6127313 Water and Sewer Authority, D.C. - Notice of Final Rulemaking - Amend Right-of-Way Fee, Payment-in-Lieu of Taxes Fee, Water and Sanitary Sewer Service Rates, and Clean Rivers Impervious Surface Area Charge for Fiscal Year 2017 and Fiscal Year ...

DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA WATER AND SEWER AUTHORITY

 

NOTICE OF FINAL 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; 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 July 7, 2016, took final action through adoption of Board Resolution #16-61 to amend Section 112 (Fees) of Chapter 1 (Water Supply); and Sections 4100 (Rates for Water Service) and 4101 (Rates for Sewer Service) 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 rates for Water and Sewer Services, Right-of-Way (ROW) Fee, Payment-in-Lieu of Taxes (PILOT) Fee, and Clean Rivers Impervious Surface Area Charge (CRIAC) effective for Fiscal Year 2017 and 2018.

 

Pursuant to Board Resolution #15-108, dated December 3, 2015, DC Water’s proposed rulemaking was published in the D.C. Register on January 1, 2016 at 63 DCR 103.  Further, a notice of public hearing was published in the D.C. Register on April 29, 2016 at 63 DCR 6544, and a public hearing was held on May 11, 2016.  The record of the public hearing remained open until June 13, 2016, to receive written comments on the proposed rulemaking.  DC Water also conducted eight (8) town hall meetings from April 1, 2016 through April 30, 2016 to receive comments on the proposed rulemaking.  On June 9 and 28, 2016, the Retail Water and Sewer Rates Committee met to consider the comments offered at the May 11, 2016 public hearing and during the public comment period and recommendations from the DC Water General Manager.

 

On July 7, 2016, the Board, through Resolution #16-61, after consideration of all comments received and the report of the Retail Water and Sewer Rates Committee, voted to amend the DCMR to: implement a combined retail water and sewer rate increase of $0.42 per one hundred cubic feet (Ccf) for the first 4 Ccf of a Residential customer’s water use (Lifeline) for FY 2017 and an increase of $0.45 per Ccf for the first 4 Ccf of a Residential customer’s water use for FY 2018; implement a combined retail water and sewer rate increase of $0.46 per Ccf of a Residential customer’s water usage greater than 4 Ccf for FY 2017 and an increase of $0.49 per Ccf of a Residential customer’s water usage greater than 4 Ccf for FY 2018; implement a combined retail water and sewer rate increase of $0.44 per Ccf of water use by Multi-family customers for FY 2017 and an increase of $0.47 per Ccf of water use by Multi-family customers for FY 2018; implement a combined retail water and sewer rate increase of $0.47 per Ccf of water use by Non-Residential customers for FY 2017 and an increase of $0.50 per Ccf of water use by Non-Residential customers for FY 2018; implement a monthly increase of $1.94 per Equivalent Residential Unit in the monthly CRIAC for FY 2017 and a monthly increase of $2.94 per Equivalent Residential Unit in the monthly CRIAC for FY 2018; maintain the ROW Pass Through Charge at $0.17 per Ccf for FY 2017 and implement an increase of $0.01 per Ccf for the ROW Pass Through Charge for FY 2018; and implement an increase of $0.01 per Ccf for the PILOT Fee for FY 2017 and an increase of $0.01 per Ccf for the PILOT Fee for FY 2018.

 

No changes were made to the substance of the proposed regulations. The text in 21 DCMR § 4101.3 was revised to read “The annual and monthly Clean Rivers Impervious Surface Area Charge (CRIAC) …” to clarify that in addition to the annual CRIAC the table includes the monthly CRIAC fee per ERU.

 

These rules were adopted as final on July 7, 2016 by resolution and will become effective October 1, 2016.

 

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

 

Section 112, FEES, Subsection 112.8, is amended to read as follows:

 

112.8               The District of Columbia Right-of-Way Occupancy Fee Pass Through Charge and the Payment-in-Lieu of Taxes (PILOT) Fee shall be 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, for each one hundred cubic feet (1 Ccf) of water use shall be:

 

	Effective October 1, 2016		Effective October 1, 2017
Customer	Per Ccf of water use	Per 1,000 Gals. of water use	Per Ccf of water use	Per 1,000 Gals. of water use
Residential	$0.17	$0.23	$0.18	$0.24
Multi-Family	$0.17	$0.23	$0.18	$0.24
Non-Residential	$0.17	$0.23	$0.18	$0.24

 

(b)        Payment-in-Lieu of Taxes (PILOT) Fee 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, for each one hundred cubic feet (1 Ccf) of water use shall be:

 

	Effective October 1, 2016		Effective October 1, 2017
Customer	Per Ccf of water use	Per 1,000 Gals. of water use	Per Ccf of water use	Per 1,000 Gals. of water use
Residential	$0.48	$0.64	$0.49	$0.65
Multi-Family	$0.48	$0.64	$0.49	$0.65
Non-Residential	$0.48	$0.64	$0.49	$0.65

 

Chapter 41, RETAIL WATER AND SEWER RATES, is amended as follows:

 

Section 4100, RATES FOR WATER SERVICE, Subsection 4100.3, is amended to read as follows:

 

4100.3             The retail rates for metered water service for each one hundred cubic feet (1 Ccf) of water use shall be:

 

	Effective October 1, 2016		Effective October 1, 2017
Customer	Per Ccf of water use	Per 1,000 Gals. of water use	Per Ccf of water use	Per 1,000 Gals. of water use
Residential - 0 to 4 Ccf	$3.23	$4.32	$3.39	$4.53
Residential - Greater than 4 Ccf	$4.06	$5.43	$4.26	$5.70
Multi-Family	$3.62	$4.84	$3.80	$5.08
Non-Residential	$4.19	$5.60	$4.40	$5.88

 

Section 4101, RATES FOR SEWER SERVICE, Subsection 4101.1, is amended to read as follows:

 

 

 

4101.1            

(a)        The retail rates for sanitary sewer service for each one hundred cubic feet

                                    (1 Ccf) of water use shall be:

 

	Effective October 1, 2016		Effective October 1, 2017
Customer	Per Ccf of water use	Per 1,000 Gals. of water use	Per Ccf of water use	Per 1,000 Gals. of water use
Residential	$5.71	$7.63	$6.00	$8.02
Multi-Family	$5.71	$7.63	$6.00	$8.02
Non-Residential	$5.71	$7.63	$6.00	$8.02

 

Subsection 4101.3 is amended to read as follows:

 

4101.3             The annual and monthly Clean Rivers Impervious Surface Area Charge (CRIAC) per Equivalent Residential Unit (ERU) shall be:

 

	Effective October 1, 2016		Effective October 1, 2017
Customer	Annual CRIAC per ERU	Monthly CRIAC per ERU	Annual CRIAC per ERU	Monthly CRIAC per ERU
Residential	$266.88	$22.24	$302.16	$25.18
Multi-Family	$266.88	$22.24	$302.16	$25.18
Non-Residential	$266.88	$22.24	$302.16	$25.18