AGENDA DATE: 9/7/2016
TITLE:
Title
Water Resources Program Funding
BODY
SUBJECT/PROPOSAL/REQUEST: Discussion and consideration of funding sources for the continued development and implementation of the Water Resources Program
ITEM TYPE: Regular Action Item
STAFF CONTACT(S): Foley, Letteri, Kamptner, Henry, Harper
PRESENTER (S): Bill Letteri, Greg Harper
LEGAL REVIEW: Yes
REVIEWED BY: Thomas C. Foley
BACKGROUND:
On October 7, 2015, the Board was presented with recommendations of the Water Resources Funding Advisory Committee ("Committee"); these recommendations are detailed in the Committee's final report (Attachment A). As part of its work, the Committee defined a model 10-year Program Plan to serve as the basis for estimating program costs and analyzing rate structures under various funding scenarios. The Program Plan includes the implementation of three major new programs: 1) addressing mandated stream and bay cleanup requirements (known as TMDLs1), 2) proactively repairing and maintaining public drainage infrastructure, and 3) voluntarily addressing stream impairments and other ecological issues throughout the County.
The three new programs comprised the majority of the costs of the proposed Program Plan. To support these programs, the Committee recommended - by a narrow majority - that the County implement a County-wide stormwater utility with fees based primarily on impervious area but also including generous rate adjustments for low-density properties and for private investments in stormwater management. At that point, the Committee's work was completed and it was discharged.
Subsequent to the Committee recommendations, the Virginia Department of Environmental Quality (DEQ) confirmed that the County has already made considerable progress towards meeting long-term pollution reduction requirements mandated as part of the Chesapeake Bay TMDL. Consequently, the estimated future annual cost of TMDL implementation was reduced from $2.5M to...
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