Prince William County officials will raise one tax next Spring, even though 2011 is an election year for supervisors. The stormwater “utility” will go up in the next budget.

Local officials will blame the Federal government.

Supervisors will posture even more about “stringent but unfunded” regulations to make our local waters safe for swimming/fishing/aquatic life (and to improve water quality in the Chesapeake Bay downstream). 

Controlling stormwater pollution will impose excessive financial burdens on local government, so any stormwater utility increases are the fault of EPA, Congress, the President…

No one wants to pay more taxes, but who is to blame for our local stormwater problem? Is it fair to blame the Feds?

However pollution from stormwater is increasing. Why? Too much dirty water is flowing off pavement in subdivision, shopping centers, roads. As the population grows, we keep converting fields/forests to new pavement rather than redeveloping places already paved.

The requirement for our streams to be safe for swimming/fishing/aquatic life is common sense, not a new “gotcha” mandate from Washington bureaucrats.

Before supervisors bloviate about the Feds and increase the stormwater utility in the 2011-12 budget, they should look for cost-effective ways to avoid future stormwater pollution. When you are in a hole, quit digging.

There’s a great opportunity right now: adopt stronger stream protection standards in the new Environment Chapter of the Comprehensive Plan, and start protecting intermittent streams.  It’s cheaper to prevent pollution than to clean it up. As the old saying goes, “a stitch in time saves nine.”