Craig Thanks Council For Stormwater Fee Legislation

In a statement Friday, Harford County Executive David Craig thanked the County Council for working with him to pass a state-mandated stormwater remediation fee, which he called a "heavy-handed mandate."

The bill, which The Aegis reported passed the Council on April 16, created a $12.50 fee per residential property, only 10 percent of the $125 originally proposed. The Harford County legislation also offers credits up to 100 percent of the fee for remediation done by a property owner.

"While we all share a desire for a clean, healthy, and vibrant Bay, this desire must be tempered by a consideration of what we can afford when Marylanders face high unemployment, lower incomes, and tighter household budget," Craig said in the statement. "Clearly something is amiss here. And as long as we have leaders in Washington and Annapolis who have no concept of the financial decisions that individuals, families, and businesses have to make on a daily basis, things are sadly not going to improve."

The fee, which opponents have dubbed the "rain tax," is required under 2012 legislation that affected jurisdictions including Harford, Baltimore and Howard counties and Baltimore City. The fees are not required on properties in municipalities such as Aberdeen, Bel Air or Havre de Grace. The money raised from the fee is to be used on local stormwater management and stream and wetland restoration.

Read more about the requirements of the state legislation.

Craig, a Republican, opposed the bill and all but one of Harford County's delegation in the Maryland General Assembly voted against the measure.

Craig said that besides burdening residents and busineses, the requirement also burdens the county's coffers.

"For Harford County, it is estimated that we will have to spend a minimum of $10 million per year beyond what we already do in order to work toward meeting our federal and state guidelines for managing urban runoff into the Chesapeake Bay," he said. "There is no easy or painless way to raise such a large amount of additional money, and as a result, the effects of these fees on taxpayers would be severe."

The Council, Craig said, also created a task force to study the fee's collection and how its funds are spent.