Anne Arundel maps $324m MS4 compliance programme as stormwater fee rises underpin funding

Anne Arundel maps $324m MS4 compliance programme as stormwater fee rises underpin fundingAnne Arundel County Council introduced a resolution approving the county’s 2026 financial assurance plan for its Phase I NPDES MS4 permit. The plan forecasts restoration equivalent to 3,627 impervious acres by the end of FY27, above the 2,998-acre requirement under the current permit.

The financial assurance plan projects $324 million in restoration and MS4 compliance costs through FY27, against $343 million in revenue.

The county forecasts 3,627 impervious acres of restoration by the end of FY27, or 121% of the current 2,998-acre permit requirement.

Revenue projections assume a 3% annual stormwater-fee increase in FY28 and 5% annual increases from FY29 through FY31, alongside 1% annual ERU growth from development.

The FY27 approved stormwater-fee schedule is considered adequate, while relevant capital projects are already included in the approved FY27 six-year CIP.

Anne Arundel County has presented a funding plan for its municipal stormwater permit that projects a $19 million revenue surplus over restoration and compliance costs through FY27, while programming work beyond its current impervious-surface treatment obligation. Resolution 35-26, introduced to the County Council on 5 October, would approve the county’s 2026 Financial Assurance Plan for compliance with its Phase I National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System Municipal Separate Storm Sewer System permit. Maryland law requires counties to submit such plans every two years, after a public hearing and local governing-body approval. Anne Arundel’s filing is due to the Maryland Department of the Environment by 5 November 2026. The county’s MS4 permit, issued on 5 November 2021, requires restoration equivalent to treatment of 2,998 acres of impervious surface not previously restored to the maximum extent practicable. It must also maintain annual alternative control practices equivalent to 199 restored impervious acres to sustain compliance with restoration requirements carried over from its previous permit. The financial plan forecasts that approximately 3,627 acres, or 121% of the restoration requirement, will be completed by the end of FY27. The administration said the apparent over-compliance principally reflects restoration activities already in planning that extend beyond the present permit term. Projected programme costs through FY27 total $324 million, while anticipated revenue is $343 million. Costs include Bureau of Watershed Protection and Restoration operating expenditure, debt service on Watershed Protection and Restoration Fund bonds, and the county grant programme supporting NGO-led restoration projects for which the county receives equivalent impervious-treatment credit. The plan draws on stormwater-fee revenue, WPRF bonds, state restoration grants, Bay Restoration Fund grants and, for selected shoreline-stabilisation projects, general-fund county bonds. Street sweeping and inlet cleaning are funded through the bureau’s operating budget. Septic connections to water reclamation facilities and denitrification upgrades are supported by Bay Restoration Fund grants. While the county budget office said the current FY27 stormwater-fee schedule is adequate to support the plan, longer-term revenue assumptions include a 3% annual fee increase in FY28 and 5% annual increases from FY29 to FY31. The projections also assume a 1% annual increase in equivalent residential units from development. The fiscal note states that no new positions are required and that associated operating costs are already included in the approved budget. Capital projects intended to support compliance are included in the B-Class of the approved FY27 six-year capital improvement programme. The resolution remained pending following its introduction.