Here’s how much a stormwater fee could cost EBR’s biggest landowners - Greater Baton Rouge Business Report

Here’s how much a stormwater fee could cost EBR’s biggest landowners

While it hasn’t been in the news much lately, officials and stakeholders are working toward a solution to East Baton Rouge Parish’s stormwater issues.

City-parish officials last month turned in a draft plan to the state Department of Environmental Quality, which is under review. The Metro Council in August approved spending $3.5 million in unassigned general funds for stormwater compliance, and Mayor Sharon Weston Broome expects to recommend doing the same next year.

But the model to pay for ongoing compliance and potential capital improvement projects remains a work in progress. Broome’s Stormwater Advisory Committee has held eight meetings this year, though it has not settled on recommendations of what should be proposed to the public.

Five stormwater utility fees currently are on the table, ranging from 26 cents to $1.65 per 500 feet of impermeable surface. Ratepayers initially would be asked to cover options ranging from minimal compliance to up to $300 million in capital improvements, though ramping up the fee over time is possible.

Based on information the city-parish environmental services director shared with committee members, here’s what that range could look like annually for some of EBR’s biggest landowners (numbers are rounded off):

- ExxonMobil: $283,000 at the lowest level to $1.8 million at the highest
- LSU: $144,000 to $916,000
- State of Louisiana: $140,000 to $886,000
- EBR School Board: $96,500 to $612,000
- Greater Baton Rouge Airport District: $96,200 to $610,200
- BREC: $45,500 to $288,700
- City-parish: $63,400 to $402,400
- Our Lady of the Lake hospital: $32,900 to $208,500
- Paxon Polymer Company: $27,800 to $176,400
- Walmart: $27,600 to $175,100.

At last week’s meeting, advisory committee members suggested that meeting with some of the top landowners to explain the fee and get buy-in might be a good idea. Explaining it to voters, who would likely have to approve the fee, could be the biggest challenge, some members said.

Landowners also may be able to apply for credits for a discount on their fees based on their efforts to mitigate stormwater issues.