Shockingly, Government Official Approves of Higher Taxes

I somehow had the belief that it was not the role of government to use government funds to lobby for public policy.  I guess I was wrong because the executive director of EPA Chesapeake Bay Program is absolutely lobbying for increased stormwater fees in this post in EPA Bay Program's Chesapeake Bay News:

Letter from Leadership: Stormwater fees a useful funding source

I bristle when I hear people refer to stormwater utility fees as a “rain tax.” In fact, these fees generate critical funding for green practices that mitigate the effects that roads, parking lots and rooftops have on our environment.
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Stormwater utility fees provide an equitable means for generating revenue based on the amount of impervious surface. The revenue can then be used to make these improvements. Most utilities also provide exemptions from these fees for homeowners or businesses that adopt these green practices. By promoting these practices, the costs of property damage associated with flooding are reduced, which can reduce the overall tax burden as well. Mother Nature teaches best and, in the end, it costs less.

As I've said before, recently, I don't believe that these costs will be enforced equitably.  We've already seen how nonprofits are trying for blanket exemptions, and I strongly feel that in at least on jurisdiction, rural landowners will be hit in far greater proportion to their impact compared to urban landowners.

But I'm still gratified that it looks like they will at least go into effect in the more urban counties first, the people who voted for the people who will impose these costs on them.