MCES Rates and Charges

1. Municipal Wastewater Charge	7. Self-monitoring Report Late Fees
2. Service Availability Charge (SAC)	8. Stipulation Agreement Payment
3. Industrial Strength Charges	9. Industrial Waste Cost Recovery Fees
4. Liquid Waste Hauler Load Charges	10. Inflow/Infiltration Surcharge
5. Industrial Discharge Permit Fees	11. Encroachment Application Fee
6. Add-on-service Charge	12. Direct Connection Application Fee

1. Municipal Wastewater Rate:

The charge to communities for sewer service treatment. All 104 customer communities pay MCES an allocated portion of MCES Municipal Wastewater Charges based on the proportion of each community's volume of wastewater treated to total system flow. Most cities cover their own sewer costs by charging a higher "retail" rate to residents and businesses. Those rates are specific to each city.

	2007	2008
Total MCES Municipal Wastewater Charges:	$146,000,000	$153,840,000
Total system flow (July 1 to June 30 flow period):	95,633.1 mg	90,664.4 mg

2. Service Availability Charge (SAC):

A one-time fee for new connections or increased volume discharged to the metropolitan wastewater system. The SAC fee is generically known as an "impact" or "connection" fee. One SAC unit equals 274 gallons of maximum potential daily wastewater flow volume. A freestanding, single-family residence is charged one SAC unit. Other types of buildings pay a prorated SAC fee based on the estimated volume of wastewater they will generate. Additional information is on the SAC Program website.

Service Availability Charge

	Discount	2007 SAC	2008 SAC
Base Unit Fee: Single-Family Dwelling		$1,675	$1,825
Apartment (without individual laundry facilities)	20%	$1,340	$1,460
Multi-Dwelling Public Housing (without garbage disposals or dishwashers)	25%	$1,256.25	$1,368.75
Multi-Dwelling Public Housing (without individual laundry facilities, garbage disposals or dishwashers)	40%	$1,005	$1,095
Commercial: Base unit fee times number of residential equivalent units (REUs) where the number of REUs is based on an estimated maximum potential flow
Industrial: Based on fee times number REUs where the number of REUs is based on maximum normal flow volume

3. Industrial Strength Charges:

Fees for additional treatment costs caused by industrial wastewater that has more pollutants than typical residential wastewater. Industrial strength charges are based on the concentration of pollutants (as measured by Total Suspended Solids (TSS) and Chemical Oxygen Demand (COD)) and the volume of the discharge. Strength charge rates are set by the Council based on expenses at wastewater treatment plants for treating TSS and COD in excess of normal residential wastewater. Industrial users are also subject to normal municipal wastewater (volume) charges. Of the approximately 817 permitted Industrial Users, about 350 pay strength charges to MCES.

Industrial Strength Charges - within Council Region	2007 Rates	2008 Rates
Cost per excess pound of Total Suspended Solids (TSS)	$0.140	$0.148
Cost per excess pound of Chemical Oxygen Demand (COD)	$0.070	$0.074

4. Liquid Waste Hauler Load Charges:

Liquid waste haulers pay MCES for septage, leachate, and other hauled wastes that are discharged to approved MCES disposal sites. The load charge combines a strength charge component with a volume component. The volume component is based on the MCES municipal wastewater rate. In addition, a $10-$50 per load Service Fee applies to hauled wastes originating outside the Region. Load charges are different for holding tank, portable toilet waste, septage, and industrial wastes.

Load Charges (per 1,000 gallons)	2007 Rates	2008 Rates
Standard Load Charge	$35.18	$37.61
Holding Tank Rate	$1.81	$1.93
Portable Toilet Waste Rate	$46.69	$49.91
Collar County Load Charge (Includes $10 per 1,000 gallons service fee for waste from outside the region)	$45.18	$47.61

5. Industrial Discharge Permit Fees:

Industrial Users of the system must apply for a permit from MCES to discharge wastewater. Those Industrial Users issued a permit are subject to annual permit fees, which recover a portion of the costs to administer the industrial pretreatment program. Permit fees are based on permit type, annual volume of wastewater, Significant Industrial User (SIU) status, and reporting frequency.

6. Add-on-Service Charge:

Assessed to special discharge permittees for disposal of treated, contaminated groundwater. Charge is assessed in lieu of SAC due to the temporary nature of the service.

7. Self-monitoring Report Late Fees:

Assessed to permittees who fail to submit a complete self-monitoring report on a timely basis. The late fee amount is based on the frequency and severity of late reports.

8. Stipulation Agreement Payment:

Negotiated monthly payments and daily penalties intended to negate the economic advantage of noncompliance with federal pretreatment standards or local limits.

9. Industrial Waste Cost Recovery Fees:

Used to recover MCES costs from any responsible party associated with spill or enforcement responses, non-routine data requests, special discharge requests, orders to appear, or notice of violations.

10. Inflow/Infiltration Surcharge:

Surcharge adopted by the Metropolitan Council in February 2006 to reduce the impact of I/I on wastewater capacity and to insure that the wastewater capacity of the system is available for future development. The program began 1/1/2007. For additional information, view the I/I Program web pages.

11. Encroachment Application Fee:

The fee (currently $500) recovers administrative costs for time spent by MCES staff developing and processing encroachment agreements. It covers the average costs associated with reviewing the application and preparing the agreement. Additional information may be found on the interceptor web pages.

12. Direct Connection Application Fee:

This fee, which is billed to the city or township, applies when a request is made to connect directly to an MCES interceptor. It recovers administrative costs for time spent by MCES staff on a connection request (an of average 16 hours is spent permitting, reviewing, modifying, drawing and inspecting). Since about half of MCES staff time spent on a request is done before the actual connection is made, half of the fee will be refunded if MCES does not approve the connection. This fee of $900 is effective 1/1/08.

Contact:

Dan Schueller: Phone (651)602-1624; Email dan.schueller@metc.state.mn.us