LIMA — Allen County commissioners approved a measure Tuesday to assess fees for people and companies building on new sites to stay in compliance with the latest regulations by the Environmental Protection Agency that protect from soil erosion.
Assistant Allen County Drainage Engineer Nathan Davis said EPA regulations require the Allen County Engineer’s Office to update regulations to comply with current standards to protect from soil loss.
“We have brought the county stormwater regulations into compliance and that includes the unincorporated areas of Allen County plus the villages of Beaverdam, Cairo and Elida,” Davis said.
The regulations are for homeowners with sites bigger than one acre and for commercial locations. Homeowners pay a $200 fee while companies pay a $1,000 application fee. Previously homeowners had no fee and commercial builders had a percentage fee, Davis said.
Companies also have inspection weekly fees from $200 to $400 to monitor the site, Davis said. The money goes to pay the inspectors’ salaries who are now required thanks to the law.
The issue is water runoff. While it may not be a big deal for someone building a home on a property that still has a lot of ground to absorb the water, it can be for a commercial location with a large roof and parking lot that quickly passes rain water on, potentially causing soil erosion.
Commercial locations often have retaining ponds onsite to collect some of the water to allow it to be released at the same rate it had before a building and parking lot being there.
Phase 2 of the EPA plan is for municipalities greater than 50,000 population although it often includes nearby townships to reach that number.
