Current Projects
Stormwater NPDES Compliance Assistance—Contra Costa Clean Water Program. The Contra Costa Clean Water Program (CCCWP) comprises Contra Costa County, nineteen incorporated cities and towns, and the Contra Costa Flood Control & Water Conservation District.
Since late 2003, Dan Cloak Environmental Consulting has assisted CCCWP to plan compliance with the “C.3” new development and redevelopment provision in the agencies’ stormwater NPDES permit.
Dan wrote the workplan for CCCWP's Hydrograph Modification Management Plan (HMP) and helped guide development of the HMP.
Dan facilitated agency staff work groups to create CCCWP's Stormwater C.3 Guidebook. A model ordinance referencing the Guidebook has been adopted by all Contra Costa municipalities, ensuring consistent implementation of new development requirements throughout the County.
The Fourth Edition of the Guidebook was published in October 2008. Chapter 4, the “Low Impact Development Design Guide,” includes instrucions and criteria for using Low Impact Development design to ensure new development designs comply with stormwater treatment requirements and flow-control (hydrograph modification management) requirements.
Many of Dan's work products are distributed by CCCWP and are available on the Program's C.3 webpage.
Updates and more information on Dan's work for CCCWP are here.
Environmental Technical Representative to the Clean Estuary Partnership.
The Clean Estuary Partnership (CEP) partners are the San Francisco Bay Regional Water Quality Control Board (RWQCB), Bay Area Stormwater Management Agencies Association (BASMAA), and Bay Area Clean Water Agencies (BACWA). Other key participants include the San Francisco Estuary Institute, Clean Water Fund, San Francisco Baykeeper, Port of Oakland and the Western States Petroleum Association.
The CEP provides financial and staff support for technical analysis and stakeholder outreach activities related to the RWQCB's TMDLs and other Water Quality Attainment Strategies. As the Environmental Technical Representative, Dan Cloak helps Clean Water Action, San Francisco Baykeeper, the Environmental Justice Coalition for Water, and other environmental and environmental justice organizations participate in developing and implementing the RWQCB's TMDLs and other Water Quality Attainment Strategies.
Dan reviews and comments on relevant technical documents and conceptual models, frames questions for analysis and helps to scope contracts for technical analysis.
Click here for updated information on Dan's work and links to his work products.
Stormwater Treatment Controls and Source Controls for New Developments
During 2005-2006, Dan has worked with project architects, engineers, and landscape architects to create optimal designs for site drainage and stormwater compliance on various private development projects.Dan has designed appropriately sized and sited biofiltration swales and planter boxes for commercial and residential projects in Santa Clara, Alameda, and Contra Costa counties. Dan has also prepared the required reports and documentation, which include specifications for “maximum extent practicable” source controls, for submittal to municipal reviewers.
Integrated Water Resources Management Plan
The Bay Area Integrated Water Resources Management Plan (IRWMP) is a prerequisite for Bay Area agencies to apply for implementation grants for water projects authorized under California Proposition 50. The grants are administered by the state Department of Water Resources.
Under the direction of a work team of Bay Area flood control agency staff, Dan assisted Morrison & Associates to draft the Flood Protection/Stormwater Management component of the IRWMP.
After incorporating revisions to the January 2006 draft, Dan will be assisting RMC to integrate the Flood Protection/Stormwater Management component with the other three IRWMP components—water, wastewater, and watershed management.
Brake Pad Partnership—Sustainable Conservation
The Brake Pad Partnership is a team of government regulators, brake pad manufacturers, stormwater management agencies, and environmentalists who are evaluating how copper from vehicle brake wear debris affects water quality in South San Francisco Bay.
Sustainable Conservation, a non-profit group facilitating the Brake Pad Partnership, has retained Dan Cloak Environmental Consulting to provide peer review of technical documents prepared by Partnership consultants.
Previous and Completed Projects
Assistance with Stormwater NPDES Permit Requirements for New Development and Redevelopment—City of Milpitas.
Beginning in late 2002, Dan Cloak Environmental Consulting assisted the City of Milpitas to prepare for implementation of Provision C.3 of the Santa Clara Valley stormwater discharge permit. A Stormwater C.3 Guidebook, approved by the Milpitas Planning Commission in September 2003, facilitates efficient project review, minimizes administrative costs, and enhances communication of regulatory and technical options so that developers can minimize unnecessary costs and project delays. In 2005, Dan assisted City of Milpitas to update the Guidebook.
Click here for more information and links.
Infiltration Feasibility Study—with LFR, Inc. for the Contra Costa Clean Water Program
In 2004, Dan teamed with LFR, Inc. to study the feasibility of infiltration as a method of stormwater quality management in Contra Costa County. Dan contributed a review of literature regarding the risks stormwater infiltration may pose to groundwater quality and developed “user-friendly guidelines” to help Contra Costa land developers select the most cost-effective and feasible infiltration options.
The “user-friendly guidelines” included design checklists, illustrations, and drawings for swales, planter boxes, dry wells, and other infiltration practices. The “user-friendly guidelines” were incorporated into Appendix C of the Contra Costa Clean Water Program's Stormwater C.3 Guidebook. The complete Infiltration Feasibility Study is also on the Program's website.
Watershed Action Plan—Santa Clara Basin Watershed Management Initiative.
