| 1 | 1 | | BILL AS INTRODUCED S.24 |
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| 2 | 2 | | 2025 Page 1 of 14 |
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| 4 | 4 | | |
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| 5 | 5 | | VT LEG #379420 v.1 |
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| 6 | 6 | | S.24 1 |
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| 7 | 7 | | Introduced by Senator Chittenden 2 |
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| 8 | 8 | | Referred to Committee on 3 |
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| 9 | 9 | | Date: 4 |
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| 10 | 10 | | Subject: Conservation and development; water quality; stormwater; three-acre 5 |
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| 11 | 11 | | permit 6 |
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| 12 | 12 | | Statement of purpose of bill as introduced: This bill proposes to amend 7 |
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| 13 | 13 | | requirements related to the permitting of stormwater systems in the State. The 8 |
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| 14 | 14 | | bill would extend the deadline by which owners of impervious surface subject 9 |
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| 15 | 15 | | to the three-acre impervious surface permit must complete permitting. The bill 10 |
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| 16 | 16 | | also would allow municipalities that assume full legal responsibility for a 11 |
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| 17 | 17 | | stormwater system to assess municipal impact fees on users of the stormwater 12 |
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| 18 | 18 | | system. In addition, the bill extends from July 1, 2027 to July 1, 2036 the 13 |
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| 19 | 19 | | assessment of the 0.22 percent clean water surcharge on the property transfer 14 |
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| 20 | 20 | | tax. The bill also would establish the Local Community Implementation 15 |
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| 21 | 21 | | Special Fund to provide grants to municipalities to assist in the stormwater 16 |
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| 22 | 22 | | permitting of residential subdivisions or orphan systems in the State. 17 |
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| 23 | 23 | | An act relating to stormwater management 18 |
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| 24 | 24 | | It is hereby enacted by the General Assembly of the State of Vermont: 19 |
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| 25 | 25 | | Sec. 1. 10 V.S.A. § 1264 is amended to read: 20 BILL AS INTRODUCED S.24 |
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| 26 | 26 | | 2025 Page 2 of 14 |
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| 27 | 27 | | |
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| 28 | 28 | | |
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| 29 | 29 | | VT LEG #379420 v.1 |
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| 30 | 30 | | § 1264. STORMWATER MANAGEMENT 1 |
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| 31 | 31 | | * * * 2 |
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| 32 | 32 | | (b) Definitions. As used in this section: 3 |
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| 33 | 33 | | * * * 4 |
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| 34 | 34 | | (2) “Development” means the construction of impervious surface on a 5 |
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| 35 | 35 | | tract or tracts of land where no impervious surface previously existed. 6 |
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| 36 | 36 | | (3) “Expansion” and “the expanded portion of an existing discharge” 7 |
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| 37 | 37 | | mean an increase or addition of impervious surface, such that the total resulting 8 |
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| 38 | 38 | | impervious area is greater than the minimum regulatory threshold. 9 |
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| 39 | 39 | | * * * 10 |
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| 40 | 40 | | (6) “Impervious surface” means those manmade surfaces, including 11 |
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| 41 | 41 | | paved and unpaved roads, parking areas, roofs, driveways, and walkways, from 12 |
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| 42 | 42 | | which precipitation runs off rather than infiltrates. 13 |
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| 43 | 43 | | * * * 14 |
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| 44 | 44 | | (10) “Regulated stormwater runoff” means precipitation, snowmelt, and 15 |
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| 45 | 45 | | the material dissolved or suspended in precipitation and snowmelt that runs off 16 |
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| 46 | 46 | | impervious surfaces and discharges into surface waters or into groundwater via 17 |
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| 47 | 47 | | infiltration. 18 |
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| 48 | 48 | | (11) “Stormwater impact fee” means the monetary charge assessed to a 19 |
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| 49 | 49 | | permit applicant for the discharge of regulated stormwater runoff in order to 20 |
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| 50 | 50 | | mitigate impacts that the discharger is unable to control through on-site 21 BILL AS INTRODUCED S.24 |
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| 51 | 51 | | 2025 Page 3 of 14 |
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| 52 | 52 | | |
