Harford County Executive to Propose Rain Tax Repeal

Harford County Executive David Craig announced Tuesday that he will ask the County Council to repeal the "rain tax" next month.

Ten Maryland jurisdictions were required as of July 1 to collect the "rain tax," which is a stormwater remediation fee mandated by the Maryland General Assembly.

"At the time [of its passage] we had...many serious questions regarding this state-required fee and the projects that it would fund," Craig said during a Sept. 17 press conference at Boyle Buick GMC Truck, which he said would be negatively impacted should the fee continue.

The Abingdon auto dealership's "rain tax" bill was $295 for fiscal year 2014 but would be $2,953 next year, according to a prepared statement from Craig.

The stormwater fee is based on square footage of impervious surfaces, like parking lots, where runoff can negatively affect the Chesapeake Bay.

“While I share the desire for a clean and healthy bay, as most of us probably do...our businesses and taxpayers expect us as county government to act as their last line of defense against over-the-top policies from the state and federal governments whenever possible, and that is what I intend to do," Craig said.

According to a press release, Craig and other Harford County lawmakers lobbied against the tax, which passed through the Maryland General Assembly in 2012.

At first, Harford County government told constituents that it was complying with the measure because failure to do so could result in heavy fines and denial of state permits like highway access. However, Craig said Tuesday that he was not convinced the state would take action should the rain tax be repealed.

"I am now of the opinion that the leadership in Annapolis is no longer in a position to follow through on the threatened penalties for noncompliance given the public backlash that their ‘Rain Tax’ mandate has rightly received," Craig said in a prepared statement. "To date, none of our questions have been adequately answered by the State of Maryland or the [Environmental Protection Agency]. In fact if anything, there are even more questions."

Craig said he will introduce legislation before the County Council on Oct. 1. requesting the full repeal of the rain tax in Harford County.