§ 3-6. Credits; Exemptions.

(a) In general.

The rules and regulations adopted by the Director of Public Works under this article shall establish a system of credits and exemptions that may be used to reduce the base fee.

(b) Basis.

(1) The system shall provide credits for:

(i) specific actions that reduce the quantity or improve the quality of stormwater discharged from the property;

(ii) specific actions that improve the quality of stormwater discharged to the City stormwater management system;

(iii) properties subject to an NPDES industrial stormwater discharge permit that requires stormwater management or that have been determined by the Maryland Department of the Environment to be exempt from stormwater permitting due to a condition of no exposure, for a credit equal to 55% of the base fee; and

(iv) any portion of a property that discharges directly to the Baltimore Harbor and not through the City's stormdrain system, for a credit equal to 30% of the base fee.

(2) The system shall provide hardship exemptions for:

(i) any portion of a property where the stormwater is permitted by the Department to connect to the public wastewater system;

(ii) streets that, in lieu of publicly maintained streets, are privately maintained, but open to the public, in single-family residential communities;

(iii) any portion of a property where caps or other impervious surfaces are required to encapsulate a recognized Superfund area or to protect subterranean structures, as required by the State of Maryland or the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency; and

(iv) any other property where a demonstrable and substantial financial hardship exists as a result of the stormwater remediation fee.

(1) In this subsection, "historic cooperative property" means property owned by a cooperative housing corporation:

(i) formed under the Maryland Cooperative Housing Corporation Act, State Corporations and Associations Article, Title 5, Subtitle 6B; and

(ii) existing on or before 1965.

(2) Residents of an historic cooperative property that maintains an onsite stormwater management system and are experiencing financial hardship because they are subject to dual assessments to fund both a community system and the City stormwater management system shall receive a reduction of its stormwater remediation fee as follows:

(i) an historic cooperation property that maintains an onsite stormwater management system that conveys stormwater from its property to a public stormwater maintenance system shall receive a 40% credit against its total fee; and

(ii) an historic cooperative property that maintains an onsite stormwater management system that conveys stormwater from a neighboring community to a public stormwater maintenance facility shall receive a 40% credit against its total fee.