Prince Georges County, Maryland and Corvias; Achieving Regulatory Compliance through implementation of a Public Private Partnership (P3)
Abstract:
Background
In 2014, Prince Georges County Maryland was faced with an enormous challenge to find a solution to meet environmental regulatory compliance for its Municipal Separate Storm Sewer System (MS4) Permits. Discharges from municipal separate storm sewer systems are regulated under the Maryland Department of Environment. The County’s procurement and project management processes lacked flexibility and speed to delivery on budget and on schedule to achieve compliance.
The Maryland Department of the Environment (MDE) reissued a National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System (NPDES) stormwater permit to Prince George’s County, Maryland in January 2014. This permit covers stormwater discharges from the storm drain system owned or operated by Prince George’s County. Permit requirements include implementing comprehensive stormwater management programs for addressing runoff from new and redevelopment projects, restoring urban areas where there is currently little or no stormwater management, and working toward meeting stormwater waste load allocations for local water resources and Chesapeake Bay. Also included in the permit are conditions that require the County to possess the necessary legal authority to control stormwater discharges, map its storm drain system, monitor urban runoff, and eliminate illicit discharges to the storm drain system. It is MDE’s final determination that this permit complies with the United States Environmental Protection Agency’s NPDES regulations to control stormwater pollutant discharges from Prince George’s County’s storm drain system to the maximum extent practicable.
Clean Water Public Private Partnership
Scope of the Program: To achieve regulatory compliance the County developed and implemented the first large scale Public Private Partnership in the United States to install green infrastructure, to retrofit 2,000 impervious acres to meet regulatory compliance and a 30-year maintenance program for devices installed by the P-3. Additional requirements include utilization of local, small, minority and disadvantage businesses to grow capacity in the County with specific metrics for utilization. The execution of a P3 using this approach is called a Community Based Public Private Partnership or CBP3.
Cost of the Program: $100M
Schedule of the Program for Phase I: Start Date March 2015 End Date: March 2018
Program Execution: The CBP3 is a collaborative effort among Corvias and the two Prince Georges County agencies of the Department of Environment, Department of Central Services, Supplier Diversity Division. The CBP3 approach focuses specifically on prioritizing the benefits to the community and creates procurement opportunities for local, small, minority, and disadvantaged businesses as well as hire locally and therefore create true local economic impact. Together, Prince George’s County and Corvias have been able to achieve social, economic, and infrastructure benefits that go well beyond the industry’s standard measurement of water quality. Furthermore, to-date the program has exceeded its socioeconomic
The Results:
The Clean Water Partnership was implemented in March 2015 with the goal of engaging county businesses and residents. Since then it has delivered environmental and economic benefits to the County. In addition it has garnered national attention as a model for local governments to create local economic impact utilizing green infrastructure as the first large scale CBP3 in the U.S. The P-3 is now nationally recognized as a game changer. (https://www.infrastructurereportcard.org/solutions/gamechangers/)
• Meeting Scope and Schedule: In October the Community Based Public Private Partnership (CBP3) between Prince Georges County, Maryland and Corvias, referred to as the Clean Water Partnership or CWP, announced a major program milestone of the guaranteed delivery of all water quality projects for Phase I of the CBP3, while at the same time exceeding all of the partnership’s local, disadvantaged, small business, and “local” economic development goals. All 106 guaranteed water quality projects throughout the County are either in construction and/or completed, with 80% of the work contracted out to local, disadvantaged, small business, and 51% of all work hours being performed by Prince George’s County residents.
• Other Accomplishments
• The Clean Water Partnership has reduced the total development costs of stormwater retrofits in the County by over 30 %
• The first large scale CBP3 in the US in cost and acres delivered!
• The Clean Water Partnership has exceeded the socio-economic and local utilization performance goals for the Partnership
• Positioned the County as both a National and Regional leader for the CBP3 model. The County has taken a leadership role as the first jurisdiction in the US to implement a P3 as a solution to focus on its socio-economic and local capacity issues through an infrastructure program. As a result, many jurisdictions in the State and around the country are looking at the CWP and its results as a model to address their specific needs and requirements to tackle aging infrastructure.
