Permit Fee Methodology

The Permit Fee methodology consists of the following components:

• BASE FEE—This fee is based on permit type: Categorical Industrial User, Significant Industrial User, Non-Significant Industrial User, or Non-Discharging Categorical Industrial User.
• COMPLIANCE MONITORING COSTS—These are the actual costs for Environmental Services staff to sample and analyze an industrial user’s wastewater for permit compliance.
• ENFORCEMENT COSTS—This fee will be based on Environmental Services’ costs to administer each enforcement action.
• DEQ-PERMIT FEE (if applicable)—The annual DEQ-permit fee will be added for categorical and significant industrial users.

The base fee will change each year. Compliance monitoring costs should remain consistent during an industry’s 5-year permit cycle. Enforcement costs will depend on each permittee’s compliance history in the previous year. Fewer violations could mean lower costs.

 Updated: September 19, 2017