NOTICE OF PUBLIC HEARING ON THE TOWN OF OCEANA
SEWER RATE ORDINANCE
Notice is hereby given that the Town of Oceana, West Virginia, a municipal corporation, at a meeting of the Council of the Town of Oceana (the “Town Council”) to be held on Thursday December 12, 2024, at seven o’clock (7:00) p.m. in the Oceana Town Hall, 1285 Cook Parkway, will hold a public hearing before the final vote on a proposed ordinance, the principal object of which is the increase of sewer rates for the customers of the Town of Oceana’s sewer utility. The title of such ordinance is “Ordinance Providing For Increased Rates, Charges and Fees For Sewer Services For All Customers of The Municipally Owned and Operated Sewer Utility of The Town of Oceana, Wyoming County, West Virginia.” The final vote on adoption of said proposed ordinance shall be taken following the public hearing on Thursday December 12, 2024, at seven o’clock (7:00) p.m. in the Oceana Town Hall. Interested persons may appear and be heard by the Town Council with respect to the passage of the proposed ordinance. Following the public hearing, the Town Council shall take such actions as it shall deem proper upon the Ordinance. Copies of the proposed ordinance are available at the Oceana Town Hall, 1285 Cook Parkway, Oceana, West Virginia.
The proposed schedule of rates, charges, and fees to be effective for all services as noted are:
SCHEDULE I
APPLICABILITY
Applicable in entire area served.
AVAILABILITY
Available for domestic, commercial, industrial (except unusual industrial waste) and resale (non-contract) sewer service.
RATES (Based upon metered volume of water supplied)
$15.63 per 1,000 gallons per month
MINIMUM BILL
Each customer shall pay a minimum charge of $46.89 per month based on 3,000 gallons per month.
UNMETERED RATE
A flat fee of $70.35, based on 4,500 gallons of water usage per month, will be charged for all unmetered water customers.
SERVICE CONNECTION CHARGE
$350.00
DELAYED PAYMENT PENALTY
The above tariff is net. On all current usage billings not paid within twenty (20) days, ten percent (10%) will be added to the net current amount unpaid. This delayed payment penalty is not interest and is to be collected only once for each bill where it is appropriate.
WATER DISCONNECT-RECONNECT-ADMINISTRATIVE FEES
Whenever water service has been disconnected for non-payment of sewer bills, a disconnection fee of $25.00 shall be charged; or in the event the delinquent sewer bill is collected in the field, an administrative fee of $25.00 shall be charged. A $25.00 reconnection fee will be assessed for each occurrence where water service to sewer customers is restored, after water service has been terminated for non-payment of sewer bills.
RETURNED CHECK CHARGE
If a check received is returned by the bank for any reason, the Town’s charge to the customer for such returned check shall be $30.00.
LEAK ADJUSTMENT
$5.00 per 1,000 gallons is to be used when the bill reflects unusual consumption which can be attributed to eligible leakage on the customer’s side of the meter.
SCHEDULE II
SURCHARGE FORMULA TO BE APPLIED IN CASES WHERE SURFACE DRAINAGE IS CONNECTED TO THE TOWN’S SANITARY SEWER SYSTEM
Where the Town has discovered that a customer’s roof drain, downspout, storm sewer or other similar facilities conducting surface water have been connected to the Town’s sewer system and such customer has failed to take appropriate action, within thirty (30) days of receipt of a demand by the utility in accordance with the Rules of the Public Service Commission, to eliminate such connection, a surcharge will be imposed upon the customer calculated on the basis of the following formula:
S = A x R x .0006233 x C
S = the surcharge in dollars
A = the area under roof and/or the area of any other water collection surface connected to the sanitary sewer, in square feet
R = the measured monthly rainfall, in inches
.0006233 = a conversion factor to change inches of rain x square feet of surface to thousands of gallons of water
C = the Town’s approved rate per thousand gallons of metered water usage
The Town shall not impose the surcharge unless, and until, the customer has been notified by certified mail, return receipt requested, or by hand delivery, that it has been established by smoke testing, dye testing, or on-site inspection that rain or other surface water is being introduced into the sanitary sewer system at the customer’s location, and that the customer has not acted within thirty (30) days from receipt of such notice to divert the water from the sanitary sewer system.
Said surcharge shall be calculated and imposed for each month that said condition continues to exist. Failure to pay the surcharge and/or correct the situation shall give rise to the possible termination of water service in accordance with the Rules and Regulations of the Public Service Commission of West Virginia.
SCHEDULE III
SURCHARGE FORMULA TO BE APPLIED IN THE CASES OF USERS PRODUCING UNUSUAL WASTE
The charge for the treatment of unusual waste will be calculated on the basis of the following formula:
Ci = VoVi + BoBi + SoSi
Ci = charge to unusual users per year
Vo = average unit cost of transport and treatment chargeable to volume, in dollars per gallon
Vi = volume of wastewater from unusual users, in gallons per year
Bo = average unit cost of treatment, chargeable in Biochemical Oxygen Demand (BOD) in dollars per pound
Bi = weight of BOD from unusual users in pounds per year
So = average unit cost of treatment (including sludge treatment) chargeable to total solids, in dollars per pound
Si = weight of total solids from unusual users in pounds per year
When an unusual user is to be served, a preliminary study of its wastes, and the cost of transport and treatment thereof, will be made. Waste containing materials which, in the judgment of the Oceana Sanitary Board, should not be introduced into the sewer system need not be handled by it. The results of this preliminary study will be used to determine the feasibility of the proposed sewer service and the charge therefor, based upon the formula set out above.
Thereafter, unusual sewage will be monitored on a regular basis and at the conclusion of each fiscal year, based on the investigation aforesaid and audit of the Oceana Sanitary Board records, new cost figures will be calculated for use in the above formula. The cost of establishing the monitoring facilities shall be paid by the unusual user. Based on these audited figures, additional billings covering the past fiscal year will be made for payment by each unusual user, or refund given by the utility, as the case may be. Such audited figures will then be used for the preliminary billing for the next fiscal year, at the end of which an adjustment will be made as aforesaid.
SCHEDULE IV
APPLICABLE INSIDE AND OUTSIDE OF THE CORPORATE LIMITS OF THE TOWN OF OCEANA
Where the amount of sanitary sewage discharged into the Oceana wastewater collection and/or transmission system by certain industrial plant or plants cannot be accurately determined by the use of the plant’s water meter or meters, and said plant cannot install a flow meter to measure such waste, a special formula will be used whereby such plant or plants will pay to the Oceana
Sanitary Board a sewer charge calculated at fifty (50) gallons of water per each employee at the plant each working day.
SCHEDULE V
APPLICABILITY
Applicable in entire territory served
AVAILABILITY OF SERVICE
Available for wastewater and leachate haulers
RATES
Commodity Charges – Each hauler shall pay a commodity charge of $25.00 per 1,000 gallons per load. Load will be two times the actual capacity of the truck or other transport method delivering wastewater and leachate. Actual capacity shall be determined or verified by the Town.
DELAYED PAYMENT PENALTY
The above tariff is net. On all current usage billings not paid within 20 days, ten percent (10%) will be added to the net current amount unpaid. This delayed payment penalty is not interest and is only to be collected once for each bill where it is appropriate.
RETURNED CHECK CHARGE
If a check received is returned by the bank for any reason, the Town’s charge to the customer for such returned check shall be $30.00.
Town of Oceana