HomeMy Public PortalAbout15418 Wastewater Rate Ord 2020WASTEWATER ORDINANCE NO. 15418
AN ORDINANCE repealing and superseding Ordinance Nos. 14395 adopted June
9, 2016 and enacting a new ordinance in lieu thereof for purposes of providing funding for the
wastewater system.
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 is subject to a federal consent decree with the EPA and
the Missouri Coalition for the Environment entered by the United States District Court for the
Eastern District of Missouri on April 27, 2012 (the “Consent Decree”) and amended by the United
States District Court for the Eastern District of Missouri on June 22, 2018, and the Consent Decree
imposes obligations on the District to construct improvements to the Wastewater System over the
span of 28 years; and
WHEREAS, Section 3.020 (16) of the Charter 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 of the District (the “Rate Commission”), to review and make recommendations to the
District’s Board of Trustees (the “Board”) 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 Rate
Recommendation Report on August 16, 2019, which recommended the wastewater user rates as
hereinafter adopted; and
WHEREAS, through Resolution No. 3547, adopted October 10, 2019, the Board
accepted said Rate Recommendation Report as issued by the Rate Commission on August 16,
2019.
WHEREAS, 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 customers of the District, and to address that concern,
the Board renews the assistance program (the “Customer Assistance Program”) to provide an
assistance credit on bills for Wastewater User Charges to eligible customers pursuant to Ordinance
No.13826 previously adopted by 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, maintaini ng 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 District's Grant Agreements and the Consent Decree.
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 or otherwise
indicated:
"Approved Meter" means a water meter meeting the standards of meters used by
the City of St. Louis Water Division, the Missouri American 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 March 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. If water usage is less than one hundred cubic feet (CCF) for the aforesaid 90 to 92 day
period, and water service remained active for said period, a minimum water usage of 1 CCF shall
be imposed for said "Metered Residential Property". If water service is instituted after the aforesaid
90 to 92 day period, a typical water usage of 6 CCF shall be imposed for said "Metered Residential
Property" until such time as the actual "Best Equated Period" data can be established.
"Biochemical Oxygen Demand" or "BOD" means the quantity of oxygen utilized
in the biochemical oxidation of organic matter in five (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 sub districts and not
considered part of the Wastewater User Charges, or the Storm Water User Charges.
“CCF” means one hundred cubic feet.
“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 or other related fees.
“Consent Decree” means the consent decree between the District, the EPA and the
Missouri Coalition for the Environment that was entered by the United States District Court for
the Eastern District of Missouri on April 27, 2012 and amended by the United States District Court
for the Eastern District of Missouri on June 22, 2018 and that imposes obligations on MSD to
construct improvements to its Wastewater System.
"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 Non-Residential/Multi-
Unit 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 Recommendation Report,
applied to the number of rooms and plumbing fixtures of each User 's Property, as determined by
the District. All metered volumes are rounded to the nearest hundred cubic feet (CCF).
"District" means The Metropolitan St. Louis Sewer District.
"Extra Strength Surcharges" or “ESS” 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 consist 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.
"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" or “Charter” means the 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 and amended by said voters on November 7, 2000 and June 5, 2012.
"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 i n 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 Unmetered Residential Property User Account
based on Contributed Wastewater Volume as measured by 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. 15048, adopted November 8, 2018.
"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.
"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 non-filterable
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 Metered Property 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.
"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 have an approved Wastewater User Charge as required by
the Federal Clean Water Act, the Missouri Clean Water Law and its Grant Agreements, and (ii) to
provide necessary funds to operate, maintain and replace its Wastewater System so as to provide
adequate Service to District residents and as required by the Consent Decree. 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 ensure the
District's continued compliance with the Environmental Mandates.
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 Metered Property, using the most current determination of Contributed Wastewater Volume.
A minimum of 1 Ccf per Metered Property, or per unit in the case of Multi-unit Residential
Properties, will be charged.
(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 t o 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 which average concentration exceeds 300 milligrams per liter or
Biochemical Oxygen Demand which average concentration exceeds 300 milligrams per liter, with
said Extra Strength Surcharge calculated for each billing period according to the following
formula, to wit:
0.00624 x V x [(SS-300) x RSS + (BOD-300) x RBOD]
ESS = 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 which average
concentration exceeds 600 milligrams per liter, with said Extra Strength Surcharge calculated for
each billing period according to the following formula, to wit:
0.00624 x V x [(SS-300) x RSS + (COD-600) x RCOD]
ESS = 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.
(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. No
credit is given when the wastewater strength is less than normal wastewater.
(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 the User’s
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 (30) 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 for Metered Property pursuant to this Ordinance based on such estimated Wastewater
usage.
