Stormwater utilities in 2013 (Source: Western Kentucky University Stormwater Utility Survey 2013)
Stormwater runoff is an enormous problem that leads to dangerous flooding and polluted waters in New Jersey and other states.
But the states hit hardest by superstorm Sandy - New Jersey, New York and Connecticut - have no known stormwater utilities, according to a new survey.
More than 1,400 stormwater utilities have been identified in 39 states and the District of Columbia, including Texas, Ohio, Florida, Minnesota, Washington and Wisconsin, according to the "Western Kentucky University Stormwater Utility Survey 2013."
Louisiana and Mississippi, which were slammed by Hurricane Katrina in 2005, are also lacking utilities, the survey says. (Thanks go to John A. Miller, legislative chairman of the New Jersey Association for Floodplain Management, for making me aware of the survey).
"One of the stumbling blocks to creating stormwater utilities is clear state law permitting them," says the survey, written by C. Warren Campbell, an engineer. "I strongly recommend that these states move to create that clear statutory authority for all categories of cities and towns, for counties, for sewer districts, and for watershed conservancy districts. Doing so does not create a single SWU (stormwater utility), but it makes it easier for local governments who wish to secure adequate funding for flood mitigation projects to do so."
State legislation (A-1583/S-579) would allow a county, municipality or their utilities authorities to establish stormwater utilities to manage stormwater runoff. The work would be supported by user fees.
But three years ago, Gov. Chris Christie vetoed a bill aimed at reducing pollution in Barnegat Bay largely because it would have allowed fees to be imposed on developers, according to our archives. The bill would have allowed stormwater utilities to be created, but the Ocean County Board of Freeholders staunchly opposed the measure.
According to the survey, the average monthly single-family residential fee for a stormwater utility nationwide was $4.57. Fees ranged from zero to $250 per month, and most fees rise over time, reflecting an increase in the Consumer Price Index (CPI).
A recent federal law states that reasonable stormwater fees are not taxes and that federal agencies must pay them, the survey says. But there have been 76 legal or political challenges to stormwater utilities in the U.S. Of the 76 challenges, 44 were decided in favor of the utility, while the utilities received unfavorable decisions in 16 cases.
Is it time for New Jersey to join what the survey calls the "stormwater utility club?" What do you think?
Stormwater utilities by state in 2013 (Source: Western Kentucky University Stormwater Utility Survey 2013)
