In the continuing effort to clean up the Chesapeake Bay, a state board on Wednesday toughened rules on storm-water runoff—except for a measure regulating phosphorus pollution.

Until a report by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency was released in October, the Virginia Soil and Water Conservation Board intended to restrict phosphorous flowing off properties in the Chesapeake Bay watershed by another 38 percent. But the board abandoned the new rule due to EPA findings that the amount of phosphorous running into the bay is much smaller than originally thought.

It’s good news for property developers, who argued that the new phosphorous requirement was expensive and based on unproven estimates.

And it came as a surprise at the Department of Conservation and Recreation, said spokesperson Gary Waugh. Waugh said the DCR knew the EPA had a new study in the works, but didn’t expect it to change their understanding of phosphorous pollution in the Chesapeake.

“Yes, we knew that the EPA was working on modifying their models,” Waugh said. “Did we know the numbers were going to come back the way they did? No.”

Although opponents of the new regulations — including the Homebuilders Association of Virginia — have criticized the DCR for relying on faulty science, Waugh said the DCR is just being flexible based on the information available.

“We had recommended a stronger phosphorous standard in the Chesapeake Bay based on numbers that were available at the time,” he said. “When those numbers changed, we went back to the existing standard.”

While the board maintained the current phosphorus standards, they tightened several other storm-water regulations.

For the first time, all Virginia localities are required to start storm-water programs. If a locality can’t afford a program, the DCR will fund it, Waugh said. Currently, only localities within the Chesapeake Bay watershed are required to maintain storm-water programs.

Funding for the programs will come through raising permit fees, Waugh said. And new fees will be enacted on some permits which were free until now. Beginning July 1, 2010, filing a permit to construct on a property smaller than one acre will cost $200, while applying for an individual permit will cost $15,000.

Even if localities run the storm-water programs by themselves, they still have to send 70 percent of their fee income to the state, according to Waugh. They may ask the DCR to permit them to raise fees if they’re not making enough money, he said.

“Everything is tight with the (state) budget,” Waugh said. “But this is a fee-driven process.”

In light of the new rules, some developers say they see the phosphorous ruling as a small victory in the midst of confusing regulations. Barrett Hardiman, a lobbyist for the homebuilders association, says the board should wait to make any changes until the DCR and EPA jointly create a new phosphorus goal next year.

“Just dropping the (phosphorous standard) wasn’t enough,” he said. “What we really think the correct thing to do is set aside some of this other technical criteria. We think this is a bit premature and generates a lot of confusion as to where we’ll be in a year and a half.”