Staff Report
PREPARED BY: MATT MORLEY
Director of Parks and Public Works
Reviewed by: Town Manager, Town Attorney, and Finance Director
110 E. Main Street Los Gatos, CA 95030 ● 408-354-6832
www.losgatosca.gov
TOWN OF LOS GATOS
COUNCIL AGENDA REPORT
MEETING DATE: 04/04/2017
ITEM NO: 5
DATE: MARCH 20, 2017
TO: MAYOR AND TOWN COUNCIL
FROM: LAUREL PREVETTI, TOWN MANAGER
SUBJECT: WEST VALLEY CLEAN WATER PROGRAM BUDGET AND NATIONAL
POLLUTANT DISCHARGE ELIMINATION SYSTEM PERMIT UPDATE
A. APPROVE THE FY 2017/18 WEST VALLEY CLEAN WATER PROGRAM
BUDGET AND AUTHORIZE THE WEST VALLEY SANITATION DISTRICT
TO COLLECT PROGRAM RELATED FEES ON BEHALF OF THE TOWN OF
LOS GATOS.
B. ACCEPT THE STAFF REPORT ON THE NATIONAL POLLUTANT
DISCHARGE ELIMINATION SYSTEM (NPDES) PERMIT UPDATE.
RECOMMENDATION:
Staff recommends that the Town Council:
1. Approve the FY 2017/18 West Valley Clean Water Program Budget and authorize the West
Valley Sanitation District to collect program related fees on behalf of the Town of Los Gatos.
2. Accept the staff report on the National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System (NPDES)
Permit Update.
BACKGROUND:
The West Valley Clean Water Program (WVCWP) ensures that clean, unpolluted water flows to
the local creeks and ultimately the San Francisco Bay. Program requirements continue to
increase, both under past regulations and recently approved regulations that took effect
January of 2016. These increased requirements fall to local jurisdictions for implementation.
This report provides a look at the new requirements and their associated costs. Additionally,
this report provides information on the WVCWP budget and recommends Council approval of
the draft budget.
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SUBJECT: WEST VALLEY CLEAN WATER PROGRAM BUDGET AND NATIONAL POLLUTANT
DISCHARGE ELIMINATION SYSTEM PERMIT UPDATE
MARCH 20, 2017
S:\COUNCIL REPORTS\2017\04-04-17\WV Clean Water\Staff Report FINAL.docx 3/30/2017 11:15 AM MM
BACKGROUND (cont’d):
The San Francisco Bay Regional Water Quality Control Board (RWQCB or Regional Board) acts as
the responsible agency for regulating water that enters streams and ultimately the bay,
ensuring the water is clean and unpolluted in compliance with the federally mandated Clean
Water Act. The RWQCB does this through the issuance of permits to local agencies (the
Municipal Regional Stormwater Permits) that require compliance with a series of regulations.
The permits are issued regionally in approximately five year cycles, with the last issuance in
January 2016.
The permits issued by the RWQCB contain requirements which escalate over time. These
requirements are meant to increase accountability at the local jurisdiction level while allowing
ramp up time for compliance. The requirements of the permit may take the form of unfunded
mandates. A discussion on the types of requirements occurs later in this report.
Locally, there are four programs that manage pollution prevention for waterways: the Santa
Clara Valley Urban Runoff Pollution Prevention Program (SCVURPPP), West Valley Sanitation
District (WVSD), WVCWP, and the Town-managed Non-Point Source Discharge Elimination
Program (NPDES). These programs perform various functions required under the Clean Water
Act, Environmental Protection Agency regulations, and respective NPDES permits.
SCVURPPP is an association of thirteen municipalities (including Los Gatos) in the Santa Clara
Valley and also includes the Santa Clara Valley Water District. The organization ensures that
efforts of the individual jurisdictions align to achieve the requirements set forth in the permit.
WVCWP is a consolidated local program managed by WVSD for the Town and the cities of
Campbell, Monte Sereno, and Saratoga. WVCWP’s purpose includes coordinating efforts of
other agencies, such as the County Fire District and County Environmental Health Department,
performing NPDES inspection activities for the Town, conducting public education activities,
streamlining implementation of the current NPDES permit, and writing and submitting the
Annual Report and Work Plan for the four municipalities to the State Regional Water Quality
Control Board. The WVCWP offers a unified, stronger voice to represent the interests of West
Valley cities at the County-wide program level and with regional bodies. Additionally, it has
proven to be more cost-effective and time-efficient for the West Valley cities to manage this
program and address NPDES issues through a single point of contact.
The Town’s NPDES program provides the local enforcement and compliance efforts associated
with the permit. This includes ensuring compliance at Town facilities, inspecting construction
and development projects to ensure compliance, providing for street sweeping, and reporting
information through the WVCWP to the Regional Board. As the requirements of the permit
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SUBJECT: WEST VALLEY CLEAN WATER PROGRAM BUDGET AND NATIONAL POLLUTANT
DISCHARGE ELIMINATION SYSTEM PERMIT UPDATE
MARCH 20, 2017
S:\COUNCIL REPORTS\2017\04-04-17\WV Clean Water\Staff Report FINAL.docx 3/30/2017 11:15 AM MM
BACKGROUND (cont’d):
have increased, the Town has taken on increasingly greater responsibilities and associated
costs.
