Late breaking proposal stabilizes and strengthens toxic cleanup and prevention systems

Perhaps one of the most surprising accomplishments of the 2019 session was the passage of a comprehensive Model Toxics Control Act (MTCA) reform bill, which includes dedicated funding for local stormwater projects. For most of the session the revenue conversation was dominated by other issues—capital gains, B&O rates, and the various ways to tier the real estate excise tax (REET). But late in the session the Senate introduced a massive reform to the MTCA fund, with significant benefits to cities.

AWC was consulted early on in the development of this proposal, and we held a special meeting of our Board’s legislative steering committee to determine whether we could support it. Despite general concerns about taxation, we recognized that by stabilizing the revenues to this account, by making it a volumetric rather than a value-based tax, cities would benefit from more consistent support from the state. The increased revenues would also provide a greater opportunity for redevelopment of contaminated sites and make good on a more than ten-year effort to provide dedicated stormwater funding at the state level. We were able to secure an inflation adjuster on the tax rate so the buying power of the account will remain steady into the future—as important over the long term as the initial rate.

AWC joined a coalition that included the ports, counties, and environmental community to advocate for this measure. When the bill was amended to get support for final passage, we had to think hard about the diversions to support the Department of Transportation’s stormwater obligations and what that might mean for the future of the fund—as well as the continued shift of state general fund environmental programs onto this funding stream. At the end of the day, however, this proposal provides a significant enhancement in cleanup resources, as well as dedicated funding for stormwater.