510043 Amended Water and Sanitary Sewer Service Rates, Impervious Surface Area Charge, Customer Assistance Program, Right of Way Occupancy Fee Pass Through Charge/PILOT Fee and Customer Metering Fee

DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA WATER AND SEWER AUTHORITY

 

NOTICE OF FINAL RULEMAKING

 

The Board of Directors of the District of Columbia Water and Sewer Authority (the Board), pursuant to the authority set forth in Section 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. Code §§ 34-2202.03(3), (11) and 34-2202.16), Section 6(a) of the District of Columbia Administrative Procedure Act, approved October 21, 1968 (82 Stat. 1206; D.C. Code § 2-505(a)), and in accordance with Chapter 40 of Title 21 of the District of Columbia Municipal Regulations (DCMR), at its regularly scheduled meeting on September 2, 2010, took final action through adoption of Resolutions # 10-86, 10-87, and 10-89 to amend 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; and Section 112, “Fees,” of Chapter 1, “Water Supply,” of Title 21, Water and Sanitation,” of the DCMR.

 

The Authority’s proposed rulemaking was originally published in the D.C. Register on March 12, 2010 at 57 DCR 2108. A notice of public hearing was published in the D.C. Register on May 28, 2010 at 57 DCR 4602 and the public hearing was held on June 9, 2010. On July 27, 2010, the Retail Rates Committee met to consider the comments offered at the June 9, 2010, public hearing and during the comment period of the proposed rulemaking. On September 2, 2010, the Board of Directors voted after consideration of all comments received and the report of the Retail Rates Committee to amend the DCMR in the manner set out herein.

 

No changes have been made to the substance of the proposed regulations.  Clarifying changes were made to the regulations, which do not substantially alter or change the intent, meaning, or application of the proposed rules.

 

This final rulemaking will become effective October 1, 2010. 

 

Section 4100, “Rates for Water Service,” of Chapter 41, “Retail Water and Sewer Rates,” of Title 21, “Water and Sanitation,” of the DCMR is amended as follows:

 

Subsection 4100.3 is amended to read as follows:

 

4100                RATES FOR WATER SERVICE

 

4100.3             The rate for retail metered water service shall be:

 

(a)                Effective October 1, 2010, increased from Two Dollars and Fifty-One Cents ($2.51) to Three Dollars and Ten Cents ($3.10) for each One Hundred Cubic Feet (1 CCF) of water used.

 

Section 4101, “Rates for Sewer Service,” of Chapter 41, “Retail Water and Sewer Rates,” of Title 21, “Water and Sanitation,” of the DCMR is amended as follows:

 

Subsections 4101.1, 4101.2, and 4101.3 are amended to read as follows:

 

4101                RATES FOR SEWER SERVICE

 

4101.1             The rates for sanitary sewer service shall be:

 

(a)        Effective October 1, 2010, the retail sanitary sewer service rate shall be increased from Three Dollars and Sixty-One Cents ($3.61) to Three Dollars and Seventy-Nine Cents ($3.79) for each One Hundred Cubic Feet (1 CCF) of water used; and

 

(b)        Effective October 1, 2010, the annual Impervious Surface Area Charge (IAC) shall be increased from Twenty-Six Dollars and Forty Cents ($26.40) to Forty-One Dollars and Forty Cents ($41.40) per Equivalent Residential Unit (ERU).  The charge per ERU shall be billed monthly at Three Dollars and Forty-Five Cents ($3.45) for each ERU.

 

4101.2             The IAC 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.

 

4101.3             All residential customers shall be assessed an IAC based on the following Six-Tier Residential Rate Structure for the IAC:

 

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

 

Section 4102, “Customer Assistance Program,” of Chapter 41, “Retail Water and Sewer Rates,” of Title 21, “Water and Sanitation,” of the DCMR is amended to read as follows:

 

4102                CUSTOMER ASSISTANCE PROGRAM

 

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, and 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)        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.

 

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

 

Section 112, “Fees,” of Chapter 1, “Water Supply,” of Title 21, “Water and Sanitation,” of the DCMR is amended as follows:

 

Subsection 112.8 is amended to read as follows:

 

112.8               RIGHT OF WAY OCCUPANCY FEE PASS THROUGH CHARGE/PILOT FEE - The Right of Way Occupancy Fee Pass Through Charge/Payment in Lieu of Taxes (PILOT) Fee, assessed to recover the cost of fees charged by the District of Columbia to the Water and Sewer Authority for use of District of Columbia public space and rights of ways, shall be as follows:

 

(a)                Effective October 1, 2010, the Right of Way Occupancy Fee Pass Through Charge/PILOT Fee shall be increased from Fifty-Seven Cents ($0.57) to Sixty-Three Cents ($0.63) for each One Hundred Cubic Feet (1 CCF) of water used, divided as follows:

 

(1)               Payment in Lieu of Taxes to the Office of the Chief Financial Officer (OCFO) of the District of Columbia, Forty-Nine Cents ($0.49) per CCF; and

 

(2)               District of Columbia Right of Way Fee, Fourteen Cents ($0.14) per CCF.

 

Subsection 112.9 is added to read as follows:

 

112.9               Customer Metering Fee – Monthly fees for installing, operating, and maintaining meters shall be as follows:

                       

Meter Size (inches)	Monthly Fee per Meter
5/8"	$3.86
3/4"	$4.06
1	$4.56
1x1.25	$4.83
1.5	$6.88
1x1.5	$6.88
2	$7.54
2x1/2	$8.00
2x5/8	$8.00
3	$76.98
3x5/8	$77.94
3x1	$77.94
3x3/4	$77.94
4	$137.37
4x3/4	$138.15
4x1	$138.15
4x1.5	$138.15
4x2	$138.15
4x2"5/8	$181.04
6	$268.14
6 x 1	$272.70
6 x 1 x 1/2	$323.09
6x1.5	$323.09
6x3	$323.09
6x3x1/2	$323.09
6x3"3/4	$323.09
8	$323.29
8x2	$323.29
8x4x1	$358.26
8x4”3/4	$358.26
10	$317.91
10x2	$403.62
10x6	$403.62
10x6x1	$403.62
12	$329.66
12x6	$329.66
16	$349.45