(1)
Sanitary sewage disposal
service.
a.
Metered
measurement of sanitary sewage. All sanitary sewage disposal service
sold by a utility shall be on the basis of metered measurement except that the
utility may at its option, pursuant to board-approved tariffs, provide flat
rate or estimated service for the following:
(1) Temporary service; or
(2) The disposal at the sewage treatment
plant of delivered sewage where the amount of sewage can be readily
estimated.
b.
Sanitary sewage meter requirements. Sanitary sewage disposal
service provided by a utility may be based upon the amount of water used by the
customer as measured pursuant to rule
199-21.3 (476) or separately
metered in substantial conformity with the requirements of rule
199-21.3 (476). The method of
measuring sanitary sewage disposal service shall be filed in the utility's
tariff and approved by the board. A proposed tariff which includes provisions
for separate sanitary sewage meters shall describe the circumstances under
which separate meters will be used.
c.
Customer classes. In
establishing customer classes, the utility may consider the characteristics of
the sewage generated by that customer class and the existence of any industrial
pretreatment agreements. Customer classes shall be established pursuant to
board-approved tariffs.
(3)
Sewage meter
requirements.
a.
Sewage
meter installation. Each sanitary sewage utility shall adopt a written
standard method or a method preapproved by the board for meter installation.
Copies of standard methods shall be made available upon request. All meters
shall be set in place by the utility.
b.
Records of sewage meters and
associated metering devices. Each sanitary sewage utility shall
maintain for each meter and associated metering device the following applicable
data:
(1) Meter identification.
1. Manufacturer.
2. Meter type, catalog number, and serial
number.
3. Meter
capacity.
4. Registration unit of
measurement (gallons or cubic feet).
5. Number of moving digits or dials on
register.
6. Number of fixed zeros
on register.
7. Pressure rating of
the meter.
(2) Meter
location history.
1. Dates of installation and
removal from service.
2. Location
of installation.
3. All customer
names with readings and read out dates.
Remote register readings shall be maintained identical to
readings of the meter register.
c.
Registration devices for
meters. Where remote meter reading is used, the customer shall have a
readable meter register at the meter.
d.
Sewage meter readings.
(1) Sewage meter reading interval. Reading of
all meters used for determining charges to customers shall be scheduled at
least quarterly. An effort shall be made to read meters on corresponding days
of each meter reading period. The meter reading date may be advanced or
postponed no more than ten days without adjustment of the billing for the
period.
(2) Customer sewage meter
reading. The utility may permit the customer to supply the meter readings on a
form supplied by the utility or, in the alternative, may permit the customer to
supply the meter reading information by telephone, or electronically, provided
a utility representative reads the meter at least once every 12 months and when
there is a change of customer.
(3)
Readings and estimates in unusual situations. When a customer is connected or
disconnected, or the regular meter reading date is substantially revised
causing a given billing period to be longer or shorter than usual, such bills
shall be prorated on a daily basis.
(4) Estimated bill. An estimated bill may be
rendered in the event that access to a meter cannot be gained and a meter
reading form left with the customer is not returned in time for the billing
operation. Only in unusual cases shall more than three consecutive estimated
bills be rendered.
(5)
Extensions to customers.
a.
Definitions. The following definitions shall apply to the
terms used in subrule 21.11(5):
"Advances for construction costs" means cash
payments or surety bonds or an equivalent surety made to the utility by an
applicant for an extension, portions of which may be refunded depending on any
subsequent connections made to the extension. Cash payments, surety bonds, or
equivalent sureties shall include a grossed-up amount for the income tax effect
of such revenue.
"Agreed-upon attachment period" means a
period of not less than 30 days nor more than one year mutually agreed upon by
the utility and the applicant within which the customer will attach. If no time
period is mutually agreed upon, the agreed-upon attachment period shall be
deemed to be 30 days.
