Under pressure from developers, state environmental regulators are proposing changes in pending environmental regulation, but the new stipulations would still increase the cost of development.
But some in the building industry say even if the changes are adopted the proposed regulations are still too drastic. And some lawmakers aren’t pleased with the fee structure.
Joe Maroon, director of the Virginia Department of Conservation and Recreation, delivered a detailed presentation to state lawmakers yesterday detailing the new rules, which among other changes will strengthen existing restrictions on the amount of runoff allowed by new real estate development.
“Water quality monitoring is still showing declines in stream health,” said Maroon. “Not all of it is from urban and suburban runoff, but it is a significant contributor.”
The rules are designed to protect the state’s rivers and streams and the Chesapeake Bay from pollution, primarily phosphorous, and are expected to be adopted Oct. 6 by the Virginia Soil and Water Conservation Board. The regulations would take effect in July and be gradually phased in.
Maroon said the percentage of pollution to the bay from urban development has increased from 5 percent in 1985 to 30 percent in 2005. About a third of the total phosphorus pollution in the bay comes from urban or suburban sources, and that total is increasing, he said.
Under the new regulations, developers will have to use onsite methods such as retention ponds and green roofs to meet the tighter standards, use adjacent undeveloped land to make up the difference, or buy into a local management program. Developers have vigorously protested the regulations, saying they will make construction costs prohibitive and lead to further erosion of an ailing industry.
The regulations will be funded through a new statewide fee. The fee will be scaled based on the project acreage.
Del. Bob Hull (D-Falls Church) said the cost of development varies among localities and that a statewide fee didn’t seem to be a fair solution.
“In rural areas, they [developers] are going to have to pay more and in suburban areas the fee will be less and the localities are going to have to pay more,” Hull said.
Hull and other legislators were also concerned with the compliance costs for state agencies such as VDOT, as well as local government buildings like schools.
“No one up here would disagree that we need to clean up all of our watersheds, but there is a lot of disagreement,” Hull said. “Why not put off the disagreements for later implementation and adopt what we all agree will work now?”
Maroon said the new fees are fair and rational. He also said that the DCR continues to seek and find common ground and said his department will be recommending several changes at a meeting of the Virginia Soil and Water Conservation Board to be held today.
“We’ve come a long way, even since the end of the public comment period,” Maroon said.
Among the proposed changes:
- Separate standards should apply for watersheds outside of the Chesapeake Bay. (.28 pounds of phosphorus per acre per year inside the bay shed, the current .45 pounds for non-bay areas)
- Sites less than one acre would be held to the current .45 standard.
- Allow for localities to set a standard between .28 and .45 within Urban Development Areas.
- Add an additional option for offsite compliance, a “state-level buy-down” option that would allow developers to buy into a state fund that pools money for water protection programs throughout Virginia.
Although the DCR is recommending some changes that give a little more wiggle room to developers, some in the field aren’t completely satisfied.
Barrett Hardiman, the director of regulatory affairs for the Home Builders Association of Virginia, said the focus should be on lowering runoff from existing development, not imposing the burden on new development.
“We are in favor of regulations that are protective of the Chesapeake Bay but also balanced with economic need,” Hardiman told BizSense. “We feel those regulations haven’t done this.”
“We’d like to see a program put in place where the focus is not on new development, which is incremental and not adding that much phosphorus,” Hardiman said.
Previously in Richmond BizSense:
Rainwater rules cast cloud over development
Al Harris covers real estate and the construction/home building industry for BizSense. Please send news tips to Al@richmondbizsense.com.
Not one word about the effects of the farming industry and only the voluntary
In RIchmond, citizens are now paying a stormwater fee on top of their regular utility bill. So yes, I expect and DEMAND more enforcement against developers and non-resident entities. As an environmentalist, I am not against these efforts to make the Bay cleaner.
If you want to consider economic injustice, ask why Richmond citizens have been paying the highest minimum water rate in the country while the counties buy water from Richmond City to sell to their residents at lower rates.
http://scfoj.tumblr.com/post/189809064/new-environment-virginia-report-pollution-threatens
The story doesn’t mention why developers and builders are arguing so hard against the .28 phosphorus standard. Let me tell you why. If you wanted to build 100 homes of an average 2,400 square foot size on a property and leave reasonable open space, under the current .45 standard you need about 180 acres. Under the .28 standard you would need over 300 acres. The .28 will cause urban sprawl like you wouldn’t believe. For a normal sized high school of 80 acres, under the new regulations you’d need about 140 acres. Where is a county going to come up with money for an extra 60 acres when it doesn’t have the money to build the school under the current regulations?
The regulations do nothing to enforce anything about agricultural land, which is 2/3 of the problem according to statistics from the Department of Conservation and Recreation, and does nothing to deal with the true problem in housing — residents overfertilizing their lawns and gardens. This regulation is all about stopping new development and has given no consideration at all to economic development needs. The committee members recognized this yesterday, which is why they tore a new hole in Maroon for almost two hours.
The story also misses the main fact about why this committee was hearing the regulations in the first place. The legislation that set all this in motion said there should be a “reorganization” of stormwater management from the Department of Environmental Quality to the Department of Conservation and Recreation. What has happened here is a complete rewrite of the regulations. What DCR has done — as several committee members pointed out — is go so far beyond the scope of what was intended that it’s illegal.
These new regs are complete insanity even after the changes, but coming from the anti-business and anti-growth Kaine administration it’s not surprising. They will destroy Virginia’s reputation as a business-friendly state, end commercial development as we know it and so spread out residential development we’ll lose hundreds of thousands of acres of farmland that should be preserved.
Storm Drain Makers installed at all storm drains in subdivisions, private communities, schools, and tow centers would be a good start. Education is important for this to take hold. I tried to have Storm Drain Markers installed in our private community but met with denial as the Board stated we are over 55 and knew better then to put anything down a storm drain! Daily I watch residents blowing grass clippings into the storm drains and even dog poop!. I live in Gainesville, VA. and have been a Master Gardener since 1995.
University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee Diverts Almost 100% Stormwater Runoff
http://www.treehugger.com/files/2009/09/university-wisconsin-milwaukee-diverts-almost-100-stormwater-runoff.php
What are the percentages for Richmond’s local universities?