16851_Authority_Aug_2023

38 The Authority | AUGUST 2023 A Presuming that those new cus- tomers will be contributing flow to the existing collection, conveyance and treatment facilities, they would be subject to the normal tapping fee for the existing system. An additional “special purpose” tapping fee can be assessed for these customers, by dividing the cost of the extension by the number of EDUs to be served by the extension. Q If your authority provides strictly interceptor and collection service, not treatment, what design capacity number do you use for the capacity portion of your tapping fee? A An authority operating its own col- lection/conveyance system (while pur- chasing conveyance/treatment service from another entity) can establish its own system tapping fee, including a “collection” part and a “capacity” part. The “system design capacity” used for both of these calculations should be the amount of capacity being pur- Continued from page 17. chased from the entity providing the conveyance/treatment services. The “collection” part would then be calcu- lated using the cost of the authority’s collection system divided by the pur- chased capacity. The “capacity” part would be calculated using the cost of the authority’s capacity components, plus the cost of purchasing convey- ance/treatment service, divided by the purchased capacity. Mandatory Reimbursement for Service Line Connections Q Can a developer waive his right to receive reimbursement for subse- quent “service line” connections? A Yes, but this should be agreed to in writing. Q If a developer extends a main and service lines connect to it, how much reimbursement is the develop- er entitled? A The developer is entitled to reim- bursement up to the cost of the main construction (minus up to 5% for the cost of administration for the reim- bursement process). It is advisable that a written agreement be prepared to address the reimbursement process. Q At what rate should the reim- bursement be made? A When the authority receives tapping fee payments from the new connecting users, it passes on the appropriate portion of those fees to the developer. Q Once total reimbursement has been made for the original cost of the facilities, does reimbursement continue as new service line connec- tions occur? A It is not necessary to continue making such reimbursements. This should be spelled out in an original reimbursement agreement with the developer. For additional Q&A on this topic, visit our website at municipalauthorities. org/laws (Tapping Fees Information and Resources). S