Trenton Municipal Utilities customers have two extra line items on their August utility bill which, according to TMU Comptroller Rosetta Marsh, represents fees charged yearly by the Missouri Department of Natural Resources and collected by the city that go to the DNR to pay for costs incurred by the state agency.
Mrs. Marsh said that for the average residential water user, there is a $3 water primacy fee and an 80-cent sewer connect fee, both of which are charged every August by the DNR.
The water primacy fee is used on all public water systems throughout the state, Mrs. Marsh said. Two percent of the primacy fee goes to the local public water system (TMU) to cover the costs of collecting the fee and the remainder is forwarded to the Missouri Department of Revenue for use by the DNR’s Public Drinking Water Branch. The department uses the primacy fee to fund testing for drinking water contaminants, inspections, compliance activities, complaint investigations and technical assistance. In 2010, the Missouri Department of Health and Senior Services began receiving an appropriation from the primacy fee for their bacteriological work, which was previously funded by general revenue – about $455,000 annually. Approximately $4.6 million per year is generated by the fee throughout the state.
The sewer connect fee is charged by the DNR according to the rules and requirements of the State Operating Permit under the Missouri Clean Water Law, Section 10 CSR 20-6.011. It is used throughout the state for the operation of public sewer systems.
For more information on the water primacy fee, persons can go to https://dnr.mo.gov/pubs/pub2229.htm
For more information on the sewer connect fees, persons can go to https://www.sos.mo.gov/cmsimages/adrules/csr/current/10csr/10c20-6.pdf under Section 10 CSR 20-6.011 fees.
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