SMC Master Agreement Project

Lead Agency	County of Orange
Report Year Project Started	2013-2014
Status	90% Complete
Project Budget	$233,728
Project Partners:
California Department of Transportation, Caltrans	Los Angeles County Flood Control District
City of Long Beach	Riverside County Flood Control and Water Conservation District
City of Los Angeles, Watershed Protection Division	San Bernardino County Flood Control District
City of San Diego	Southern California Coastal Water Research Project
County of Orange, OC Public Works	Ventura County Watershed Protection District
County of San Diego Stormwater Management Program
Technical Lead	Chris Crompton, OC Public Works

Key Words: stormwater retention, wet weather runoff, BMP effectiveness

The Steering Committee received the first draft of the next Master SMC Agreement in February 2013. The current SMC Master Agreement expired June 4, 2013 and the new agreement mimics the previous agreement with two new additions:

1. insertion of a budget and workplan process for SMC projects to expedite projects that currently require implementation agreements; and,
2. establishment of a budget manager from the SMC members to collect and distribute annual budget funds.

The budget and workplan process is meant to increase the efficiency and timeliness of the SMC in order to build upon the successful projects already completed. However, the agreement still contains the provision for each agency to pay only for the projects in which they choose to participate. Therefore, the budget will not necessarily be split evenly among agencies and participation in a given projects is not mandatory for any member agency. One goal is to fund the smaller, ongoing projects (i.e., intercalibration, regional monitoring coordination, etc.) without constantly having to create new agreements. The agreement will still contain language for supplemental implementation agreements to fund larger, one-time, partnered projects based on individual member agency needs and implementation of the research agenda.

Based on the proposed agreement structure, with multiple parties committing to an annual budget, the SMC will require a new treasurer position to receive and disburse funds, issue invoices, and manage the budget. SCCWRP was supported as the candidate for treasurer and a percentage of the annual budget will be allocated to SCCWP for administrative support. Also, the new agreement creates a rotating Chair position with an allocated budget for an Administrative Officer (likely a contractor) to organize meetings, prepare minutes and the Annual Reports, write agreements, and provide overall continuity in the day-to-day operations of the organization.

4.4.1    Project Status Update

The new SMC Master Agreement is expected to be approved in 2015-2016.

4.4.2    Project Related Publications

1)   Cooperative Agreement for Participation in the Southern California Stormwater Monitoring Coalition, D13-014. February 2016.