From The Pueblo Chieftain (Chris Woodka):
The city plans to eat up the last of its stormwater funds generated from 2007-09 to finish up one project and meet its requirements for Environmental Protection Agency and Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment stormwater permits through next year.
Then, it will have to look to its general fund to meet the permit costs.Colorado Springs will spend only one-fifth of what it would have generated if the stormwater enterprise were still in place, and has nothing left for capital projects. City Council eliminated the enterprise nearly one year ago.
The news rankled Pueblo political and environmental leaders, who say Colorado Springs told the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation and Pueblo County commissioners the stormwater enterprise would help deal with growth issues created by the Southern Delivery System. “They consistently mentioned the stormwater enterprise and the $70 million in critical projects it would address,” said state Rep. Sal Pace, D-Pueblo, who protested unsuccessfully to Reclamation when the enterprise was dissolved. “It really appears Colorado Springs is not meeting their obligations under the Pueblo County 1041 permit as well.”[…]
In a memo presented to Council Monday, city staff reported there are only enough funds to partially cover next year’s projected stormwater costs.
The city only spent $26.5 million to deal with six of the highest priorities on a $300 million list of backlogged projects, $66 million of which were called critical. Of that, $5.6 million came from grants and partnerships. “No dedicated funding or engineering staff are projected to be budgeted in 2011 for stormwater capital improvement projects,” the memo states. Stormwater maintenance projects have been turned over to the the city street department, which will mainly respond to citizen complaints about structures that are not working properly, according to the staff report.
More stormwater coverage here.