For Parts I, II, and III York County has the following comments.  The technical criteria for redevelopment pollution removal increases from 10% to 20% reduction will significantly increase redevelopment costs, discourage redevelopment, and encourage urban sprawl.  In addition, requiring a higher standard of pollutant removal will not only be more expensive for development in general but will be an additional burden for operators as well since maintenance and inspection of BMP’s must be tracked by the operators as part of the MS4 VSMP permit. 

The technical criteria changes are also affecting new development.  The regulations propose offsite credits if the treatment cannot be met on site; however, the regulation states that nutrient offsets must be within the same tributary or HUC code or within the next downstream code.  This will not work for some Hampton Roads areas that have no downstream area because they drain to the Chesapeake Bay.

Grandfathering of plans has not been formally included or detailed in the current drafts.  Do only developments that have an approved plan become grandfathered?  Are sites/site plans grandfathered that were approved and accounted for in an existing BMP or regional BMP but doesn’t meet the proposed Clearinghouse Standards?

While York County supports protecting the waters of the State and the U.S.A., the increased stormwater regulations will ultimately be our responsibility to implement and resource coupled with the additional regulatory burden and costs that will be placed on the taxpayers, small businesses, and property owners during a severe economic downturn.