5331040 Water and Sewer Authority, DC - Notice of Proposed Rulemaking - Amend Payment-in-Lieu of Taxes Fee, Water and Sanitary Sewer Service Rates, Impervious Surface Area Charge, and Customer Assistance Programs, and Add Water System Replacement ...

DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA WATER AND SEWER AUTHORITY

 

NOTICE OF PROPOSED RULEMAKING

 

The Board of Directors (Board) of the District of Columbia Water and Sewer Authority (DC Water), pursuant to the authority set forth in Sections 203(3) and (11) and 216 of the Water and Sewer Authority Establishment and Department of Public Works Reorganization Act of 1996, effective April 18, 1996 (D.C. Law 11-111, §§ 203(3), (11) and 216; D.C. Official Code §§ 34-2202.03(3) and (11) and § 34-2202.16 (2012 Repl.)); Section 6(a) of the District of Columbia Administrative Procedure Act, approved October 21, 1968 (82 Stat. 1206; D.C. Official Code § 2-505(a) (2012 Repl.)); and in accordance with Chapter 40 (Retail Ratemaking) of Title 21 (Water and Sanitation) of the District of Columbia Municipal Regulations (DCMR), hereby gives notice that at its regularly scheduled meeting on February 5, 2015, adopted Board Resolution #15-24 to propose the amendment of Sections 112 (Fees), and 199 (Definitions) of Chapter 1 (Water Supply); and Sections 4100 (Rates for Water Service), 4101 (Rates for Sewer Service), and 4102 (Customer Assistance Program) of Chapter 41 (Retail Water and Sewer Rates), of Title 21 (Water and Sanitation) of the DCMR.

 

The purpose of the amendments is to amend the Payment-in-Lieu of Taxes (PILOT) Fee, the Impervious Surface Area Charge, and rates for water and sewer services; to amend the Customer Assistance Programs; and to add the Water System Replacement Fee and relevant definitions.

 

The Board will also receive comments on this proposed rulemaking at a public hearing at a later date. The public hearing notice will be published in a subsequent edition of the D.C. Register. Final rulemaking action shall be taken in not less than thirty (30) days from the date of publication of this notice in the D.C. Register.

 

Section 112, FEES, of Chapter 1, WATER SUPPLY, of Title 21 DCMR, WATER AND SANITATION, is amended as follows:

 

Subsection 112.8 is amended to read as follows:

 

112.8               Effective October 1, 2015, the District of Columbia Right-of-Way Occupancy Fee Pass Through Charge and the Payment-in-Lieu of Taxes (PILOT) Fee, shall be increased from sixty-three cents ($0.63) for each one hundred cubic feet (1 Ccf) (or the equivalent of eighty-four cents ($0.84) for each one thousand gallons (1,000 gals.) (one hundred cubic feet (1 Ccf) equals seven hundred forty-eight and five hundredths gallons (748.05 gals.)) to sixty-four cents ($0.64) for each one hundred cubic feet (1 Ccf) (or the equivalent of eighty-six cents ($0.86) for each one thousand gallons (1,000 gals.)) of water used, divided as follows:

 

(a)        District of Columbia Right-of-Way Fee, assessed to recover the cost of fees charged by the District of Columbia to D.C. Water and Sewer Authority for use of District of Columbia public space and rights of way, shall be:

 

(1)        Residential Customers: seventeen cents ($0.17) per Ccf (or the equivalent of twenty-two cents ($0.22) per one thousand gallons (1,000 gals.)) of water used;

 

(2)        Multi-Family Customers: seventeen cents ($0.17) per Ccf (or the equivalent of twenty-two cents ($0.22) per one thousand gallons (1,000 gals.)) of water used; and

 

(3)        Non-Residential Customers: seventeen cents ($0.17) per Ccf (or the equivalent of twenty-two cents ($0.22) per one thousand gallons (1,000 gals.)) of water used; and

 

(b)        Payment-in-Lieu of Taxes to the Office of the Chief Financial Officer (OCFO) of the District of Columbia, assessed to cover the amount which D.C. Water and Sewer Authority pays each fiscal year to the District of Columbia, consistent with D.C. Water and Sewer Authority's enabling statute for public goods and services received from the District of Columbia: shall be increased from forty-six cents ($0.46) per Ccf (or the equivalent of sixty-two cents ($0.62) per one thousand gallons (1,000 gals.)) of water used to:

 

(1)        Residential Customers: forty-seven cents ($0.47) per Ccf (or the equivalent of sixty-four cents ($0.64) per one thousand gallons (1,000 gals.)) of water used;

 

(2)        Multi-Family Customers: forty-seven cents ($0.47) per Ccf (or the equivalent of sixty-four cents ($0.64) per one thousand gallons (1,000 gals.)) of water used; and

 

(3)        Non-Residential Customers: forty-seven cents ($0.47) per Ccf (or the equivalent of sixty-four cents ($0.64) per one thousand gallons (1,000 gals.)) of water used.

