Two bills were introduced this year that seek to provide waivers for certain stormwater charges for public use airport runways and taxiways. SB 367 (Newman) would have allowed localities to provide for a partial waiver of service charges for stormwater management to airports for that portion of the property that is used for runways and taxiways. The bill was referred to Senate Local Government, but ultimately after hearing from many concerned stakeholders, Senator Stephen Newman asked that the bill be carried over to 2019.
While Senator Newman’s bill was permissive in nature, Delegate Kathy Byron introduced HB 1004 (Byron), which required all localities to provide full waivers for these same stormwater charges. VACo opposed this bill and, along with many other stakeholders such as the Virginia Municipal League (VML) and the Virginia Municipal Stormwater Association (VAMSA), met with Delegate Byron’s office to express our concerns and problems. On February 6, at the session’s last meeting of the House Agriculture, Chesapeake, and Natural Resources Committee’s Subcommittee #3, Delegate Byron elected to have HB 1004 stricken from the docket.
VACo Contact: Chris McDonald, Esq.