Citizens and business owners in the City of Lynchburg are having their first taste of the costs of cleaner stormwater. By paying a stormwater utility fee, property owners are seeing first hand the impact of regulatory changes intended to improve local water quality throughout the region and the Chesapeake Bay. While the new fee may be burdensome to some residents and businesses, this revenue source is one of the few options localities have to fund a sustainable program needed to comply with tightening regulations and truly have a meaningful impact on improving the quality of stormwater runoff reaching our streams, rivers, lakes, and the Bay. Like many localities across Virginia, and the country, Lynchburg is following a trend to implement stormwater utility fees as a means to generate the needed funds. Stormwater utility fees are seen as one of the fairest means to allocate this responsibility among government and property owners. The first bills have started showing up in mailboxes throughout the City and the true impact of the new fee, both in terms of the cost and benefit, has yet to be seen. The reality is that stormwater regulations are here to stay and funding to pay for increased compliance leading to improvements in our water quality – whether through fees or taxes – are as well. This will become more common over the next few years throughout Virginia and across the nation
Read more about how the fee will impact Lynchburg resident s and busnesses and how the revenues will be put into action:
http://www2.newsadvance.com/news/2012/jul/21/much-debated-stormwater-fee-shows-lynchburg-bills–ar-2072721/
