Storm water permit needed to build
The city of McMinnville has only issued two storm water permits since passing new state-mandated guidelines earlier this year, but questions about how the new rules are interpreted are surfacing.
Last week, city officials said they did not realize the extent of the regulations, which are intended to reduce water pollution. Specifically, officials said just about everyone who wants a building permit will now also have to go through the storm water application process.
“We’re going through a learning curve,” City Administrator Herb Llewellyn said of the new regulations. “If you put a bulldozer on a piece of property, you may need a permit, depending upon where you’re at.”
Under the new rules, when someone seeks a building permit, they won’t be able to get it right away, as they have in the past. Instead, they will first be required to undergo a storm water inspection to determine if land-disturbing activity of a certain size or in relation to environmental threats exists.
There are exceptions for existing residential additions or agricultural land, but for the most part, permits must be obtained.
Alderman Bobby Kirby, who was appointed by the mayor to serve on an ad hoc committee on the matter along with other city officials, initially said he believed the city was to exempt certain activities related to single-family residential development, but that is not the case. There are, however, situations where a permit is not required if there is no environmental threat.
“We have several who have come to the Codes department, and they contacted us and we went out and reviewed the site and it wasn’t a threat or wasn’t deemed a threat and they were allowed to bypass the storm water permit,” Public Works assistant director Brad Hennessee said in response to questions posed during the ad hoc committee meeting last week and how the rules have been implemented so far.
While cumbersome, the new rules are a state mandate and the city could face stiff fines if the rules aren’t enforced properly, city and state officials have said.
“It all comes down to, keep your dirt on your property,” Public Works director Bill Brock said in summation of the regulations. “You don’t put it on your neighbor, and you don’t put it in the river. It’s as simple as that.”