Citrus County, FL Environmental Rules: Stormwater Management (2026)
Key Facts
- Adopted
- Ord. No. 2020-01, Jan. 7, 2020
- Driven by
- Federal NPDES stormwater permit mandate
- Funding tools
- Utility fees, assessments, grants, bonds
- Fund type
- Separate enterprise fund (§ 99-21)
- Rate-setting
- Board resolution + public hearing
Summary
Citrus County runs its own stormwater utility under Code Chapter 99, created to meet the county's federal NPDES stormwater permit obligations and to fund drainage systems and facilities through utility fees and assessments charged to benefited property across unincorporated Citrus County.
Through the national pollutant discharge elimination system stormwater permitting program, the U. S. Environmental Protection Agency, as implemented by the Florida Department of Environmental Protection, has mandated the county to implement and fund a comprehensive stormwater management program to reduce the contamination of stormwater runoff and prohibit illicit discharges... There is hereby established a stormwater utility, which shall be the operational means of implementing and otherwise carrying out the functional requirements of the county's stormwater management system to construct or acquire stormwater management facilities and provide stormwater management services.
Official source re-checked September 7, 2026: no newer edition of the code had been published (publisher’s edition: Code of Ordinances: Supplement 76).
Full Breakdown
Chapter 99, adopted by Ordinance No. 2020-01 on January 7, 2020, creates a dedicated stormwater utility for Citrus County. S. 0893 specifically authorizes counties to adopt stormwater charges to fund that work. Section 99-10 establishes the utility itself as the operating arm that plans, builds, operates and maintains the county's stormwater facilities, ranging from inlets and ditches to retention and detention basins, run by a director appointed by the county administrator. Sections 99-12 and 99-13 let the Board of County Commissioners create 'stormwater management areas' by resolution, describing the geographic boundary and stormwater basin plan for each area, with municipal areas addressable only through an interlocal agreement.
Article III funds the utility through stormwater utility fees, stormwater assessments, permit and inspection fees, grants and bonds (Section 99-20), all deposited into a dedicated enterprise fund kept separate from the county's general fund (Section 99-21). Fee and assessment rates are set by board resolution after a public hearing advertised at least ten days ahead in a newspaper of general circulation (Section 99-22(c)(3)). Separately, Article VI of Chapter 42 (Environment) addresses NPDES illicit stormwater connections and discharges. All of this governs unincorporated Citrus County; Crystal River and Inverness run their own municipal stormwater systems unless an interlocal agreement brings city property into a county stormwater management area.
Violations & Fines
Chapter 99 is a funding and utility-creation ordinance rather than a criminal code: unpaid charges are collected via the ad valorem tax bill under Chapter 86's Uniform Assessment Collection Act, added to the utility bill, or billed separately, per Section 99-23. Illicit-discharge violations into the stormwater system are separately enforced under the NPDES article of Chapter 42, not under Chapter 99 itself.
Frequently Asked Questions
Does Citrus County have its own stormwater management program?
Why did Citrus County create a stormwater utility?
How does the county set stormwater fee rates?
Sources & Official References
Other rules in Citrus County
Florida rules heatmap·Compare Citrus County to another location·View the Florida environmental rules overview
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