 

Section 112 is amended by adding a new Subsection 112.10 to read as follows:

 

112.10             Water System Replacement Fee – Monthly fee to fund the one percent (1%) renewal and replacement of aging water infrastructure for residential, multi-family and non-residential customers as follows:

 

Meter Size (inches)	Meter Register Type	Monthly Water System Replacement Fee
5/8”	Single Register	$ 6.30
3/4"	Single Register	$ 7.39
1”	Single Register	$ 9.67
1”x1.25”	Single and Multiple Register	$ 15.40
1.5”	Single Register	$ 41.35
2”	Single and Multiple Register	$ 83.75
3”	Single and Multiple Register	$ 232.13
4”	Single and Multiple Register	$ 561.02
6”	Single and Multiple Register	$ 1,292.14
8”	Single Register	$ 5,785.51
8”x2”	Multiple Register	$ 1,899.60
8”x4”x1”	Multiple Register	$ 2,438.35
10”	Single and Multiple Register	$ 6,679.65
12”	Single and Multiple Register	$ 6,679.65
16”	Single Register	$ 6,679.65

 

Section 199 is amended by adding the following terms and definitions to read as follows:

 

Single Register – Meter that has only one device that displays the consumption volume.

 

Multiple Register – Meter that has two or more devices that can display the consumption volume at different flow rates (high or low) or different uses, including, but not limited to, Demand Flow and Fire Flow.

 

Subsection 4100.3, of Section 4100, RATES FOR SEWER SERVICE, of Chapter 41, RETAIL WATER AND SEWER RATES, of Title 21 DCMR, WATER AND SANITATION, is amended as follows:

 

4100                RATES FOR WATER SERVICE

 

4100.3             Effective October 1, 2015, the rate for retail metered water service shall be increased from three dollars and eighty-eight cents ($3.88) for each one hundred cubic feet (1 Ccf) (or the equivalent of five dollars and nineteen cents ($5.19) for each one thousand gallons (1,000 gals.) (one hundred cubic feet (1 Ccf) equals seven hundred forty-eight and five hundredths gallons (748.05 gals.)) of water used to:

 

(a)        Residential Customers: three dollars and eight cents ($3.08) per Ccf (or the equivalent of four dollars and twelve cents ($4.12) for each one thousand gallons (1,000 gals.)) for the consumption of zero (0) to four (4) hundred cubic feet (Ccf) of water used.

 

(b)        Residential Customers: three dollars and eighty-seven cents ($3.87) per Ccf (or the equivalent of five dollars and seventeen cents ($5.17) for each one thousand gallons (1,000 gals.)) for consumption greater than four (4) hundred cubic feet (Ccf) of water used.

 

(c)        Multi-Family Customers: three dollars and forty-five cents ($3.45) per Ccf (or the equivalent of four dollars and sixty-one cents ($4.61) for each one thousand gallons (1,000 gals.)) of water used.

 

(d)       Non-Residential Customers: three dollars and ninety-nine cents ($3.99) per Ccf (or the equivalent of five dollars and thirty-three cents ($5.33) for each one thousand gallons (1,000 gals.)) of water used.

 

Section 4101, RATES FOR SEWER SERVICE, of Chapter 41, RETAIL WATER AND SEWER RATES, of Title 21 DCMR, WATER AND SANITATION, is amended as follows:

 

4101                RATES FOR SEWER SERVICE

 

4101.1             Effective October 1, 2015, the rates for sanitary sewer service shall be:

 

(a)        The retail sanitary sewer service rate shall be increased from four dollars and seventy-four cents ($4.74) for each one hundred cubic feet (1 Ccf) (or six dollars and thirty-three cents ($6.33) for each one thousand gallons (1,000 gals.) (one hundred cubic feet (1 Ccf) equals seven hundred forty-eight and five hundredths gallons (748.05 gals.)) of water used to:

 

(1)        Residential Customers: five dollars and forty-four cents ($5.44) per Ccf (or the equivalent of seven dollars and twenty-seven cents ($7.27) for each one thousand gallons (1,000 gals.)) of water used.

 

(2)        Multi-Family Customers: five dollars and forty-four cents ($5.44) per Ccf (or the equivalent of seven dollars and twenty-seven cents ($7.27) for each one thousand gallons (1,000 gals.)) of water used.

 

(3)        Non-Residential Customers: five dollars and forty-four cents ($5.44) per Ccf (or the equivalent of seven dollars and twenty-seven cents ($7.27) for each one thousand gallons (1,000 gals.)) of water used.