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| 53 | 53 | | |
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| 54 | 54 | | VT LEG #379420 v.1 |
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| 55 | 55 | | treatment or completion of an offset on a site owned or controlled by the 1 |
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| 56 | 56 | | permit applicant. 2 |
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| 57 | 57 | | (12) “Stormwater-impaired water” means a State water that the 3 |
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| 58 | 58 | | Secretary determines is significantly impaired by discharges of regulated 4 |
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| 59 | 59 | | stormwater runoff. 5 |
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| 60 | 60 | | (13) “Stormwater Management Manual” means the Agency of Natural 6 |
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| 61 | 61 | | Resources’ Stormwater Management Manual, as adopted and amended by rule. 7 |
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| 62 | 62 | | (14) “Stormwater runoff” means precipitation and snowmelt that does 8 |
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| 63 | 63 | | not infiltrate into the soil, including material dissolved or suspended in it, but 9 |
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| 64 | 64 | | does not include discharges from undisturbed natural terrain or wastes from 10 |
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| 65 | 65 | | combined sewer overflows. 11 |
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| 66 | 66 | | (15) “Stormwater system” includes the storm sewers; outfall sewers; 12 |
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| 67 | 67 | | surface drains; manmade wetlands; channels; ditches; wet and dry bottom 13 |
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| 68 | 68 | | basins; rain gardens; and other control equipment necessary and appurtenant to 14 |
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| 69 | 69 | | the collection, transportation, conveyance, pumping, treatment, disposal, and 15 |
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| 70 | 70 | | discharge of regulated stormwater runoff. 16 |
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| 71 | 71 | | (16) “Total maximum daily load” (TMDL) means the calculations and 17 |
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| 72 | 72 | | plan for meeting water quality standards approved by the U.S. Environmental 18 |
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| 73 | 73 | | Protection Agency (EPA) and prepared pursuant to 33 U.S.C. § 1313(d) and 19 |
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| 74 | 74 | | federal regulations adopted under that law. 20 |
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| 75 | 75 | | * * * 21 BILL AS INTRODUCED S.24 |
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| 76 | 76 | | 2025 Page 4 of 14 |
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| 77 | 77 | | |
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| 78 | 78 | | |
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| 79 | 79 | | VT LEG #379420 v.1 |
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| 80 | 80 | | (c) Prohibitions. 1 |
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| 81 | 81 | | (1) A person shall not commence the construction or redevelopment of 2 |
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| 82 | 82 | | one-half of an acre or more of impervious surface without first obtaining a 3 |
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| 83 | 83 | | permit from the Secretary. 4 |
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| 84 | 84 | | * * * 5 |
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| 85 | 85 | | (7) In accordance with the schedule established under subdivision (g)(3) 6 |
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| 86 | 86 | | of this section, a person shall not discharge stormwater from impervious 7 |
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| 87 | 87 | | surface located within the Lake Champlain watershed or the Lake 8 |
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| 88 | 88 | | Memphremagog watershed of three or more acres in size without first 9 |
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| 89 | 89 | | obtaining an individual permit or coverage under a general permit issued under 10 |
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| 90 | 90 | | this section if the discharge was never previously permitted or was permitted 11 |
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| 91 | 91 | | under an individual permit or general permit that did not incorporate the 12 |
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| 92 | 92 | | requirements of the 2002 Stormwater Management Manual or any 13 |
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| 93 | 93 | | subsequently adopted Stormwater Management Manual. 14 |
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| 94 | 94 | | (d) Exemptions. 15 |
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| 95 | 95 | | * * * 16 |
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| 96 | 96 | | (2) No permit is required under subdivision (c)(1), (5), or (7) of this 17 |
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| 97 | 97 | | section and for which a municipality has assumed full legal responsibility as 18 |
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| 98 | 98 | | part of a permit issued to the municipality by the Secretary. As used in this 19 |
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| 99 | 99 | | subdivision, “full legal responsibility” means legal control of the stormwater 20 |
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| 100 | 100 | | system, including a legal right to access the stormwater system, a legal duty to 21 BILL AS INTRODUCED S.24 |
