Committee forwards ordinance to add civil penalties for erosion, pretreatment and illicit discharge violations

The Governmental Operations Standing Committee voted to forward Ordinance 2026-676, which would amend city code provisions governing erosion and stormwater management, pretreatment, and illicit discharges to add administrative civil penalties and supplement existing civil and criminal enforcement tools.

Lee Crowell, speaking for the Department of Public Utilities, said the amendment would "supplement current civil and criminal prosecution within city code to add administrative civil penalties" and align local enforcement with state practice. Crowell said the department has not regularly used the city-attorney prosecution pathway because that approach requires substantial city-attorney resources and court time for violations that often involve a few hundred to a few thousand dollars in penalties.

Crowell and committee members discussed common violations — including failure to stabilize construction sites (for example, missing silt fence), pretreatment exceedances by industrial facilities, and illicit discharges directly to the James River — and the department's regular inspection program for identifying noncompliance. Crowell said he had "no record of DPU ever sending any of these violations through the city attorney's office" in recent years because of the administrative burden.

Committee members also asked where any collected revenue would be recorded; Director Morris (DPU) said such revenue would be recorded as miscellaneous revenue and placed in the stormwater fund.

Chair Jared Jordan moved to recommend approval and forward the ordinance to council; the motion was seconded and approved on the committee floor. The committee did not record a detailed roll-call vote in the transcript beyond confirming "Yes" from one member and the chair's "Aye," and the motion was recorded as approved.