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Fraser board approves billing breweries and distillers for industrial waste collection starting in July
Summary
After staff concluded a simpler 'trickle' discharge approach would likely violate updated state permit conditions, the Fraser Board voted to bill breweries and distillers for contracted waste collection when service occurs, with invoicing beginning in the third quarter (July). The move shifts some costs off ratepayers and onto the identified commercial users.
Fraser — The Fraser Board of Trustees voted May 20 to charge breweries and distillers for the town's contracted industrial waste collection, directing staff to implement invoicing that begins with the third-quarter billing in July.
Town staff told the board that changes in the state discharge permit and accompanying monitoring requirements make a ‘trickle’ discharge approach infeasible without paid, on-site wastewater staff, automatic flow-tracking equipment and frequent reporting. "The permit requirements are based on a time and place when the permit is issued," a town staff member explained during the meeting, saying state expectations and engineering reviews mean continued use of a contracted hauler is most practical.
The board approved a staff-recommended structure that divides Denali pump-truck costs among the identified industrial users based on the previous 12-month volume of waste collected. Staff said Denali will continue to come up from the Front Range, that service will only be charged in months when the hauler visits, and that the initial invoicing would use the previous calendar year to calculate a fair allocation and discourage underreporting.
"This is a really bad year to be putting a new, essentially, tax on us," said Nick Crab, owner of Camber Brewing in Fraser, urging the board to delay. Crab and other brewers pressed for clarity on tote sizes, rate adjustments when production practices change, and options to coordinate collections to reduce cost. Town staff responded that totes can be provided and that Denali can be scheduled to match higher-volume months with advance notice.
The board settled on a July start to give businesses time to prepare; staff said quarterly utility billing will include the charge and that customers will see the new third-quarter line item on bills issued in October. Several trustees said the change makes the cost of industrial waste collection more equitable because ratepayers were previously absorbing much of it.
The motion approved by the board directs staff to implement the industrial pre-treatment collection subsidy and billing approach as outlined in the staff briefing, with invoicing beginning for service provided in July 2026. The transcript does not record a roll-call tally; the motion was moved and seconded and carried with some voiced opposition during the public ayes/ nays portion of the meeting.
