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HomeMy Public PortalAbout11066 O R D I N A N C E NO. 11066 AN ORDINANCE, repealing Ordinance No. 10177, adopted September 11, 1997, and enacting in lieu thereof a new ordinance continuing the current wastewater user charges, expanding the parties to whom Wastewater User Charges may be billed, reducing the period of delinquency after which sewer services may be terminated to conform to state law, and revising membership and procedures of the Adjustment Review Committee. WHEREAS, The Metropolitan St. Louis Sewer District, a body corporate, a municipal corporation and a political subdivision of the State of Missouri (herein called the "District"), now owns and operates a revenue producing sewer and drainage system serving the District and its inhabitants (the "System") and pursuant to Section 3.020(1) of the Plan of the District adopted by the voters within the District for its government (the "Plan"), has the power "to maintain, operate, reconstruct, and improve the same as a comprehensive sewer and drainage system, and to make additions, betterments, and extensions thereto; to protect the public health and welfare by preventing or abating the pollution of water; and . . . [has] all the rights, privileges, and jurisdiction necessary or proper for carrying such powers into execution"; and WHEREAS, the District is subject to the provisions of the federal Water Pollution Control Act, as amended, 33 U.S.C. §§ 1251 et seq., commonly referred to as the Clean Water Act (the "Federal Clean Water Act") and the Missouri Clean Water Law, §§ 644.006 et seq. R.S.Mo. 1986, as amended (the "Missouri Clean Water Law") the objectives of which are to restore and maintain the chemical, physical, and biological integrity of the nation's waters; and WHEREAS, the District has obtained construction grants (the "Grants") from the Missouri Department of Natural Resources ("MDNR") and the Environmental Protection Agency ("EPA") for improvements to the System and has entered into grant agreements with such governmental agencies as a condition to obtaining such Grants (the "Grant Agreements"); and WHEREAS, the District has heretofore entered into Consent Decrees (the "Consent Decrees") with the State of Missouri and the United States of America obligating the District to undertake a program consisting of the modification of certain wastewater facilities within the District to achieve and maintain compliance with the Federal Clean Water Act, the Missouri Clean Water Law and the District's National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System Permits issued by the State of Missouri; and WHEREAS, the federal regulations promulgated pursuant to the Federal 2 Clean Water Act and the District's Grant Agreements require the District to "review not less often than every two years the wastewater contribution of users and user classes, the total cost of operation and maintenance of the treatment works, and its approved user charge system . . . and to revise the charges for users or user classes to accomplish the following: (1) Maintain the proportionate distribution of operation and maintenance costs among users and user classes as required herein; (2) generate sufficient revenue to pay the total operation and maintenance costs necessary to the proper operation and maintenance (including replacement) of the treatment works . . ."; and WHEREAS, Section 3.020 (16) of the Plan of the District authorizes the Board of Trustees "[t]o establish by ordinance a schedule or schedules of rates, rentals, and other charges, to be collected from all the real property served by the sewer facilities of the District, whether public or private, and to prescribe the manner in which and time at which such rates, rentals, and charges are to be paid, and to change such schedule or schedules from time to time as the Board may deem necessary, proper, or advisable, and to collect or enforce collection of all such charges. Such schedule or schedules may be based upon any classifications or sub-classifications which the Board may determine to be fair and reasonable . . . including but not limited to: (a) the consumption of water on premises connected with such facilities, taking into consideration commercial, industrial, and agricultural use of water; (b) the number and kind of plumbing fixtures connected with such facilities; (c) the number of persons served by such facilities; or (d) any combination of the factors enumerated. Any such rates, rentals, or other charges against public property shall be paid out of the general treasury of the public body, agency, corporation, or authority owning such property."; and WHEREAS, the Board caused a rate study to be prepared entitled "Report on Alternative Rate Structures for the Metropolitan St. Louis Sewer District, Fiscal Year 1994" (the "Rate Study") which established a new method for determining and billing of charges for use of the wastewater facilities of the District (collectively the "Wastewater System"), which based such charges on metering of water usage by metered properties, and for residential properties not served by water meters, on the number of rooms and the number and kind of plumbing fixtures in and upon such residential properties and other criteria as herein provided; and WHEREAS, the Board has updated the Rate Study in the "Summary Report on User Charge Development for The Metropolitan St. Louis Sewer District, Fiscal Years 1998 and 1999" (the "Amended Rate Study"); and WHEREAS, the Board of Trustees (the "Board") has