred to collectively as “Permittees”). The CCCWP was established in 1991 through a Program Agreement in response to the 1987 amendments to the federal Clean Water Act (the “CWA”), which established a framework for regulating municipal stormwater discharges under the National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System (“NPDES”) Permit Program. The United States Environmental Protection Agency (the “USEPA”) published final rules implementing the 1987 CWA amendments in November 1990. The rules mandate that Permittees obtain and implement stormwater permits designed to reduce and eliminate the discharge of pollutants into and from Municipal Separate Storm Sewer Systems (the “MS4s”) they own and operate. Through the CCCWP, Permittees conduct many of the mandated activities collectively (referred to as “Group Activities”), such as water quality monitoring, special studies, and public education. The roles and responsibilities of the CCCWP and Permittees are outlined in the Contra Costa Clean Water Program Agreement, which was last updated and adopted by all Permittees in June 2010. The current San Francisco Bay Region Municipal Regional Stormwater NPDES Permit No. CAS612008, Order R2-2015-0049 (“Permit”), was issued in November of 2015.  
  
A 2017 Outreach Strategic Plan was prepared by Sagent in order to identify target populations and opportunities to influence behaviors to accomplish these goals and to meet the requirements of the Municipal Regional Permit issued to the CCCWP and its Permittees by the Regional Water Quality Control Board. The Outreach Strategic Plan includes a recommended Marketing/Implementation Plan, which would take place over the 3 remaining years of the Municipal Regional Permit. The Marketing/Implementation Plan was recommended by the CCCWP Public Information and Participation Subcommittee at its meeting of August 23, 2017 and CCCWP Management Committee at its meeting of September 20, 2017.  
  
Caltrans has a public outreach campaign (“Protect Every Drop”) to meet its NPDES Permit requirements. Sagent is the consultant handling Caltrans’ campaign. CCCWP recently partnered with Caltrans to take advantage of the messages and events it has already promoted, as they would be similar to and enhance CCCWP’s messages. This strategic alliance allows CCCWP to partner with Caltrans and other similar entities for a more effective campaign with broader reach.   
  
These outreach efforts are mandated by the 2015 Municipal Regional Stormwater NPDES Permit, which expires in 5 years (2020), after which time a new permit with a new set of stormwater management requirements will be written and go into effect. Sagent is uniquely qualified to assist the Program and its 21 Permittees in meeting the requirements of the 2015 Permit. They are exceptionally familiar with the 2015 permit requirements, the compliance needs of Contra Costa Permittees, and the unique structure of the CCCWP. At this point in the permit term, it would be disruptive to pursue new consultant teams to carry out this ongoing technical work, and it would not be cost effective due to the disruption in work and the need to train new teams on project content and history, the extensive Permit requirements, and the structure of the CCCWP.   
  
In order to conduct required public information and outreach through December 31, 2020 within budget limits, CCCWP seeks the help of Sagent to actualize the Outreach Strategic Plan which will help: (1) to increase the knowledge of the target audiences about the watershed system, the adverse impacts of stormwater pollution on receiving waters, and potential solutions to mitigate the impacts; (2) to change the waste disposal and stormwater pollution generation behavior of target audiences by encouraging implementation of appropriate solutions; (3) to involve and engage the communities in Contra Costa County to participate in mitigating the impacts of stormwater pollution; and (4) to meet critical Permit requirements by the 2020 deadline.  

Without the approval of the Board of Supervisors, the CCCWP, 19 Cities and Towns, Contra Costa County, and the Flood Control District will be unable to meet the outreach requirements set forth by the San Francisco Bay Region Municipal Regional Stormwater NPDES Permit No. CAS612008, Order R2-2015-0049.