Stormwater rules debate goes on in Chattanooga City Council

photo Stormwater bubbles out of a sewer grate off East 28th Street.

OTHER COUNCIL BUSINESSIn other City Council business:• The council accepted a $375,000 grant from the Tennessee Department of Transportation to extend the path for pedestrians and bicyclists on the South Chickamauga Creek Greenway. The city will match 20 percent of the cost, about $94,000.

Concern mounted in the City Council on Tuesday over whether stiff regulations for stormwater runoff will hinder future economic growth in Chattanooga.

And faced with a looming Dec. 1 deadline to pass new stormwater regulations, several council members were dissatisfied with what they felt were vague answers from city officials about whether the new requirements will satisfy state environmental regulators.

City Engineer Bill Payne told the council in a public hearing Tuesday that the Tennessee Department of Environment and Conservation evaluated the city's proposal and told officials it was on the right track to comply with regulations. But Councilwoman Carol Berz interrupted.

"This isn't high school," she told Payne. "I want to know if we're in compliance or not. I don't want to hear from [the state], 'Golly gee, you're on the right track.'"

City officials have asked the council to vote on the third draft of the controversial ordinance that would incorporate requirements of the city's 2010 stormwater permit into city code.

The city's regulatory stormwater board rejected the first draft in August, opting for only the minimum state requirements laid out in the permit. But less than two months later, the board retroactively accepted recommendations from the city after Mayor Andy Berke met with developers and key opponents to the regulations and tweaked the proposal.

The basic rule for stormwater regulation is that builders of new developments and significant redevelopments have to make sure the first inch of rain stays on the property instead of running off to adjacent properties.

The more stringent rules require developers within the low-lying South Chickamauga basin to collect 1.6 inches of rainwater because of flooding problems.

If developers can't meet this requirement, one of their options would be to pay a fee estimated at $45 per cubic foot.

Developers have argued that the city's ambitious plan would hurt development and there are unknown costs if builders can't meet the requirements.

The three speakers at Tuesday's public hearing, representing local Realtors and contractors, urged the City Council to vote against the more stringent rules.

After the meeting, Councilmen Chip Henderson, Ken Smith and Larry Grohn said they believe the regulations would burden the development and Realtor communities, possibly sending them to unincorporated Hamilton County or North Georgia where requirements aren't as steep. Henderson also said he feared the stiffer requirements will put more costs on taxpayers in the future.

But if city officials don't approve the regulations by Dec. 1, the city could face stiff penalties - up to $1.3 million a day.

Contact staff writer Joy Lukachick Smith at jsmith@timesfreepress.com or 423-757-6659.

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