Town of Black Mountain considering stormwater utility
Staff proposes public infrastructure to address ‘growing concern’
Fred McCormick
The Valley Echo
May 24, 2021
The Black Mountain Town Council heard a recommendation from staff supporting the creation of a stormwater utility during a special call meeting, May 13. The town was issued a notice of violation following a 2020 audit by the N.C. Department of Environmental Quality. Photo by Fred McCormick
A public utility to manage stormwater is being considered by the Black Mountain Town Council, following a May 13 special call meeting and presentation from town staff.
The recommendation, brought forward by Town Manager Josh Harrold, is in response to growing concerns related to stormwater and enhanced enforcement of federal regulations.
Addressing public infrastructure for the issue has been “a long time coming,” Harrold told the board to open the discussion, but the impetus for the proposal was a notice of violation received by the town following a N.C. Department of Environmental Quality audit in 2020.
“It is mandatory that the state audits anyone who holds a (National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System) permit, and they’ve started doing that more regularly this past year,” he told the board. “In the past the approach was a little more lackadaisical, but the federal government has now advised the state it needs to be on the front burner and be enforced.”
Compliance with the NPDES permit is a requirement for all municipalities that operate a Municipal Separate Storm Sewer System (MS4), a designation for the existing conveyance measures that discharge stormwater to local waterways. Federal oversight is mandatory, according to planning director Jessica Trotman, who presented the stormwater utility proposal to the town council.
“We had our audit in February of 2020, and it didn’t go well,” she said. “We were found in violation and we were put through our paces like every other town. I believe only two or three (municipalities) passed their audits.”
The town was required to submit a written response to the NCDEQ within 30 days, conduct a self-audit and develop a stormwater management plan.
“I have submitted our third draft of the stormwater management plan, and when they approve that it will become our new permit,” Trotman said.
To fulfill the requirements of the NPDES permit, town staff proposed establishing a stormwater utility through a tiered flat rate for residents of the town. The fee would be collected annually and support the implementation of measures in the stormwater management plan.
Of the 111 MS4 municipalities in the state, 88 currently operate stormwater utilities, Trotman told the board. Only two municipalities in WNC — Asheville and Hendersonville — have established the service.
The topography of the region creates complications when addressing stormwater, according to the planning director, who highlighted recent weather patterns to underscore the need for increased public infrastructure.
“I picked August of 2017, because that’s when I started with the town,” Trotman said. “In that time there has been one 200-year storm; two 100-year storms; three 50-year storms; three 25-year storms; 17 ten-year storms and 15 five-year rain events. That’s a lot of rain, and it has to go somewhere.”
She cited weather models from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration that predict a 5-10% increase in precipitation in the region over the next 30-50 years.
The town’s current MS4 system consists of inlets, outfalls, pipes, curbs and gutters that discharge primarily into a local stretch of the Swannanoa River that has been listed on the state’s 303(d) impaired waterways list since 2006. The Town of Black Mountain contains 537 inlets and 138 outfalls, but information on most of them is scarce, according to Trotman’s report.
Growing stormwater issues in Black Mountain led town staff to recommend establishing a public utility to address the issue ahead of the 2021-22 budget. Photo by Fred McCormick
Nearly 500 local residents responded to a pair of stormwater surveys conducted by the town. Of the 380 citizens who participated in the second survey, one-third of respondents indicated they would be willing to pay a fee for stormwater service, one-third would possibly support it and one-third were unwilling.
Fifty-three percent of those surveyed rated the town's current stormwater service as poor or very poor.
While the benefits of a stormwater utility would not always be obvious, Trotman told the board, maintaining compliance with the NPDES permit regulations is a labor intensive process. Basic municipal stormwater-related activities include culvert repairs, stream bank erosion and restoration, leaf litter pick-up, water quality monitoring and data collection and reporting would be supported through the utility.
“I can’t emphasize enough that managing expectations is important and difficult,” she said. “The utility is not a silver bullet. It’s not going to stop flooding from happening, but it’s very closely aligned with water quality.”
A complete analysis of the cost of bringing the town into compliance with the NPDES permit could not be completed by staff, who cited a lack of historical data on stormwater-related expenditures and unknown variables associated with the existing MS4 system. The 2010 stormwater capital plan estimated more than $15 million of hard infrastructure improvements would be needed to address needs at the time.
The cost of compliance for the two municipalities that passed audits ranged from $63.78 per capita in Greenville to $112.95 per capita in Clemmons, Trotman reported. That level of funding would require the town to allocate $540,280 - $956,799 annually for the stormwater utility. The Town of Black Mountain, since it first obtained the NPDES permit in 2010, has dedicated approximately $114,000 per year in stormwater management, according to Trotman.
“To fully address regulatory requirements and increase service delivery for infrastructure maintenance is probably close to $500,000,” the planning director said. “But, we’re not really going to know until we get in there for some years and see.”
Mayor Larry Harris called the costs associated with compliance “outrageous.”
“I mean the town can’t afford that,” he said. “What do you do with that? These numbers are not manageable.”
Establishing the utility, however, would allow the town to accurately track existing stormwater management measures, according to Trotman.
“The infrastructure is a huge driving cost, it’s very expensive,” she said.
Trotman presented five rate models to the town council, generating between $153,000 - $370,000 in annual revenue to operate the utility. Staff recommended a flat tier rate and annual stand-alone billing to establish and fund it. Approximately 70% of residents would fall in the minimal residential tier of the structure, according to the planning director.
“Should the council move in this direction, your first-year budget would be around $400,000,” Harris said to Trotman. “Half of that is staff and expenses associated with setting up that operation. Would the other $200,000 be to have funding available for capital projects?”
The goal, the planning director responded, would be to have at least $100,000 available for hard capital projects related to stormwater in the first year of the utility. The Town of Black Mountain is eligible for approximately $2.4 million in funding through the American Rescue Plan, and Harris pointed out that some of that money could be used to address stormwater infrastructure.
The town council will consider the proposal ahead of the 2021-22 fiscal year budget, which will be adopted in June. Separate public hearings on the stormwater utility ordinance and fund will be held in the board’s regular monthly meeting at 6 p.m., Monday, June 14.