=
User f=
ee for
water aims to clean up lakes, rivers
=
Mark
Brunswick, Sta=
r Tribune
Feb=
ruary
10, 2005 WATERS
0210
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Each
home in
A
coalition of business, agriculture, local government, and environmental gro=
ups
on Wednesday proposed the Clean Water Legacy Bill, which will use the money
generated by user fees to accelerate testing of
Only
8 percent of river miles and 14 percent of the state's lakes have been test=
ed
for pollution, and 40 percent of those are contaminated. About 85 percent of
the money generated will go to clean up the state's most polluted waters. T=
he
bill, recently introduced into the Legislature, also would provide money for
pollution prevention programs.
"Clean
water is not a Democrat or Republican issue. It's a
Under
provisions of the bill, the fees eventually will generate about $85 million=
a
year when fully implemented in fiscal year 2009. The money will be used to
monitor and assess the state's waterways and to initiate land and water
treatment programs, often through leveraging other state, federal, local and
private funds.
The
coalition came together under the threat that cities, manufacturing plants,
small businesses and food processing facilities would not be allowed to exp=
and
unless contaminated waters near them are cleaned up.
The
federal Clean Water Act requires states to assess their lakes and streams, and to list as "impaired" those that
contain too much mercury, fertilizers, phosphorus, human and animal waste, =
or
other contaminants. Once a body of water is listed as impaired, development
that would increase its pollution, including larger discharges from wastewa=
ter
treatment plants, would not be allowed.
Under
the proposal:
•
Each residential dwelling that receives a bill for discharging into a sanit=
ary
sewer system or with a septic system will be charged an additional $36 per
year. "Hardship exemptions" will be made for those who can't affo=
rd
to pay the additional expenses.
•
Businesses will be charged from $120 per year to $600 a year, depending on =
how
much water a day the business uses. Businesses will pay about 15 percent of=
the
total revenue, based on state estimates that 15 percent of the pollution
problem comes operations that have permits to
discharge wastewater.
The
bill has bipartisan support in both the House and Senate and has been endor=
sed
by the administration of Gov. Tim Pawlenty, who=
se
Pollution Control Agency will administer much of the funding. Pawlenty has said that if the bill gets through the
Legislature, he would sign it.
While
Pawlenty has said he is opposed to any new tax
increases, Pollution Control Agency Commissioner Sheryl Corrigan argued tha=
t the
water charges reflect a philosophy of the user fee rather than that of a ta=
x.
Mark Brunswick is at