To provide for the recovery of costs from users of the POTW and for the implementation of the pretreatment program established by this subchapter, the following fees are hereby established and shall be applicable to discharges by all users:
(A) All users shall be subject to the following fees and charges:
(1) The one-time wastewater discharge permit application fee shall be $200 for a class A permit, and $100 for a class B permit.
(2) The annual fee for a class A wastewater discharge permit, including annual inspection of permitted users, shall be $1,500.
(3) The annual fee for a class B wastewater discharge permit, including annual inspection of permitted users if completed or applicable, shall be $750.
(4) The fee paid by each industrial user when an accidental discharge or slug load occurs shall be the total of all costs incurred by the WRA as a result of said discharge or load. Said fee may be charged by the WRA separately from and in addition to a civil penalty of up to $1,000 charged to the user under Chapter 52 related to said discharge or load.
(5) The trip charge for sampling or inspecting a user's discharge shall be $50 per event. An equipment fee of $50 per event shall also apply when using a WRA-owned automatic sampler. When a sampling or inspection event must be rescheduled due to failure of the user's sampling equipment, a sampler seal (used to detect sample tampering) being broken, monitoring facilities not being readily accessible or operational, or any other reason beyond the control of the WRA, a trip charge of $50 shall be assessed.
(6) Laboratory analysis fees for those analyses performed by the WRA shall be as follows:
LABORATORY ANALYSIS FEES
| |
Test | Cost/Sample |
LABORATORY ANALYSIS FEES
| |
Test | Cost/Sample |
BOD | $20 |
COD | $20 |
Total Organic Carbon (TOC) | $20 |
TSS | $10 |
pH | $5 |
Oil and grease - Total | $35 |
Mineral/nonmineral | $35 |
Nitrogen, ammonia | $15 |
Nitrogen, nitrate | $15 |
TKN | $30 |
Phosphorous, total | $25 |
Potassium | $12 |
Calcium carbonate equivalent | $15 |
Soil analysis, each pollutant | $20 |
Phenols | $28 |
Cyanide | $30 |
Metals: | |
Arsenic | $20 |
Selenium | $20 |
Mercury | $25 |
Other metals (per parameter) | $15 |
BETX (OA-1) | $40 |
VPH (OA-1) | $40 |
BETX and VPH (OA-1) | $45 |
USEPA Tests: | |
608 Organochlorine Pesticides and PCBs | $70 |
624 Volatile Organic Compounds | $140 |
625 Base/Neutral Organic Compounds | $290 |
625 Acid/Organic Compounds | $290 |
(7) Fees for analysis performed by laboratories other than the WRA laboratory shall be the full cost of each analysis.
(8) Fees for rescheduling a scheduled inspection with WRA personnel, with less than 24 hours' notice or if appropriate facility managers are unavailable at the scheduled time of inspection, shall be $100 per rescheduled inspection.
(9) Fees for copying and mailing documents shall be $1 for the initial page and $0.25 for each additional page plus postage. No charges shall be assessed for requests for copies received from individuals or agencies served by the WRA, provided the number of pages requested does not exceed ten.
(10) Fees for past due reminders sent each 30 days that a balance remains unpaid shall be $5.
(11) Prohibitive waste charges for each pollutant discharged in excess of permit or ordinance limits shall be $50 per violation for class B permit holders and $100 per violation for class A permit holders. Charges shall double if discharges exceed slug threshold values. Payment of fees does not preclude other enforcement action and may not be paid in lieu of compliance with discharge limitations.
(12) At the WRA's discretion, administrative cost recovery fees may be assessed separately to a user or added to a user's disposal fee for actions or occurrences subject to Chapter 52 which result in the need for additional labor, equipment, and/or materials from the WRA or its contractors, including but not limited to cleanup of spills, infrastructure maintenance, improper scale transactions, improper disposal, and waste source verification. Fees shall be assessed based on the actual costs incurred by the WRA, or on the estimated costs incurred by the WRA rounded down to the nearest multiple of 20 based on actual rates for labor, materials, and equipment with a minimum fee of not less than $20. Fees under this division (A)(12) will be charged in addition to charges, fines, fees, or other costs associated with rejected, unapproved, or atypical wastes under §§ 52.098 and 52.099.
(B) All users contributing wastewater in excess of the following concentrations shall be assessed a surcharge, which shall be in addition to the rates and charges ordinarily billed to such users for sewer use: Commencing October 1, 2022 until June 30, 2025, surcharges shall be assessed in accordance with the following rate schedule:
Pollutant | Surcharge (per pound) |
Suspended solids in excess of 250 mg/l | $0.16 |
BOD or CBOD in excess of 200 mg/l | $0.11 |
TKN in excess of 30 mg/l | $0.61 |
Oil and grease in excess of 100 mg/l | $0.06 |
Chemical oxygen demand (COD) in excess of 300 mg/l may be used at the discretion of the WRA director in lieu of CBOD. In such case the excess COD concentration shall be multiplied by the known CBOD/COD ratio or by a ratio of two-thirds to establish an equivalent CBOD concentration. | |
Ammonia nitrogen (NH3-N) in excess of 15 mg/l may be used at the discretion of the WRA director in lieu of TKN by multiplying the excess NH3-N concentration times two to establish an equivalent TKN concentration. | |
Pollutant | Surcharge per Pound of Pollutant for the Period | ||
10/1/2022 - 6/30/2023 | 7/1/2023 - 6/30/2024 | 7/1/2024 - 6/30/2025 | |
Total suspended solids in excess of 250 mg/l | $0.18 | $0.20 | $0.22 |
BOD or CBOD in excess of 200 mg/l | $0.14 | $0.17 | $0.21 |
TKN in excess of 30 mg/l | $0.55 | $0.49 | $0.42 |
Oil and grease in excess of 100 mg/l | $0.08 | $0.10 | $0.11 |
(1) Commencing on July 1, 2025, surcharge rates listed in the above table shall be annually adjusted as of July 1 of each year to increase 2% per annum rounded to the nearest whole cent.
(2) Chemical oxygen demand (COD) in excess of 300 mg/l may be used at the discretion of the WRA Director in lieu of CBOD. In such case the excess COD concentration shall be multiplied by the known CBOD/COD ratio or by a ratio of two-thirds to establish an equivalent CBOD concentration.
(3) Ammonia nitrogen (NH3-N) in excess of 15 mg/l may be used at the discretion of the WRA Director in lieu of TKN by multiplying the excess NH3-N concentration times two to establish an equivalent TKN concentration.
(C) The establishment and imposition of new or different fees or charges, in addition to or in substitution for those provided above in this section, shall be by ordinance amending this chapter. The amounts of the fees and charges established in this section shall be and remain in effect until such time as the WRA Board shall by resolution revise said fee amounts. Said revised fees and charges shall take effect after the Board causes said resolution to be sent to this City Council and the Sanitary Sewer District Board thereafter causes same to be published in a newspaper of general circulation in each county in which participating communities are located.
(Ord. 2010-09, passed 7-13-2010; Am. Ord. 2019-03, passed 2-26-2019; Am. Ord. 2022-09, passed 8-23-2022)