determined that it is 3 appropriate to revise the schedule of Wastewater User Charges as provided in this Ordinance to provide for the determination and billing of such user charges as set forth in the paragraph next preceding; and WHEREAS, the Amended Rate Study recommends the collection of increased Wastewater User Charges as provided in this Ordinance as necessary and appropriate to provide the District sufficient revenue to operate, maintain, replace, and improve the District's Wastewater System; and WHEREAS, the Board is concerned with the impact of the Wastewater User Charges as provided by this Ordinance on low income customers of the District and the Board has adopted a low income assistance program (the "Low Income Assistance Program") to provide a "low income assistance credit" on bills for Wastewater User Charges to "eligible low income customers" pursuant to Ordinance No. 9031 of the District; and WHEREAS, the Amended Rate Study further recommends the imposition of a revised schedule of Wastewater User Charges as provided by this Ordinance in order to maintain the proportionate distribution of operation and maintenance costs and costs of the Low Income Assistance Program among users and user classes and the Board does further find and determine that the classification of users provided for in this Ordinance and the allocation of such costs among such user classes is fair and reasonable; and WHEREAS, the revenues to be derived from the Wastewater User Charges will be set aside in a separate fund and used for the purposes of operating, maintaining and replacing the Wastewater System in the District, as herein provided; and WHEREAS, the Wastewater User Charges bear a substantial relationship to and are designed to cover the costs of operating, maintaining and replacing the Wastewater System, as herein provided; and WHEREAS, the Board does hereby find and determine that the imposition of the schedule of increased Wastewater User Charges as provided in this Ordinance, is necessary to enable the District to operate its Wastewater System on a sound basis, to satisfy the requirements of the Plan, the Federal Clean Water Act, and the Missouri Clean Water Law, and to comply with the mandates of the Consent Decrees, the District's Grant Agreements, and the rules and regulations of the EPA. NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT ORDAINED BY THE BOARD OF TRUSTEES OF 4 THE METROPOLITAN ST. LOUIS SEWER DISTRICT: Section One. Definitions of Words and Terms. In addition to words and terms defined elsewhere in this Ordinance, the following words and terms as used in this Ordinance shall have the following meanings, unless some other meaning is plainly intended: "Amended Rate Study" means the "Summary Report on User Charge Development for The Metropolitan St. Louis Sewer District, Fiscal Years 1998 and 1999". "Approved Meter" means a water meter meeting the standards of meters used by the City of St. Louis Water Division, the St. Louis County Water Company, or the public water supplier which provides water service to such Property, or a sewage flow meter satisfactory to the District. "Base Charge" means the sum of the System Availability Charge and the Billing and Collection Charges pursuant to Section Three of this Ordinance. "Billing and Collection Charges" means the charges established by the District pursuant to Section Three of this Ordinance which are designed to recover the cost related to issuing and collecting bills. "Best Equated Period" means a 90 to 92 day period of water usage for Metered Residential Property between November and April of the preceding winter period when lawn watering and other outdoor water uses are at a minimum and metered water use can best be equated to Wastewater discharges; provided that if the water bill issued during such period covers water usage for a period less than 90 days or more than 92 days the Best Equated Period shall mean a 91 day period and water usage shall be calculated based on average daily usage for the actual billing period. "Biochemical Oxygen Demand" or "BOD" means the quantity of oxygen utilized in the biochemical oxidation of organic matter in 5 days as determined by Standard Test Procedures and expressed in milligrams per liter. "Board" means the Board of Trustees of the District. "Capital Charge" means that portion of the total charges for wastewater services provided by the District which is established for debt retirement, construction or reconstruction of the Wastewater System, and any other lawful purpose of the District or its subdistricts and not considered part of the 5 Wastewater User Charges, the Stormwater Service Charges, or the Capital Improvement Surcharges. "Chemical Oxygen Demand" or "COD" means the quantity of oxygen utilized in the chemical oxidation of organic and inorganic matter as determined by Standard Test Procedures and expressed in milligrams per liter. "Compliance Charge" means the charge established by the District pursuant to Section Three (A)(3) of this Ordinance which is designed to recover all District compliance activities for Non-Residential Properties required to comply with federal environmental regulations which are not recovered by specific environmental permit fees, Wastewater Monitoring Fees, or other related fees. "Consent Decree Grants" means any federal or state grants provided to the District to fund a portion of the costs of Consent Decree and Compliance Projects. "Contributed Wastewater Volume" means the quantity of water-borne wastes emanating from Property