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Stormwater and Impact Fees Bill Moves Forward
HB 761 and SB 2060 passed the House Agribusiness and Senate Agriculture, respectively, this week. Both bills prohibit counties from imposing any assessment or fee for stormwater management on land classified as agricultural if the operation has a discharge permit or has implemented best management practices (BMPs). However, if agricultural operations do not attain water quality standards by using BMPs, counties are left to make up the difference. Counties face enormous compliance and enforcement costs for improving water quality problems caused by agricultural operations and other nonpoint sources of pollution. Agricultural operations should be required to verify that BMPs are attaining designated water quality standards prior to receiving any kind of stormwater exemption. Local ordinances are usually based on impervious area. Nursery operations in particular tend to have a considerable amount of impervious area, and are often located in urban or suburban areas, where they do add to stormwater runoff. The bills also, among other things, expand the exemption for nonresidential farm buildings from local buildings codes to include impact fees. The term “nonresidential farm buildings” is overly broad with regard to impact fees. Buildings constructed on major commercial operations, including warehouses and distribution centers, often impact city and county services.