The Finch Formerly Known As Gold

9 January 2004

Riding that drain

First city utility bill has arrived, and it's a monster: $135.71, though about $76 of it seems to be refundable deposits of various sorts, and there's $20 for a service initiation fee. This suggests that until Heavy Lawn Watering begins, I'm looking at $40ish water/garbage/sewage bills every month, which isn't exactly horrendous.

Once I recovered my composure, I noticed something marked "Drainage Fee — Fee Due To Unfunded EPA Mandate." Needless to say, I had to track this down, and here's the scoop:

The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) now enforces strict storm water drainage regulations.

The monthly "drainage fee" is to pay for work we must do to meet these new EPA drainage standards and requirements. The regulations are the result of a federal mandate to clean up pollution from storm water which drains into rivers, lakes and streams.

Washington did not provide any money to pay for meeting the requirements. Every large city in the United States must spend local money — millions of dollars — to avoid crippling fines.

Of course, "unfunded mandate," if you say it loudly enough, becomes a buzzword. And it's said quite a bit, now that the Feds seem comfortable with handing out regulations without regard to cost. Still, absent evidence to the contrary, I am going to assume that this particular mandate is something that needs to be, or at least ought to be, done, and will pay my $3.82 (up from $2.73, unless this is prorated in some strange manner) with a smile and only slightly clenched teeth.

Posted at 5:29 PM to Surlywood


So long as you pay the bill in a timely fashion for about a year you will receive one for either a negative amount or for just barely anything when they refund your deposits :)

I hadn't paid a water bill in a long while myself so I was stunned to see what all was on it now! :(

Posted by: ms7168 at 11:32 AM on 10 January 2004

The new Federal stormwater regs are an attempt to do for non-point source pollution what the Clean Water Act in the 70s did for point source pollution.

Unlike point source, however, which was primarily industrial in nature, non-point source pollution tends to be more the aggregate of all our land use: residential, commercial and farming, the sum total of all our lawn fertilizer and pesticides, waste from factory animal raising, road salt, etc.

Here in Joisey almost 70% of our surface drinking water is threatened by pollution coming off of roads, storm sewers, etc.

I'd love to think that it only will cost me $4 a month to fund the mandates being handed down to local governments by the state Dept of Environmental Protection. I suspect it will be a lot more.

Posted by: The Prop at 11:54 AM on 11 January 2004