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Staff outlines what rejoining aquifer protection area would fund; $15 annual fee and roughly $2 million yearly estimated
Summary
City staff told council the proposed resolution would let the county ask residents whether they want to rejoin an aquifer protection area; staff explained the fee structure ($15 per parcel per year), potential uses (stormwater facilities, monitoring, well studies), and that about $2 million per year is expected with 20-year cycle.
City staff briefed Spokane City Council on April 7 about a county-led resolution that would ask city residents whether they want to rejoin an aquifer protection area; staff summarized the fee structure, likely uses, and regulatory context.
"It's not a property tax. It's a fee that's just collected through the property tax mechanism," Marlene Collins (staff member) said, explaining the charge would be an annual $15 per parcel fee, not a monthly tax, and that existing property-tax reductions for low-income residents generally would not apply to this fee.
Collins told the council the revenue model being discussed would generate roughly $2,000,000 a year and run on a 20-year cycle. A portion would remain with the county for education and monitoring programs; the remainder would come to the city for projects the city would prioritize. She said the county previously spent many years removing septic systems above the aquifer and that today priorities would likely include enhanced stormwater management, pollutant controls (including focus on emerging contaminants such as PFAS), and studies or construction to adapt to dropping groundwater levels (for example, digging wells deeper over time).
Council member Cathcart asked how the dollars would address PFAS and climate-change impacts; Collins responded the funds could be used for enhanced stormwater treatment and studies or construction such as deepening wells. Council member McCluskey asked why the West Plains area is not included; Collins explained that under state law (RCW) authority to create aquifer protection areas belongs to counties and the existing protection area covers the aquifer beneath the Rafter Prairie/Spokane Valley aquifer — the West Plains sit over a different aquifer and would require a separate county action.
Staff said a handful of parcels are still on septic and that there may be a small additional sewer charge for those not connected; they said the city and county are working to get those parcels connected. Collins also said she was not aware of a specific low-income exemption to the proposed fee.
The briefing did not include a council vote on rejoining; staff framed the item as authorizing the county to ask city residents whether they wish to join the aquifer protection area for the next 20-year cycle.
