The 2012 Virginia General Assembly requires local municipalities to have stormwater programs in place by July 1, 2014, mandating a nine percent reduction in phosphorus runoff into waterways.
Photo: EPA SWMM Application Manual

The Richmond Times-Dispatch reports Virginia communities are hoping the state will delay a legislative requirement to have new programs in place to reduce runoff pollution beginning July 1, 2014.

The new program, passed by the 2012 Virginia General Assembly, places the onus on local communities to develop runoff reduction programs, in lieu of the current Virginia Department of Environmental Quality mandates. The new program is seen as more demanding that the current state program.

Virginia communities already have in place regulations such as silt-catching fences at construction sites to keep soil from running into waterways. The new regulations, however, mandate reducing phosphorus runoff by nine percent, and are making it the responsibility of local governments, not state entities.

Fertilizers, grass clippings, pet waste and dishwater detergents are a significant source of nitrates and phosphorus in urban runoff. Nitrates in fertilizers can lower the level of oxygen in waters (hypoxia) and create algae blooms.

Some local governments are seeking a year reprieve from initiating the new stormwater measures. The Chesapeake Bay Foundation, among other environmental groups, doesn't want to see further delays.

The state has established fees that local municipalities can charge builders who seek stormwater approval for their projects. The fee for disturbing 1-5 acres is $2,700; for 100 acres or more, the fee escalates to $9,600. Some local officials, of course, have money worries about the costs of running the programs. Not lessening those concerns are the fact that 28 percent of those fees charged to builders goes into state coffers.