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Board signs MS4 MOU to include school properties in county stormwater permit, acknowledges CIP implications
Summary
The board approved an MOU to include Spotsylvania school properties in the county’s MS4 stormwater permit to coordinate inspections, outreach and reporting. Staff warned that corrective work on school stormwater facilities could require future CIP funding and possible inclusion in the next bond referendum.
The Spotsylvania County School Board voted unanimously July 14 to execute a memorandum of understanding (MOU) allowing the county to include the school division in the county’s municipal separate storm sewer (MS4) permit with the Virginia Department of Environmental Quality.
County environmental staff explained the designation — triggered by urbanized area boundaries from the 2020 census — requires a coordinated MS4 program plan covering six minimum control measures (public education/outreach, public involvement, illicit discharge detection and elimination, construction runoff control, post‑construction stormwater management, and pollution prevention/good housekeeping). Including the schools avoids duplicate permitting and aims to centralize mapping, inspections and annual reporting to DEQ.
Deanna Johnson (county environmental director) and Rusty Davis (school operations) outlined responsibilities in the proposed MOU: the county would act as permit holder and develop the MS4 program plan and TMDL (total maximum daily load) action plans, perform outfall mapping and inspections, and coordinate training and outreach; the school division would maintain school‑owned stormwater infrastructure, address inspection deficiencies on school property, reimburse the county for defined services, and submit an annual stormwater activity report.
Board members focused questions on cost: operations staff said the full scope and cost of corrective work is not yet known, noting that detailed inspections and capital work are typically done in fall/winter and that some projects could be capital‑level work suitable for inclusion in the division’s CIP and a future bond referendum. Staff said initial efforts will inventory school stormwater facilities and produce a cost estimate for any remediation.
The board approved the MOU to meet the county’s DEQ submission deadline; staff said executing the MOU is the more cost‑effective approach, though it does not eliminate future local costs for infrastructure upgrades.
What’s next: operations staff will complete outfall mapping and inspection lists, estimate remedial costs, and include projects in the division’s forthcoming CIP if needed. The superintendent and county will coordinate reporting to DEQ under the unified permit structure.
