2.9 Legal, Institutional and Financial Issues
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The Phase II regulations raise a number of legal, institutional and financial issues and challenges for more than 5,000 small communities across the country. In most cases, these small communities do not have the technical (engineering and field), legal and administrative staff to undertake the development and implementation of the Phase II program. In addition, there may be insufficient knowledge with respect to the degree of detail in a program that is sufficient to satisfy the regulating agencies (USEPA and/or the state) and how much, if any, enforcement to expect for those agencies. Needless to say, they will face conflicting or competing programs for limited tax funds. In addition, no outside funds or grants have been identified for assisting the communities in the development and implementation of their Phase II programs.
With respect to ordinances, most communities may need to assign in-house or outside engineering and legal staff to develop or modify existing ordinances dealing with erosion and sediment control, actual waste, street cleaning and litter, illicit connections and discharges, storm water controls during and after construction, site plan reviews and funding/fees. Besides these issues, the communities are to address institutional matters related to responsibilities for departmental/divisional activities, intragovernmental cooperation, the need for new or modified governmental or quasi-structures (i.e., authorities, utilities, etc.) and intergovernmental permitting approaches. Regarding funding, decisions will be necessary with respect to alternative financial arrangements and methods such as bonds, general tax revenues, special fees (i.e., for plan review and inspections), utility structures or special assessments.
In determining the most appropriate financial approach for a particular community, the municipality may consider a number of factors. These include public acceptance, fairness, equity, administrative simplicity, feasibility of implementation, legal basis and anticipated revenue-generating capacity. In addition, communities, especially those having a number of areas with new development, should consider the appropriateness of a storm water utility. Such a utility could have its financing structure from annual or monthly charges based on a number of conditions or parameters. These parameters could include assessed valuation, size of impervious area, number of households and proximity to, and the water quality conditions of, the streams, bays, lakes or ponds to which the storm water discharges.