District 4 – Council on Aging - August 10,2009

Kimberly Lawrence presented the Stormwater Program Presentation.

Osceola County Employees in attendance included:
- Heather O’Brien (Assistant County Attorney)
- Dr. Tina Bond (NPDES Coordinator)
- Amanda Field (Special Assessments Coordinator)
- Iris Soto (Administrative Support Coordinator)
- Linda Tolete (County Manager Administrative Assistant)

Resident Concerns:
Q: What is an ERU?
A: An ERU, or Equivalent Runoff Unit, is the total amount of impervious area for a typical single-family home within the Stormwater Service Area, determined from a statistically valid sample.

Q: What is the break-down for single, medium and large homes?
A: Under the current stormwater program, a small single family home is less than 1,258 square feet of impervious surface. A medium single family home is between 1,259 and 3,039 square feet of impervious surface. A large single family home is anything over 3,040 square feet of impervious surface. This is subject to change in the future as the program is adjusted.

Q: Is the fee based on square footage or impervious area?
A: The fee is based on the amount of impervious area, which includes areas like rooftops, driveways, porches, etc. The unit of measure used is square feet; however, square footage of your home is NOT used to determine the impervious area. Think of it as the footprint of your home.

Q: If property backs-up into a pond, how much will I be charged?
A: All single family properties will be charged a base fee of approximately $50/year. There are additional costs for residents that are served by a County owned or maintained pond. These additional fees include structure maintenance fee of approximately $7.50/year and a fee for aquatic weed control and mowing. The costs for aquatic weed control and mowing vary depending on the acreage of mowing and pond area and frequency of service.

Q: Does the entire subdivision pay to maintain the pond?
A: If you live in a subdivision with County owned and maintained ponds, then the cost of mowing and aquatic weed control will be divided among those residents within that subdivision that are served by that pond.

Q: What happens if I don’t live in a subdivision? Why should I pay for General Stormwater Management? Why am I responsible?
A: Every resident in the County will pay the base fee, which will be used for maintenance of the primary drainage system within the Urban Growth Boundary. The runoff generated from your property is likely contributing to water pollution and other concerns downstream. The approach being taken through this program recognizes that everyone contributes to runoff and pollution and everyone will share in the results (improved water quality, better access to roads in emergencies, etc.).

Q: What proof do you have of pollution?
A: In 1972, Congress passed the Clean Water Act. The objective of the Clean Water Act (CWA), is to restore and maintain the chemical, physical, and biological integrity of the nation's waters by preventing point and nonpoint pollution sources, providing assistance to publicly owned treatment works for the improvement of wastewater treatment, and maintaining the integrity of wetlands. The Florida Department of Environmental Protection (FDEP) has developed a list of impaired water bodies as a result of mandates from the federal government and will set total maximum daily loads (TMDLs) that will require municipalities to reduce pollutant loading to those impaired water bodies. You can find the list of impaired water bodies and learn more about the TMDL program on the FDEP website.

Q: Where will you spend the money from the “big pot”? Where will my money go?
A: The money that is collected through the stormwater assessment will be placed in a separate fund that can ONLY be used on stormwater management. The money will be used to maintain the primary drainage system to ensure the County’s system is working properly.

Q: Is the program designed to clean ditches?
A: If the ditch is part of the primary drainage system, the program will clean and maintain those ditches.

Q: Cleaning ditches makes water flow faster, does this program address the negative affect that faster flowing water has to water quality?
A: The assessment is designed for only operations and maintenance. Any capital projects that are needed for water quality or quantity would have to be addressed with other funding sources.

Q: Are you taking this money to replace the culverts in BVL?
A: Replacing large culverts in BVL would likely be a capital project. This program does not fund capital projects.

Q: Are credits opportunities available?
A: Properties that are served by a stormwater management facility may be eligible to receive stormwater credit.

Q: When plans are issued or proposed, do you get to look at the stormwater portion before it is proposed?
A: The Stormwater Section has a Chief and Civil Engineer that review plans prior to their approval for County projects. For non-County projects, plans are developed by licensed engineers that must be signed and sealed indicating their accuracy. Plans for any project must meet all of the County and State requirements in order to be approved.

Q: Although the County is contemplating implementing this program during another year, the timing is not good for the people in Osceola County.
A: Due to the current economic hardship the County is facing, the Board of County Commissioners has decided to postpone the stormwater management program and associated assessments. Even though the program has been postponed, we will have to revisit and implement the program in the future in order to achieve compliance with federal and state mandates, as well as our Comprehensive Plan that indicates the County must have a dedicated funding source for stormwater by 2011.