"Contribution in aid of construction" means
a nonrefundable cash payment covering the costs of an extension that are in
excess of utility-funded allowances. Cash payments shall be grossed-up for the
income tax effect of such revenue. The amount of tax shall be reduced by the
present value of the tax benefits to be obtained by depreciating the property
in determining the tax liability.
"Customer advance for construction record"
means a separate record established and maintained by the utility, which
includes by depositor, the amount of advance for construction provided by the
customer, whether the advance is by cash or surety bond or equivalent surety,
and if by surety bond, all relevant information concerning the bond or
equivalent surety, the amount of refund, if any, to which the depositor is
entitled, the amount of refund, if any, which has been made to the customer,
the amount unrefunded, and the construction project on which or work order
pursuant to which the extension was installed.
"Estimated annual revenues" means an
estimated calculation of annual revenue based upon the following factors,
including but not limited to: the size of the facility to be used by the
customer, the size and type of equipment to be used by the customer, the
average annual amount of service required by the equipment, and the average
number of hours per day and days per year the equipment will be in use.
"Estimated construction cost" means an
estimated calculation of construction costs using average costs in accordance
with good engineering practices and based upon the following factors: amount of
service required or desired by the customer requesting the extension; size,
location and characteristics of the extension, including all appurtenances; and
whether or not the ground is frozen or whether other adverse conditions exist.
The average cost per foot shall be calculated utilizing the prior calendar year
costs, to the extent such cost basis does not exceed the current costs using
current construction cost methodologies, resources and material, and working
conditions, divided by the total feet of extensions by size of pipe for the
prior calendar year. In no event shall estimated construction costs include
costs associated with facilities built for the convenience of the
utility.
"Extensions" means a sanitary sewer main
extension.
"Similarly situated customer" means a
customer whose annual consumption or service requirements, as defined by
estimated annual revenue, are approximately the same as the annual consumption
or service requirements of other customers.
b.
Terms and conditions. The
utility shall extend service to new customers under the following terms and
conditions:
(1) The utility shall provide all
sewage treatment plant additions at its cost and expense without requiring an
advance for construction or contribution in aid of construction from customers
or developers except in those unusual circumstances where extensive plant
additions are required before the customer can be served or where the customer
will not attach within the agreed-upon attachment period after completion of
construction. In such instances, the utility shall require, no more than 30
days prior to commencement of construction, the customer or developer to
advance funds which are subject to refund as additional customers are attached.
A contract between the utility and the customer which requires an advance by
the customer to make plant additions shall be available for board inspection.
(2) Where the customer will attach
within 30 days after completion of the sewer main extension, the following
shall apply:
1. If the estimated construction
cost to provide a sewer main extension is less than or equal to five times the
estimated annual revenue calculated on the basis of similarly situated
customers, the utility shall finance and make the extension without requiring
an advance for construction.
2. If
the estimated construction cost to provide a sewer main extension is greater
than five times the estimated annual revenue calculated on the basis of
similarly situated customers, the applicant for such an extension shall
contract with the utility and deposit no more than 30 days prior to
commencement of construction an advance for construction equal to the estimated
construction cost less five times the estimated annual revenue to be produced
by the customer.
(3)
Where the customer will not attach within the agreed-upon attachment period
after completion of the sewer main extension, the customer requesting the
extension shall contract with the utility and deposit no more than 30 days
prior to the commencement of construction an advance for construction equal to
the estimated construction cost.
