(A) Mount Pleasant operates as a National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System (NPDES) Phase II Municipal Separate Storm Sewer System (MS4) under the South Carolina Department of Health and Environmental Control (SCDHEC) General Permit Number SCR030000.
(B) The NPDES permit allows the town to discharge stormwater to waters of the state and U.S., provided that it is in compliance with the terms of the permit to the maximum extent practical.
(C) The permit outlines tasks to be completed for compliance with the terms and conditions of the federal NPDES program. The NPDES MS4 permit requires a significant increase in the town's resource allocations for the Stormwater Utility Management Program to be in compliance with requirements related to water quality assessment and monitoring; system inventory, inspection, and maintenance; legal requirements; illicit discharge detection and elimination; post-development best management practice inspections; good housekeeping and recording; public education; public participation; and allocation of adequate resources to meet permit compliance.
(D) The management of stormwater runoff and sediment is necessary to reduce pollution, siltation, sedimentation, local flooding and stream channel erosion, all of which impact adversely on land and water resources and the health, safety, property and welfare of the residents of the town.
(E) The town maintains a utility system of stormwater management facilities, including but not limited to, inlets, conduits, manholes, channels, ditches, drainage easements, infiltration facilities, and other components, as well as natural waterways.
(F) The stormwater utility management facilities and components of the town need to be regularly maintained, rehabilitated, upgraded or expanded, and additional stormwater management facilities and measures need to be installed throughout the town.
(G) There are chronic drainage problems in numerous areas the town which, on an annual basis, threaten property, limit access to property, create unpredictable driving conditions and present a negative image of the town's ability to address community problems.
(H) There is current and continued growth which will impact the town's stormwater utility system.
(I) There are limited resources (equipment, manpower, funds) in the town to address stormwater utility system issues comprehensively and within a defined time frame.
(J) There are natural and geographic conditions in the town which pose significant constraints to problem resolutions.
(K) The town is a community comprised of citizens with a wide range of incomes and ability to afford government services.
(L) In the town, current and anticipated growth will contribute to the need for improvements in, and maintenance of, the stormwater management system.
(M) The town must continue to upgrade its capability to maintain existing and future stormwater utility management facilities and measures.
(N) Every parcel of real property in the town either uses or benefits from the stormwater utility management system; and the improvement of existing facilities and construction of additional facilities in the system will directly or indirectly benefit the owners of all real property.
(O) The extent of use of the stormwater utility management system by each classification of real property is dependent on a variety of factors that influence runoff, such as land use, topography, intensity of development, amount of impervious surface, and location in a particular watershed or basin.
(P) Property owners shall finance the stormwater utility management system in general relationship to their contribution and need for the system and to the extent they benefit from the system, and charges therefor should bear a reasonable relationship to the cost of the service, and every effort should be made to fairly and equitably spread the cost of the system to all property owners.
(Q) The town is utilizing a modified version of the intensity of development method as detailed in this chapter and believes this decision to be in the best interests of the community and environment.
(R) After careful review, a residential tiered stormwater utility fee relative to dwelling unit size (square feet) is determined to be fair and reasonable, and in the best interests of the community.
(S) That the stormwater utility fee reflects the on-going, increasing cost of the stormwater utility management system and maintenance with reasonable escalation over time.
(T) It is in the best interests of the citizens of this town and, most specifically, the owners of real property, that a Stormwater Utility Management Program be established by ordinance.
(Ord. 21059, passed 8-10-21)