(a) As authorized by Section 52-17 (a) or Maryland Code, Environment Art., § 4-204, or both, the Director of Finance must annually impose and collect a Water Quality Protection Charge, as provided in this Section. The Director must collect the Charge in the same manner as County real property taxes, apply the same interest, penalties, and other remedies (including tax sale) if the Charge is not paid, and generally treat the Charge for collection and administration purposes as if it were a County real property tax. The Director may treat any unpaid Charge as a lien on the property to which the charge applies.
(b) The Charge must be imposed on each property, as specified in regulations adopted by the Executive under Method (1) to administer this Section. The regulations may define different classes of real property, depending on the amount of impervious surface on the property, stormwater runoff from the property, and other relevant characteristics, for purposes of applying the Charge.
(c) The Council must set the rate or rates for the Charge by a resolution adopted each year after holding a public hearing with at least 15 days’ notice. The resolution must be adopted no later than the date the Council approves the annual operating budget and presented to the Executive within 3 days after the Council adopts it. If the Executive disapproves a resolution adopted under this Section within 10 days after the Council adopts it and the Council readopts it by a vote of six Councilmembers, or if the Executive does not act within 10 days after the Council adopts it, the resolution takes effect. Unless the resolution specifies otherwise, the rates must take effect on the July 1 after the resolution is adopted.
(d) In the resolution adopted under subsection (c), the Council may set a different rate for each type of property defined by regulation. If different rates are set, the rates must generally reflect the relative amount of impervious surface on each type of property.
(e) (1) A property owner may apply for, and the Director of Environmental Protection must grant, a credit equal to a percentage, set by regulation, of the Charge if:
(A) the property contains a stormwater management system for which the County does not perform structural maintenance that either treats on-site drainage only or both on-site drainage and off-site drainage from other properties located within the same drainage area;
(B) the property does not contain a stormwater management system, but is located in the same drainage area as another that contains a stormwater management system for which the County does not perform structural maintenance and both properties have the same owner;
(C) the property contains a stormwater management system built as part of a County-approved stormwater management participation project; or
(D) the property does not contain a stormwater management system, but is located in the same drainage area as a property containing a stormwater management system built as part of a County-approved stormwater management participation project and both properties have the same owner.
(2) To receive the credit, the property owner must apply to the Director of Environmental Protection in a form prescribed by the Director not later than September 30 of the year that payment of the Charge is due. Any credit granted under this subsection is valid for 3 years.
(3) The Director of Environmental Protection may revoke a credit granted under paragraph (2) if the property owner does not continue to take the measures needed to assure that the stormwater management system remains in proper working condition by correcting any deficiencies discovered by the Director during a maintenance inspection. The Director must not reinstate a revoked credit until the property owner has sufficiently corrected the deficiencies to fully satisfy the property owner's maintenance obligations under Section 19-28.
(4) The owner of an owner-occupied residential property, or any non-profit organization that can demonstrate substantial financial hardship may apply for an exemption from all or part of the Charge for that property, based on criteria set by regulation. To receive the exemption, the owner or organization must apply for the exemption to the Director of Finance not later than September 30 of the year that payment of the Charge is due. After reviewing the request for exemption, the Director of Finance must issue a written decision. The owner or organization may appeal the decision of the Director of Finance to the Maryland Tax Court. The appeal must be filed within 30 days after the date of the decision.
(f) The Director must deposit funds raised by the Charge, and funds for this purpose from any other source, into a stormwater management fund. Funds in the stormwater management fund may be applied and pledged to pay debt service on debt obligations to finance the construction and related expenses of stormwater management facilities as approved in the Capital Improvements Program. Funds in the stormwater management fund must only be used for:
(1) construction, operation, financing, and maintenance of stormwater management facilities, and related expenses, including debt service payments related to construction and related expenses of stormwater management facilities;
(2) enforcement and administration of this Article; and
(3) any other activity authorized by this Article or state law.
(g) This Charge does not apply to any property located in a municipality in the County which notifies the County that it has imposed or intends to impose a similar charge to fund its stormwater management program in that municipality.
(h) A person that believes that the Director of Environmental Protection has mistakenly assigned a Charge to the person’s property or computed the Charge incorrectly may apply to the Director of Environmental Protection in writing for a review of the Charge, and request an adjustment to correct any error, not later than September 30 of the year that payment of the Charge is due.
(i) A property owner that believes that the Director of Environmental Protection has incorrectly calculated a credit, revoked the property owner’s credit or denied the property owner’s application for a credit under subsection (e)(1), (2), or (3), or denied the property owner’s request for an adjustment under subsection (h), may seek review of the Director’s decision by submitting a written request for review with supporting reasons to the Director of Finance within 30 days after the date of that decision. After reviewing the decision of the Director of Environmental Protection, the Director of Finance must notify the property owner in writing of the decision to affirm or reverse the decision of the Director of Environmental Protection. The property owner may appeal the decision of the Director of Finance to the Maryland Tax Court. The appeal must be filed within 30 days after the date of the decision of the Director of Finance. (2001 L.M.C., ch. 27, § 1; 2002 L.M.C., ch. 3, § 1; 2010 L.M.C., ch. 18, § 1; 2013 L.M.C., ch.11, § 1; 2015 L.M.C., ch. 14, § 1; 2015 L.M.C., ch. 54, § 1; 2016 L.M.C., ch. 20, § 1; 2018 L.M.C., ch. 6, §1.)
