District 5 – Narcoossee Community Center - August 3, 2009

Chief of Staff Beth Knight opened the meeting by providing the audience with the latest update on the proposed Stormwater Management Program that surfaced during the BCC regular meeting earlier in the day. Specifically, she shared that Commissioner Hawkins led a discussion about the proposed program and the citizens’ feedback from the community meetings. The findings aim to a viable consensus from the Board not to move forward with the proposed assessment at this time due to the difficult economic climate. However, she highlighted that the Comprehensive Plan calls for the implementation of a Stormwater Program to be in place by 2011; therefore, this item will have to be revisited in the near future.

Kimberly Lawrence presented the Stormwater Program Presentation.

Osceola County Employees in attendance included:
- Fred Hawkins, Jr. (County Commission)
- Richard Earp (Stormwater Manager)
- Dr. Tina Bond (NPDES Coordinator)
- Matt Vespi (Grants Manager)
- Iris Soto (Administrative Support Coordinator)

Resident Concerns:
Q: Since the Narcoossee area is rural, how does the fee apply?
A: The primary drainage system runs through Narcoossee therefore the County must ensure that the water entering the County system is clean and free of pollutants before it reaches the lake system.

Q: Will the stormwater assessment show on our tax bill?
A: The fee will be located on the bottom of your property tax bill in the non-ad valorem assessments box.

Q: If I am going to be charged the stormwater fee, will the county maintain the ponds on my property?
A: The County will not maintain private ponds. The County only maintains ponds that are owned by the County.

Q: Why does the county insist on the installation of a concrete driveway to later turn around and charge for an impervious area he did not want to begin with?
A: The Land Development Codes in Osceola County are in the process of being updated to incorporate more Green Building standards. Staff will consider this issue as we move forward.

Q: Where does funding for the Stormwater Program come from currently?
A: The stormwater section is funded by the General Fund.

Q: Why can’t the county tap into other monies in place for such other programs like the West 192 Beautification project or Tourist Tax dollars?
A: Many of these funds are assessed and designated for particular expenditures and cannot be used for stormwater. For example, funds for the West 192 Beautification Project that are collected through a Municipal Service Benefit Unit can only be used for that specific purpose.

Q: How much did the stormwater program study cost?
A: The inventory of the County’s stormwater system cost approximately $150,000. The impervious surface coverage and statistical analysis along with a detailed stormwater management plan cost approximately $400,000 over a two year time frame. Even if the Board of County Commissioner’s choose not to implement this program this year, all of the base data can be utilized for the future implementation of the program.

Q: The proposed program is hard to sell for residents of Narcoossee because the area has never experiences flooding issues and never have standing water. Why can’t the assessment target developers or the people who have drainage issues?
A: You may not have a problem, but the runoff generated from your property is contributing to problems downstream. The approach being taken through this program recognizes that everyone contributes to the problem (runoff and pollution) and everyone will share in the results (improved water quality, better access to roads, reduced flooding, etc.). There are actually more measures in place in stormwater design standards and requirements from the Water Management Districts that ease the burden of stormwater for recently developed areas of the County.

Q: Is there any federal money coming in for the program?
A: There are grant funds available to municipalities that have dedicated funding for stormwater. Osceola County can still apply for the grants; however the federal government will award funds to those municipalities that have a dedicated funding source with programs that are actively working to reduce the impacts of water pollution.

Q: Wouldn’t the redesign along the Narcoossee Road corridor alleviate much of the stormwater runoff and also treat the water?
A: The ponds that are being designed for the Narcoossee Road project are designed to handle and treat the water from the widening of the road, not additional runoff from the surrounding area.

Q: How much pollution is in the water now compared to 10 years ago? Is there any water quality data available?

A: The Florida Department of Environmental Protection (FDEP) has been collecting water quality data for the Total Maximum Daily Load (TMDL) program that was established in order to develop an impaired water body list which will serve to identify those water bodies that do not meet water quality standards. This program stems from the Federal Clean Water Act. Data is available from LakeWatch and on the FDEP TMDL Program website.

Q: What percentage of the pollutants that flow into Lake Okeechobee came from the reconstruction of the Kissimmee River Basin?
A: FDEP is currently determining TMDLs for our basin and we hope that this study can provide us with that information.

