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Committee moves to exempt federal installations from county stormwater fees, credits past bills
Summary
Beaufort County committee amended its stormwater ordinance to stop billing certain federal properties (Marine Corps Recruit Depot Parris Island, Marine Corps Air Station Beaufort, Naval Hospital) and to credit prior fees and penalties; amended ordinance advanced to county council.
Beaufort County’s Public Facilities Committee voted to amend the county stormwater ordinance to stop billing several federal installations and to credit prior unpaid stormwater fees and penalties.
Committee members and staff said the change responds to litigation risk and operational realities: the county will no longer charge the Marine Corps Recruit Depot Parris Island, Marine Corps Air Station Beaufort, or the Naval Hospital for stormwater utility fees going forward, and the ordinance amendment directs credits for prior billed amounts and associated penalties for accounts billed before Aug. 1, 2025.
“Federally owned lands which qualify for an exemption pursuant to paragraph 8 are acknowledged as having a self sufficient federal stormwater management system or having little or no impervious surfaces and shall therefore receive a 100 percent credit for any previous fees, penalties, or cost of collection assessed prior to 08/01/2025,” a committee member moved as amended language for the ordinance.
Staff and committee members said the county previously paused litigation over assessment of fees to the federal properties after mayoral and council actions in 2022 by partner municipalities; this ordinance change, they said, codifies that practice so the auditor will stop issuing bills and the accounts will not be treated as delinquent.
Legal and fiscal points: staff told the committee that some federal lands (for example, portions of the ACE Basin or Pinkney Island) have virtually no impervious surface and others have their own stormwater management systems; the item’s fiscal impact to the county is limited to lost future fee revenue because the billed amounts had not been collected and the county will not be paying previously collected sums back. Brian (county staff) and a Marine Corps representative addressed the committee and thanked staff for working toward resolution.
Action: the committee first approved an amendment to Section 109 of the stormwater ordinance and then approved the ordinance as amended; the item will move to county council for final action.
Ending: staff said the ordinance amendment should resolve outstanding billing disputes with federal agencies and remove a source of litigation risk going forward.
