Municipalities are required by federal law to obtain permits in order to discharge stormwater into receiving waters, such as rivers, lakes and bays. Permits are issued under the National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System (“NPDES”) permit program, administered by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. In California, NPDES permit program administration is delegated to the State Water Resources Control Board and its Regional Water Quality Control Boards.  
  
In Contra Costa County, the municipal storm sewer systems located within both the incorporated and unincorporated areas are permitted under a Joint Municipal Regional Stormwater NPDES Permit No. CAS612008 (“Joint MRP”) issued by the San Francisco Bay Regional Water Quality Control Board. The Joint MRP compliance is managed by the Contra Costa CWP, a stormwater quality management program formed by the County, Flood Control District and the 19 incorporated cities and towns located in Contra Costa County. The Flood Control District is the contracting authority and fiscal agent for the Contra Costa CWP.  
  
Compliance with some of the provisions of the Joint MRP involves participation in regional projects with other stormwater quality management programs in the Bay Area. Regional projects have been managed for several years by the Bay Area Stormwater Management Agencies Association (“BASMAA”), a nonprofit corporation that facilitates cooperative permit compliance efforts by the stormwater programs. BASMAA generally retains consultants to perform projects. In return, BASMAA asks participating agencies to make contributions to cover BASMAA’s costs.  
  
On February 12, 2019, the Board authorized payment to BASMAA for services provided to the Contra Costa CWP during the period July 1, 2017, to June 30, 2018, for services related to the Joint MRP. The authorized payment covered costs of a regional project to prepare a five-year bioassessment report for the Regional Monitoring Coalition, a group of stormwater quality management programs that includes the Contra Costa CWP. The report is required for compliance with the Joint MRP. Payments authorized in the February 12, 2019, Board Order included a payment for data collection and analysis and preparation of a draft report. BASMAA has now asked for additional funding to cover the cost of preparing the final report, as well as other costs related to report preparation that were not captured in the original calculation. Staff has reviewed the request and determined that an additional $3,101 in costs was incurred by BASMAA and that it should be paid to BASMAA on behalf of the Contra Costa CWP.  
  
Staff is also recommending that the Board authorize a payment to BASMAA for performance and management of a regional project consisting of a peer review of calculation methods, models, and assumptions used in “reasonable assurance analyses” regarding future mercury and polychlorinated biphenyl (PCB) load reductions in the San Francisco Bay region. This project was completed in the early part of the current fiscal year, but there is no contract in place between the Flood Control District and BASMAA to pay for any costs of this project on behalf of the Contra Costa CWP. Because the peer review is required by the Joint MRP and is a benefit to the Contra Costa CWP, staff has determined that payment should be made for this project on behalf of the Contra Costa CWP, in the amount of $2,500 for the peer review services provided by BASMAA consultants and $2,040 for BASMAA’s management of the project.

Failure to pay BASMAA for regional projects for which the Contra Costa CWP has taken, or will take, credit for purposes of permit compliance could jeopardize its permit compliance status, as well as opportunities to work with other stormwater quality management programs on future regional projects.