(4) Advance payments for plant additions or
extensions are subject to refund for a ten-year period and may be made by cash,
surety bond, or equivalent surety. In the event a surety bond or an equivalent
surety is used, the bonded amount shall have added to it a surcharge equal to
the annual interest rate paid by the utility on customer bill deposits times
the bonded amount. The bond shall be called by the utility at the end of one
year or when the earned refunds are equal to the bonded amount, less the
surcharge, whichever occurs first. If, upon termination of the surety bond,
there are sufficient earned refunds to offset the amount of the surety bond,
less the surcharge, the depositors shall provide the utility the amount of the
surcharge. If, upon termination of the surety bond, there are not sufficient
earned refunds to offset the full amount of the surety bond, less the
surcharge, the depositors shall provide the utility a cash deposit equal to the
amount of the surety bond, less refunds accumulated during the bonded period,
plus the surcharge, or the depositor may pay the interest on the previous
year's bond and rebond the balance due to the utility for a second or third
one-year period. Upon receipt of such cash deposit, the utility shall release
the surety bond. The cash deposit, less the surcharge, shall be subject to
refund by the utility for the remainder of the ten-year period.
c.
Refunds. The
utility shall refund to the depositor for a period of ten years from the date
of the original advance, a pro-rata share for each service attachment to the
sewer main extension. The pro-rata refund shall be computed in the following
manner:
(1) If the combined total of five
times the estimated annual revenue for the depositor and each customer who has
attached to the sewer main extension exceeds the total estimated construction
cost to provide the extension, the entire amount of the advance provided by the
depositor shall be refunded to the depositor.
(2) If the combined total of five times the
estimated annual revenue for the depositor and each customer who has attached
to the sewer main extension is less than the total estimated construction cost
to provide the extension, the amount to be refunded to the depositor shall
equal five times the estimated annual revenue of the customer attaching to the
extension.
(3) In no event shall
the total amount to be refunded to a depositor exceed the amount of the advance
for construction made by the depositor. Any amounts subject to refund shall be
paid by the utility without interest. At the expiration of the above-described
ten-year period, the customer advance for construction record shall be closed
and the remaining balance shall be credited to the respective plant
account.
d.
Extensions not required. Utilities shall not be required to
make extensions as described in subrule 21.11 (5), unless the extension shall
be of a permanent nature.
e.
More favorable methods permitted. Subrule 21.11(5) shall not
be construed as prohibiting any utility from making a contract with a customer
in a different manner, if the contract provides a more favorable method of
extension to the customer, so long as no discrimination is practiced among
customers or depositors.
f.
Connections to utility-owned equipment. Subrule 21.11(5) shall
not be construed as prohibiting an individual, partnership, or company from
constructing its own extension. An extension constructed by a nonutility entity
must meet at a minimum the applicable portions of the standards in subrules
21.13(1) and 21.13(2) and such other reasonable standards as the utility may
employ in constructing extensions, so long as the standards do not mandate a
particular supplier. All connections to the utility-owned equipment or
facilities shall be made by the utility at the applicant's expense. At the time
of attachment to the utility-owned equipment or facilities, the applicant shall
transfer ownership of the extension to the utility and the utility shall book
the original cost of construction of the extension as an advance for
construction, and refunds shall be made to the applicant in accordance with
paragraph 21.11(5)"c." The utility shall be responsible for
the operation and maintenance of the extension after attachment.
g.
Reimbursement of extension
construction cost. If the utility requires the applicant to construct
the extension to meet service requirements greater than those necessary to
serve the applicant's service needs, the utility shall reimburse the applicant
for the difference in cost between the extension specifications required by the
utility and the extension specifications necessary to meet the applicant's
service needs.
(7)Location of meters.
Meters may be installed outside or inside as mutually agreed upon by the
customer and utility.
a.
Outside
meters. Meters installed out-of-doors shall be readily accessible for
maintenance and reading, and so far as practicable the location should be
mutually acceptable to the customer and the utility. The meter shall be
installed so as to be unaffected by climatic conditions and reasonably secure
from injury.
b.
Inside
meters. Meters installed inside the customer's building shall be
located as near as possible to the point where the service pipe enters the
building and at a point reasonably secure from injury and readily accessible
for reading and testing. In cases of multiple buildings, such as two-family
dwellings or apartment buildings, the meter(s) shall be located within the
premises served or in a common location accessible to the customers and the
utility.