DISCUSSION:
Section C of the permit identifies areas of compliance, including Section C.2. Municipal
Operations, C.3. New Development and Redevelopment, and C.10. Trashload Reductions.
All private development must comply with the “C.3.” requirements of the regional stormwater
permit. The C.3. requirements include the implementation of Low Impact Development (LID)
features to treat stormwater onsite through the use of pervious surfaces, bio -retention basins,
green roofs, or other solutions. Inspection requirements have increased under the current
permit. Previously, one inspection was required per project within 45 days of project
completion, and Parks and Public Works inspectors could often fit the inspection into their
existing workload when the project was within proximity of other inspection sites. The
escalating regulations now require more frequent inspections during construction to capture
the installation progress of each LID. These costs will be collected through private development
fees.
Similarly in C.10. Trashload Reductions, the Town has submitted a plan to meet the
requirement to reduce trashload impacts to creeks 40% by 2014, 70% by 2017, and 100% by
2022. The plan includes solutions such as determining the right size and number of trash
receptacles needed, monitoring properties that are large contributors, installing trash capture
devices in storm inlets, and increasing recycling efforts. Each of these items has associated
costs and workloads and as the requirements increase, incremental gains become more difficult
and more expensive. The Town completes a portion of this work with in -house staff while
contracting some services to West Valley Sanitation.
Where requirements and resulting expenditures directly correlate with keeping trash out of the
storm drain system, staff will propose garbage rate increases through West Valley Sanitation
District. Where costs are related to developments, including inspection of ongoing
maintenance activities on private property, the Town has implemented additional fees , as
noted above. For areas of the storm drain infrastructure that face capacity constraints or have
capital maintenance needs, the Town relies on fees collected from developments within
dedicated Storm Basin funds. These funds will not be sufficient to meet long -term needs for
the Town, which may in turn necessitate alternative solutions such as a Proposition 218
compliant property assessed fee. The first step in addressing these needs is a Town wide storm
system master plan and needs assessment.
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SUBJECT: WEST VALLEY CLEAN WATER PROGRAM BUDGET AND NATIONAL POLLUTANT
DISCHARGE ELIMINATION SYSTEM PERMIT UPDATE
MARCH 20, 2017
S:\COUNCIL REPORTS\2017\04-04-17\WV Clean Water\Staff Report FINAL.docx 3/30/2017 11:15 AM MM
DISCUSSION (cont’d.):
Program Expenses
Each year, the WVSD and the four municipalities participating in the WVCWP cooperatively
prepare an outline of the Annual Work Plan for WVCWP and the associated operating budget
for approval prior to the establishment of the annual user fees, and prior to the District
transmitting those fees to the County for collection from property tax rolls. The proposed
budget is then presented to the four municipalities individually for approval. The draft budget
is provided as Attachment 1 for review and approval with this item. The proposed budget is
ultimately approved and adopted by the WVSD Board of Directors.
The proposed FY 2017/18 WVCWP budget shows increases in the areas of operating
expenditures, administrative costs, and permit compliance costs related to an increase in
personnel costs. The State associated costs for the NDPES permit are projected to continue to
increase in the long-term.
Additionally, costs are projected to increase for fees associated with facility inspection. For
next year’s proposed budget, NPDES related fees will increase by 5%, while overall
administration and program management fees for the WVCWP will increase by approximately
7%. Page two of this report provides an overview of the services the WVCWP provides to the
Town.
The WVSD collects fees from Town residents through assessments collected with property
taxes. The revenue collected is approximately $353,000 annually. These fees fund the WVCWP
as well as some Town obligations within the Town’s overall program budget of approximately
$580,000. WVSD conducts a regular review of the collections to ensure fees are levied at the
appropriate level.
CONCLUSION:
Staff recommends that the Town Council:
1. Approve the FY 2017/18 West Valley Clean Water Program Budget and authorize the West
Valley Sanitation District to collect program related fees on behalf of the Town of Los Gatos.
2. Accept the staff report on the National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System (NPDES)
Permit Update.
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SUBJECT: WEST VALLEY CLEAN WATER PROGRAM BUDGET AND NATIONAL POLLUTANT
DISCHARGE ELIMINATION SYSTEM PERMIT UPDATE
MARCH 20, 2017
S:\COUNCIL REPORTS\2017\04-04-17\WV Clean Water\Staff Report FINAL.docx 3/30/2017 11:15 AM MM
COORDINATION:
This report has been coordinated with the West Valley Clean Water Program and the West
Valley Sanitation District.
FISCAL IMPACT:
The approval of this budget will allow the WVSD to continue to collect revenue on behalf of the
Town in the amount of approximately $353,000 to fund the Town’s portion of the WVCWP
operating budget. The Town’s portion of the WVCWP for FY 2017/18 is $3 25,507. In other
words, the approval of the budget does not involve the appropriation of any funds from the
Town’s general fund.
ENVIRONMENTAL ASSESSMENT:
This is not a project defined under CEQA, and no further action is required.
Attachment:
1. West Valley Clean Water Program FY 2017/18 Proposed Budget.