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Cramerton board hears stormwater compliance briefing after NCDEQ audit
Summary
At a May 7 workshop, Stormwater Administrator Chase Sturgis told the Town of Cramerton Board of Commissioners that an NCDEQ audit found the town's stormwater program noncompliant; the town has raised its ERU fee to $6 and plans an additional technician funded by that fee to move toward compliance ahead of a 2027 re-audit.
At a May 7 workshop, the Town of Cramerton Board of Commissioners heard a presentation from Stormwater Administrator Chase Sturgis outlining the town’s recent stormwater program history and steps to reach compliance with state and federal requirements.
Sturgis told the board that beginning in 2018 the state (NCDEQ) signaled stricter enforcement tied to EPA standards, prompting the town to move to an Equivalent Residential Unit (ERU) fee structure and to increase charges on nonresidential properties with high impervious surface. He summarized consulting work, including mapping and a Stormwater Master Plan developed with LaBella and follow-up work by HDR, and said the town rejoined the Regional Stormwater Partnership of the Carolinas to assist with outreach and education.
Sturgis reported that a 2022 NCDEQ audit found the town’s stormwater program “not in compliance,” citing underfunding and understaffing. According to the presentation, NCDEQ recommended the program have two full-time staff members; the town raised the stormwater fee to $6 per ERU and hired a Stormwater Administrator in 2023. Sturgis said the budget and fee study included a second position, a Stormwater Technician, planned for hire in fiscal year 2024–25 and that the technician would be fully funded by stormwater fee revenues. He also noted that another DEQ audit is scheduled in 2027 and that noncompliance after that audit could expose the town to fines described in the audit guidance (the presentation referenced potential fines as high as $10,000 per day).
The presentation was informational; no formal board vote on staffing or fee changes was recorded at the workshop. Town Manager Zach Ollis and Sturgis indicated that stormwater revenues are expected to rise as new development is completed, which was cited as part of the plan to fund the recommended technician.
The briefing makes clear the town is in a multi-year compliance effort that combines consultant work, fee adjustments and planned staff additions. Next formal milestones noted in the presentation include hiring the technician in FY24/25 and preparing for a DEQ re-audit in 2027.
