The City of Hopewell implements a Stormwater Utility Fee. On Tuesday, the 9th day of June, 2015, the Council of the City of Hopewell, Virginia, approved a Stormwater Utility Fee ordinance to be added to Chapter 14 of the Code of the City of Hopewell: Chapter 14 Article III. Stormwater Utility.
Purpose of the Fee
The City Council found that an adequate, sustainable source of revenue for stormwater management activities is necessary to protect the general health, safety, and welfare of residents of the City, and to meet requirements of the City’s Virginia Pollution Discharge Elimination System (VPDES) Municipal separate storm sewer system (MS4) permit and federal and state regulations to address identified water quality and quantity needs.
The fee is not a rain tax. Rather, it is a fee for service that allows the City to comply with state and federal clean water statutes related to stormwater runoff and protecting the City’s numerous water resources, ranging from the backyard drainage swale to the Appomattox and James Rivers, and the Chesapeake Bay.
Additionally, the fee supports the maintenance and repair of the City’s drainage system, otherwise referred to in permit language as the City’s Municipal Separate Storm Sewer System (MS4) Permit.