The Contra Costa Clean Water Program consists of the County, its incorporated cities, and the Contra Costa County Flood Control and Water Conservation District (FC District) working collectively under a Joint Municipal Stormwater NPDES Permit issued by the State Regional Water Quality Control Board. This permit is federally mandated through the Clean Water Act, which was amended in 1987 to specifically address stormwater pollution. The current five-year permit from the San Francisco Regional Water Quality Control Board began in December 2009. Public education on pollution prevention, trash assessments, inspection of construction sites, as well as commercial and industrial facilities, street sweeping, catch basin cleaning and other forms of drainage maintenance are examples of actions taken to meet permit requirements. An Annual Report is written each year to summarize accomplishments.
The Contra Costa Clean Water Program is currently in its fourth Joint Municipal Stormwater NPDES Permit issued by the San Francisco Regional Water Quality Control Board. The Joint Municipal Stormwater NPDES Permit issued by the Central Valley Regional Water Quality Control Board for the cities of Antioch, Brentwood, Oakley, and unincorporated East County began in September 2010. The permit includes, for each municipality, a Stormwater Management Plan outlining intended activities designed to reduce or eliminate pollutants from entering the storm drain system.
The Regional Boards indicated the need for a restricted funding source to finance implementation costs. In order to meet this need, the County proposed legislation providing a financial option for municipalities to use through the FC District. The bill, AB 2768 (Campbell), was passed by the legislature and signed by Governor Pete Wilson on August 30, 1992. The legislation specifically allowed a municipality to request formation of a Stormwater Utility Area and an assessment to pay for implementation costs.
The Board of Supervisors, acting as the governing board of the FC District, provided public notice to all affected property owners before the establishment of the Stormwater Utility Areas on June 22, 1993, creating 17 Stormwater Utility Areas. This 1993 Board action also set the first-year assessment rates for each Stormwater Utility Area, as well as maximum rates. Assessments were collected for Fiscal Year 1993-94 through 2000-01. On May 9, 2000, the FC District separated the City of Oakley from Stormwater Utility Area 17. The City of Oakley was established as Stormwater Utility Area 18, at that time, and assessments were collected for Fiscal Year 2000-2001. The FC District does not collect this assessment for the cities of Richmond and Brentwood. Richmond and Brentwood collect their NPDES levy as a sewer fee.
If the proposed assessments for Fiscal Year 2015-2016 are not implemented, the program would have to be funded by the general funds of the cities and County to ensure compliance with NPDES permit requirements.