CLARKSTON - Storm water is a hot topic, as the feds say it's time to enforce the Clean Water Act.

"We would be looking at $50,000-$60,000 a day in fines," said Clarkston Public Works Director Jim Martin, referring to the scenario if they do not comply. "It's not something we could say ‘I am sorry Mr. Government, we aren't going to be able to do this.’ If we had the opportunity to have the Department of Ecology say ‘well no, you don't have to do this,’ we certainly wouldn't be doing it."

Clarkston, Asotin and Asotin County held a hearing Tuesday night to discuss a new storm water ordinance.

Currently, when anything flows through a storm drain in Clarkston it is not processed through the wastewater treatment plant or any other system.

"If you see paint going into a storm drain, it's going into the river, if a cigarette butt gets tossed into a storm drain, it goes into the river," said Martin. "So we have to address those things. Unfortunately it is an un-funded mandate."

And without federal dollars, taxpayers will have to pay for a fix that could include additional street sweeping and storm drain cleanings, as well as enforcement.

Martin said they aren't ready to talk costs yet, but they are working to keep it as low as possible by pooling resources county-wide. He said there are easy fixes such as washing your car on your lawn or putting a fabric filter on your storm drain to stop dirty water from entering the river.

"There's some idea out there that you wont be able to wash your car in your driveway, that there will be an effect on charity car washes and that sort of thing," said Martin. "Really what this does is the Department of Ecology is handling this through an education process. Sure, there will be ordinances that deal with infractions and that sort of thing, but it's targeted toward the habitual violator, somebody who blatantly put something in a drain that affects our rivers."

Martin said everything from paint to building supplies is found in the city storm drains.

The Department of Ecology is looking at the possibility of making jurisdictions build treatment plants for storm water.

"Hopefully it wont come to that, if we can address it through an educational process and get people with the mindset that ‘yes, what I put down the storm drain will go into the river,’ - we may never have to get to that point," said Martin.

For more information on storm water and the ordinance: www.asotincountystormwater.com