SENATE PROPOSAL OF AMENDMENT
2004
H.785
Page 1
H.785
AN ACT RELATING TO STORMWATER DISCHARGE
The Senate proposes to the House to amend the bill as follows:
First: In Sec. 2, in 10 V.S.A. § 1264a by striking out subsections (d) and (e)
in their entirety and inserting in lieu thereof new subsections (d) and (e) to read
as follows:
(d)(1) A stormwater impact fee due under subsection (c) of this section
shall be $30,000.00 per acre of impervious surface. An individual discharger
can reduce the stormwater impact fee through compliance with the engineering
feasibility analysis under the agency procedure provided for in subsection (g)
of this section. After an individual discharger of regulated stormwater
completes the relevant impact fee and offset charge analysis under the agency
procedure provided for in subsection (g) of this section, the discharger shall
submit to the secretary of natural resources a proposed stormwater impact fee,
a proposed offset charge, and documentation of the calculation of the fee and
the offset charge. The secretary shall approve or disapprove of the proposed
stormwater impact fee and offset charge.
(2) If the secretary of natural resources approves of a proposed
stormwater impact fee and offset charge under subdivision (1) of this
subsection, the secretary shall notify the applicant and shall:
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SENATE PROPOSAL OF AMENDMENT
2004
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(A) Certify the offset charge that will mitigate the uncontrolled
sediment load or hydrologic impact of the proposed discharge;
(B) Assign the offset charge to an offset permitted under subsection
(e) of this section possessing sufficient offset charge capacity to accommodate
the offset charge. Offset charges for discharges allowed under subdivision
(b)(1)(A) of this section shall be assigned only to an offset for which a permit
has been issued pursuant to subsection (e) of this section and that will be
completed prior to initiation of the discharge; and
(C) Certify the stormwater impact fee and require, as a condition of a
discharge permit, payment in full of said fee to the stormwater-impaired waters
restoration fund upon issuance of a local zoning or building permit authorizing
construction of the discharge.
(3) No construction or discharge shall be initiated under a discharge
permit until the offset charge for a proposed discharge has been assigned to an
offset project under subdivision (2) of this subsection.
(4) If a watershed lacks an offset with sufficient capacity to
accommodate a proposed offset charge, the secretary shall assign an offset
charge when offset capacity becomes available and in the order of the
secretary’s determination that the discharge permit application is technically
complete.
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SENATE PROPOSAL OF AMENDMENT
2004
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(e)(1) The secretary of natural resources may issue a permit for an offset
project under this section. Application shall be made on a form prescribed by
the secretary of natural resources. An applicant shall pay an application fee in
accordance with section 2822 of Title 3. The secretary may issue such permits
for the following activities or projects:
(A) Stormwater treatment of any discharge of regulated stormwater
runoff initiated prior to 1978;
(B) Stormwater treatment of any discharge of regulated stormwater
runoff initiated after 1978 when the secretary did not previously issue or
require a stormwater discharge permit or temporary pollution permit for the
discharge;
(C) Conversion of land use to reduce sediment load or hydrologic
impact, especially in riparian areas;
(D) Restoration of an eroding or unstable stream bank where
supported by a geomorphic assessment;
(E) Replacement of existing undersized or deteriorated culverts that
have an impact on stream channel stability; or
(F) Other stream restoration or stormwater treatment projects that the
secretary deems necessary or appropriate to reduce sediment load or reduce
hydrologic impact in a stormwater-impaired water.
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SENATE PROPOSAL OF AMENDMENT
2004
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(2)(A) The secretary shall provide notice of each application for an
individual offset permit to the public and any appropriate officials of another
state and the federal government, including the administrator of the United
States Environmental Protection Agency, and shall provide an opportunity for
written comments or a public hearing, or both, on the application before
making a final ruling on the application.