and, specifically, (1) for Metered Single-Unit Residential Property, means billed water usage during the Best Equated Period; (2) for Metered Multi-Unit Residential/Non-Residential Property, means either (a) billed water usage throughout the year with exemption allowances for any water that does not enter the Wastewater System, or (b) measured Wastewater volume; and (3) for Unmetered Residential Property, means average indoor water usage characteristics of various housing attributes, as defined in the Rate Study, applied to the number of rooms and plumbing fixtures of each User's Property, as determined by the District. "District" means The Metropolitan St. Louis Sewer District. "Extra Strength Surcharges" means the Extra Strength Surcharges imposed by Section Three (A)(2) of this Ordinance. "Metered Non-Residential/Multi-Unit Residential Property" means Property used both for non-residential and residential purposes which consists of one or more non-residential units and one or more residential dwelling units connected to an approved meter. "Metered Property" means all Property connected to an Approved Meter through which the amount of water usage is measured. "Metered Residential Property" means Property used only for human residency which consists of one or more residential units connected to an approved meter. 6 "Non-residential Property" means all Property other than Residential Property. "Normal Wastewater" means waters or wastes having (a) a 5-day Biochemical Oxygen Demand (BOD) not greater than 300 milligrams per liter; and (b) containing not more than 350 milligrams per liter of Suspended Solids (SS); and (c) having a Chemical Oxygen Demand (COD) not greater than 600 milligrams per liter. "Ordinance" means this Ordinance of the District unless a different Ordinance is indicated. "Owner" or "Owners" means the Person or Persons designated as the owner or owners of record of Property as set forth in the records of the office of the respective Recorders of Deeds for the City of St. Louis or for St. Louis County, Missouri. "Person" means any individual, firm, proprietorship, partnership, company, municipality, state, federal or local governmental entity, association, society, corporation, group, or other entity. "Plan" means the Proposed Plan of the Metropolitan St. Louis Sewer District as approved by the voters of the City of St. Louis and St. Louis County at a special election held on February 9, 1954. "Pollutant" means any material or substance, toxic or otherwise, discharged to the Wastewater System which either singularly or in combination with other materials or substances interferes with, disrupts, or inhibits the Wastewater System's operations, or is not in compliance with specific prohibitions or standards developed by District, federal, state or local governments, or passes through the Wastewater System in a concentration which violates established effluent regulations or water quality standards. "Property" means an improved lot or parcel of real property, whether public or private, which is Served by the Wastewater System. "Rate Study" means the "Report on Alternative Rate Structure for The Metropolitan St. Louis Sewer District, Fiscal Year 1994". "Residential Property" means Property used only for human residency. 7 "Room/Fixture Charges" means the charges established by the District pursuant to Section Three of this Ordinance billed to each User Account based on the number of rooms and plumbing fixtures in such User's Property as determined by the District. "Served" or "Service" means Property with a sewer connected, either directly or indirectly, to the District's Wastewater System, or Property which otherwise discharges Wastewater directly or indirectly into the Wastewater System; or if the discharge of such substances therefrom ultimately enters the District's Wastewater System. "Sewer Use Ordinance" means Ordinance No. 8472 of the District, adopted August 14, 1991, as amended. "Standard Test Procedures" means "Guidelines Establishing Test Procedures for Analysis of Pollutants Under Clean Water Act" (40 CFR 136), as supplemented and amended from time to time. "Stormwater Service Charges" means the charges established by District Ordinance No. 9030 as amended. "Suspended Solids" or "SS" means solids that either float on the surface of, or are suspended in water, Wastewater, or other liquids; as determined by analysis for nonfilterable residue, in accordance with Standard Test Procedures and expressed in milligrams per liter. "System Availability Charge" means the charge established by the District pursuant to Section Three of this Ordinance which is designed to recover a portion of the costs related to infiltration and inflow. "Unit" means the portion of Residential Property designed for occupancy by a single person or single family. "Unmetered Residential Property" means Residential Property which is not connected to an Approved Meter. "User" means: (1) the Person occupying the Property; or (2) Owner of Property; or (3) the Person holding a permit for water service to the Property Served by the Wastewater System; or (4) any Person Served by the Wastewater System. "User Account" means each separate account to which a bill for Wastewater 8 User Charges is issued by the District. "Volume Charge" means the Volume Charges established by the District pursuant to Section Three of this Ordinance billed to each User Account based on Contributed Wastewater Volume. "Wastewater" means the water-borne wastes emanating from Property, together with such groundwater, surface water, or