Dan Cloak researched, drafted, and compiled a Watershed Action Plan for the Santa Clara Basin Watershed Management Initiative (SCBWMI), a multi-stakeholder group initiated in 1996 by USEPA and the California Regional Water Quality Control Board for the San Francisco Bay Region. The Santa Clara Valley Water District funded preparation of the draft chapters, and the cities of Palo Alto and Sunnyvale contracted with Dan Cloak Environmental Consulting to help present the Watershed Action Plan to public works directors and other decision-makers. The City of San Jose engaged Dan Cloak Environmental Consulting to incorporate comments and produce a first complete draft of the Watershed Action Plan in March 2003.
Click here for more information and links.
Biological and Surface Water Quality Monitoring Activities Evaluation Project — Santa Clara Valley Water District. During 2002, Dan assisted District staff to conduct a comprehensive evaluation of the District's biological and surface water quality monitoring activities. Dan's contributions included an analysis of 12 “lessons learned” from other environmental monitoring programs. He also facilitated a strategic planning session with an interdisciplinary group of District staff, and prepared initial recommendations.
Surface Water Quality Monitoring Programs Evaluation Project — Santa Clara Valley Water District. In 2002-2003, the District retained Dan Cloak Environmental Consulting to conduct research “as needed” on technical and regulatory issues related to water quality and natural resource protection. Specific tasks included:
- Reviewing draft plans to monitor surface water quality.
- Summarizing the status of efforts in the Santa Clara Basin and nationally to define stream “health.”
- Reviewing and comparing environmental “status reports” and recommending key attributes for a District annual status report on the health of local streams and watersheds.
Technical Assistance on Stream and Watershed Planning—Santa Clara Valley Water Resources Protection Collaborative
From September 2003 through June 2004, Dan Cloak Environmental Consulting prrovided technical assistance to the Santa Clara Valley Water Resources Protection Collaborative.
Dan's work products for the Collaborative included:
- A matrix describing current efforts to address 44 “Problems in Water Resources Protection” identified by District staff. The matrix illustrates different ways that the Santa Clara Basin Watershed Management Initiative, the Santa Clara Valley Urban Runoff Pollution Prevention Program, Santa Clara County, the District, and cities and towns are addressing problems ranging from groundwater protection to stormwater pollution prevention to floodplain management. The matrix also identified gaps and obstacles and suggested potential outcomes from the Collaborative's work.
- An Outline for Guidelines and Standards, which was approved at an October 30, 2004 Collaborative meeting.
- An “expanded problem statement” summarizing the principal problems related to land use near streams and proposing General Plan policies to address those problems.
Stormwater Environmental Indicators Demonstration Project (SEIDP) — Water Environment Research Foundation. Dan was Principal Investigator for the 2-year SEIDP. He led a multidisciplinary team of SCVURPPP staff and contractors to study fish and macroinvertebrate populations, water quality, sediment quality, channel stability, riparian vegetation, and land use in the Coyote Creek watershed in the City of San Jose. The project also examined the use of programmatic indicators (e.g., number of industrial sites inspected, number of violations found), and social indicators (e.g. public awareness of pollution-prevention techniques). The project is documented in a final report, in technical memos and in the proceedings of various conferences. Click here for more information.
Monitoring Program Development and Management — Santa Clara Valley Urban Runoff Pollution Prevention Program (SCVURPPP). From 1997 until 2001, Dan planned and managed over $2 million in environmental and monitoring studies for SCVURPPP. As a Supervising Engineer, he managed and led staff biologists, ecologists, and civil engineers to implement these studies and to report the results to municipal staff, regulatory staff, and the public. Many of these work products are posted on SCVURPPP's website.
Urban Runoff Management Plan (URMP) — Santa Clara Valley Urban Runoff Pollution Prevention Program (SCVURPPP). In 1996 and 1997, SCVURPPP was reorganized and submitted a revised URMP in compliance with the stormwater NPDES permit. Dan drafted the URMP and participated in revising it in preparation for its submittal to the Regional Board.
Action Plans — Marin County Stormwater Pollution Prevention Program. In 1993 and 1994, Dan wrote the Marin County Stormwater Pollution Prevention Program's Analysis of Existing Conditions and first Action Plan. He assisted staff at each of the 11 municipalities in that County to implement the plan and to document compliance with the requirements of the California Regional Water Quality Control Board. He then prepared and helped implement the second Action Plan and assisted with its implementation through 2000.
Monitoring Committee Leadership — Bay Area Stormwater Management Agencies Association (BASMAA). From 1998 until 2001, Dan chaired BASMAA's Monitoring Committee. Under his leadership, representatives of all Bay Area stormwater programs agreed on principles, process, and an annual timeline for collaborating on a regional monitoring strategy. Dan authored a report describing the first year of this collaboration. When the RWQCB requested fast-track investigation of PCBs and mercury in stormwater runoff, Dan led a collaborative effort to identify the region-wide average and range of concentrations of these pollutants in storm drain sediments. The resulting characterization of the problem helped the stormwater agencies and the RWQCB to move forward with implementation of TMDLs for these stormwater pollutants.
Land Use Subgroup Leadership — Santa Clara Basin Watershed Management Initiative. Dan chaired the SCBWMI's Land Use Subgroup from 1997 until 2001. There, he devised a successful process to identify "consensus points" that could be supported by environmental groups, land-development interests, business interests, cities, and other agencies. The resulting strategy combined an overall emphasis on “smart growth” with specific measures to preserve and enhance floodplain and riparian areas.