Storm Drain Cleanup Fees May Rise : Pollution: The county and its 10 cities would use the money to monitor runoff in catch basins.

Ventura County residents may have to pay up to $15 more per year to meet federal regulations to clean up storm drains, the largest unregulated source of pollution in county rivers and coastal waters.

The county’s 188 miles of storm drain channels collect runoff from city streets and gutters, emptying fertilizer residue, bits of car tires, crank case oil and other pollutants into waterways that empty into the ocean.

Under a $3-million plan presented to Ventura County supervisors Tuesday, the county and its 10 cities would use the increased fees to monitor pollution in catch basins and step up street sweeping and storm-drain cleaning.

But they will also spend a good deal of time and money on public education, said Alex Sheydayi, manager of the county’s Flood Control Department.

“We have to teach people: ‘Don’t use too much fertilizer; don’t let the guy who mows your lawn blow leaves into the gutter, and don’t drain the oil from your car into the catch basins,’ ” Sheydayi said. The county has already begun installing blue-stenciled signs next to catch basins that state: “Don’t dump; drains to ocean.”

The plan is designed to comply with the federal Clean Water Act, which requires storm drains to be monitored, assessed for their pollutant content, and eventually cleaned up.

But some around the county complained that the federal government should not mandate work without paying for it, and that other sources should be found to offset the cost of the cleanup to homeowners and business people.

“The county should request more favorable treatment from the state and federal government,” said Michael L. Saliba, executive director of the Ventura County Taxpayers Assn.

Ventura Councilman James Monahan agreed.

“I’m against any kind of mandate,” he said. “If (the federal government) is going to mandate what we are doing, they should send along the money to do it.”

The supervisors Tuesday asked Arthur Goulet, director of the county’s Public Works Agency, to prepare a list of alternative means of funding before the first public hearing on the fees, scheduled for 10 a.m. June 7. A second public hearing is set for 10 a.m. July 12.

Under the plan, which will be reviewed at both public hearings before it is approved or implemented, annual flood control assessments would increase by $1.08 in part of Thousand Oaks and by as much as $15.82 in Ojai.

Most residents of Ventura, Oxnard and Camarillo would pay from $7 to $8 more. Santa Paula residents would be tapped for another $10.98, and Fillmore residents for an additional $5.33.

Fees in the rest of Thousand Oaks would go up by $4.92. Residents of Simi Valley would pay about $5.16 less on their annual flood control assessments because their city has decided to pay for its program with existing property tax money.

“Because of the earthquake, our residents are already under economic strain,” said Anne Alloway, a Simi Valley environmental official. “The City Council wanted to keep the fees as low as possible.”

In Moorpark, city officials also decided to use existing funds to pay for the program.

Under the county proposal, all other cities and unincorporated areas in the county would fund their portions of the program with an increased annual flood-control assessment on property tax bills.

The total flood-control assessment, which also includes fees for normal operation and maintenance of flood control channels, now ranges from $12.23 in part of Thousand Oaks to $40.76 in unincorporated areas around Moorpark.

The funds are to be spent by the cities within their boundaries and by the county in unincorporated areas to educate people to keep storm drains free of trash.

City and county officials also must monitor pollutants in the storm drains and clean them out periodically.

The cities will gradually assume more responsibility for the program, Sheydayi said.

Under a new law, the county is authorized not to notify all the affected residents by mail, but to advertise instead in a newspaper. That would save the county about $60,000, Goulet said.

But supervisors said they were concerned that people would miss the advertisement and be surprised when they saw the increase on their bills.

“People call my office when they get increases on their bills,” Supervisor John K. Flynn said. Supervisors will discuss whether to mail notices at the public hearings.