Contributor Blog

What if the utility company asked you how much you made when you called to start service in a new home?  What if they wanted this information to tie your bill to your salary and not to how much gas, electricity or water you used?  Would that seem fair?  That’s how some communities are treating developers when determining how much stormwater they should be required to manage.  But regulations that link stormwater standards to the developer’s ability to pay are neither fair nor efficient.  Environmental regulations and their costs should be directly linked to the impact on the environment, not to profit margins.

In my last blog post, I talked about some of the challenges and growth pressures coastal communities are facing.  Within 10 years, the coastal population is expected to grow by 12 million people—or by 3,600 people per day.  This growth poses unique opportunities—and challenges—to coastal communities. The issue facing these communities becomes one of balance: how to maximize the opportunities waterfront development can provide to a community and, at the same time, meet the often significant challenges.  

It’s not just those buff lifeguards.  Most coastal and Great Lakes states have a coastal zone management program.  And not only are the coastal zone managers watching the beach, they are watching what’s being built in their communities.  In fact, in recent interviews of coastal zone managers, 56 out of 58 said growth was the top pressure on coastal resources in their state.   

How important are the names we use? As Shakespeare said, "What's in a name? That which we call a rose by any other name would smell as sweet." I’ve been struck by this thought recently as I’ve been considering the myriad of organizations and stakeholders trying to have their particular term for stormwater management techniques be more widely adopted in the nomenclature.