"Over the past few weeks, numerous community groups that had not previously voiced their opinions on the rate changes approached MSD. Given the pointed interest these groups have shown, and their strong disagreement with how the rate changes have been structured, MSD is delaying the vote on final approval. This delay will allow these diverging viewpoints to be taken into consideration, and ensure that the voice of the public is fully heard as MSD sets its rates."
(St. Louis, MO, November 7, 2007) - The Metropolitan St. Louis Sewer District (MSD) will delay a final vote on a series of rate changes that were originally scheduled for consideration at the District's Board of Trustees meeting tomorrow, Thursday, November 8, 2007. In conjunction with this delay, MSD issues the following statement:
"MSD is committed to protecting the environment and managing stormwater issues on behalf of our St. Louis community. While carrying out these important duties, MSD is also aware that it has a concurrent obligation to protect the household budgets of ratepayers - especially the budgets of ratepayers on low or fixed incomes. Balancing these responsibilities can be difficult, but MSD has worked very hard for many years to find the right approach. Given the pressure MSD is under from the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and the State of Missouri, and the demands of managing the 4th largest sewer system in the Untied States, this balance is becoming harder to achieve. However, moving forward with a focus on this balance will always be a top priority for MSD.
"In terms of miles of sewer pipe, the system that MSD manages is the 4 th largest in the United States and portions of the sewer system still in use today were first built as far back as the 1850s. To give some perspective on how large and complex a sewer system this is, consider that MSD's system is approximately the same size as the system in Los Angeles, California. Although the two systems are approximately the same size, system upgrades and operational costs in Los Angeles are shared amongst over 5 million residents versus approximately a combined 1.4 million residents in the City of St. Louis and St. Louis County. Furthermore, the St. Louis system is an older system that is significantly more complex due to its age and the fact that 79 separate sewer systems have been incorporated into one over the last several decades.
"Since March 2007, MSD's Rate Commission has been considering a series of proposed rate increases that will fund ongoing infrastructure improvements that must be made to the St. Louis area's sewer system. Continued progress on these improvements is critical in ensuring continued compliance with state and federal clean water regulations. EPA has already taken legal action against numerous cities across the Unites States, and, along with the State of Missouri, filed a lawsuit against MSD in June 2007. The legal actions taken against other cities have resulted in settlements that have price tags measuring in the billions of dollars. While there is no disagreement that local progress on clean water efforts must continue - all parties agree on that point - there is disagreement on how quickly this work can be completed without overwhelming local household budgets that are already under pressure from rising food and gas prices, and other local infrastructure needs .
"The rate changes that were to be considered at the November 8 th Board meeting are in direct response to the precedents we have seen EPA set across the country. However, over the past few weeks, numerous community groups that had not previously voiced their opinions on the rate changes approached MSD. Given the pointed interest these groups have shown, and their strong disagreement with how the rate changes have been structured, MSD is delaying the vote on final approval. This delay will allow these diverging viewpoints to be taken into consideration, and ensure that the voice of the public is fully heard as MSD sets its rates."
BACKGROUND
In March 2007, a proposal for both wastewater and stormwater rate changes was referred to MSD's Rate Commission. In an effort to raise public awareness o f the proposal, District staff placed 49 advertisements in 15 area newspapers and conducted 121 community outreach engagements. Additionally, since December 2006, over 50 stories about the Rate Commission or the rate proposal have run in the local media. The Commission held 18 public meetings to review the proposed rates and issued a rate report and recommendation to MSD's Board of Trustees on August 13 th. Since the report was issued, the Board has undertaken its own deliberations and held public meetings on the proposed rates and the Commission's findings.
As proposed, wastewater rates for the average single-family homeowner would change through a series of five increases from $22.38 per month in 2007 to $36.79 per month in July 2011. This compares to a current nationa l average of $32.00 per month. The wastewater rate changes would fund the second phase of the District's ongoing multi-billion dollar , multi-decade capital construction program. Largely driven by state and federal regulatory requirements, this ongoing investment in the St. Louis area's infrastructure is protecting the environment and our St. Louis community by alleviating basement backups, reducing sewer overflows into local waterways, and ensuring progress on water quality in local rivers and streams. To continue this work, MSD has proposed a construction schedule calling for almost $1 billion in construction and other related activities from 2007 to 2012 .
Proposed changes to stormwater rates would reflect the implementation of a new charge based on impervious area (areas that do not absorb rainwater, such as blacktop, cement, the footprint of a home or building, etc.). The owner of an average single-family home would see their stormwater charge change from $0.24 per month in 2007 to $7.26 per month in July 20 14. As the new impervious charge is implemented, MSD will eliminate a variety of property taxes that are currently levied by the District. For many residential customers, the $7.26 per month average charge based on impervious area maybe less than what they currently pay for stormwater services through the monthly $0.24 charge and taxes combined. However, as the total amount currently charged is dependent on the specific location of each customer's property within MSD's service area, using impervious area to calculate stormwater charges could result in a n increase for some customers. |
