Water Sector News
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Stormwater management could soon become a utility fee
BATON ROUGE, La. (WAFB) - If the governor decides to sign HB713 into law - a bill crafted after a similar law passed in Florida 30 years ago - Louisiana would become the 42nd state to declare stormwater to be a utility.
“Establishing a stormwater utility is not a mandate or requirement but it’s a local option,” said Kelly Hurtado with the Louisiana Stormwater Coalition, a volunteer who helped draft the bill.
“For example, in Baton Rouge, we get a water bill, and on the water bill, you see your sewer bill and your garbage fee, right? There would be a separate line item that would say the stormwater management program or stormwater management fee,” said Hurtado.
So essentially each city would get with the department of public works, have an expert come in and run the numbers for that area and assess what they need.
“Do they need drain and canal maintenance? Do they need sediment and litter trapping equipment,? Do they need capital improvements? All the things that a stormwater management program goes to pay for, right?” Hurtado added.