December 18, 2003

 

                                                                        RE: Proposed Stormwater Regulations

 

Dear Mayor:

As you know, the New Jersey State League of Municipalities, on behalf of its 566 member municipalities, objects to the implementation of the proposed stormwater rules, without provision for some method of additional funding or cost-containment measures, so that communities can comply without incurring enormous financial hardship. Our members want to see these Federal Clean Water Act goals achieved, but with the current municipal budgetary crisis, they need the state's help in controlling pollution from stormwater without severely overtaxing their residents or curtailing other necessary government services.

The costs falling on municipalities under these proposed regulations are extremely large. The mapping, washdown, and permit fee costs themselves will be a huge burden for many local governments. Moreover, the less obvious legal, administrative, engineering, and public works expenses, including payment for labor, materials, and equipment, will add up as well.

The comments accompanying the proposed regulations in the Register concede that permit expenses for some municipalities may amount to as much as $10,000 for one community. This, of course, is a drop in the bucket compared to the actual costs. Development of a stormwater management plan will involve legal expenses for research, writing, review, and advertisement of ordinances on subjects as diverse as pet waste disposal, the feeding of wildlife, fertilizer and pesticide use, and illicit sewer connections.

Engineering expenses will be even higher, possibly hundreds of thousands of dollars. In the case of the financially pressed more urbanized areas, the costs are likely to be in the millions of dollars. Municipal engineers will be required to map stormwater outfalls and systems, research illicit sewer connections, design retrofit storm grates, and deal with outfall pipe scouring remediation, road erosion, and maintenance yard upgrades.

Administrative expenses will be substantial as well. Pamphlets on measures to combat stormwater pollution must be prepared and distributed. Educational sessions must be planned, prepared, and held for municipal employees and residents on their roles in compliance.

Public works departments will be faced with the labor, equipment, and material costs of installing acceptable catch basins, grates, and riprap, as well as required routine cleaning, leaf collection, street sweeping, signage, and surveying work. All of these tasks, many of them to be undertaken repetitively and frequently, will require substantial expenditures. Additional equipment must be purchased and labor costs paid for street sweeping after each snow event. Our current winter season illustrates dramatically how expensive such required street sweeping, on top of snow clearing costs themselves, can be in a snowy New Jersey winter. Required vacuuming and disposal of floatable (oil and debris) from catch basins will require more payments for labor and equipment.

The League and our members understand that the federal law must be implemented through state regulations. One question that has not been satisfactorily addressed is whether these proposed rules go beyond what is required by federal law. In this economic climate, municipalities need some help in financing their compliance. The State should consider modifying current regulations on related matters, like natural leaf and grass composting, street sweeping testing and disposal, and blacktop reuse so that municipalities can use money currently spent in these areas to comply with the requirements of the proposed stormwater regulations. To relieve the economic burden on municipalities, the establishment of stormwater utilities should be considered. Such utilities would lower costs through the sharing of equipment, labor, and planning. New funding sources must also be explored by the state for its local governments in their struggle to comply with the stormwater management program. These cost-alleviating measures must be put in place before the regulations are adopted and deadlines for compliance are enforced, so that communities can afford to comply.

Without modification of these proposed regulations and help to defray the cost of municipal compliance with them, the state will be placing an impossible burden on financially strapped communities. Therefore, we request that attention be paid immediately to easing the financial burden that these proposed regulations place on municipalities, before they are adopted and implemented.

 

If you agree, we urge you to contact the DEP Commission. Please urge him to delay implementation of the rules, until these serious funding issues are addressed. You can write the Commissioner at:

                                               
Hon. Bradley M. Campbell, Commissioner
New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection
401 East State Street
7^th Floor, East Wing
P.O. Box 402
Trenton, NJ  08625-0402
Phone: 609-292-2885
Fax: 609-292-7695

Thank you.

                                                                        Very truly yours,

  

                                                                        Willliam G. Dressel, Jr.

                                                                        Executive Director