Piedmont council awards $472,800 contract for MRP compliance as staff warn of growing stormwater costs

The Piedmont City Council on April 20 approved a contract with EOA Inc. for professional clean-water and Municipal Regional Permit (MRP) compliance services, authorizing the city administrator to execute documents for a one-year term with options to renew and a not-to-exceed amount of $472,800.

Sustainability Program Manager Denise Irvin told the council the MRP—administered by the San Francisco Regional Water Quality Control Board—has grown more complex and now requires work ranging from green infrastructure planning and construction to inspections and enforcement. "The requirements of the MRP are increasing year over year," Irvin said, and Piedmont spent just over $1,000,000 on MRP implementation in the last fiscal year, including about $176,000 on clean-water consultants.

Irvin described several program components: low-impact and green infrastructure installations (the city completed two new sites last year), illicit-discharge response and an expanded trash-and-debris management program. She noted that private development can trigger green-infrastructure obligations and that the city now must track and report implementation costs under recent MRP reporting rules. "We had to collect all costs associated with implementing the MRP 3," Irvin said, explaining that the reporting requirement is intended to show the scale of local costs even if reimbursement is not currently planned.

Public Works Director Daniel urged residents to report oily or suspicious discharges so staff can investigate and abate problems. "If anyone observes an oily substance, we want you to contact public works," he said, describing an annual reporting process the city uses to track incidents and follow-up actions.

City Attorney (title only in record) described the potential enforcement penalties if jurisdictions fail to comply: penalties under federal enforcement of the Clean Water Act can reach maximum statutory amounts per violation per day; state and regional enforcement carry different per-day penalty formulas. The attorney summarized maximums discussed at the meeting, noting they vary by enforcement vehicle.

Council members focused questions on costs, where MRP funds are being drawn from (the general fund for day-to-day implementation) and whether small cities receive special treatment. Staff said the permit is a regional rule that applies to all jurisdictions in the San Francisco Bay Region and that countywide cost distributions account for differences in population and land area, but implementation costs still fall on municipal budgets.

After questions and further discussion, the council moved and unanimously approved the contract. The motion authorized the city administrator to execute related documents and to proceed under the contract structure described by staff (one year with two annual renewal options).

Votes at a glance: • Contract award to EOA Inc. for professional clean-water and MRP compliance services: motion by the Vice Mayor; seconded; passed unanimously. Not-to-exceed amount as presented by staff: $472,800. (Recommended term: one year with two renewal options.) • Consent calendar (second reading/adoption of an ordinance; acceptance of the State of California Citizens’ Option for Public Safety (COPS) grant and expenditure plan): passed unanimously. • Appointment of parking hearing officer (applicant Matt Disco): approved unanimously; appointee not in attendance. • Adoption of resolutions (seven job-classification actions, including two new classifications): approved unanimously; staff said no fiscal impact in the current fiscal year. • Annual sidewalk repair contract (agenda item 6): council approved award to the low bidder and authorized the construction budget as listed on the agenda (contract award language and budget reviewed at the meeting). The staff-presented overall construction budget was cited as approximately $404,858; the contract line item listed on the agenda was presented by staff as about $368,368.

What this means: Staff characterized the MRP as an expanding, largely unfunded regional mandate that requires ongoing staff time, inspection and capital work. Council members pressed for clearer public communication about what residents can do (for example, using commercial car-wash facilities rather than washing cars at home) and for future briefings that will prioritize green-infrastructure locations and costs. The council directed staff to proceed with the recommended consultant contract and return with more detailed plans and timelines as projects move toward implementation.