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State
law adds new fee to Platte City water service
by Ivan Foley
Landmark editor
There's
a new fee on water service in Platte City, thanks to a
state law pertaining to water pollution control.
The Missouri Clean Water Law was recently amended. It
now requires persons with a direct or indirect sewer service
connection to a public sewer system owned or operated
by a city, public sewer district, public water district,
or other publicly owned treatment works shall pay an annual
fee.
The fee is to be collected by the agency billing the
customers—in this instance the City of Platte City—and
remitted to the state at least once per year.
Platte City has chosen to remit the Clean Water Law fees
collected from customers during the month of September.
"This is mandatory unfunded legislation imposed
by the state," Platte City Mayor Frank Offutt explained
this week. "All the money goes to the state—none
of it stays here in Platte City."
Though for the sake of clarity, the ordinance passed
by the city board at its most recent meeting calls for
5% of the fee revenue collected by the city to be retained
by the city as "reimbursement," presumably to
cover expenses associated with making the collection.
The fees are:
•Seventy cents per year for residential customers.
•Three dollars per year per water service connection
for all other customers with water service connections
of less than or equal to one inch, excluding taps for
fire suppression and irrigation systems.
•Ten dollars per year per water service connection
for all other customers with water service connections
of more than one inch but less than or equal to four inches
excluding taps for suppression and irrigation systems.
•Twenty five dollars per year per water service
connection for all other customers with water service
connections of more than four inches, excluding taps for
fire suppression and irrigation.
Fees are remitted to the Missouri Department of Natural
Resources by the city. The money goes toward the state's
Water Pollution Control Program.
Fees established by this ordinance shall expire on Dec.
31, 2007, the ordinance states.
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