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The Vermont Statutes Online



Title

10

:
Conservation and Development






Chapter

047

:
WATER POLLUTION CONTROL






Subchapter

001
:
WATER POLLUTION CONTROL










 

§

1264b. Stormwater-impaired waters restoration fund

(a) A fund to be

known as the stormwater-impaired waters restoration fund is created in the

state treasury to be expended by the secretary of natural resources. The fund

shall be administered by the secretary of natural resources through the

facilities engineering division. The fund shall consist of:

(1) Stormwater

impact fees paid by permittees in order to meet applicable permitting standards

for the discharges of regulated stormwater runoff to the stormwater-impaired

waters of the state;

(2) Such sums as

may be appropriated or transferred to the fund by the general assembly, the

state emergency board, or the joint fiscal committee during such times when the

general assembly is not in session;

(3) Principal

and interest received from the repayment of loans made from the fund;

(4) Private

gifts, bequests, and donations made to the state for any of the purposes for

which the fund was established; and

(5) Other funds

from any public or private source intended for use for any of the purposes for

which the fund has been established.

(b) The fund

shall maintain separate accounts for each stormwater-impaired water and the

monies in each account may only be used to fund offsets in the designated

water. Offsets shall be designed to reduce the sediment load or hydrologic

impact of regulated stormwater runoff in stormwater-impaired waters. All

balances in the fund at the end of any fiscal year shall be carried forward and

remain a part of the fund. Interest earned by the fund shall be deposited into

the fund.

(c) The

facilities engineering division may authorize disbursements from the fund to

offsets that meet the requirements of subsection 1264a(e) of this title. The

public funds used to capitalize the stormwater-impaired waters restoration fund

shall:

(1) Be disbursed

only to an offset that is owned or operated by a municipality or a governmental

subdivision, agency, or instrumentality; and

(2) Be disbursed

only to reimburse a municipality or a governmental subdivision, agency, or

instrumentality for those funds provided by the municipality or governmental

subdivision, agency, or instrumentality to complete or construct an offset.

(d) A

municipality or governmental subdivision, agency, or instrumentality may, on an

annual basis, reserve capacity in an offset that the municipality or

governmental subdivision, agency, or instrumentality operates or owns and that

meets the requirements of subsection 1264a(e) of this title. A municipality or

governmental subdivision, agency, or instrumentality reserving offset capacity

shall inform the secretary of natural resources of the offset capacity for

which the offset will not receive disbursements from the stormwater-impaired

waters restoration fund for nonmunicipal discharges. A municipality that

reserves capacity as an offset may receive disbursements from the fund to

mitigate the uncontrolled sediment load or hydrologic impact in discharges for

which the municipality is issued a permit for the discharge of regulated

stormwater runoff under subdivision 1264a(b)(1) of this title.

(e) Eligible

persons may apply for a grant from the fund to design and implement an offset.

The fund may be used to match other public and private sources of funding for

such projects. The funds may also be used to match federal funds otherwise

available to capitalize the fund created by 24 V.S.A. § 4753(a)(8).

(f) A discharger

that pays a stormwater impact fee to the stormwater-impaired waters restoration

fund under section 1264a of this title in order to receive a permit for the

discharge of regulated stormwater runoff may receive reimbursement of that fee

if the discharger fails to discharge under the stormwater discharge permit, if

the discharger notifies the secretary of the abandonment of the discharge

permit, and if the secretary determines that unobligated monies for

reimbursement remain in the stormwater-impaired restoration fund. (Added 2003,

No. 140 (Adj. Sess.), § 3.)