Director Charlie Martin of the Division of Water Quality briefed the Environmental Quality and Public Works Committee on May 13 on the cityincentive grant program funded by the water quality management fee.

Martin said the fee and grant program trace to the consent decree negotiated with the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency; the city adopted an implementing code of ordinances and a task force recommended creating an incentive grant program around 2009. "The water quality management fee actually started from the consent decree," Martin said. He explained the fee is calculated in equivalent residential units (ERUs), with 1 ERU equal to 2,500 square feet of impervious surface.

Martin described the programstructure: the ordinance directs 10% of total annual water-quality revenue to grants; allocation is split by property class (Class A: single-family residential and farms; Class B: institutional, commercial and multifamily). Martin said the programannual award pool has grown from about $1.2 million initially to more than $1.6 million in fiscal 2025 due to CPI escalators and growth in impervious area.

He summarized eligibility and caps: Class A (mostly homeowners associations) receive 17% of annual grant funding, require a 20% local cost share and have a maximum award of $120,000; education grants exclude the first $3,000 of project cost and have a $40,000 cap; Class B infrastructure awards account for about 77% of any yearallocation and carry a higher cap (Martin cited $360,000). Martin also described a change-order allowance created to help projects complete work after COVID-era inflation drove up costs, and said the program has produced some cancellations when awardees declined to proceed.

Martin pointed to an "innovative" grantee: the University of Kentucky harvested rainwater for use in campus cooling towers, removing trash and reducing downstream flow. "They're harvesting rainwater and using it in their cooling towers at the physical plant," Martin said, calling it a "win-win." He said staff wants to add research and monitoring of best-management practices (BMPs) to quantify effectiveness.

Council members asked how council offices and staff can increase outreach and make the grant process easier for neighborhood groups and smaller nonprofit applicants. Council member Curtis asked how district offices can better communicate availability to groups that are not well organized as HOAs; Martin said staff already does outreach and offered to attend neighborhood meetings and to provide materials well in advance of grant deadlines.

Sponsor Council member Savigny said he will work with Division staff and an intern this summer to develop program tweaks and a fall rollout if changes are adopted so applicants have adequate lead time. "My plan is to basically take this and work with these guys that work on these grants and come up with some ideas... hopefully by the fall we could have a rollout," Savigny said.

No formal motions or votes on program changes were recorded at the meeting; the presentation concluded with committee questions and staff offers to return with recommendations.