FROM:
Engineering
SUBJECT:
Approve an Agreement with the San Bernardino County Flood Control District Related to National Pollutant Elimination System (NPDES) Stormwater Permit End
Title
End
RECOMMENDATION:
Recommendation
1. Approve the National Pollutant Elimination System Stormwater Permit Implementation Agreement Santa Ana Region between the City of Fontana and the San Bernardino County Flood Control District.
2. Authorize the City Manager to enter into the Agreement.
End
COUNCIL GOALS:
• To concentrate on Inter-governmental relations by working cooperatively with neighboring jurisdictions.
• To concentrate on Inter-governmental relations by establishing partnerships and positive working relationships with other public agencies providing services to residents and local businesses.
DISCUSSION:
The current Municipal Separate Storm Sewer System (“MS4”) Permit is issued jointly to the County of San Bernardino, the San Bernardino County Flood Control District (collectively hereinafter referred to as “County”), and the sixteen incorporated cities (“co-permittees”) in the Santa Ana River Watershed portion of San Bernardino County. The San Bernardino County Flood Control District is the Principal Permittee. Its primary responsibilities are to administer the overall stormwater program in conjunction with the cities, lead in the development of programs, act as the liaison with water board staff, and prepare the consolidated required reports. As part of the requirements of the Permit, all co-permittees are required to enter into an “Implementation Agreement” which specifies the responsibilities of the co-permittees and establishes a cost-sharing formula for the program costs to be borne by each co-permittee.
The City Council approved the original NPDES Stormwater Implementation Agreement on May 5, 1992, and subsequently approved an amendment to the agreement on December 5, 1995.
In 2010, it was determined that the cost share formula contained ambiguities that prevented the County from annually calculating land use conditions as required under the agreement. As a result, a new Implementation Agreement was developed to establish a revised cost share formula for allocating area-wide NPDES permit program costs among the co-permittees.
The updated formula provided a more equitable method for determining each co-permittee's cost share percentage by balancing the impacts of population, land area, and equal participation, resulting in a fairer distribution of costs among both large and small jurisdictions.
The proposed new Implementation Agreement does not modify the existing cost share formula. The current methodology for calculating each co-permittee's share of program costs will remain unchanged.
The most significant revision in the proposed agreement is the elimination of the County overhead rate applied to County staff time spent on area-wide program activities. At one point, this overhead rate reached 117% of direct labor costs. Removing the overhead charge will result in substantial savings to the Area-Wide Program budget. For example, in FY 2024/25, the total program budget was $3,944,093, of which approximately $527,000 was attributable to overhead costs.
Additional revisions to the agreement include:
• Modifying meeting requirements to align with the MS4 Permit requirements, or at a minimum, require quarterly meetings.
• Revising the agreement term so that it remains in effect until a new agreement is executed or a party provides a one-year notice of withdrawal.
• Establishing a deadline for co-permittees to pay their annual cost share contributions to ensure timely funding of Area-Wide Program activities.
• Removing obsolete provisions related to grants received under the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act.
These revisions are intended to streamline the agreement, improve administrative efficiency, reduce program costs, and ensure consistency with current regulatory requirements.
FISCAL IMPACT:
The cost share for the member agencies of the Area-Wide San Bernardino County Stormwater Program is calculated using a formula based on an equal share allocation, population, and land area. The resulting cost share percentage is then applied to four program budget categories: Monitoring, Public Education, Program Management, and Training. The fiscal impact for the implementation agreement comes from the Solid Waste Mitigation Fund (Fund 282) account 28237713-8130.
For FY 2026/27, the City's cost share contribution is projected to decrease to 9.36%, resulting in an estimated contribution of $248,542. However, based on the recently released draft Santa Ana Regional Municipal Separate Storm Sewer System (MS4) Permit, implementation costs for the Area-Wide Program are anticipated to increase significantly, which may substantially impact future program costs for all member agencies.
MOTION:
Approve staff recommendation.