Q: If the water quality problems are so bad, why did it take so long to implement a program? Why now?
A: It is not that nothing has been done, but the different aspects involved such as presidential policies and administration, environment and science, and federal government regulations take considerable time to implement. Soon, we will face tougher requirements and we must respond at a proactive level.
The federal government started with reducing point source pollution, like sewer treatment plants and other industries, which literally dumped their waste into waters of the United States. These were easy to identify because the federal government could trace the pollutants to a point source.

Nonpoint source pollution (NPS) is more difficult to pin-point because the source is not easy to locate, therefore the federal government has charged State and local government with finding ways to eliminate or reduce nonpoint sources of pollution on a local level. NPS pollution, unlike pollution from industrial and sewage treatment plants, comes from many diffuse sources. NPS pollution is caused by rainfall moving over and through the ground. As the runoff moves, it picks up and carries away natural and human-made pollutants, finally depositing them into lakes, rivers, wetlands, coastal waters, and even our underground sources of drinking water. These pollutants include excess fertilizers, herbicides, and insecticides from agricultural lands and residential areas; oil, grease, and toxic chemicals from urban runoff and energy production; sediment from improperly managed construction sites, crop and forest lands, and eroding streambanks; bacteria and nutrients from livestock, pet wastes, and faulty septic systems; and even atmospheric deposition are also sources of nonpoint source pollution.

Q:  Who will be the responsible for managing the Stormwater Program?
A: Currently, there are seven staff members that make up the Stormwater Section: A Stormwater Manager, a Stormwater Program Manager, a National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System (NPDES) Coordinator, an NPDES Inspector, a Chief Engineer, a Civil Engineer I and an Administrative Secretary.

Q: Is there any way to have the 100 year flood plain maps revised before the county implements this program?
A: The 2001 FEMA floodplain maps are what the County uses to determine if your home lies within a flood zone. Community growth determines when FEMA will revise the maps, however the maps currently meet FEMA requirements and are not on the cycle for revision at this time. All map revisions are conducted by FEMA.

Q: The County needs to be more proactive with developers to prevent issues with stormwater problems in the future.
A: There are actually more measures in place for stormwater design standards and requirements from the Water Management Districts that ease the burden of stormwater for recently developed areas of the County. There are even properties that have been designed under current requirements that retain 100% of their stormwater on-site and do not impact the County’s stormwater system.

Q: Why hasn’t the drainage system been maintained?
A: The County has been in a reactive based management system for a long time, and the primary drainage system was on a 12-15 year cycle for maintenance. There are many things that can grow in a drainage ditch in a 15 year span and cleaning of the ditches becomes more important as those ditches become full of plants and other debris. With a proactive based system, we aim to get the primary drainage system on a 5 year cycle of cleaning so water can flow through the system and alleviate some of the drainage problems within the County.

Q: In the area south of Deer Run there were no water problems, now all the ditches in that area are flooded and the water is not draining. Why is this?
A: There could be a variety of reasons for this new issue. Drainage ditches could be clogged with plant and other debris. There could be problems up stream that are causing the problem. An inspection of the location will need to be conducted to determine if there is a problem.

Q: Why can’t I get credit for the area where the water can get into the aquifer?
A: The County is only assessing those areas that are impervious and do not allow water to filter naturally through the ground. The County is not assessing pervious surfaces which do allow treatment of rain water as it is filtered through the ground. Since we do not assess pervious surfaces, we cannot offer a credit.

Q: The County has an easement on the road next to my property. What is the program going to do for me?
A: If the easement is for maintenance of the ditch or other drainage conveyance, the County will maintain this easement to ensure proper drainage within the easement.

Q: Will the Stormwater Management Program affect private wells?
A: No. Private wells will not be affected by the stormwater assessment.

Q: How much is the county spending on Stormwater?
A: The stormwater budget is currently $3.3 million which comes from the general fund versus $4.2 million we are looking to collect that would go into a separate stormwater fund that can only be used for stormwater.

Q: How much money is going (or is) in reserves?
A: Since the stormwater program is currently funded by the general fund, technically there are no reserves built into the program. There are funds set aside each year for emergency drainage repairs or other related emergencies through our Capital Improvement Plan.

Q: If water movement is the problem why not educate the public on the issue? If the citizens are informed or taught on what to do for moving water from point A to point B, and how that could potentially hold taxes down, they would cooperate on alleviating the issue.
A: The County’s NPDES Program provides education to anyone within the County on a variety of topics, including how to prevent pollution from entering our water bodies and how to collect rain water using rain barrels and cisterns.