District Of Columbia § 34-2202.16 - Charges and fees and rate setting.

The Authority shall collect and abate charges, fees, assessments, and levies for services, facilities, or commodities furnished or supplied by it.

The Authority shall, following notice and public hearing, establish and adjust retail water and sewer rates. The District members of the Board shall establish the retail water and sewer rates prior to the Board’s consideration of the Authority’s budget. The water and sewer rates levied by the Authority shall only be a source of revenue for the maintenance of the District’s supply of water and sewage systems, and shall constitute a fund exclusively to defray any cost of the Authority.

In the absence of applicable standards, charges shall be levied and collected as determined by the Authority in accordance with .

The Authority may impose additional charges and penalties for late payment of bills.

The Authority shall collect a stormwater user fee established by the Director of the District Department of the Environment (“Director”), which charge the Director shall establish by rule and may from time to time amend.

The fee shall be collected from each property in the District of Columbia, and shall be based on an impervious area assessment of the property.

The Mayor shall coordinate the development and implementation of the MS4 stormwater user fee with DC WASA’s impervious area surface charge, to ensure that both fee systems employ consistent methodologies.”.

The Mayor shall offer financial assistance programs to mitigate the impact of any increases in stormwater user fees on low-income residents of the District, and shall evaluate the applicability of similar existing District low-income assistance programs to the stormwater user fee.

A landlord shall not pass a stormwater user fee charge to a tenant which is more than the stormwater user fee charge prescribed by the Director.

The stormwater user fee shall be the obligation of the property owner. Failure to pay the stormwater user fee shall result in a lien being placed upon the property without further notice to the owner. The Mayor may enforce the lien in the same manner as in .

Any owner or occupant of a property that is charged a stormwater user fee may contest a stormwater user fee bill rendered for managing stormwater runoff, according to the same procedures provided to owners or occupants of properties that receive water and sewer services, under .

The Authority is authorized to shut off the water distribution to any building, establishment, or other place upon failure of the owner or occupant thereof to pay the charges, including the storm water fee, within 90 days from the date of rendition of the bill.