(B) Unmetered Residential Property. 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 Unmetered Residential 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.
(C) 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.
(D) 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. 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 Five. 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 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.
In the event Wastewater Service is being provided to any parcel of real Property
and said parcel is being under-billed or not being billed at all, the District shall have the authority
to charge the Owner of said parcel retroactively for a period not to exceed one and one-half (1½)
years from the date of discovery.
In the event said parcel is being over-billed by the District, and the current Owner
of said parcel can verify such over-billing, then the District shall refund the current Owner of the
parcel any amount verified to be overpaid by said Owner.
The District will not collect Wastewater User Charges from the Owner of real
Property when it is known that said real Property is connected to a septic tank. Upon notification
from the Property Owner that certain real Property which is connected to a septic tank is being
billed by the District for Wastewater User Charges, upon verification, the District will refund to
the Owner any and all of said Wastewater User Charges so collected from said Owner.
Section Six. Charge for Late Payments. On or after July 1, 2009, any Wastewater
User Charges billed that are not paid by the due date indicated on any bill rendered shall bear a
late payment charge equal to three-fourths of one percent (0.75%) per month, or nine percent (9%)
per annum, of the amount of the bill rendered and is hereby imposed for each month or portion
thereof that the Wastewater User Charges remain unpaid beyond the due date.
Section Seven. 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
Wastewater User Charges due, 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 t o exceed the lower
of nine percent (9%) 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
brought current.
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 Eight. 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 (3) 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 (15) 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 may refuse to contract for any purpose with or accept Wastewater or Storm
Water from any such Owner and/or User.
Section Nine. Remedies. Whenever any Wastewater User Charge on an account is
unpaid after sixty (60) days from the date the bill for such account was rendered, then the amount
for all such Charges, including late fees and attorney fees, accrued and accruing on the account
may be collected by any or all of the following three (3) procedures:
(A) by assignment or forwarding for collection to a collection agency or law
firm; or
(B) by suit or other proceedings in any court of competent jurisdiction; or
(C) 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,
enforcement and relinquishment 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 Ten. 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 Eleven. Violation of Ordinance. Any Person violating Section Ten 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 way
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 Twelve. Wastewater User Charge Review. The Board shall regularly
review the Wastewater User needs of the District and Wastewater User Charges, usually as a part
of a Rate Proposal from the Rate Commission, to assure the appropriateness of the Wastewater
User Charges and 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 Thirteen. 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 Fourteen. 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 Fifteen. 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 ser vices.
Section Sixteen. 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 or her 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
the Director of Finance’s determination. The determination by the Executive Director shall be
considered a final order of the District.
Section Seventeen. 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 pursuant to the procedures set forth in Section 12.110 of the District's Plan.
Section Eighteen. 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 Accounts Receivable Manager and Audit
Administrator.
For purposes of Section Eighteen 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 Accounts Receivable Manager.
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.
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 of Twenty-five Thousand Dollars ($25,000.00) or greater shall
require approval or ratification of the Board’s Finance Committee. 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 frequency
determined by the Board’s Finance Committee.
The Adjustment Review 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 Nineteen. 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. Prior Ordinances. The provisions contained in this Ordinance (i)
shall become effective October 1, 2020 (the “Effective Date”), and (ii) on the Effective Date, shall
repeal and supersede Ordinance No. 14395, adopted June 9, 2016, 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 i n the
manner provided therein.
The foregoing Ordinance was adopted on June 11, 2020.
APPENDIX I
October 1,
2020
Charge
METERED PROPERTY
(per Month/per User Account)
Base Charge $26.40
Volume Charge $5.00/100
All Volume Cubic Feet
UNMETERED RESIDENTIAL
PROPERTY
(per Month/per User Account)
Base Charge $26.40
Room/Fixture Charge:
Room (each room) $ 2.95
Water Closet (each fixture) $11.02
Bath (each fixture) $9.19
Separate Shower (each fixture) $9.19
October 1,
2020
Charge
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) * $302.67
Over 300 mg/liter (Milligrams per
liter)
Biochemical Oxygen Demand (BOD)
*
$812.94
Over 300mg/liter (Milligrams per
liter)
Chemical oxygen Demand (COD)* $406.47
Over 600 mg/liter (Milligrams per
liter)
* Per Ton
Base Charge $26.40
Volume Charge $5.00/100
All Volume Cubic Feet
Compliance Charge/per Month
Tier 1: 0 Inspection/0 Sample Point $ 4.44
Tier 2: 1 Inspection/0 Sample Point $ 62.16
Tier 3: 1 Inspection/1 Sample Points $ 133.20
Tier 4: 1 Inspection/2 Sample Points $177.60
Tier 5: 1 Inspection/More Than
2 Sample Points
$222.00