stormwater which enters the Wastewater System. "Wastewater Monitoring Fees" means the Schedule of Wastewater Monitoring Fees referred to in Section Four of this Ordinance and set forth in Appendix II. "Wastewater System" means the entire sewer and drainage system owned and operated by the District for the collection, transportation, storage, handling, and treatment of Wastewater, to serve the needs of the District and its inhabitants and others, including all appurtenances and facilities connected therewith or relating thereto, together with all extensions, improvements, additions and enlargements thereto hereafter made or acquired by the District. "Wastewater User Charges" means the applicable charges established by Section Three of this Ordinance, which consist of that portion of the charges of the District which are established in a proportional and adequate manner to pay the cost of operation and maintenance (including replacement) of the Wastewater System in accordance with the requirements of the EPA and the MDNR. Section Two. Establishment of Wastewater User Charges. There are hereby ratified, confirmed and established for services provided by the District to any Property Served by the Wastewater System, the Wastewater User Charges as set forth in Appendix I. All such Wastewater User Charges shall be in addition to any applicable Capital Charges. The District increased its Wastewater User Charges pursuant to Ordinance No. 9029, as amended, in order to comply with the following mandates (the "Environmental Mandates"): (i) to provide adequate funds to operate, maintain and replace the Consent Decree and Compliance Projects as required by the Consent Decrees, (ii) to have an approved Wastewater User Charge as required by the Federal Clean Water Act, the Missouri Clean Water Law and its Grant Agreements, and (iii) to provide necessary funds to operate, maintain and replace its Wastewater System so as to provide adequate Service to District residents. The District finds that it is necessary and in the public interest to implement the schedule of Wastewater User Charges as herein provided in order to protect the 9 public health, safety and welfare and to insure the District's continued compliance with the Environmental Mandates. Section Three. Wastewater User Charges. (A) Metered Property. (1) From and after October 1, 1997 each metered property shall be charged a Base Charge and a Volume Charge as set forth in Appendix I. The Volume Charge shall be calculated separately for each Property, using the most current determination of Contributed Wastewater Volume. (2) Extra Strength Surcharges. From and after October 1, 1997, Extra Strength Surcharges for the treatment of wastes containing Suspended Solids, Biochemical Oxygen Demand or Chemical Oxygen Demand exceeding Normal Wastewater strengths are hereby established and shall be billed to and collected from Non-residential Property Served by the Wastewater System at the rates for each User Account set forth in Appendix I, and shall be collected in addition to the charges imposed by Subsections (1) and (3) hereof. (a) A User shall be subject to Extra Strength Surcharges in any month if that User's water usage in such month equals or exceeds eight thousand cubic feet. (b) Each User subject to Extra Strength Surcharges shall submit to the District on forms supplied by the District pursuant to the Sewer Use Ordinance, a certified statement setting forth the strength and volume of Wastewater discharged by the User into the Wastewater System or into any sewer connected thereto. The data set forth in such statement shall be obtained from samples collected in accordance with accepted procedures from the manhole or adequate place as described in the Sewer Use Ordinance at a time period representative of normal operational conditions and analyzed utilizing Standard Test Procedures. (c) Analytical data reported by the User discharging such Wastewater will be considered current for each subsequent billing period until such data is reported inaccurate and replaced by updated certified data by said User. The results of routine scheduled sampling and analyses by the District may be used in lieu of data reported by said User if such data is found to be not current or in error. (d) An Extra Strength Surcharge shall be collected from any User subject to Extra Strength Surcharges as provided for herein for the discharge into the 10 Wastewater System of Suspended Solids (SS) which average concentration exceeds 350 milligrams per liter or Biochemical Oxygen Demand (BOD) which average concentration exceeds 300 milligrams per liter, with said Extra Strength Surcharge ("ESS") calculated for each billing period according to the following formula, to-wit: 0.00624 x V ESS = --------------- x [ (SS-350) x RSS + (BOD-300) x RBOD] 2000 (e) If the BOD/COD ratio of a User's Wastewater is equal to or less than 0.35 the BOD measurement may not be considered representative of the User's actual Wastewater strength. The District may substitute Chemical Oxygen Demand (COD) which average concentration exceeds 600 milligrams per liter, with said Extra Strength Surcharge ("ESS") calculated for each billing period according to the following formula, to wit: 0.00624 x V ESS = ------------ x [ (SS-350) x RSS + (COD-600) x RCOD] 2000 In the above formulas the following terms shall mean: ESS = Extra Strength Surcharges. 300 = Maximum concentration of total BOD in Normal Wastewater in milligrams per liter. 350 = Maximum concentration of total Suspended Solids in Normal Wastewater in milligrams per liter. 