(B) Prior to issuing an offset general permit, the secretary shall give
notice as provided in this subsection and provide for written comments or a
public hearing, or both, as provided in this subsection. When applying for
coverage under an offset general permit, the applicant shall provide notice on a
form provided by the secretary to the municipal clerk of the municipality in
which the offset is located at the time the application is filed with the secretary,
and the secretary shall provide an opportunity for written comment regarding
whether the application complies with the terms and conditions of the offset
general permit for ten days following receipt of the application.
(C) The secretary may require any applicant to submit any additional
information which the secretary considers necessary and may refuse to grant an
offset permit until the information is furnished and evaluated.
(3) If the secretary determines that a proposed offset will not violate any
applicable provisions of state or federal law or regulation, the secretary shall
issue an offset permit containing terms and conditions as may be necessary to
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SENATE PROPOSAL OF AMENDMENT
2004
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carry out the purposes of this chapter and of applicable law. Those terms and
conditions may include but shall not be limited to providing for specific best
management practices, effluent limitations, and levels of treatment technology;
monitoring, recording, and reporting standards; entry and inspection authority
for state and, as determined by the secretary, federal officials; and reporting of
substantial changes in the character or nature of permitted activities on waters
of the state.
(4) An offset permit issued pursuant to this subsection:
(A) Shall include the requirement that any discharge that an offset is
mitigating be located in the same watershed of the stormwater-impaired water
in which the offset is located;
(B) Shall be allocated an offset charge capacity;
(C) Shall identify the party or parties responsible for performance of
the offset;
(D) Shall, for an offset that will be completed after initiation of the
discharge, include a schedule of construction reasonably designed to ensure
completion of the offset within two years of issuance;
(E) Shall be completed after April 1, 2004;
(F) May include a requirement to provide financial security in the
form of an authorized surety bond, cash deposit or cash equivalent, or an
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SENATE PROPOSAL OF AMENDMENT
2004
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irrevocable letter of credit issued by a qualified financial institution to ensure
adequate construction and maintenance of the offset; and
(G) Shall include a plan for the operation and maintenance of the
offset.
(5) The secretary shall establish and maintain an accounting system or
ledger documenting all amounts of sediment load or hydrologic impact
mitigated by offset projects and all discharges which make use of those offsets
in order to attain the discharge standards.
(6) The secretary shall not assign an offset charge to an offset that will
be completed after initiation of the discharge unless the associated offset
permit is issued in accordance with the requirements of subsection 1258(b) of
this title.
(7) An offset permit may be issued in conjunction with a discharge
permit when the applicant for a discharge permit seeks to construct an offset
that will exceed the sediment load or hydrologic impact that the discharger
must mitigate to meet the discharge standard for the proposed discharge. The
offset charge capacity allocated to an offset permit shall not include the
sediment load or hydrologic impact that a discharge permittee is required to
mitigate in order to meet the discharge standard for a permit issued under
subdivision (b)(1) of this section.
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SENATE PROPOSAL OF AMENDMENT
2004
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Second: In Sec. 8, by striking out subsection (b), and inserting in lieu
thereof the following:
(b) The secretary of administration shall transfer $200,000.00 of the
general funds set aside in Sec. 7 of No. 7 of the Acts of 2003 to the agency of
natural resources for the completion and implementation of the total maximum
daily loads (TMDLs) and water quality remediation plans required by
subdivision 1264(f)(3) of Title 10 for the stormwater-impaired waters of the
state.
Third: In Sec. 8, subsection (c), by striking out “$225,000.00” and inserting
in lieu thereof $200,700.00
Fourth: In Sec. 8, by striking out subsection (d) in its entirety and inserting
in lieu thereof the following:
(d) The sum of $120,000.00 from the funds appropriated to the agency of
natural resources under Sec. 10(a) of H.767 of 2004 (Natural Resources) shall
be transferred to the state treasurer for deposit in the local community
implementation fund for the administrative and management needs of
municipalities in developing total maximum daily load plans and water quality
remediation plans for stormwater-impaired waters of the state.
Fifth: In Sec. 9, by striking out “1264a(e)(5)(E)” and inserting in lieu
thereof 1264a(e)(4)(E)
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