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| 102 | 102 | | |
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| 103 | 103 | | |
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| 104 | 104 | | VT LEG #379420 v.1 |
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| 105 | 105 | | properly maintain the stormwater system, and a legal duty to repair and replace 1 |
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| 106 | 106 | | the stormwater system when it no longer adequately protects waters of the 2 |
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| 107 | 107 | | State. When a municipality assumes full legal responsibility for a stormwater 3 |
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| 108 | 108 | | system, the municipality may assess municipal impact fees on users of the 4 |
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| 109 | 109 | | stormwater system provided that the impact fee assessed is a fair 5 |
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| 110 | 110 | | apportionment to the user of the cost of the improvement in accordance with 6 |
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| 111 | 111 | | the benefits the user received. 7 |
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| 112 | 112 | | * * * 8 |
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| 113 | 113 | | (f) Rulemaking. On or before December 31, 2017, the Secretary shall 9 |
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| 114 | 114 | | adopt rules to manage stormwater runoff. At a minimum, the rules shall: 10 |
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| 115 | 115 | | * * * 11 |
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| 116 | 116 | | (7) Allow municipal governments to assume the full legal responsibility 12 |
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| 117 | 117 | | for a stormwater system permitted under these rules as a part of a permit issued 13 |
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| 118 | 118 | | by the Secretary, including authority of municipalities to assess municipal 14 |
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| 119 | 119 | | impact fees on users of a stormwater system for which the municipal 15 |
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| 120 | 120 | | government has assumed full responsibility. 16 |
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| 121 | 121 | | (8) Include standards with respect to the use of offsets and stormwater 17 |
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| 122 | 122 | | impact fees. 18 |
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| 123 | 123 | | * * * 19 |
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| 124 | 124 | | (g) General permits. 20 BILL AS INTRODUCED S.24 |
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| 125 | 125 | | 2025 Page 6 of 14 |
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| 126 | 126 | | |
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| 127 | 127 | | |
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| 128 | 128 | | VT LEG #379420 v.1 |
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| 129 | 129 | | (1) The Secretary may issue general permits for classes of stormwater 1 |
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| 130 | 130 | | runoff that shall be adopted and administered in accordance with the provisions 2 |
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| 131 | 131 | | of subsection 1263(b) of this title. 3 |
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| 132 | 132 | | * * * 4 |
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| 133 | 133 | | (3) Within 120 days after the adoption by the Secretary of the rules 5 |
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| 134 | 134 | | required under subsection (f) of this section, the Secretary shall issue a general 6 |
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| 135 | 135 | | permit under this section for discharges of stormwater from impervious surface 7 |
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| 136 | 136 | | of three or more acres in size, when the stormwater discharge previously was 8 |
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| 137 | 137 | | not permitted or was permitted under an individual permit or general permit 9 |
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| 138 | 138 | | that did not incorporate the requirements of the 2002 Stormwater Management 10 |
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| 139 | 139 | | Manual or any subsequently adopted Stormwater Management Manual. Under 11 |
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| 140 | 140 | | the general permit, the Secretary shall: 12 |
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| 141 | 141 | | (A) Establish a schedule for implementation of the general permit by 13 |
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| 142 | 142 | | geographic area of the State. The schedule shall establish the date by which an 14 |
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| 143 | 143 | | owner of impervious surface shall apply for coverage under this subdivision 15 |
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| 144 | 144 | | (3). The schedule established by the Secretary shall require an owner of 16 |
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| 145 | 145 | | impervious surface subject to permitting under this subdivision to obtain 17 |
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| 146 | 146 | | coverage by the following dates: 18 |
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| 147 | 147 | | (i) for impervious surface located within the Lake Champlain 19 |
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| 148 | 148 | | watershed, the Lake Memphremagog watershed, or the watershed of a 20 |
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| 149 | 149 | | stormwater-impaired water on or before October 1, 2023; and 2028 21 BILL AS INTRODUCED S.24 |