600 = Maximum concentration of total COD in Normal Wastewater in milligrams per liter. 0.00624 = Conversion factor for milligrams per liter to pounds per hundred cubic feet. V = Volume of water usage or Wastewater discharged expressed in hundred cubic feet. RSS = Rate for SS in dollars per ton. 11 RBOD = Rate for BOD in dollars per ton. RCOD = Rate for COD in dollars per ton. 2,000 = The number of pounds per ton. (f) All Extra Strength Surcharges shall be calculated separately for each Property using the Wastewater flow proportioned average strength concentration for each strength parameter and the most current determination of Contributed Wastewater Volume. (3) Non-residential Property Compliance Charge. From and after October 1, 1997, a Compliance Charge shall be collected from all Non-residential Property Served by the Wastewater System at the rate for each User Account as set forth in Appendix I and shall be collected in addition to the charges imposed by Subsections (1) and (2) hereof. (4) Registration of Unmetered Water Supply. In the event Property is supplied either in whole or in part with water from wells or any source other than a public water supplier, then such wells or other source of supply shall be registered with the Director of Finance of the District. If such supply serves Metered Property and is not measured by a water meter, or is measured by a water meter not acceptable to the District, then in such case, the User, at his own expense shall install and maintain an Approved Meter connected to such water supply. Whenever a new supplier or source of water other than a public water supplier shall be put into use by Metered Property, such source of water shall be registered with the Director of Finance of the District within thirty days. (5) Metered Water Not Entering the Wastewater System. Where it can be shown to the satisfaction of the District that a portion of the water as measured by an Approved Meter does not enter the Wastewater System, then the District is hereby authorized to determine, in such manner and by such method as may be practicable, the percentage of the water measured by the Approved Meter which enters the Wastewater System. In such case, Wastewater User Charges shall be based upon the percentage of the metered water entering the Wastewater System. Additional Approved Meters may be required or permitted at the User's expense in such manner as to measure the quantity of Contributed Wastewater Volume entering the Wastewater System from the Property of such User. Applications requesting consideration for a reduction in the Wastewater Service Charge, because of water not entering the Wastewater System, shall be made to the Director of Finance of the District, on forms provided by the District. 12 (6) Requirement of an Approved Meter for Non-Residential Property. All Non-Residential Property within the District shall be connected to an Approved Meter. In the event Property within the District is owned by a municipality and is served by water provided by such municipality and not connected to an Approved Meter, the District shall provide a method for estimating Wastewater discharge by such Property which is fair and equitable, in lieu of connection to an Approved Meter, and shall bill such municipality for Wastewater User Charges as provided for Metered Property pursuant to this Ordinance based on such estimated Wastewater usage. (B) Unmetered Residential Property. (1) Each unmetered residential property shall be charged a Base Charge and a Room/Fixture Charge as set forth in Appendix I. Such charges shall be calculated separately for each Property using the most current available data regarding the number of rooms and plumbing fixtures in such Property. The Director of Finance shall determine the number of rooms and plumbing fixtures in such Property from the records of the City of St. Louis Water Division or other public water suppliers, from the records of the Office of Assessor of the City of St. Louis or St. Louis County, or from on site inspection. A User of Unmetered Residential Property who considers the determination by the District of the number of rooms and plumbing fixtures for which such User is billed Wastewater User Charges to be inaccurate or erroneous may appeal such determination as herein provided. (2) Request for Meter Installation. A User at any Property in existence prior to January 1, 1994 may request the installation of an Approved Meter. Upon application to the Director of Finance of the District, the District will advance a sum not to exceed Three Hundred Dollars ($300.00) for the installation of said Approved Meter which will be furnished by the municipality in which the Property is located. Thereafter, the District will bill the User for all sums advanced for the installation of said Approved Meter in equal installments without interest for a twenty (20) year period. (3) Right of Entry and Inspection. The District shall have the power to enter on any Property for the purposes of examining the use made of its Wastewater System, the number of rooms and plumbing fixtures in such Property, the number and kind of plumbing fixtures connected with such Wastewater System, and for the purpose of inspecting or reading the Approved Meter connected to such Property. When such examination gives reason to believe that the usage of water on such Property places a burden on the Wastewater System in 13 excess of that for which the User of such Property is being billed then the Wastewater discharged from such Property