SECTION 252:623-23-1. Pretreatment charges and fees

(a)   The DEQ may adopt reasonable fees for reimbursement of costs of setting up and operating the Pretreatment Program which may include:

(1)   Fees for wastewater discharge permit applications including the cost of processing such applications;

(2)   Fees for monitoring, inspection, and surveillance procedures including the cost of collecting and analyzing a user's discharge, and reviewing monitoring reports submitted by users;

(3)   Fees for reviewing and responding to accidental discharge procedures and construction;

(4)   Fees for filing appeals; and

(5)   Other fees as the DEQ may deem necessary to carry out the requirements contained in this Chapter. These fees relate solely to the matters covered by this Chapter and are separate from all other fees, fines, and penalties chargeable by the DEQ.

(b)   Based on subsection (a) above, a non-refundable application fee of $500.00, payable to the DEQ, is required for all applications covered by Chapter 623.

(c)   To assist in meeting rising costs to the Department for permitting and enforcement activities covered by Chapter 623, the fees set out in (a) of this Section shall be automatically adjusted on July 1st every year to correspond to the percentage, if any, by which the Consumer Price Index (CPI) for the most recent calendar year exceeds the CPI for the previous calendar year. The Department may round the adjusted fees up to the nearest dollar. The Department may waive collection of an automatic increase in a given year if it determines other revenues, including appropriated state general revenue funds, have increased sufficiently to make the funds generated by the automatic adjustment unnecessary in that year. A waiver does not affect future automatic adjustments.

(1)   Any automatic fee adjustment under this subsection may be averted or eliminated, or the adjustment percentage may be modified, by rule promulgated pursuant to the Oklahoma Administrative Procedures Act. The rulemaking process may be initiated in any manner provided by law, including a petition for rulemaking pursuant to 75 O.S. § 305 and OAC 252:4-5-3 by any person affected by the automatic fee adjustment.

(2)   If the United States Department of Labor ceases to publish the CPI or revises the methodology or base years, no further automatic fee adjustments shall occur until a new automatic fee adjustment rule is promulgated pursuant to the Oklahoma Administrative Procedures Act.

(3)   For purposes of this subsection, "Consumer Price Index" or "CPI" means the Consumer Price Index - All Urban Consumers (U.S. All Items, Current Series, 1982-1984=100, CUUR0000SA0) published by the United States Department of Labor. The CPI for a calendar year is the figure denoted by the Department of Labor as the "Annual" index figure for that calendar year.

[Source: Added at 18 Ok Reg 1601, eff 6-1-01; Amended at 28 Ok Reg 1272, eff 7-1-11]