(3) Except
for those facilities described in subsection (4)(h) of this section, biosolids
permit fees are assessed and collected for fiscal years for wastewater
treatment facilities and for calendar years for receiving-only facilities and
septage management facilities. Fees are due and payable within forty-five days
after the department mails a billing statement.
(a) Fees are considered delinquent if they
are not received by the first invoice billing due date.
(i) If a fee is determined to be delinquent,
the permittee will be notified by certified letter and have thirty days to
bring their account up-to-date before further action is taken by the
department.
(ii) Failure to pay a
fee is a cause for termination of a permit in accordance with WAC
173-308-310(24).
(b) Upon request from the
permittee, the department may at its discretion mail partial billing statements
up to two times per year, in which case a facility is responsible only for the
amount reflected on the current (and any past due) billing statement.
(4) The permit fee schedule is
based on the number of residences or residential equivalents (residential
equivalent value) contributing to a permittee's biosolids management system.
All charges per residential equivalent and any maximum fees listed in this
subsection will be adjusted by the annual fiscal growth factor calculated under
chapter 43.135 RCW.
(a) All facilities
required or requesting to obtain a permit or approval are assigned a minimum of
one residential equivalent.
(b) For
facilities with NPDES permits issued under chapter
173-220 WAC or state waste
discharge permits issued under chapter
173-216 WAC, the department will use
residential equivalent values determined under chapter
173-224 WAC. If no
residential equivalent value is determined under chapter
173-224 WAC, the
number of residences connected to the system or another appropriate criteria
will be used to determine the residential equivalent value.
(c) The residential equivalent value for
receiving-only facilities other than septage management facilities in (e) of
this subsection is the sum of the residential equivalent values contributed
from all sources, as determined by considering the portion of the current
annual production of each originating source that is provided to the receiving
facility.
(d) The residential
equivalent value for facilities located outside of the state (e.g., those on
tribal lands, other states, and other nations) who export solids into the state
will be based on the portion of the current annual production of the facility
that is exported into the state.
(e) For septage management facilities, each
1,250 gallons of septage received for treatment or applied to the land is equal
to one residential equivalent.
(f)
Equations (5) and (6), below, are used to calculate permit fees:
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Equation (5)
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Permit Fee = (REV x Cost per
REFGF)
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Where:
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REV = residential equivalent value.
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FGF = an annual fiscal growth factor expressed as a
percentage, as determined under chapter 43.135 RCW.
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Cost per REFGF = cost per
residential equivalent in dollars including a fiscal growth factor. The cost
per REFGF is obtained by multiplying the cost per
residential equivalent in the preceding year by the current year's fiscal
growth factor as follows in equation (6).
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Equation (6)
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Cost per REFGF = Previous
year's cost per RE x [1+ (FGF)]
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(g)
For implementation of the fiscal growth factor, the base year for all biosolids
permit fees will be fiscal year 2008, ending June 30, 2008. In the base year,
the FGF will be zero (0).
(h)
Review fee for new facilities. New facilities
proposed after July 1, 2007, will be required to pay a nonrefundable fee of
$1,800.00 for the first residential equivalent prior to departmental review of
an application package or proposal. In addition, following issuance of a permit
or approval, the facility will be subject to the fees described in (i) of this
subsection.
(i) A cost of $600.00
will be assigned to the first residential equivalent for all facilities. The
cost per subsequent residential equivalent in the base year will be as follows:
(i) $0.00 per residential equivalent for
permits issued to municipalities that own or operate incinerators that fire
sewage sludge to dispose of sewage sludge generated by their own facility in a
municipal solid waste landfill or through another facility on an emergency
basis.
(ii) $0.051 per residential
equivalent up to a maximum of $3000.00 for permits issued to receiving-only
facilities.
(iii) $0.215 per
residential equivalent for permits authorizing any other type of solids
management activity including, but not limited to, the following:
(A) Direct beneficial use by a treatment
works treating domestic sewage.
(B)
Transfer from one facility to another facility, including delivery to an
incinerator from nonincinerating jurisdictions.
(C) Prolonged treatment or storage including,
but not limited to, lagoon systems.
(D) Treatment or land application of
septage.
(E) Disposal of sewage
sludge in a municipal solid waste landfill except for facilities under (i)(i)
of this subsection.
(F) Exporting
biosolids or sewage sludge from facilities located outside of the
state.
(iv) $0.16 per
residential equivalent above 100,000.