shall be measured, at the expense of the User, by a water meter or meters or by a Wastewater flow meter or meters. If such measurement shows that the flow of Wastewater is excessive, Wastewater User Charges shall be billed and collected for such measured usage as for Metered Property. (C) Application of Wastewater User Charge Revenues. All revenues collected from Wastewater User Charges shall be segregated, credited and deposited in a Wastewater Revenue Fund to be established and maintained by the Director of Finance of the District, and shall be used solely to pay for the costs of the operation (including billing, administration and overhead), repair, maintenance, improvement, renewal, replacement and reconstruction of the District's Wastewater System. Section Four. Wastewater Monitoring Fees. When the Sewer Use Ordinance of the District or regulations of the federal government or state government require periodic monitoring of Wastewater from Non-residential Property, whether for strength calculations, for National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System compliance, or for pretreatment program requirements, the User of such Property monitored shall furnish the District at least one report for each quarterly calendar period from an independent testing laboratory satisfactory to the District, which report shall set forth the information required by the District on forms supplied by the District. As an alternative to furnishing the reports herein required, the User of such Property may request the District to collect the necessary samples and perform the analysis thereof. If the District agrees to so act, the User of such Property shall be billed for and agree to pay all costs for personnel, material and equipment used to collect and analyze samples from the User's Wastewater as set forth in the schedule of charges in Appendix II hereof. Each User shall be billed based on the number of samples collected and the number and types of analyses performed during each billing period and billed in accordance with current billing procedures. A User shall not be billed for more than four (4) such samplings per year for each connection to the Wastewater System. Sampling and analysis undertaken for purposes other than required periodic monitoring shall not be billed for Wastewater Monitoring Fees under this section. The District may terminate such collection and analysis at any time and it shall thereafter be the obligation of the User of such Property to furnish the test information called for above from an independent testing laboratory. Section Five. Pollutants. Any User which discharges any Pollutants which cause an increase in the cost of managing the effluent or sludge from the 14 Wastewater System shall pay for such increased costs. Section Six. Billing. All bills for Wastewater User Charges shall be prepared by the District and shall be issued monthly for services provided in the preceding month. The issuance of any monthly bill may be delayed by the District for good cause. The Wastewater User Charges shall be billed to the Person or Persons holding a permit for or who is liable for water service to the Property or the occupant of said property. Such Wastewater User Charges shall also constitute a personal obligation of any User of the Wastewater System regardless of to whom the bill for Wastewater User Charges is sent and shall constitute a charge and a lien against the Property Served, whether or not a notice of lien has been served. For the District's convenience, all individual Wastewater User Charges may be combined with any other charges of the District, and all such charges may be billed together. In the event of a change in Owner or User of Property or termination of Service to Property during a billing period, application may be made to the Director of Finance of the District for a refund or proration of Wastewater User Charges for such billing period. The Owner of Metered Residential Property containing more than one unit shall have the option of being charged on the basis of Best Equated Period. The Owner may obtain an application for such change from the Director of Finance. Upon receipt of an Application for Change in billing basis for said Property the change in billing will take effect not sooner than sixty days from receipt of the application. Once an Owner of Metered Residential Property containing more than one (1) unit has elected to be charged on the basis of Best Equated Period, that Owner shall not be permitted to again change. Section Seven. Charge for Late Payments. If any Wastewater User charges billed are not paid by the due date indicated on any bill rendered, then an additional late payment charge equal to one and one-half percent (1-1/2%) per month of the amount of the bill rendered is hereby imposed for each month or portion thereof the bill remains unpaid beyond the due date, until such time as a lien is recorded against the Property Served pursuant to Section Eight hereof. 