Stormwater advisory committee details maintenance, ARPA projects and culvert replacements; fee structure explained
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Summary
The town’s stormwater staff and the Stormwater Advisory Committee reported recent maintenance, pipe replacements, and larger Capital Improvement Projects funded partly by ARPA, and reviewed the town’s current stormwater fee tiers and permit obligations under the NPDES Phase II program.
Town stormwater staff and the Stormwater Advisory Committee (SWAC) presented the program’s annual report to the Indian Trail Town Council on Tuesday, outlining maintenance work, recent culvert replacements, ARPA-funded projects and the stormwater fee structure.
A staff presenter summarized recent maintenance highlights and capital projects. He reported that the town’s street-sweeping program is now run in-house, that crews installed new 36-inch pipe in the Grovermore area and replaced a box culvert behind Rogers Road that included a new catch basin and sidewalk tie-in. The presentation also detailed multiple culvert projects in the Clover Bend subdivision (replacement of old 36-inch corrugated metal pipe with precast box culverts) and proposed larger replacements for Pioneer/Bow Brook culverts.
Why it matters: The stormwater fund supports maintenance and capital work tied to the town’s NPDES (National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System) Phase II permit. Several of the projects the committee highlighted are necessary to reduce local flooding risk, to prepare for resurfacing contracts and to maintain compliance with permit requirements.
Fees and permit duties: Staff reiterated the existing residential stormwater tiers included in the report: Tier 1 (smaller homes) is billed $53.10 per year; Tier 2 is $63.60 per year; commercial parcels are charged additional Equivalent Residential Units at $40.50 each per year. The committee outlined the six program elements required by the NPDES Phase II permit: public education/outreach, public involvement/participation, illicit discharge detection and elimination, construction site runoff, post-construction runoff and pollution prevention/good housekeeping.
ARPA-funded work and budgets: Staff described ARPA-funded stormwater maintenance projects. He said the ARPA stormwater maintenance project Phase 2 had a total estimated cost of $1,900,000 with $1,300,000 from ARPA and the remainder from the stormwater fund; inspection services (CEI) cost estimates of roughly $195,000 were included because federal funds require construction inspection and compliance documentation. First Avenue Phase 2 had an original budget around $2,000,000 with roughly $286,000 unspent at the time of the presentation.
Planned larger projects: Staff noted two larger culvert-replacement projects — Pioneer/Bow Brook — that could approach $2 million or more each once designed and permitted. Staff said easement acquisition is pending for some of those locations and that the town would begin outreach to affected homeowners.
Next steps and reporting: The committee’s presenter said the SWAC approves stormwater-related contracts before they go to council. Staff will return with design and easement steps for the proposed culvert projects and will bring any needed budget or project ordinances to council for approval.
Ending: Council members thanked the committee and staff for the report and asked staff to continue monitoring priorities as design and easement work progress.
