Marion Town Meeting to discuss stormwater management, outdoor water meters

MARION — Marion voters will consider adopting a stormwater management bylaw and a citizens petition that could allow secondary outdoor water meters at Fall Town Meeting on Monday, Nov. 24 at 6:45 p.m. in the Sippican Elementary School Auditorium.

All of Marion’s registered voters are eligible to attend, participate and vote.

Stormwater Management Bylaw. If approved by voters, the proposed stormwater management bylaw would require residents and commercial property owners to apply for stormwater management permits before beginning construction on projects that involve one acre of land or more.

The Town of Marion received a formal warning from the United States Environmental Protection Agency stating that they must adopt a construction-related Stormwater Management Bylaw no later than Monday, Dec. 15.

According to Town Administrator Geoffrey Gorman, Marion has delayed adopting this bylaw for approximately four years and Fall Town Meeting is the final opportunity to vote on it before potential penalties are placed on the town.

“It would be disingenuous for me to speculate on an amount,” said Gorman of the penalties. “[The Environmental Protect Agency] do, however, have tremendous leeway on the financial and administrative burdens they can impose on a town.”

The proposed permit process would ensure that construction projects comply with federal and state standards for stormwater management and environmental protection.

According to Planning Board Chair Andrew Daniel, the permit process “provides a targeted way to protect public and private property [and] drinking water supplies” and other natural resources, including wetlands, rivers and coastal waters.

Daniel explained that sediment and pollutant runoff from construction sites could potentially spill onto other properties, stormwater basins and stormwater management systems in town.

While the Planning Board is still in the process of drafting the potential rules and regulations of the permits, requiring erosion control and proper drainage systems at construction sites are some of the members' biggest concerns.

If the bylaw passes, public hearings would begin in December to discuss and finalize permit regulations and construction requirements with input from residents.

“Typical residential property maintenance such as gardening, landscaping [and] the installation of fences or driveways are not affected [by this bylaw],” said Daniel.

The Planning Board would be in charge of overseeing the permit process — including reviewing applications, approval or disapproval of permits, inspection of approved active projects and post-construction monitoring.

Daniel emphasized that the Planning Board wanted to propose a permit process that would be the “least burdensome” for residents and commercial property owners. Rather than having to seek approval from multiple boards, having the Planning Board oversee the permitting process in its entirety would allow for a more streamlined process.

If residential or commercial projects were to violate the bylaw and not comply with the proposed permit process, the Planning Board would have authority to write a cease and desist notice and charge fees of up to $300 to the perpetrators.

Outdoor water meters. Created by Marion resident and Planning Board Chair Andrew Daniel, a citizens petition could potentially allow residents to install secondary water meters on their property.

Marion currently uses a single meter water system in which sewer fees are included in outdoor water usage, despite the fact that outdoor water is not treated at the sewage treatment facility.

The citizens petition proposes that property owners with a secondary outdoor meter would receive a separate water bill once a year that solely charges for outdoor water without added sewer fees.

“Whatever water comes in, you’re being charged a sewer fee as well. If you’re watering your grass or your garden or washing your boat or your car, you’re getting hit with a sewer fee — even though the water is not going to the sewage treatment plant,” explained Daniel.

He emphasized that Marion has “extremely expensive sewer rates” and that while collecting signatures, he spoke with many residents who experienced similar struggles.

“I talked to people and I found that a lot of people had basically stopped using their outside water. They had nice lawns, but they had to let them go. [They] couldn’t have the garden anymore because they just couldn’t afford the sewer bill and it’s not right,” said Daniel. He received approximately 120 signatures in six hours.

Town officials and members of the Water and Sewer Regulations Review Committee expressed concern with the petition, stating that secondary water meters may result in increased sewer rates overall.

The Sewer Commissioners, who are comprised of the members of the Select Board, recommended voting to indefinitely postpone the citizens petition, due to the potential impact it would have on town revenue.

They estimated a potential revenue shortfall of $477,000 each year if property owners were to begin using secondary outdoor meters. This estimate is based on data collected from 351 Marion water accounts and their respective summer irrigation usage.

“Whatever we lose in sewer revenues has to be made up [somewhere],” said Select Board Member and Sewer Commissioner John Hoagland.

Daniel stated that since these numbers are estimates and the town cannot definitely determine how many residents would implement a second meter, there’s no guarantee that the revenue loss would be that drastic.

The Sewer Commissioners also recommended that the discussion of a secondary water meter system be passed onto the Water and Sewer Regulations Review Committee to allow for a broader conversation with town officials.