When Virginia Department of Transportation officials close Monday the public comment period on new secondary road regulations, they will likely hear strong objections from Montgomery County officials.

Overall, the regulations seek to tighten standards that will ensure new state-maintained neighborhood streets are more pedestrian-friendly and are well-connected to major roadways. But new rules covering engineering inspections for new roads have drawn the ire of Montgomery County's supervisors, who said the changes cap a rising trend of placing responsibilities once handled at the state level on the shoulders of localities.

County Administrator Clay Goodman told the board of supervisors Tuesday that proposed road inspection fee increases to be paid to developers and new rules that could shift road quality-assurance responsibilities from VDOT to private engineering firms could scare off new projects. Supervisors chairwoman Annette Perkins agreed and authorized Goodman to draft a letter to VDOT detailing the county's concerns.

"I assume that as growth occurs in Virginia and there's no money in transportation for these kinds of things, they're going to be looking to the ... localities more and more." Perkins said. "They don't really want to have to put out the funds to take care of these issues that come with growth."

VDOT assistant administrator Robert Hofrichter, however, disputed the county's characterization of the regulations' impact, saying the fee increases are modest, from $5,500 to $6,500. He added that moving from a system in which VDOT conducts all inspections to one that allows private engineers to do the work was "another option," adding, "We didn't put it in there to replace VDOT."

Steve Sandy, the county's planning director, said much of his concern stems from the county's experience with the Virginia Department of Health, which similarly changed rules to allow private firms to inspect septic system installations. Soon after the change, Sandy said, health officials scaled back inspection so drastically that the majority of inspections are now conducted privately at greater expense.

"This has the potential to cost the developer more," he said. "The thing it's going to do to the county is any increase the developer incurs is going to be reflected in the lot price, which raises the housing prices for the county."

Also at issue are new stormwater management regulations that County Engineer Ron Bonnema said do little to clarify who should take responsibility for erosion and other drainage issues once new subdivisions are built.

The county, Bonnema wrote in a memo to supervisors, lacks "the staff, equipment or source of revenue to deal with" stormwater runoff problems, and he said the regulations create a "black hole" of accountability.

"Whose responsibility is it to maintain? By the rules they're adopting, they're saying 'It's not ours,' " Bonnema said, noting the county doesn't have revenue streams such as state-levied gas taxes to cover stormwater maintenance costs. "The whole thing is dumped into limbo. It should be done, but there should be funding other than property tax to maintain all of these drainage right-of-ways."

Most of the regulations up for adoption are the result of legislation passed last year aimed at offsetting congestion created by subdivisions with too many cul-de-sacs and too few outlets to main roads, said David Clarke, a VDOT residency administrator who oversees Montgomery and Pulaski counties.

Stormwater rules are becoming a higher priority for VDOT because "we don't want [roads] falling apart two years after we take it over because then we get blamed." Any added responsibilities the county might have to take over would be considered as part of the comment process, he said.

If there's one thing the county and VDOT agree on, it's the regulations regarding better-connected roadways. The county has similar requirements written into its comprehensive plan and would seek to challenge the regulations only when mountainous areas made connectivity unfavorable.

Supervisor Doug Marrs acknowledged the letter being sent to VDOT in some ways sounded similar to common complaints about localities bearing an unfair burden. But he said he hoped it sent a message about how much the county was willing to put up with.

"I think the people's forking out a lot of money when the state ought to be taking their own responsibility and not push it back on the local governments," Marrs said. "If we sit here in Montgomery County and we don't say anything, then I think everybody would assume we go along with all this stuff. But at least if we write back a response and let them know how we feel, at least they know what our response is."