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| 150 | 150 | | 2025 Page 7 of 14 |
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| 151 | 151 | | |
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| 152 | 152 | | |
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| 153 | 153 | | VT LEG #379420 v.1 |
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| 154 | 154 | | (ii) for impervious surface located within all other watersheds of 1 |
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| 155 | 155 | | the State, no later than October 1, 2033. 2 |
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| 156 | 156 | | (B) Establish criteria and technical standards, such as best 3 |
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| 157 | 157 | | management practices, for implementation of stormwater improvements for the 4 |
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| 158 | 158 | | retrofitting of impervious surface subject to permitting under this subdivision 5 |
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| 159 | 159 | | (3). 6 |
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| 160 | 160 | | (C) Require that a discharge of stormwater from impervious surface 7 |
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| 161 | 161 | | subject to the requirements of this section comply with the standards of 8 |
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| 162 | 162 | | subsection (h) of this section for redevelopment of or renewal of a permit for 9 |
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| 163 | 163 | | existing impervious surface. 10 |
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| 164 | 164 | | (D) Allow the use of stormwater impact fees, offsets, and phosphorus 11 |
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| 165 | 165 | | credit trading within the watershed of the water to which the stormwater 12 |
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| 166 | 166 | | discharges or runs off. 13 |
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| 167 | 167 | | * * * 14 |
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| 168 | 168 | | Sec. 2. 2017 Acts and Resolves No. 85, Sec. I.12 is amended to read: 15 |
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| 169 | 169 | | Sec. I.12. EFFECTIVE DATES 16 |
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| 170 | 170 | | (a) Secs. I.1–I.12 shall take effect on July 1, 2017, except that Sec. I.10 17 |
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| 171 | 171 | | (allocating clean water surcharge revenue to Vermont Housing and 18 |
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| 172 | 172 | | Conservation Trust Fund) shall take effect on July 1, 2027 2036. 19 |
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| 173 | 173 | | Sec. 3. 2017 Acts and Resolves No. 85, Sec. I.7(d) is amended to read: 20 BILL AS INTRODUCED S.24 |
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| 174 | 174 | | 2025 Page 8 of 14 |
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| 175 | 175 | | |
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| 176 | 176 | | |
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| 177 | 177 | | VT LEG #379420 v.1 |
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| 178 | 178 | | (d) To compensate for this reduction of available property transfer tax 1 |
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| 179 | 179 | | revenue, it is the intent of the General Assembly through this act to provide for 2 |
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| 180 | 180 | | the transfer of $2,500,000.00 to the Vermont Housing and Conservation Trust 3 |
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| 181 | 181 | | Fund, as follows: 4 |
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| 182 | 182 | | (1) Sec. D.100 of this act appropriates $11,304,840.00 in fiscal year 5 |
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| 183 | 183 | | 2018 from the Vermont Housing and Conservation Trust Fund to the Vermont 6 |
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| 184 | 184 | | Housing and Conservation Board. Upon the effective date of this act, 7 |
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| 185 | 185 | | $1,500,000.00 shall revert to the Fund, resulting in a fiscal year 2018 total 8 |
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| 186 | 186 | | appropriation to the Board of $9,804,840.00. In fiscal year 2018 only, the 9 |
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| 187 | 187 | | amount of $1,500,000.00 from the Vermont Housing and Conservation Trust 10 |
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| 188 | 188 | | Fund shall be transferred to the General Fund. 11 |
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| 189 | 189 | | (2) As provided in Sec. I.9 of this act, from July 1, 2017 until 12 |
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| 190 | 190 | | July 1, 2027 2036, pursuant to 32 V.S.A. § 9602a, the first $1,000,000.00 in 13 |
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| 191 | 191 | | revenue generated by the clean water surcharge of 0.2 percent shall be 14 |
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| 192 | 192 | | transferred to the Vermont Housing and Conservation Trust Fund. In fiscal 15 |
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| 193 | 193 | | year 2018 only, the Commissioner shall transfer the amount of $1,000,000.00 16 |
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| 194 | 194 | | from the Vermont Housing and Conservation Trust Fund to the General Fund. 17 |
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| 195 | 195 | | (3) After July 1, 2027 2036, pursuant to 32 V.S.A. § 9602a as amended 18 |
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| 196 | 196 | | in Sec. I.10 of this act, $1,000,000.00 in total revenue generated by the clean 19 |