15 Section Eight. Wastewater User Charges and Advances for Water Meter Installation Constitute a Lien. The Wastewater User Charges and advances for water meter installation shall constitute a lien upon the Property Served on the date a bill is rendered for Wastewater Service and/or the date the advance is made for water meter installation, and said lien shall have the same priority as taxes levied for state and county purposes. The District may cause a notice of lien for non-payment of such charges to be filed in the Office of the Recorder of Deeds within and for the City of St. Louis or St. Louis County, depending upon where such Property Served is located. Such notice of lien shall state the amount of the delinquent Wastewater User Charges and/or advances for water meter installation and shall adequately describe the Property against which such lien is asserted. A copy of such notice of lien shall be mailed to the Owner of the Property at the last address on file with the District and the filing of such notice in the Office of the Recorder of Deeds may be deferred as a matter of grace for not more than thirty days from the mailing date. All Wastewater User Charges that remain unpaid shall bear interest at a rate not to exceed the lower of eighteen percent (18%) per annum or the maximum legal rate from the time a notice of lien is filed with the appropriate recorder of deeds as herein prescribed. After such notice of lien is filed of record, the fees of the Recorder for filing and releasing said lien shall also be payable to the District as a prerequisite to releasing said lien. Section Nine. Termination of Service for Nonpayment. When any Wastewater User Charge has not been paid and has been delinquent for a period in excess of three months, the District is authorized to order the water supply to be shut off for the Property for which the Wastewater User Charge is delinquent or to remove or close any sewer connections, or both, until payment of the delinquent charge together with the reasonable costs involved in shutting off and turning on the water, or closing and reopening the sewer connection, as the case may be, have been paid. When any Wastewater User Charge has not been paid and has been delinquent for more than fifteen days after the due date, then the District may refuse to issue to the Owner and/or User a permit to connect any other Property owned or controlled by said Owner and/or User to the Wastewater System or Stormwater System; or may refuse to review any plans submitted by or on behalf of such Owner and/or User; or issue any permits requested by or on behalf of such Owner and/or User; or refuse to contract for any purpose with or accept Wastewater or Stormwater from any such Owner and/or User. 16 Section Ten. Remedies. Whenever any charge is unpaid after ninety days from the date the bill for such charges was rendered, then the amount overdue may be collected by either or both of two procedures: (a) by suit or other proceedings in any court of competent jurisdiction; or (b) by enforcement of the lien provided herein. The District shall have the power to sue any Owner and/or User, jointly and severally, in a civil action to recover delinquent charges plus the late payment charge and interest on the delinquent bill, plus all costs incurred by the District in connection with the filing and enforcement of such lien and the prosecution and collection of such charges including court costs, fees for transcripted judgments, special process servers, credit reports, video reports, sewer and/or water shutoff costs, other related fees, and reasonable attorney's fees to be fixed by the court. Section Eleven. False Information. It shall be unlawful for any Person to furnish any false report or information to the District which would reduce any charge imposed by the District. Section Twelve. Violation of Ordinance. Any Person violating Section Eleven of this Ordinance shall be deemed guilty of a misdemeanor and upon conviction shall be punished by a fine of not less than $50.00 nor more than $500.00. The imposition of such penalty shall in no wise restrict or deprive the District of its right to pursue any other remedy it may have for the collection of any delinquent bill for Charges. Section Thirteen. Wastewater User Charge Review. The Board shall review the Wastewater User Charges at least annually and, to the extent permitted by law, adjust such Wastewater User Charges as required by the Federal Clean Water Act, the Grant Agreements, and any outstanding bonds to: (a) Maintain the proportional distribution of operation, maintenance and replacement costs among User classes. (b) Provide adequate revenues to cover operation, maintenance and replacement costs. (c) Provide adequate revenues for the payment of debt service on or required by the provisions of any outstanding bonds. Section Fourteen. Notice of Rates. Each User Account shall be notified at 17 least annually in conjunction with a regular billing for Wastewater User Charges as to: (a) the rate schedule in effect; and (b) that part of Wastewater User Charges attributable to wastewater services. Section Fifteen. Deposit of Funds. The funds received from the collection of any of the aforesaid charges shall be deposited daily as received by the Secretary-Treasurer of the District, and shall be deposited in duly designated bank accounts, and such moneys may be appropriated and used for the purposes of the District as herein provided. Section Sixteen. Collection Offices. Collection offices may be established at convenient locations throughout the District. The Director of Finance is hereby authorized to enter into contracts with the owners or operators of business establishments to provide collection services at such locations as are selected and may provide in such contracts for the payment by the District of a fee to the collecting establishment for rendering such collection services. Section Seventeen. Appeals. Any Person who considers the Wastewater User Charges billed to such Person pursuant to the provisions of this Ordinance or any other determination by the District pursuant to the