Texas Administrative Code › Title 30 - ENVIRONMENTAL QUALITY › Part 1 - TEXAS COMMISSION ON ENVIRONMENTAL QUALITY › Chapter 21 - WATER QUALITY FEES › Section 21.3 - Fee Assessment

Current through Reg. 49, No. 28; July 12, 2024
(a) The fee
				calculation is based on the authorized limits contained in wastewater permits
				and water rights as of September 1 each year, without regard to the actual
				amount or quality of effluent discharged or the actual amount of water
				used.
(b) Assessment for wastewater
				permits.
(1) An annual fee is assessed
				against each person holding a wastewater permit. A separate fee is assessed for
				each wastewater permit.
(2) The
				maximum fee which may be assessed any permit, including an aquaculture permit,
				is the amount, if any, set forth in Texas Water Code (TWC), Chapter 26. The
				minimum fee for an active permit is $1,250. The minimum fee for an inactive
				permit is $620.
(3) In assessing a
				fee under this chapter, the commission considers the following factors:
(A) flow volume, and type;
(B) traditional pollutants;
(C) toxicity rating;
(D) storm water discharge;
(E) major designation;
(F) active or inactive status;
(G) discharge or retention;
(H) the designated uses and ranking
				classification of waters affected by waste discharges; and
(I) the costs of administering the following
				commission programs:
(i) water quality
				administration, including inspection of waste treatment facilities and
				enforcement of the provisions of TWC, Chapter 26, the rules and orders of the
				commission, and the provisions of commission permits governing waste discharges
				and waste treatment facilities;
(ii) the Texas Clean Rivers Program, under
				TWC, §26.0135, which monitors and assesses water quality conditions that
				support water quality management decisions necessary to maintain and improve
				the quality of the state's water resources (as defined in TWC,
				§26.001(5)).
(4) For the purpose of fee calculation,
				chemical oxygen demand (COD) and total organic carbon (TOC) are converted to
				biochemical oxygen demand (BOD) values and the highest value is used for fee
				calculation. The conversion rate for TOC is three pounds of TOC is equal to one
				pound of BOD (31). The conversion rate for COD is eight pounds of COD is equal
				to one pound of BOD (8: 1).
(5)
				Fee rate schedule. Except as provided in paragraph (6) of this subsection, the
				fee shall be determined as the sum of the following factors:
(A) contaminated flow, an amount up to a
				maximum of $1,090 per million gallons per day (mgd);
(B) uncontaminated flow, an amount up to a
				maximum of $18 per mgd;
(C)
				traditional pollutants, an amount up to a maximum of $23 per pound per
				day;
(D) toxic rating for
				industrial discharges:
(i) Group I, an amount
				up to a maximum of $310;
(ii) Group
				II, an amount up to a maximum of $1,090;
(iii) Group III, an amount up to a maximum of
				$1,640;
(iv) Group IV, an amount up
				to a maximum of $2,460;
(v) Group
				V, an amount up to a maximum of $4,910; and
(vi) Group VI, an amount up to a maximum of
				$9,830;
(E) major permit
				designation, an amount up to a maximum of $3,120; and
(F) storm water authorization, an amount up
				to a maximum of $780.
(6) For the types of permits listed in this
				paragraph, these additional guidelines will apply in determining the fee
				assessment.
(A) Land application (retention)
				permits. The fee assessed a land application permit shall be 50% of that
				calculated under paragraph (5) of this subsection. However, in no event shall
				the fee for an active land application permit be less than $1,250 per
				year.
(B) Inactive permits. The fee
				assessed an inactive permit shall be 50% of that calculated under paragraph (5)
				of this subsection. In the event an inactive permit is for a land application
				operation, the fee assessed shall be 25% of that calculated under paragraph (5)
				of this subsection. However, in no event shall the fee for an inactive permit
				be less than $620 per year.
(C)
				Storm water only permits. The fee for an active permit which authorizes
				discharge of storm water only, with no other wastewater, is an amount up to a
				maximum of $780.
(D) Aquaculture
				permits.
(i) In determining the flow volume to
				be used in fee calculation for an aquaculture production facility under
				paragraph (5) of this subsection, the flow for the facility shall be the
				facility's permitted annual average flow, or the facility's projected annual
				average flow if the permit does not have an annual average flow
				limitation.
(ii) If the facility's
				permit does not have an annual average flow limitation, the facility's
				projected annual average flow for the upcoming period from September 1 to
				August 31 shall be submitted to the executive director by June 30 preceding the
				fee year and shall be signed and certified as required by §
												305.44
				of this title (relating to Signatories to Applications), and that amount will
				be used for fee calculation.
(iii)
				The maximum annual fee for aquaculture production facilities is the amount, if
				any, set forth in TWC, Chapter 26.
(7) A multiplier may be applied to adjust the
				total fee per permit, which would also adjust the total assessment for all
				permits under the Water Quality Fee Program. The multiplier will be an amount
				up to a maximum of 1.75. As part of the approval of the annual operating
				budget, the executive director shall report to the commission the multiplier
				that will be applied for the upcoming fiscal year.