Thursday, July 21, 2011

County Board to Taxpayer-Fund Stormwater Management for New Site Plans

Hello, Yupette,

After meeting for weeks behind closed doors Arlington's non-resident managers, non-resident planning staff, non-resident developers, non-resident REITs, and their non-resident attorneys have agreed to allow developers to continue submitting site plans that evade the EPA's 2014 standards for stormwater treatment and management.

Key players in the decision making were County Attorney Steve McIssac and County Manager Barbara Donnellan, who are residents of Fairfax County, and several out-of-state REITS who stand to gain tens of millions in 'corporate welfare' if on-site stormwater is treated at the County's wastewater treatment plant, paid for by taxpayers. Assertions by several County residents that they are being asked to pay for new infill development stormwater management and treatment under new EPA regulations when no stormwater from their homes is entering the County's stormwater system are being ignored by County planning staff.

2100

14 comments:

Pike Rider said...

Looks like Zimmerman et. al. are trying to impose s stormwater tax on everyone who's hooked up to the water system which will work like general fund taxes, you pay whether you use the service or not.

Anonymous said...

Arlington Way - We Pay, Developers Play

Anonymous said...

I am not voting for any incumbent in November. I not only have the water from my roofs draining into the front, back, and side lawns, but I have a gravel driveway.

Anonymous said...

Hi, someone who's a civil engineer should check out the Dover, Kohl plans for densifying the Pike corridor and compute the volume of additional storm water runoff.

Anonymous said...

Yupette, I have a lawn -- storm water flows to my back yard where it percolates into the soil. Why do I pay a tax for stormwater management when the Columbia Pike developers are dumping stormwater straight into the sewage system?

Anonymous said...

Right now, you pay for wastewater treatment for the water you use from the water supply.

Some stormwater flows into the wastewater sewers (combined system) and is also treated at the wastewater plant.

Other storm water (usually from parking lots) flows direcly into streams like Four Mile Run.

In the future EPA wants to treat all stormwater to a very high standard.

You should not be charged a stormwater fee in the future because you are not disposing of stormwater except into your lawn.

But the County is not known for rational behavior when it comes to taxes and fees.

Anonymous said...

Have you ever see a fee the County Board didn't want to impose or raise?

TY said...

County Board wants to give the Developers a Gimme when they submit site plans. What they should be doing is making the Developers conform to the new EPA storm water regulations right now.

Anonymous said...

We all have to pay for the Artisphere, what makes you think we won't have to pay to treat the REITs' stormwater?

Ted said...

Same wonderful out-of-state developers who won't install on-site renewable energy?

Anonymous said...

Why do taxes and fees constantly rise in Arlington? Because County Government has become a conduit for massive handouts to people, corporations, and non-profits, irregardless of need.

Ken said...

What SHOULD be happening is the developers should be filtering and treating roof run-off for re-use in the bathrooms if it's a mixed-use or commercial building.

Anonymous said...

I am sick and tired of non-residents - starting with the county manager - making all the key decisions.

Anonymous said...

Correction - non residents make all the key bad planning decisions.