City of Chattanooga officials decided to raise water quality fees after a critical June 22 state report that found 57 violations of the current permit and said the city stormwater program was woefully underfunded.

The 29-page report from the Tennessee Department of Environment and Conservation focused on solely operational issues, including inadequate records, training and sampling. There was no mandate to do flood abatement in stormwater programs, but that was left optional.

TDEC said funding for Chattanooga's stormwater program was far short and that no funds were listed for the program in 2009. It noted that the stormwater fee had not been raised since 1993.

In contrast, Hamilton County got high marks from TDEC in an October report.

The county program was found to be satisfactory in every area.

Richard Beeland of Mayor Ron Littlefield's office said, "We acknowledge that we have a number of violations, and that is why we have increased the water quality fee - so that we can move to correct them."

He said the city is encouraging those who have issues with the higher fee to file an appeal or to seek to obtain credits that would lessen the fee. He said residents can call 311 or the city water quality office.

After the TDEC report, the city moved to triple the water quality fee and that has brought a howl of protest from businesses and residents alike.

The city was holding a public hearing on the issue at City Hall today at 1 p.m.

County Commissioner John Brooks called the city hearing a "charade," saying improper notice was given and it was held at a time when many could not attend. The city did not send out a public notice about the meeting to the news media.

Mr. Beeland said, "We have been talking about this meeting for over a month. I am sorry that Mr. Brooks did not hear about it. We invite him and other commissioners to attend."

TDEC's Dr. Richard Urban said the city "failed to meet all conditions of their permit in the following areas: (1) monitoring (2) inspections (3) seasonal pollutant loading (4) field screening (5) training (6) maintenance inspection of city facilities and (7) financial.

Dr. Urban, who noted he had forwarded a copy of the critical report to EPA officials in Atlanta, said the city had not identified a number of outfall areas, that inspectors were not properly trained and equipment was not properly calibrated.

The report said the cost of the current stormwater program was more than $1.5 million above what the stormwater fee was bringing in.

It says the city was supposed to have identified all structures in its stormwater system within three years of getting its permit in 1999, but still has not done so. It says the city inventory is incomplete and contains incorrect information.

The report says the city has failed to address the issue of dealing with emissions and discharge of fluids from city vehicles. It said a pollution prevention plan was not in effect at the city yards.

It says the city failed to evaluate existing flood control facilities for retrofitting.

It says the city has failed to develop a program to prevent illicit discharges into the stormwater system.

The report says the city is not properly identifying and inspecting industrial facilities for discharges.

Inspection for City of Chattanooga

Inspection for Hamilton County