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Q1: Why does Lino Lakes need a Storm Water Utility? <br />The Lino Lakes Storm Water Utility (SWU) will fund Operations and Maintenance (O&M), <br />necessary to effectively manage Lino Lakes' storm water system. Both State and Federal <br />(NPDES) requirements related to storm water continue to increase. This fund will help <br />ensure requirements continue to be met and that the City storm water management <br />system continues to function as designed for water flow, flood protection, and water <br />quality. <br />Q2: What is NPDES? And why do we have to do this? <br />The National Pollution Discharge Elimination System (NPDES) is the enactment of the <br />Clean Water Act. Phase II of the program applies to cities over 10,000 persons. It is a <br />federally mandated program with specific requirements that the City must meet. The <br />permit contains limits on what you can discharge, monitoring and reporting <br />requirements, and other provisions to ensure that the discharge does not hurt water <br />quality or people's health. The cost of implementing this program locally is borne by the <br />City. <br />Q3: Why can't we just pay it from General Funds? <br />The City's General Funds are under increased pressures for funding for a variety of <br />essential services, including public safety, parks, road reconstruction etc., just to name a <br />few. There are not enough funds available to satisfy all the needs. <br />Q4: How is the storm water utility fund going to improve the community? <br />Funds generated from this utility will be used to protect, restore, and in some cases <br />enhance storm water quality within the city. <br />Q5: Why is the SWU the "most fair and equitable" method <br />The SWU is based upon the principal of "Users Pay". The more you discharge, the more <br />you pay. In addition, all property types will pay including tax exempt properties. Since <br />all types of properties contribute to the storm water infrastructure, all types should pay. <br />