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| 197 | 197 | | water surcharge of 0.04 percent shall be transferred to the Vermont Housing 20 |
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| 198 | 198 | | and Conservation Trust Fund. 21 BILL AS INTRODUCED S.24 |
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| 199 | 199 | | 2025 Page 9 of 14 |
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| 200 | 200 | | |
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| 201 | 201 | | |
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| 202 | 202 | | VT LEG #379420 v.1 |
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| 203 | 203 | | (4) As provided in Sec. I.11 of this act, the clean water surcharge will be 1 |
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| 204 | 204 | | repealed in its entirety on July 1, 2039. 2 |
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| 205 | 205 | | Sec. 4. 10 V.S.A. § 1264c is added to read: 3 |
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| 206 | 206 | | § 1264c. LOCAL COMMUNITY IMPLEMENTATION SPECIAL FUND 4 |
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| 207 | 207 | | (a) There is established the Local Community Implementation Special 5 |
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| 208 | 208 | | Fund to be administered by the Secretary of Natural Resources in accordance 6 |
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| 209 | 209 | | with 32 V.S.A. chapter 7, subchapter 5 to provide grants to municipalities to 7 |
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| 210 | 210 | | assist in the stormwater permitting of residential subdivisions or orphan 8 |
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| 211 | 211 | | systems in the State. The Fund shall consist of: 9 |
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| 212 | 212 | | (1) an annual appropriation of at least $1,000,000.00 from the Clean 10 |
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| 213 | 213 | | Water Fund; 11 |
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| 214 | 214 | | (2) private gifts, bequests, and donations made to the State for any of the 12 |
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| 215 | 215 | | purposes for which the Fund was established; and 13 |
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| 216 | 216 | | (3) other funds from any public or private source intended for use for 14 |
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| 217 | 217 | | any of the purposes for which the Fund has been established. 15 |
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| 218 | 218 | | (b) The Secretary may issue grants from the funds to: 16 |
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| 219 | 219 | | (1) a municipality subject to the permitting requirement under 17 |
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| 220 | 220 | | subdivision 1264(c)(3) of this title for its municipal separate storm sewer 18 |
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| 221 | 221 | | system when the municipality assumes under its municipal separate storm 19 |
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| 222 | 222 | | sewer system permit the permitting requirements of an orphan system or other 20 |
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| 223 | 223 | | residential stormwater system under subdivision 1264(d)(2) of this title; or 21 BILL AS INTRODUCED S.24 |
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| 224 | 224 | | 2025 Page 10 of 14 |
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| 225 | 225 | | |
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| 226 | 226 | | |
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| 227 | 227 | | VT LEG #379420 v.1 |
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| 228 | 228 | | (2) a municipality that is not subject to the permitting requirement under 1 |
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| 229 | 229 | | subdivision 1264(c)(3) of this title for its municipal separate storm sewer 2 |
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| 230 | 230 | | system when the municipality assumes the full legal responsibility for a 3 |
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| 231 | 231 | | stormwater system under subdivision 1264(d)(2) of this title or agrees to be a 4 |
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| 232 | 232 | | co-applicant for a permit for an orphan system within the municipality. 5 |
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| 233 | 233 | | (c) The Secretary of Natural Resources shall accept applications for grants 6 |
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| 234 | 234 | | from the Fund until September 1 of each fiscal year. Grants shall be awarded 7 |
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| 235 | 235 | | on a priority basis for stormwater systems with impending timing constraints 8 |
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| 236 | 236 | | or for those projects that will achieve the greatest reduction in pollutant load. 9 |
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| 237 | 237 | | (d) Annually, on or before January 31, the Department shall report to the 10 |
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| 238 | 238 | | House Committee on Environment and the Senate Committee on Natural 11 |
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| 239 | 239 | | Resources and Energy regarding operation and administration of the Local 12 |
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| 240 | 240 | | Community Implementation Special Fund. The report shall include a 13 |
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| 241 | 241 | | description of each grant awarded from the Fund in the previous calendar year. 14 |
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| 242 | 242 | | (e) As used in this section, “orphan stormwater system” means a 15 |
