California Association of Sanitation Agencies

On September 19, 2011, the State Water Resources Control Board adopted a new core regulatory program fee schedule, which increases fees for NPDES permit holders by 60.6 percent and for waste discharge requirements by 24 percent. The fee increases are the result, in part, of the State Legislature’s decision to shift tens of millions of dollars of previously General Fund supported basin planning and Total Maximum Daily Load programs to fee support. CASA submitted written comments and testimony on the proposed fees, expressing great concern with the magnitude of the increase and the need to identify program efficiencies to stem the impact of future rate increases. Many speakers asked the Board to re‐evaluate its programs in light of the significant fee increases, which affected all segments of the regulated community, including a more than 300 percent increase in the agricultural waiver fees to transition the program to full fee support.

Under the new NPDES discharge fee formula, annual fees for POTWs would be calculated as follows:

Base Fee of $1,606 plus the permitted flow, in million gallons per day, multiplied by $2,840. The maximum fee paid by any facility is $401,568. These amounts do not include additional surcharges such as pretreatment and ambient monitoring.

For waste discharge requirements, the fees are determined by threat to water quality and complexity of the discharge, as determined by the regional water boards. The highest WDR fee, paid by dischargers with a threat and complexity rating of 1A, will increase from $58,520 to $72,565.

In adopting the fees, the State Water Board directed its staff to come back in October with a schedule and plan to work with stakeholders to link performance measures to targets, identify programs where the Board has discretion regarding funding and align funding with priorities to the extent feasible.

9-20-11_casa_fee_alert.pdf