To: The Contra Costa County Flood Control and Water Conservation District Board of Supervisors
From: Warren Lai, Public Works Director/Chief Engineer
Report Title: Amendment to the Agreement with the Association of Bay Area Governments for award of a California Department of Water Resources Integrated Water Management Plan Grant.
Recommendation: Recommendation of the County Administrator
RECOMMENDATIONS:
Acting as the governing body of the Contra Costa County Flood Control and Water Conservation District (FCD), APPROVE and AUTHORIZE the Chief Engineer, or designee, to execute an amendment to the Local Project Sponsor Agreement (LPS Agreement) with the Association of Bay Area Governments (ABAG) to extend the term through March 31, 2028, with no change to the amount to be provided from a California Department of Water Resources (DWR) Integrated Regional Water Management (IRWM) Plan Grant for the Wildcat Creek Fish Passage Implementation Project (WCFPI Project).
FISCAL IMPACT:
The LPS Agreement provides up to $1,500,000 in DWR IRWM Plan Grant funds for the WCFPI Project (Project No. 7505-6F8103). Remaining WCFPI Project costs are funded by the DWR Urban Streams Restoration Program, the US Environmental Protection Agency San Francisco Bay Water Quality Improvement Fund, and other grants (Project No. 7505-6F8101 through 7505-6F8103).
BACKGROUND:
On October 11, 2022, the Board of Supervisors authorized the FCD to apply for an IRWM Plan Grant from DWR in the amount of $1,500,000 for the WCFPI Project. The DWR Grant required a regional application to be eligible for the IRWM Plan Grant funding. The WCFPI Project is included in the list of projects in the Bay Area IRWM Plan. The Bay Area IRWM group evaluated potential projects for IRWM Plan Grant funding and selected twelve projects, including the FCD’s WCFPI Project, for a joint application. The ABAG acted as the lead agency in the joint grant application to DWR for the IRWM Plan Grant funding.
Subsequently, DWR awarded ABAG an IRWM Plan Grant in the amount of $32,214,479 (Grant Agreement No. 4600015417) for twelve projects sponsored by various public agencies in the Bay Area, including the FCD, all known as Local Project Sponsors. The award amount for the FCD’s WCFPI Project was $1,500,000. The LPS Agreement was approved by the Board of Supervisors on September 24, 2024. The grant period of performance originally ended on March 31, 2027, and required construction to be completed by December 31, 2026.
The amendment to the LPS Agreement shall extend the period of performance by one year to March 31, 2028. In addition, the deadline to complete construction shall be extended to December 31, 2027.
CONSEQUENCE OF NEGATIVE ACTION:
Without the Board of Supervisors’ approval, the FCD will not be able to comply with the terms of the DWR IRWM Plan Grant Program and the original LPS Agreement described above, which will jeopardize funding for the project.