Clark County Water Reclamation District Adopts Updated Service Rules, Adds New Plan-Review and Inspection Fees

The Clark County Water Reclamation District trustees approved amendments to their service rules that raise several fees and introduce new charges for development reviews and construction inspection, with most changes phased in over one to three years.

District staff presented the package as the result of stakeholder outreach and a citizens advisory committee process. Tom Minowigan of the Water Reclamation District told trustees the changes reflect comparisons with other local wastewater agencies and stakeholder feedback; in several cases the district reduced initial proposals after receiving comments.

Key changes the board approved include:

- Raising the septic and chemical toilet waste disposal fee from $0.06 per gallon to $0.09 per gallon, phased in over three years. Minowigan said that rate had not been changed in 33 years.

- Increasing the annual FOG (fats, oil, grease and grit) interceptor inspection fee from $100 to $125, phased in over two years. FOG interceptors are part of the district’s federally required pretreatment program.

- Creating a new point-of-connection processing fee for each new development project to cover engineering reviews and hydraulic flow modeling needed to identify connection points to the sewer collection system.

- Adopting a new plan-review fee and a new construction-inspection fee for new development projects. Staff said both fees are new to the district but were aligned to be slightly lower than comparable city agencies; after stakeholder feedback staff reduced the initially proposed per-foot rates and added a phased implementation.

Minowigan told the trustees that stakeholder outreach and the citizens advisory committee allowed the district to refine and, in many cases, lower proposed fees from their initial proposals. Trustees discussed implementation and asked staff to provide clear public information so applicants understand which projects and submittals must pay the new fees and when the fees take effect.

A member of the public questioned outreach notice; the district replied that it used the citizens advisory committee, industry stakeholders and a published business-impact statement as part of the legal notice and comment process. District staff said they would send public information clarifying that projects with applications or work started prior to July 1 would not be subject to the new fees, and that new submittals after July 1 would be assessed under the updated rules.

A motion to adopt the amendments passed. Trustees and staff said they would provide guidance to applicants and noted the need for staffing to handle an anticipated increase in submittals immediately after the fee changes take effect.

Speakers quoted in this article are those who spoke on the record during the Water Reclamation District item.