A. Statement of Purpose: The Metropolitan Council Environmental Services (MCES) Agency reserves unused capacity in the Metropolitan Disposal System (MDS) each year for local government units in which new buildings will be connected to the system or new connections to the system are commenced during each year and allocates the debt service costs of such unused capacity for the year among such local government units. In order for the City to pay such costs allocated to it each year, sewer service availability and connection charges are levied for all new connections or increased volume to the Metropolitan Disposal System.
B. Service Availability Charge Established:
1. For the purpose of paying costs of reserve capacity allocated to the City each year by the Metropolitan Council Environmental Services Agency, there is hereby established a service availability charge (SAC) for:
a. The availability of treatment works and interceptors comprising the Metropolitan Disposal System; and
b. Connections, direct and indirect, to the Metropolitan Disposal System.
2. The charge is imposed on each building or structure in the City and each connection to the Metropolitan Disposal System directly or through the City’s system, inside any sewer service area established by the Metropolitan Council Environmental Services Agency. The charge shall be payable upon the issuance of a building permit or a connection permit, as the case may be, but no charge shall be due upon the issuance of a connection permit if a charge was paid upon issuance of a building permit.
3. The service availability charge (SAC) for each building or structure shall be equal to the estimated number of units of sewage volume that it will discharge. Service availability charge (SAC) determinations and related fees are established by the Metropolitan Council Environmental Services Agency and allocated as follows:
a. Single-family homes, town homes, condominiums, apartments and duplex units with plumbing for laundry facilities shall comprise one (1) SAC unit each.
b. Condominiums and apartments may receive a twenty percent (20%) rate reduction if there is no plumbing for laundry facilities within each dwelling unit. This is generally evidenced by common laundry facilities.
c. Other buildings and structures shall be assigned one (1) unit for each one hundred thousand (100,000) gallons of flow or part thereof which it is estimated they will discharge.
d. Public housing units and housing units subsidized under any government program for low and moderate income housing may receive a twenty-five percent (25%) reduction of the unit equivalent for that type of housing. Application for the reduction must be made in writing to the Metropolitan Council Environmental Services Agency.
C. Information Provided: The Building Official shall prepare or revise building permit or sewage connection permit application forms to provide information necessary for the computation of the number of units assignable to the building or structure in question and shall collect the applicable charge before issuance of a permit. The City shall make such information available to the Metropolitan Council Environmental Services (MCES) Agency on a report format provided by them for that purpose or upon request. If, upon filing a report covering such permit with the Metropolitan Council Environmental Services (MCES) Agency, the MCES Agency determines that a greater number of units is assignable to the building or structure in question, any additional cost allocated to the City as a result shall be paid by the person or company to whom the permit was granted.