DEQ consolidates wastewater and septic fees, proposes new recycled‑water permit fee to sustain reuse program

The Department of Environmental Quality told the House Environment, Energy and Technology Committee it is proposing a consolidated fee chapter that would gather existing wastewater, septic and reuse permit fees into a single rule and establish a new fee schedule for recycled‑water (reuse) permits.

"We're also introducing a new fee for recycled water permits," said Mary Anne Nelson, DEQ Surface and Wastewater Division administrator, presenting docket 580-114-2401. She said the change is intended to make fees easier to find and administer and to ensure funding sustainability for the recycled‑water program.

DEQ said the proposed fee chapter consolidates minimum fees drawn from the seven local public‑health district schedules and creates a new table of minimums so that, if a health district declines to run the septic permitting program, DEQ would have a fee schedule available to operate the program. Nelson said the agency created the table by identifying the lowest fee charged across districts for common permit categories; the table would represent minimums, not ceilings.

The rule also introduces an annual fee schedule for recycled‑water permits (reuse) and transfers the Idaho Pollutant Discharge Elimination System (IPDES) fee schedule into the chapter for consistency. Under DEQ's proposal the reuse permit program would become effective July 1, 2025; the agency described its first fee cycle as July 1, 2025–Sept. 30, 2026, with invoices sent Oct. 1, 2026 and payment due Nov. 1, 2026, meaning revenue would not be realized until state fiscal year 2027.

DEQ described three fee scenarios it presented to stakeholders — (1) fixed annual cost, (2) application fee only, and (3) a hybrid — and said the negotiated rule‑making committee selected a fixed annual cost approach designed to generate about $200,000 in annual revenue for reuse permit administration. Nelson said that approach spreads costs equitably across facility types and helps the agency reduce permit backlogs and staffing pressure.

DEQ told the committee the rulemaking process included three rulemaking sessions and outreach to a range of stakeholders including the Association of Idaho Cities, Idaho Rural Water, municipal utilities and sewer districts, Idaho Power and industry consultants. The agency received letters of support from Idaho Rural Water and comments from the Idaho Association of Commerce and Industry; the environmental health directors working group also provided recommended edits DEQ incorporated.

DEQ said the largest reuse permit fee under the table would be $3,000 for municipalities of 15,000 people or more; a smaller private municipal category was cited at $750. Committee members asked whether penalties or enforcement fees would change; Nelson said penalties are not addressed in the fee rule. Representative Burgoyne asked whether homeowners or homeowners associations participated in the process; DEQ said attorneys representing homeowners associations participated and that the final rule incorporates a fee waiver provision to address extenuating circumstances.

DEQ said most health districts already collect fees under their own authorities and this rule would not automatically increase those district fees; rather, the chapter is intended to document a default minimum fee table for a DEQ‑run program if districts elect not to run the program. The rule was presented to the board of environmental quality and DEQ said the board approved the rule as presented to them on Nov. 14, 2024. There were no comments on the administrative bulletin posting during the public comment period, DEQ said.

Speakers from Idaho Rural Water and the Association of Idaho Cities testified in support of the rulemaking during the committee hearing.

The committee did not vote on the docket at the hearing; the chair said votes are expected at the Feb. 18 meeting.