Agenda

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D. 7

To:	Board of Supervisors
From:	Julia R. Bueren, Public Works Director/Chief Engineer
Date:	March 3, 2015

Contra

Costa

County

Subject:

Long-Term Trash Reduction Plan, Countywide. (100% Stormwater Utility Assessment District 17 Funds) Project No. 7517-6W7078

APPROVE	OTHER
RECOMMENDATION OF CNTY ADMINISTRATOR	RECOMMENDATION OF BOARD COMMITTEE

Action of Board On: 03/03/2015

APPROVED AS RECOMMENDED

OTHER

Clerks Notes:

VOTE OF SUPERVISORS

AYE:

John Gioia, District I Supervisor
Candace Andersen, District II Supervisor
Mary N. Piepho, District III Supervisor
Karen Mitchoff, District IV Supervisor

ABSENT:

Federal D. Glover, District V Supervisor

Contact:	Cece Sellgren (925) 313-2296
cc:	C. Sellgren, Flood Control C. Windham, Flood Control

I hereby certify that this is a true and correct copy of an action taken and entered on the minutes of the Board of Supervisors on the date shown.
ATTESTED: March 3, 2015
David Twa,

BY:	, Deputy

RECOMMENDATION(S):

RECEIVE update from the County’s Stormwater Manager regarding efforts and costs to comply with the mandated 70% reduction in trash entering the storm drain network by 2017; and

ADVISE staff regarding next set of actions to take.

FISCAL IMPACT:

Current costs to reduce litter throughout the unincorporated County exceed $500,000 per year. These costs are expected to rise in order to achieve 70% reduction in 2017. County contractors will need to expand on-land cleanups and County staff will need to spend additional time to develop volunteer litter abatement programs. Once volunteer cleanup programs become established, costs will begin to drop as volunteer activities replace contractor conducted on-land cleanups. After volunteer programs are fully implemented, base costs for overall trash reduction activities, will be difficult to estimate, but will likely be at least $250,000 per year to coordinate volunteer efforts, assess effectiveness of trash reduction strategies, and conduct other trash related activities.

BACKGROUND:

In 2009, the San Francisco Water Quality Control Board (Waterboard) issued a Bay Area wide NPDES (National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System) stormwater permit, called the Municipal Regional Permit (MRP), to Alameda, Contra Costa, San Mateo, Santa Clara Countywide Stormwater Programs, as well as the cities of Fairfield, Suisun, and Vallejo in Solano County. In 2010, the Central Valley Waterboard issued a nearly identical permit for the eastern portion of Contra Costa County. Within both permits was a new requirement to reduce the amount of litter and trash from entering local streams, the Delta, and the Bay by 40% by 2014, 70% by 2017, and 100% by 2022.

Contra Costa County prepared a Short-Term Trash Reduction Plan in 2012 and a Long-Term Trash Reduction Plan in February 2014. Although the plan met the requirements of the Regional Boards, the County Watershed Program is revising the plan to obtain community input and better cost estimates to implement. This revised plan will be submitted to the Transportation, Water and Infrastructure Committee and the Board of Supervisors later this year for approval.

CONSEQUENCE OF NEGATIVE ACTION:

Failure to implement the trash reduction plan will result in violations of the County’s NPDES Permits, potential fines from the Regional Waterboards, and possible third party lawsuits for failure to comply with the Clean Water Act and the Porter Cologne Water Quality Act.

CHILDREN'S IMPACT STATEMENT:

Not applicable.