Stormwater Utility Fee
The stormwater requirements of the Federal Clean Water Act in Pennsylvania are administered by the Commonwealth Department of Environmental Protection (PA DEP) Storm Sewer (MS4) Program. In December 2002, PA DEP adopted a General Permit (PAG-13) requiring municipalities, such as Hampton, to implement a Stormwater Management Program to minimize the impact of stormwater runoff and to reduce fresh water pollutants.
After years of debate and extensive delays, the PA Department of Environmental Protection released new permit requirements for municipalities in 2011. Under this mandated MS4 Program, permittees such as the Township are required to incorporate the following six (6) elements into a stormwater management plan:
- Public education/outreach
- Public involvement and participation
- Illicit discharge detection and elimination
- Construction site runoff control
- Post-construction stormwater management
- Pollution prevention and good housekeeping measures for municipal operations
Unfortunately, this PA DEP mandate comes with no funding support of any kind from the Commonwealth/State government. Also, the program elements mandated by the PA DEP comes with a significant price tag.
As such, the Township has found it necessary to adopt a new Stormwater Management Fee which equates out to $115 annually per a single-family resident unit, or Equivalent Residential Unit (ERU). The number of ERU’s for non-single-family residential units will be determined by the actual square footage of impervious surface. No properties are exempt from this program (except properties that have under 500 square feet of impervious surface) and all are subject to the fee that commences in January, 2020.