 

4101.2             The rates for sanitary sewer service for the discharge of groundwater, cooling water and non-potable water sources shall be:

 

(a)        The retail groundwater sewer charge for an unimproved real property under construction shall be two dollars and thirty-three cents ($2.33) per Ccf (one hundred cubic feet (1 Ccf) equals seven hundred forty-eight and five hundredths gallons (748.05 gals.)) for groundwater discharged into the District’s wastewater sewer system.

 

(b)        The retail cooling water sewer charge shall be the retail sanitary sewer service rate set forth in Section 4101.1(a) for cooling water discharged into the District's wastewater sewer system.

 

(c)        The retail non-potable water source sewer charge shall be the retail sanitary sewer service rate set forth in Section 4101.1(a) for non-potable water discharged into the District's wastewater sewer system.

 

4101.3             Effective October 1, 2015, the annual Clean Rivers Impervious Surface Area Charge (CRIAC or IAC) shall be increased from two hundred one dollars ($201.00), billed monthly at sixteen dollars and seventy-five cents ($16.75), per Equivalent Residential Unit (ERU), to two hundred forty-three dollars and sixty cents ($243.60) per ERU, billed monthly as follows:

 

(a)        Residential Customers: twenty dollars and thirty cents ($20.30) per month for each ERU.

 

(b)        Multi-Family Customers: twenty dollars and thirty cents ($20.30) per month for each ERU.

 

(c)        Non-Residential Customers: twenty dollars and thirty cents ($20.30) per month for each ERU.

 

4101.4             The CRIAC shall be based upon the Equivalent Residential Unit (ERU).  An ERU is defined as one thousand square feet (1,000 sq. ft.) of impervious surface area, taking account of a statistical median of residential properties.

 

4101.5             All residential customers shall be assessed a CRIAC based on the following Six-Tier Residential Rate Structure for the CRIAC:

 

Tier	Size of Impervious Area (Square Feet)	Equivalent Residential Unit (ERU)
Tier 1	100 - 600	0.6
Tier 2	700 - 2000	1.0
Tier 3	2,100 - 3,000	2.4
Tier 4	3,100 - 7,000	3.8
Tier 5	7,100 - 11000	8.6
Tier 6	11,100 and more	13.5

 

4101.6             All non-residential and multi-family customers shall be assessed ERU(s) based upon the total amount of impervious surface area on each lot. This total amount of impervious surface shall be converted into ERU(s), truncated to the nearest one-hundred (100) square feet.

 

4101.7             Impervious Only Properties are defined and subject to the follow requirements:

 

(a)                Impervious Only Properties are properties that do not currently have metered water/sewer service (for example, parking lots) and may require the creation of new accounts; and

 

(b)               Effective October 1, 2012, Impervious Only Properties shall be billed as follows:

 

(1)               Impervious Only Properties with three (3) or more ERU’s shall be billed monthly.

 

(2)               Impervious Only Properties with less than three (3) ERU’s shall be billed every six (6) months.

 

(3)               Customers who are billed for more than one (1) property and who participate in District of Columbia Water and Sewer Authority’s group billing program shall be billed monthly for all properties.

 

Section 4102, CUSTOMER ASSISTANCE PROGRAMS, of Chapter 41, RETAIL WATER AND SEWER RATES, of Title 21 DCMR, WATER AND SANITATION, is amended as follows:

 

4102.1             CUSTOMER ASSISTANCE PROGRAM FOR HOUSEHOLDS AND TENANTS

 

(a)        Eligible households and tenants will receive an exemption from water service charges, sewer service charges, Payment-in-Lieu of Taxes (PILOT) and Right-of-Way (ROW) fees for the first Four Hundred Cubic Feet (4 Ccf) per month of water used. If the customer uses less than Four Hundred Cubic Feet (4 Ccf) of water in any month, the exemption will apply to that month's actual water usage.

 

(b)        Eligible households and tenants will receive a credit of six dollars and thirty cents ($6.30) on the monthly billed Water System Replacement Fee.

 

(c)        Participation in the Customer Assistance Program is limited to single-family residential accounts and individually metered tenant accounts when the eligible applicant is responsible for paying for water services.

 

(d)       Eligibility is determined by the District of Columbia Department of Environment Energy Office.

 

 

Comments on these proposed rules should be submitted in writing no later than thirty (30) days after the date of publication of this notice in the D.C. Register to Linda R. Manley, Secretary to the Board, District of Columbia Water and Sewer Authority, 5000 Overlook Ave., S.W., Washington, D.C. 20032, by email to [e-mail], or by FAX at [phone]. Copies of these proposed rules may be obtained from the DC Water at the same address or by contacting Ms. Manley at [phone].