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| 243 | 243 | | stormwater system: 16 |
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| 244 | 244 | | (1) that serves a residential subdivision; 17 |
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| 245 | 245 | | (2) that operates under an expired stormwater discharge permit or was 18 |
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| 246 | 246 | | never issued a stormwater discharge permit; and 19 |
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| 247 | 247 | | (3) for which the original permittee, in the discretion of the Secretary of 20 |
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| 248 | 248 | | Natural Resources, is no longer associated with the system. 21 BILL AS INTRODUCED S.24 |
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| 249 | 249 | | 2025 Page 11 of 14 |
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| 250 | 250 | | |
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| 251 | 251 | | |
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| 252 | 252 | | VT LEG #379420 v.1 |
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| 253 | 253 | | Sec. 5. 10 V.S.A. § 1389(e) is amended to read: 1 |
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| 254 | 254 | | (e) Priorities. In making recommendations under subsection (d) of this 2 |
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| 255 | 255 | | section regarding the appropriate allocation of funds from the Clean Water 3 |
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| 256 | 256 | | Fund, the Board shall prioritize as follows: 4 |
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| 257 | 257 | | (1) As a first priority, make recommendations regarding funding for the 5 |
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| 258 | 258 | | following grants and programs, which shall each be given equal priority: 6 |
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| 259 | 259 | | (A) grants to clean water service providers to fund the reasonable 7 |
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| 260 | 260 | | costs associated with the inspection, verification, operation, and maintenance 8 |
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| 261 | 261 | | of clean water projects in a basin; 9 |
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| 262 | 262 | | (B) grants to municipalities or property owners to assist with the 10 |
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| 263 | 263 | | costs of complying with permitting requirements under subdivisions 11 |
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| 264 | 264 | | 1264(c)(1) and (7) of this title; 12 |
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| 265 | 265 | | (C) the Water Quality Restoration Formula Grant under section 925 13 |
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| 266 | 266 | | of this title; 14 |
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| 267 | 267 | | (C)(D) the Agency of Agriculture, Food and Markets’ agricultural 15 |
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| 268 | 268 | | water quality programs; and 16 |
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| 269 | 269 | | (D)(E) the Water Quality Enhancement Grants under section 926 of 17 |
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| 270 | 270 | | this title at a funding level of at least 20 percent of the annual balance of the 18 |
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| 271 | 271 | | Clean Water Fund, provided that the maximum amount recommended under 19 |
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| 272 | 272 | | this subdivision (D) (E) in any year shall not exceed $5,000,000.00; and 20 BILL AS INTRODUCED S.24 |
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| 274 | 274 | | |
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| 275 | 275 | | |
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| 276 | 276 | | VT LEG #379420 v.1 |
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| 277 | 277 | | (E)(F) funding to partners for basin planning, basin water quality 1 |
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| 278 | 278 | | council participation, education, and outreach as provided in subdivision 2 |
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| 279 | 279 | | 1253(d)(3) of this title, provided funding shall be at least $500,000.00. 3 |
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| 280 | 280 | | (2) As the next priority after reviewing funding requests for programs 4 |
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| 281 | 281 | | identified under subdivision (1) of this subsection: 5 |
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| 282 | 282 | | (A) funding to programs or projects that address or repair riparian 6 |
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| 283 | 283 | | conditions that increase the risk of flooding or pose a threat to life or property; 7 |
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| 284 | 284 | | (B) funding for education and outreach regarding the implementation 8 |
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| 285 | 285 | | of water quality requirements, including funding for education, outreach, 9 |
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| 286 | 286 | | demonstration, and access to tools for the implementation of the Acceptable 10 |
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| 287 | 287 | | Management Practices for Maintaining Water Quality on Logging Jobs in 11 |
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| 288 | 288 | | Vermont, as adopted by the Commissioner of Forests, Parks and Recreation; 12 |
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| 289 | 289 | | (C) funding for the Municipal Stormwater Implementation Grant as 13 |
