PORT ANGELES — Complying with a federal mandate to control stormwater runoff will mean higher costs for both the city and developers.
It also will mean changes in how construction projects are planned and managed.
Those were two of the messages the Planning Commission received last week during an hourlong work session on the city’s December 2006 designation as a National Pollution Discharge Elimination System Phase II city.
“Everyone must understand what it means to have this [NPDES Phase II designation] in place and the implications for having it in place,” Deputy Community Development Director Nathan West told the commission.
The city will have stormwater control ordinances by 2009 that will include both regulations and incentives for property owners to reduce stormwater runoff, he said.
The city already enforces many stormwater regulations now, such as ensuring contractors use best management practices, West said.
But the state Department of Ecology has the regulatory authority to issues citations and stop work orders, he said.
Once the city’s stormwater ordinances are complete next year, the city — not Ecology — will be the primary enforcer of stormwater regulations related to construction within the city limit, West said.
These ordinances will apply to single family homes as well, not just apartment buildings or commercial construction, he said.
