§ 24-101. Official findings.

The Board of County Commissioners of Okaloosa County, Florida, hereinafter called the "board," has caused to be published a notice of a public hearing at which all of the users of the services and facilities provided by the water and sewer system of said county and owners, tenants and occupants of property served or to be served thereby and all others interested were to be given the opportunity to be heard concerning the proposed rates, fees, and charges set forth herein, which notice was duly published in the Northwest Florida Daily News, a newspaper of general circulation in Okaloosa County on August 11, 2016, said hearing date being September 6, 2016.

Whereas, said public hearing has been duly held on September 6, 2016, in accordance with said notice, and all of the users of the services and facilities provided by said water and sewer system and the owners, tenants and occupants of properties served or to be served thereby and all others interested were heard and given the opportunity to be heard concerning the proposed rates, fees, and charges, and the board having given due consideration thereto and being fully advised in the premises find as follows:

(1)

County responsibility: The board is charged with the responsibility of providing Okaloosa County Water and Sewer System customers with safe drinking water in ample quantities and is also charged with the responsibility of collecting and disposing of domestic wastewater in order to abate the pollution of Choctawhatchee Bay, Garniers Bayou, Cinco Bayou, Dons Bayou, Chula Vista Bayou, waterways and watersheds and other streams, and this abatement of pollution is necessary and essential to protect the health of the citizens of Okaloosa County, Florida.

(2)

Pollution abatement: To accomplish the abatement of pollution and thereby protect the health of the citizens, the board has adopted a plan for installing street sewers, trunk sewers and wastewater treatment facilities, and effluent disposal facilities, work on the actual construction of these facilities having been in progress for years during which time the board has expanded its facilities and has invested millions of dollars in water system, sewer lines and sewage treatment plants.

(3)

Defraying cost of facilities: The board has heretofore levied charges designed to defray a part of the costs of extending the trunk water mains and trunk sewer mains. These charges are, in fact, related to and are made for the purpose of partially defraying the cost of providing water and sewer infrastructure to maintain adequate levels of service to meet expected demand.

The board officially finds that such charges are in fact sanitary sewer and water readiness to serve charges and should be so called to prevent confusion.

The Okaloosa County Water and Sewer Department is an enterprise fund and all fees and charges or other revenues collected shall be utilized to defray the cost of providing the service expansion, improvements, operation, maintenance, repair, replacement, capital outlay, restoration, environmental protection, and other costs of the system.

(4)

Removal of health hazards: The board, by the construction and installation of the wastewater collection and treatment facilities and water system costing millions of dollars, has abated pollution and public health hazard from Choctawhatchee Bay, Garniers Bayou, Cinco Bayou, Dons Bayou, Chula Vista Bayou, water bodies and their respective watersheds and other streams in Okaloosa County. This is a service for which no direct charge is made. It removes a health hazard for all.

(5)

Necessary connections: The board executed a bond agreement thereof, it is provided that at any time the construction of a sanitary sewer system had been completed within an area and was available to the abutting property, the board would require the owners of abutting property to connect to such sewage system after the same was placed in operation at a point available to the property being then served by the board.

(6)

Combined water and sewer systems: The board officially declares and affirms that it has heretofore combined its water and sewer systems for the purpose of financing the construction, operation and expansion of the same, and that, out of the revenues collected from such combined rates, the principal and interest requirements of all bonds issued or assumed by it are paid. The board officially finds that under its plan it will serve areas within the present county district limits and that such plans can be financed over the fixed period set out therein and it is contemplated that these rates and charges will provide funds for such purpose.

(7)

Reason for rates: The costs included within the rates set out under division 3 and listed in Appendix A are for providing for the health and welfare of the citizens of Okaloosa County by constructing water systems, wastewater treatment plants, trunk line sewers and branch line sewers and sewer service lateral lines, and includes a charge to cover the recurring and daily cost of collecting, treating and disposing of wastewater and the cost of the service necessary and incident to the removal of pollution from the waterways and bayous in and surrounding Okaloosa County by removing raw sewage from these waterbodies and bayous, and included in charges for maintaining and operating the wastewater treatment plants incident to such service and the cost of amortizing the bond indebtedness which the board has incurred in providing the water and sewer system improvements.

