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On Tuesday, January 4th President Barack Obama signed into law S. 3481, legislation that reinforces the federal government’s responsibility to pay reasonable service charges to state or local governments to address stormwater pollution originating from federal properties.  The legislation clarifies that federal agencies are responsible for paying all reasonable charges associated with implementing the Clean Water Act’s requirements for stormwater management by local authorities.  The legislation specifies that as long as these charges are non-discriminatory, based on a fair approximation of the proportionate contribution of stormwater pollution contributed by the federal property, and are used to pay for costs associated with any stormwater management program, then these fees must be paid by these federal agencies.  This is the case regardless of whether the services are denominated as assessments, charges, fees, or taxes.  You can find a copy of the final legislation by clicking here .   NACWA sent out an Alert that discussed the Association’s leadership role in making this legislation a reality as well as a related Press Release on this key initiative which NACWA plans to re-distribute now that the legislation has been signed into law.

With the legislation now formally enacted, the Department of Justice (DOJ) is expected to issue interagency guidance in the coming weeks that will outline how federal agencies are to implement the new law.  NACWA has reached out to DOJ and offered to provide any assistance necessary in drafting the guidance document.  NACWA expects that the guidance will address outstanding issues such as whether and to what extent the legislation will apply to current outstanding bills and when federal agencies can be expected to begin processing the bills that are owed.  As soon as the guidance is released, NACWA will notify its members and provide details of how federal agencies will likely proceed.

In addition to our work in monitoring the implementation of this effort, NACWA’s Executive Director, Ken Kirk, has been asked to take part in a press event next week along with the lead sponsor of the legislation, Senator Ben Cardin (D-Md.), to help get the word out of the legislation’s passage and raise awareness of the importance of federal agencies being partners in local stormwater management efforts.

NACWA looks forward to providing our members additional information in the coming weeks regarding implementation of this legislation.  In the meantime, should you have any questions please do not hesitate to contact Pat Sinicropi, NACWA’s Director of Legislative Affairs,  This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it , or John Krohn, NACWA’s Legislative Manager, This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it , at your convenience.