provisions of the Ordinance to be illegal, inaccurate or erroneous may request a review thereof by the Director of Finance or his designate within thirty (30) days of (i) the bill to such Person for Wastewater User Charges with respect to such Property, or (ii) written notice to such Person of a determination by the District which is contested. The determination by the Director of Finance may be appealed by such Person to the Executive Director, by written notice of appeal filed with the Director of Finance within thirty (30) days of his determination. The determination by the Executive Director shall be considered a final order of the District. Section Eighteen. Judicial Review. Any Person or Persons jointly or severally aggrieved by any final order of the Executive Director of the District may seek judicial review of such decision or pursuant to the procedures set forth in Section 12.110 of the District's Plan. Section Nineteen. Adjustment Review Committee. A committee, to be known as the Adjustment Review Committee, is hereby established. The committee shall be comprised of the District's Directors of Administration and 18 Finance, the Secretary-Treasurer, the General Counsel, and the Billing and Collection Manager. The committee shall review all billing adjustments in excess of One Thousand Dollars ($1,000.00) and perform such other duties relating to billing policies as are delegated by the Executive Director. No billing adjustments in excess of One Thousand Dollars ($1,000.00) shall be effective unless reviewed and approved by 3 our of 4 members of the Adjustment Review Committee on an individual basis. Settlement issues shall require a majority of the Committee to meet and discuss before approval. Section Twenty. Severability. The Board hereby declares that if any section, part, sentence or clause of this Ordinance is held invalid, such invalidity shall not affect the remainder of this Ordinance, the Board hereby declaring that it would have enacted the remainder of this Ordinance without regard to that part hereof that may be held invalid. Section Twenty-One. Prior Ordinances. The provisions contained in this Ordinance shall take the place of and supersede the provisions of all prior ordinances relating to the same subject matter which are herewith inconsistent. This Ordinance shall not be so construed as to relieve any Person from the payment of any charge which is due and payable under the provisions of any prior ordinance, nor to bar the collection of same by any and all of the means provided for in said prior ordinance. This Ordinance shall not be so construed as to relieve any Person from any penalty heretofore incurred by the violation of any prior ordinance nor to bar the prosecution of any such violation in the manner provided therein. Section Twenty-Two. This Ordinance shall be effective from and after its passage. The foregoing Ordinance was adopted September 13, 2001 by the following vote - Ayes – T.W. Purcell, M.G. Reichert, C.D. Seward, A. J. Soukenik, M.C. Williams, and J.W. Siscel. Nays- none. Secretary-Treasurer APPENDIX I WASTEWATER USER CHARGES FROM AND AFTER OCTOBER 1, 1997 METERED PROPERTY (per month/per User Account) Charge Base Charge $5.57 Volume Charge All Volume $1.05/100 cubic feet UNMETERED RESIDENTIAL PROPERTY (per month/per User Account) Base Charge $5.57 Room/Fixture Charge Room (each room) $0.69 Water Closet (each fixture) $2.58 Bath (each fixture) $2.15 Separate Shower (each fixture) $2.15 NON-RESIDENTIAL PROPERTY (per month/per User Account) Extra Strength Surcharges if water usage equals or exceeds 8000 cubic feet per month: Suspended Solids (SS) over 350 mg/liter (milligrams per liter) $ 87.20/ton Biochemical Oxygen Demand (BOD) over 300 mg/liter (milligrams per liter) $ 217.90/ton Chemical oxygen Demand (COD) over 600 mg/liter (milligrams per liter) $ 108.95/ton Compliance Charge $ 8.56 APPENDIX II Schedule of Wastewater Monitoring Fees SAMPLING COSTS METALS, cont. Grab Sample $ 47.00 Iron $ 30.00 Composite Sample $ 89.00 Lead $ 30.00 Manganese $ 30.00 Mercury $ 49.00 INORGANIC ANALYSIS Molybdenum (HGA) $ 56.00 Nickel $ 30.00 CONVENTIONAL ANALYSIS Selenium (HGA) $ 56.00 Silver $ 30.00 Acidity $ 18.00 Zinc $ 30.00 Alkalinity $ 16.00 Ammonia $ 20.00 BOD-5 $ 32.00 BIOLOGICAL ANALYSIS Chloride $ 16.00 Chlorine $ 20.00 Bioassay-Ceriodaphnia $430.00 COD $ 13.00 Bioassay-Fatheads $430.00 Conductance $ 11.00 Microscopic Examination $ 26.00 Cyanides, Total $ 72.00 Total Coliform (MF) $ 25.00 Cyanides, Amenable $141.00 Fecal Coliform (MF) $ 25.00 Fluoride $ 20.00 Fecal Strep (MF) $ 25.00 Grease and Oil $ 24.00 Total Plate Count $ 17.00 Kjeldahl Nitrogen $ 38.00 Nitrate/Nitrite $ 53.00 ORGANIC ANALYSIS Nitrite $ 33.00 Ph $ 11.00 Infrared Extract & Interpret $225.00 Phenols (4 AAP) $ 21.00 Phosphate, Ortho $ 73.00 PRIORITY POLLUTANT METHODS Phosphate, Total $ 73.00 608 Organochlorine Pesticides $385.00 Solids, Total $ 10.00 608 PCBs $421.00 Solids, Suspended $ 10.00 624 Purgeables $ 83.00 Solids, Total and Volatile Suspended $ 11.00 625 Base/Neutrals and Acids $307.00 Solids, Total and Volatile $ 11.00 Sulfate, Turb. $ 21.00 SPECIAL PROCEDURES Sulfide $ 49.00 Sulfite $ 19.00 Toxicity Characteristic Leaching Procedure Surfactants (MBAS) $ 44.00 Preparation $274.00 Temperature $ 2.00 Metals $203.00 Pesticides $385.00 METALS Herbicides $385.00 Antimony (HGA) $ 56.00 Volatiles $ 83.00 Arsenic (HGA) $ 56.00 Non-Volatiles $307.00 Barium $ 30.00 Beryillum $ 30.00 Total Cost $ 1637.00 Cadmium $ 30.00 Chromium, Hex $ 30.00 Chromium, Total $ 30.00 Copper $ 30.00