(8)

Reasonable service: Under its plan for providing water it is required to increase the size of its water mains so as to deliver a reasonable volume of water sufficient to provide adequate service to the area. The board further officially finds that a substantial expense is incurred in over sizing these lines and that a direct benefit to the water users occurs through the reduction of insurance rates available to its customers in areas where water is provided.

(9)

Purpose and policy: This article sets forth uniform requirements for direct and indirect contributors into the wastewater collection and treatment system for Okaloosa County and enables the Board of Commissioners to comply with all applicable state and federal laws required by the Clean Water Act of 1977, the General Pretreatment Regulations (40 CFR Part 403), Chapter 403, Florida Statutes and Rules 62-4, 62-600, 62-620, 62-625, 62-640, 62-301, 62-302, 62-303, and 62-520, Florida Administrative Code.

Some of the objectives of this article are:

a.

To prevent the introduction of pollutants into the publicly owned treatment works that will interfere with its operation;

To prevent the introduction of pollutants into the publicly owned treatment works that will pass through the publicly owned treatment works, inadequately treated, into receiving waters or the atmosphere or otherwise be incompatible with the publicly owned treatment works;

b.

To protect both publicly owned treatment works personnel who may be affected by wastewater and sludge in the course of their employment and the general public;

c.

To promote reuse and recycling of industrial wastewater and sludge from the publicly owned treatment works;

d.

To provide for fees for the equitable distribution of the cost of operation, maintenance, and improvement of the publicly owned treatment works;

e.

To enable Okaloosa County Water and Sewer to comply with its State of Florida Wastewater permit conditions, sludge use and disposal requirements, and any other federal or state laws to which the publicly owned treatment works is subjected.

This article provides for the regulation of direct and indirect contributors to the sewage system and users of the water system through the issuance of permits to certain non-domestic users and through enforcement activities, requires user reporting, assumes that existing customer's capacity will not be pre-empted, and provides for the setting of fees for the pro rata equitable distribution of costs resulting from the established program.

This water and sewer use and user charge ordinance shall apply to Okaloosa County Service District and to persons outside the cities who are, by contract or agreement with the cities, users of the cities' publicly owned treatment works (POTW). Except as otherwise provided herein, the board or its authorized designated employee shall administer, implement and enforce the provisions of this article.

(10)

Charges and fees:

a.

Purpose: It is the purpose of this paragraph to provide for the recovery of costs from users of the board's water, sewer and wastewater treatment and disposal systems for the implementation of the program established herein. The applicable charges or fees shall be set forth in Appendix A in this article.

b.

Readiness to serve charges: It is hereby determined necessary to fix and collect water and sewer readiness to serve charges from customers. Such charges shall be as contained within this article and the revenue received shall be used for operation, maintenance, replacement, debt retirement and other authorized expenses.

c.

Charges and fees: The board may adopt, amend and set charges and fees which may include:

1.

Fees for reimbursement of costs of setting up and operating the board's water and sewage program.

2.

Fees for monitoring, inspection and surveillance procedures.

3.

Fees for reviewing accidental discharge procedures and construction.

4.

Fees for service applications.

5.

Fees for filing appeals.

6.

Fees for consistent removal (by the board) of pollutants otherwise subject to federal pretreatment standards.

7.

Other fees as the board may deem necessary to carry out the requirements contained herein. These fees relate solely to the matters covered by this article and are separate from all other fees chargeable by the board.

8.

The board will review the user charges at least annually and revise the rates as necessary to ensure that adequate revenues are generated to pay the costs of operation and maintenance including replacement costs and that the system continues to provide for the proportional distribution of operation and maintenance including replacement costs among users and user classes.

The board will notify users at least annually if the existing rate is being changed.

The public shall be afforded ample opportunity at a public hearing to review a change in fees before they are adopted.

( Ord. No. 16-16 , § 1, 9-6-16)