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| 290 | 290 | | provided in section 928 of this title; 14 |
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| 291 | 291 | | (D) funding for innovative or alternative technologies or practices 15 |
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| 292 | 292 | | designed to improve water quality or reduce sources of pollution to surface 16 |
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| 293 | 293 | | waters, including funding for innovative nutrient removal technologies and 17 |
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| 294 | 294 | | community-based methane digesters that utilize manure, wastewater, and food 18 |
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| 295 | 295 | | residuals to produce energy; and 19 BILL AS INTRODUCED S.24 |
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| 298 | 298 | | |
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| 299 | 299 | | VT LEG #379420 v.1 |
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| 300 | 300 | | (E) funding to purchase agricultural land in order to take that land out 1 |
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| 301 | 301 | | of practice when the State water quality requirements cannot be remediated 2 |
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| 302 | 302 | | through agricultural Best Management Practices. 3 |
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| 303 | 303 | | (3) As the next priority after reviewing funding requests under 4 |
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| 304 | 304 | | subdivisions (1) and (2) of this subsection, funding for the Developed Lands 5 |
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| 305 | 305 | | Implementation Grant Program as provided in section 927 of this title. 6 |
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| 306 | 306 | | Sec. 6. APPROPRIATION 7 |
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| 307 | 307 | | Notwithstanding any other provision of law, $5,000,000.00 is transferred 8 |
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| 308 | 308 | | from the Clean Water Fund to the Local Community Implementation Special 9 |
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| 309 | 309 | | Fund in fiscal year 2025. 10 |
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| 310 | 310 | | Sec. 7. 24 V.S.A. § 3616 is amended to read: 11 |
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| 311 | 311 | | § 3616. RENTS; RATES 12 |
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| 312 | 312 | | (a) A municipal corporation, through its board may establish rates, rents, or 13 |
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| 313 | 313 | | charges to be paid as the board may prescribe. The board may establish annual 14 |
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| 314 | 314 | | charges separately for bond repayment, fixed operations and maintenance costs 15 |
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| 315 | 315 | | and variable operations and maintenance costs dependent on flow. 16 |
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| 316 | 316 | | (b) The rates, rents, or charges may be based upon: 17 |
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| 317 | 317 | | (1) the metered consumption of water on premises connected with the 18 |
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| 318 | 318 | | sewer system, however, the board may determine no user will be billed for 19 |
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| 319 | 319 | | fixed operations and maintenance costs and bond payment less than the 20 |
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| 320 | 320 | | average single-family charge; 21 BILL AS INTRODUCED S.24 |
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| 321 | 321 | | 2025 Page 14 of 14 |
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| 322 | 322 | | |
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| 323 | 323 | | |
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| 324 | 324 | | VT LEG #379420 v.1 |
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| 325 | 325 | | (2) the number of equivalent units connected with or served by the 1 |
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| 326 | 326 | | sewage system based upon their estimated flows compared to the estimated 2 |
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| 327 | 327 | | flows from a single-family dwelling, however, the board may determine no 3 |
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| 328 | 328 | | user will be billed less than the minimum charge determined for the single-4 |
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| 329 | 329 | | family dwelling charge for fixed operations and maintenance costs and bond 5 |
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| 330 | 330 | | payment; 6 |
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| 331 | 331 | | * * * 7 |
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| 332 | 332 | | (6) for groundwater, surface, or stormwater an equivalent residential 8 |
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| 333 | 333 | | unit based on an average or median of the area of impervious surface on 9 |
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| 334 | 334 | | residential property within the municipality; or 10 |
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| 335 | 335 | | (7) any combination of these bases, provided the combination is 11 |
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| 336 | 336 | | equitable. 12 |
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| 337 | 337 | | * * * 13 |
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| 338 | 338 | | Sec. 8. EFFECTIVE DATE 14 |
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| 339 | 339 | | This act shall take effect on July 1, 2025. 15 |
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