Stormwater Rules

Quietly over the past year, the state’s Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) has been working on new rules that could have a significant change on how land owners handle their stormwater retention. After a year of work on DEP’s part, the proposed new rules have been released and could be implemented as early as October of this year.

What do they mean to eminent domain professionals? We don’t know yet.
But, as we look toward the values of land, the new rules could affect a property’s value depending on if they are grandfathered into existing rules or will have to abide by the new rules. As of yet, this has not been clearly defined by the proposed rules.

Currently, the state requires a property owner to install various features to a property that remove nutrients such as phosphorus and nitrogen from its stormwater. The state requires these features and systems to remove 35-45% of the nitrogen and 55-60% of the phosphorus.

The new rule would require a land owner to remove 85 percent of each.

How do we go about doing this? The easiest and usually most cost effective way is to make a larger stormwater retention pond on the property.  While every property is different, a pond can utilize between 15-20% of the property to meet current requirements. The thought is the new rule might require ponds to use double the amount of property – or more – than what is currently needed.

There are several other options that vary in cost and difficulty. For instance, one could build a green roof to capture stormwater before it hits the ground. You could also build underground storage, or use other green products that are available on the market today.

Again, how this affects land already developed has yet to be determined. Even so, developers are exploring how the new rules will affect the value of their property.

Some believe the new rules will devalue properties that are slated for redevelopment or infill projects because the developers will be forced into more expensive systems to remove the nitrogen and phosphorus. Likewise, areas where land is significantly cheaper may now have more value to a developer as they can use the cheaper land to build a larger stormwater retention pond.
The state’s Department of Environmental Protection is looking for people who want to comment on the proposed rules at a series of workshops in March and April.

For more information on when those workshops will take place and on the rules, please visit: http://www.floridadep.org/water/wetlands/erp/rules/stormwater/index.htm

Glena Morris, P.E., is a principal at m e i civil, formerly Morris Engineering,  a civil engineering firm located in Orlando. She is a past president of the Association of Eminent Domain Professionals