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6.
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| TRANSPORTATION, WATER & INFRASTRUCTURE COMMITTEE |
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| Information |
| Referral History: |
The Regional Water Quality Control Boards issue the County a stormwater permit on a five-year recurring cycle. The first permit was issued in 1993 and the current permit was issued in November 2015. The objective of the permit is to reduce pollutants in stormwater to improve stormwater quality, and increase stormwater infiltration into soils to improve watershed health.
Just before the first permit was issued, the County modified the Flood Control District Act to allow the District to collect an annual assessment on parcels throughout the County, for the cities and the County to fund permit compliance costs. The permit compliance cost for each subsequent permit has increased dramatically over the prior permit. The Transportation, Water, and Infrastructure Committee and the full Board have been following the policy and financial issues associated with implementing these stormwater permits for many years.
Board members have testified before the Regional Water Board several times describing the impacts their stormwater permit has on the County budget. |
| Referral Update: |
The new Stormwater permit, referred to as the Municipal Regional Permit 2.0, follows the prior Municipal Regional Permit 1.0 issued at the end of 2009.
In 2010, the beginning of the MRP 1.0 five-year permit, there was a surplus of funds in the County’s Stormwater Program. In 2015, the last year of the MRP 1.0 permit, compliance costs exceeded the annual revenue of assessment funds and the surplus was virtually gone.
On June 9, 2016, the Committee accepted a report on the policy implications of the MRP 2.0. That was the first of three reports to be developed on the topic. The second report, presented at the October 13, 2016 Committee meeting, outlined the financial implications of implementing the new Municipal Regional Permit 2.0, and the third report, presented at the April 10, 2017 Committee meeting, outlined several options for meeting permit requirements and provided two budget scenarios, one compliance based in the other resource-based, and included staff recommendations.
The last report, the Summary Report presented to the Committee at the July 10, 2017 meeting, outlined direction provided to staff from the Committee at the April 10, 2017 meeting and was subsequently presented to the full Board of Supervisors at their meeting on September 26, 2017. The Board approved the recommendations, committed to improving water quality while acknowledging that non-compliance is likely, and directed staff to communicate to the Regional Board the County's fiscal constraints.
Staff has since prepared the budget for Fiscal Year 2018/19, analyzed the available resources more critically, and developed a prioritized list of tasks that could be achieved within the permit timeline. Unfortunately, given the restricted amount of revenue available, not all tasks can be performed within the permit timeline. The MRP 2.0 Implementation Plan identifies the prioritized ranking of tasks and which ones will be completed on time and which ones will be completed at a later date. So, work will be done on all tasks but not all tasks will be completed within the permit timeline.
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| Recommendation(s)/Next Step(s): |
| CONSIDER the MRP 2.0 Implementation Plan, PROVIDE direction to staff, and FORWARD the Implementation Plan to the full Board for consideration and approval. |
| Fiscal Impact (if any): |
The estimated cost to comply with the permit is about $5 million, however, the County receives about $3.0 million each year in discretionary revenue for Stormwater related services and projects. The Board has indicated there are no additional resources available from the Gen. Fund. At their meeting on September 26, 2017 staff identified $510,000 of road funds and $75,000 of Flood Control Funds that could be used to help pay for program activities, leaving a shortfall of about $1.2 million. Approving a plan that does not comply with the permit within the permit timeline leaves the County liable for very substantial fines from the Regional Water Quality Control Board.
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