Editor’s note—2018 L.M.C., ch. 6, § 2, states as follows: Transition: If an appeal of a final decision by the Director of Environmental Protection is pending before the Board of Appeals at the time this Act takes effect, the property owner may immediately withdraw the Board of Appeals proceeding and seek review of the Director’s decision within 30 days of the withdrawal. If the property owner does not withdraw the Board of Appeals proceeding, the Board of Appeals must forward a recommended decision to the Director of Finance. The Director of Finance must issue a final written decision that adopts, modifies, or reverses the recommended decision. The property owner may appeal the decision of the Director of Finance to the Maryland Tax Court within 30 days after the date of the decision of the Director of Finance.
In COMCOR 19.35.01, any reference to the final decision of the Director of the Department of Environmental Protection must be treated as a reference to the Director’s recommended decision to the Director of the Department of Finance and any reference to an appeal to the Board of Appeals must be treated as a reference to an appeal to the Maryland Tax Court.
2015 L.M.C., ch. 54, § 3, states as follows: Curative Effect: This Act retroactively validates and ratifies the levy and collection under Section 19-35 of all stormwater management charges collected since July 1, 2013.
Expedited Bill 34-12 amended County Code Section 19-35 to subject all properties not otherwise exempt under State law to the Water Quality Protection Charge, allow property owners to obtain credits for undertaking certain water quality protection measures on their properties, and authorize financial hardship exemptions for certain owner-occupants of residential properties. The effective date of Expedited Bill 34-12 was July 1, 2013.
In Paul N. Chod v. Board of Appeals for Montgomery County (Civil No. 398704-V, entered July 23, 2015) the Circuit Court for Montgomery County opined that the Water Quality Protection Charge “is invalid per se because this charge need not reasonably relate to the stormwater management services provided by the County.” The County has appealed this decision. This Act is intended to correct the potential defect noted by the Circuit Court by designating the stormwater management charges imposed by Section 19-35 as an excise tax imposed under the general taxing authority of Montgomery County to levy excise taxes. This Act is not intended to alter the policy, purposes, or substance of Section 19-35.
The County Council finds that:
(a) Montgomery County had the authority in 2013 to adopt Section 19-35 under the County’s taxing authority – see Section 52-17;
(b) This Act furthers the original purpose of Section 19-35 to require individual owners of property with impervious surfaces to pay a share of the public costs associated with mitigating and remediating the environmental impact of stormwater runoff throughout the County;
(c) The legal defect in the adoption of Bill 34-12 (if any) was minor, because the County had in 2013 and continues to have the authority to levy and collect from property owners an excise tax for the purpose of producing revenue to fund the water quality protection measures needed to ameliorate the environmental impact of stormwater runoff;
(d) All property owners have benefitted from water quality protection and restoration measures made possible by the revenues generated from the stormwater management charges imposed under Section 19-35; and
(e) It is just and proper that this Act take effect as of July 1, 2013 in order that the public will continue to benefit from the water quality protection and restoration measures undertaken and to be undertaken as a result of the revenues provided by the Water Quality Protection Charge.
2015 L.M.C., ch. 14, § 2, states: Retroactivity. This Act applies retroactively to applications for credit or financial hardship exemption submitted on or before September 30, 2014 for Levy Year 2014.
2013 L.M.C., ch.11, § 2, states:
(a) The Council declares that an emergency exists and that this legislation is necessary for the immediate protection of the public health and safety. This Act takes effect on July 1, 2013. Notwithstanding County Code Section 19-35(b), as amended by Section 1of this Act, the Director of Finance must phase in the Water Quality Protection Charge as provided in this Section.
(b) The Director must phase in over 3 years any increase in the Charge that results from the application of Section 19-35(b), as amended by Section 1 of this Act, or any regulation adopted under that Section, by including:
(1) only one-third of the additional impervious surface that has been added to the calculation of the Charge in the fiscal year that begins on July 1, 2013;
(2) only two-thirds of the additional impervious surface that has been added to the calculation of the Charge in the fiscal year that begins on July 1, 2014; and
(3) the full amount of the additional impervious surface that has been added to the calculation of the Charge in the fiscal year that begins on July 1, 2015.
(c) The phase-in established in this Section does not apply to any portion of the Charge that results from the inclusion in the calculation of the Charge of any impervious surface area that is created after June 30, 2013.
(d) To receive a credit or exemption under Section 19-35(e) for the fiscal year that begins on July 1, 2013, a property owner must apply to the Director of Environmental Protection or the Director of Finance, as applicable, not later than September 30, 2013.
Former § 19-35, Grandfather clause, derived from 1980 L.M.C., ch. 60, § 3, was repealed by 2001 L.M.C., ch. 27, § 1.