HomeMy Public PortalAbout11692 O R D I N A N C E NO. 11692
AN ORDINANCE, superseding Ordinance No. 11553, adopted
July 23, 2003, and amended by Ordinance No. 11668, adopted January 8, 2004,
and enacting in lieu thereof an ordinance establishing a schedule of Wastewater
User Charges, and establishing 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 Charter of the District adopted by the
voters within the District for its government (the "Charter"), 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
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WHEREAS, the federal regulations promulgated pursuant to the
Federal 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, Section 7.040 of the Charter of the District established a
Rate Commission to review and make recommendations to the Board of Trustees
regarding all proposed changes in wastewater rates, storm water rates and tax
rates or change in the structure of any of the foregoing; and
WHEREAS, the Rate Commission, after having conducted public
hearings and weighing evidence regarding the proposed wastewater user rate
change, issued its Wastewater Rate Change Amendment Report on May 19, 2003,
which recommended the wastewater user rates as hereinafter adopted; and
WHEREAS, through Resolution No. 2507, adopted June 12, 2003, the
Board of Trustees accepted said Wastewater Rate Change Amendment Report as
issued by the Rate Commission on May 19, 2003.
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WHEREAS, the Board of Trustees (the "Board") has determined that it
is 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;
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 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 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:
"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.
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"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
Wastewater User Charges, the Storm water 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.
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"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.
"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 300 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.
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"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 Commission" means that body established pursuant to Section 7.040
of the Charter of the District to review and make recommendations to the Board of
Trustees regarding all proposed changes in wastewater rates, storm water rates
and tax rates or change in the structure of any of the foregoing.
"Residential Property" means Property used only for human residency.
"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.
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"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.
"Storm water 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
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 storm water which enters the
Wastewater System.
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"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’s Wastewater User Charges must 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 public health, safety and welfare and to insure the District's
continued compliance with the Environmental Mandates.
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Section Three. Wastewater User Charges.
(A) Metered Property.
(1) 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. 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
Wastewater System of Suspended Solids (SS) which average concentration exceeds
300 milligrams per liter or Biochemical Oxygen Demand (BOD) which average
concentration exceeds 300 milligrams per liter, with said Extra Strength
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Surcharge ("ESS") calculated for each billing period according to the following
formula, to-wit:
0.00624 x V
ESS = --------------- x [(SS-300) 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-300) 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.
300 = 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.
RBOD = Rate for BOD in dollars per ton.
RCOD = Rate for COD in dollars per ton.
2,000 = The number of pounds per ton.
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(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. 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.
(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
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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) 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
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
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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
Wastewater System shall pay for such increased costs.
Section Six. 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.
On or after May 1, 2004, the Wastewater User Charges shall be billed to the
Owner or Owners of the property served by the Wastewater System. 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
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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 of Change in billing basis for said Property the change in
billing will take effect not sooner than sixty (60) 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. On or after May 1, 2004,
any Wastewater User charges billed that remain unpaid by the due date indicated
on any bill rendered shall bear interest, equal to one and one-half percent (1½%)
per month or 18% per annum, until such time as the account is closed, or until
such time as a lien is recorded against the Property Served pursuant to Section
Eight hereof.
Section Eight. Wastewater User Charges Constitute a Lien. The
Wastewater User Charges shall constitute a lien upon the Property Served on the
date a bill is rendered for Wastewater Service, 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 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 (30) 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, until such time as the account is closed.
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.
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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
Storm water 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 Storm water from any such Owner and/or User.
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 transcript 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
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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 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 (ARC), is hereby established and
shall meet, at minimum, once a month to conduct its business. The ARC shall be
comprised of the voting members which are the District's Director of Finance,
Assistant Director of Finance, the Secretary-Treasurer, and General Counsel.
Non-voting members are the Manager of Billing and the Manager of Collection.
For purposes of Section Nineteen of this Ordinance the following terms as
used in this Ordinance shall have the following meanings, unless some
other meaning is plainly intended.
Adjustment - any change in billing resulting from errors and/or
changes in circumstances.
Write-off - an uncollectible amount due the District according to State
or Federal Statute or as determined by majority approval of
the ARC.
Settlement - agreement between the customer and the District to
alleviate all or part of a delinquent condition.
On a monthly basis, the ARC shall review and properly record in the minutes all
prior monthly billing adjustments as approved and presented by the Manager of
Billing and the Manager of Collection. These billing adjustments may result from
but are not limited to; misapplied payment, ccf adjustment, reduction factor,
water-off, transfer of balance due to bankruptcy notice, new occupant/water
meter registrant, bank encoding error, or water back-up.
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All write-offs or settlements of accounts shall require a majority of the ARC
voting members to meet and discuss before approval. No write-off or settlement
in excess of Five Thousand Dollars ($5,000.00) and less than Twenty-five
Thousand Dollars ($25,000.00) shall be effective unless reviewed and approved
by three (3) out of the four (4) voting members of the ARC. Any write-off or
settlement greater than Twenty-five Thousand Dollars ($25,000.00) shall require
Finance Committee approval or ratification. The suspension of these rules may
occur when a time constraint exists and a decision must be made before the
next scheduled meeting, or a situation exists from, but not limited to;
foreclosure, sheriff or county tax sale, Land Reutilization Authority, Land
Clearance for Redevelopment Authority, or discharged bankruptcy. In these
instances, no settlements or write-offs in excess of Five Thousand Dollars
($5,000.00) shall be effective unless reviewed and approved by three (3) out of
four (4) voting members of the ARC on an individual basis or at a special
meeting as requested by any of the ARC members. All such instances will be
reported at the next regularly scheduled meeting of the ARC and recorded in the
minutes.
ARC activity will be reported to the Board's Finance Committee on a monthly
basis.
The committee shall perform any other such duties relating to billing and
collection policies. Such duties shall be reported to the Executive Director and
Board of Trustees.
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 supersede Ordinance No. 11553, adopted July 23, 2003, and
amended by Ordinance No. 11668, adopted January 8, 2004 and 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.
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The foregoing Ordinance was adopted March 11, 2004.
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APPENDIX I
WASTEWATER USER CHARGES
FROM AND AFTER
METERED PROPERTY (per month/per User Account)
JULY 1, 2004
Charge July 1, 2005
Charge
Base Charge
$7.30
$7.90
Volume Charge
All Volume
$1.66/100
cubic feet
$1.81/100
cubic feet
UNMETERED RESIDENTIAL PROPERTY
(per month/per User Account)
Base Charge
$7.30
$7.90
Room/Fixture Charge
Room (each room)
Water Closet (each fixture)
Bath (each fixture)
Separate Shower (each fixture)
$1.08
$4.04
$3.37
$3.37
$1.18
$4.42
$3.69
$3.69
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 300 mg/liter
(milligrams per liter)
$200.15/ton
$218.90/ton
Biochemical Oxygen
Demand (BOD) over 300
mg/liter (milligrams per liter)
$412.58/ton
$461.44/ton
Chemical Oxygen Demand
(COD) over 600 mg/liter (milligrams per liter)
$206.29/ton
$230.72/ton
Compliance Charge
$12.15
$12.55
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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