The city found out in a presentation Thursday night that it may have to spend about $1.3 million to purchase "credits" for not meeting the required standards for its MS4 permit — and roughly $11 million over the next five years to meet those standards.

The 2010 United States Census results established Staunton, Waynesboro, and Augusta County as an urbanized area. Any urbanized areas within the boundaries set by the Environmental Protection Agency would have to meet the requirements of an MS4 permit.

A municipal separate storm sewer system (MS4) collects mostly rainwater and is separate from the sanitary sewer system. The system discharges water back into waterways without treatment, and is regulated under the Federal Clean Water Act and the Virginia Stormwater Management Act.

Guidelines are set by the EPA and passed down to the state, which mandates localities to maintain their stormwater systems up to certain standards that control the amount of pollutants being sent back into the waterways, which eventually impact the Chesapeake Bay.

Council member Brad Arrowood asked if any localities had appealed the standards set forward by the EPA. According to Thompson, no locality has gotten to the point that it would be a viable action relative to the time and money needed to fight the standards.