Section 16. LAWS AND REGULATIONS
IMPLEMENTATION OF A USER CHARGE SYSTEM
INCORPORATING A
DEDICATED AD VALOREM TAX STRUCTURE
Harold A. Smith, Principal Sanitary Engineer
John T. Fomek, Associate Sanitary Engineer
Cecil Lue-Hing, Director of Research and Development
The Metropolitan Sanitary District of Greater Chicago
Chicago, Illinois 60611
SERVICE AREAS AND RESPONSIBILITIES
The Metropolitan Sanitary District of Greater Chicago is charged with the principal
responsibility of collection, treatment and disposal of sewage in the Chicago metropolitan
area [ 1 ]. The district serves an area of approximately 872 mi2 located primarily within the
boundaries of Cook County, Illinois. Sewage is collected and treated from a domestic population of 5.5 million people. Added to this domestic loading is the nondomestic (industrial)
and combined sewer load, which contributes an additional equivalent of 5.5 million people,
bringing the total population equivalent serviced to 11 million people. The district owns and
operates seven sewage treatment facilities. These facilities have a total treatment capacity of
1869 mgd, including 1755 mgd of secondary treatment capacity and 114 mgd of tertiary
treatment capacity. These facilities produce approximately 700 dry ton/day of organic
solids. The district has constructed 505 mi of interceptors to serve the local sewer systems
owned by its member municipalities, utilities and sanitary districts.
FEDERAL MANDATE FOR A USER CHARGE SYSTEM
Regulations promulgated under the Federal Water Pollution Control Act Amendments
of 1972 (PL 92-500) and the Clean Water Act of 1977 (PL 95-217) require that the district
administer a system of revenue collection to recover the costs of operation, maintenance and
replacement (OM&R) of the district's facilities associated with the collection and treatment
of sewage, and the handling and disposal of solids removed in the treatment process.
PL 92-500
Under the provisions of PL 92-500, the district's user Charge System was required to
meet the following criteria:
1. Distribution of the cost of operation, maintenance and replacement of the treatment
works to each user (or user class) must be in proportion to such user's contribution to
the total wastewater loading to the treatment works.
2. Volume, strength and delivery (flow) rate characteristics must be used to determine the
user's (or user class') proportional distribution of operation, maintenance and replacement costs.
3. The system must generate sufficient revenue to offset the cost of all treatment works
operation, maintenance and replacement costs.
4. The system must be incorporated in one or more legislative enactments or other appropriate authority.
5. Ad valorem taxes cannot be used to recover operation, maintenance and replacement
costs. (This decision was given in July 1974 by the Comptroller General of the United
States.)
577