To: The Contra Costa County Flood Control and Water Conservation District Board of Supervisors
From: Warren Lai, Public Works Director/Chief Engineer
Report Title: Funding Agreement with the Association of Bay Area Governments for award of grant monies from a U.S. Environmental Protection Agency Water Quality Improvement Fund Grant.
☒Recommendation of the County Administrator ☐ Recommendation of Board Committee
RECOMMENDATIONS:
Acting as the governing body of the Contra Costa County Flood Control and Water Conservation District (Flood Control District), APPROVE and AUTHORIZE the Chief Engineer, or designee, to execute the Funding Agreement with the Association of Bay Area Governments (ABAG) to provide up to $2,376,000 from a U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Water Quality Improvement Fund Grant for a project titled “Restoring Wildcat Creek: Community-Led Watershed Health Update and Priority Project Implementation” (Project) in the area of North Richmond.
FISCAL IMPACT:
The Funding Agreement provides up to $2,376,000 in U.S. EPA Water Quality Improvement Fund (WQIF) grant funds for the Project. Project costs are anticipated to be fully funded by this grant. (Project No. 7505-6F8104)
BACKGROUND:
The Flood Control District is part of a coalition of organizations that have been awarded a WQIF grant from the U.S. EPA for the Project, and it will be used to restore and enhance Wildcat Creek in Richmond. The ABAG and EPA have a master agreement for this WQIF Grant, with a total award from the EPA of $6,102,000 to be disbursed among several sub-awardees. Under the EPA agreement, ABAG would administer a “Funding Agreement” with the Flood Control District as one sub-awardee in the larger regional grant. The grant amount allotted to the Flood Control District as one of several sub-awardees is $2,376,000. The Flood Control District will primarily be responsible for restoring a defined portion of Wildcat Creek, including Planning, Design, Environmental Analyses, Permitting, and Construction to provide for flood conveyance capacity in conformance with Federal Emergency Management Agency standards and U.S. Army Corps of Engineers standards, to provide sediment management, improved habitat, and fish passage. As part of the grant partnership, sediment removed from the creek to increase flood conveyance capacity will be delivered to the West County Wastewater District to be used for a separate project (the West County “Living Levee” Project) to enhance infrastructure protection in the face of sea level rise.
The grant period extends through February 15, 2028, unless extended by a duly executed amendment or terminated earlier.
The proposed “Funding Agreement” between ABAG and the Flood Control District is intended to extend the requirements of the EPA Grant Agreement to the Flood Control District and set up terms with the Flood Control District as a grant-funded entity with specific deliverables.
The proposed Funding Agreement is intended to define the roles and responsibilities of the Flood Control District and provide indemnity protection to ABAG for executing the EPA WQIF Grant Agreement on behalf of the sub-awardees.
CONSEQUENCE OF NEGATIVE ACTION:
Without the Board of Supervisors’ approval, the Flood Control District will not be able to accept the EPA WQIF Grant monies described above, and will not be able to restore the Wildcat Creek flood control channel to provide for flood conveyance, fish passage, and improved habitat in the area of North Richmond.