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In early 2013,the Council approved that Community compliance with the SAC policies and procedures is made an explicit requirement of the Council Waste Discharge Rules(WDRs).The WDR authority is based on Minnesota Statutes 473,and under the General Pretreatment Regulations and Minnesota Rules chapter 7049. In 2013 another Task Force,with members at the political level,including many Mayors, looked at the big picture of whether and how the Council should use SAC to pay for reserve capacity in the wastewater system. A simplified version of the recommendations is that the Council should: i)pursue a change in legislation so that SAC funds are used to pay for the full cost of growth(and no portion of other wastewater projects), ii) increase the threshold for the deferral program to 25 units(it was 10 in 2013), iii)conduct a study basing SAC Determinations on water meter sizes for Commercial Properties, and iv)retain the technical basis for SAC fees and not use SAC funds for non-wastewater purposes. In 2014 the Council accepted the 2013 SAC Work Group report and authorized the increased threshold for the SAC deferral program. The final report from each work group and task force can be found at: www.metrocouncil.org/Wastewater-Water/Funding-Finance/Rates-Charges/Sewer-Availability- Charge.a spx 3.1.1 SAC Policy & Rule Changes Pending In 2014,MCES staff is still analyzing the possibility of using water meter sizes for SAC Determinations.Results will be presented to stakeholders sometime in 2015. Also in 2015, legislation is expected to be sought to: i)change the amount SAC is required to pay to cover growth costs of capital projects only, and ii)eliminate the 2015 sunset on the shift authority which will be a positive factor for future bond ratings. 3.2 SAC Determinations MCES is a wholesaler of wastewater services for the MDS. MCES collects SAC from,and grants SAC Credit to, Communities. Optionally,the Communities may pass on their SAC costs to property or business owners. Communities are responsible for paying SAC to the Council whether they charge Local SAC or not. Generally,Communities issue permits(building, sewer connection or plumbing permits)or a business license indicating that development or redevelopment is occurring and that the demand for sewage service is likely to change. The change in demand triggers a SAC Determination. MCES makes all Determinations for Industrial Properties, while Communities make all Residential Determinations and may make Commercial Determinations based on MCES criteria and guidance. MCES will assist Communities in SAC Determinations or conduct them upon request,and will make the final decisions regarding the correct number of SAC units to assess. SAC Determination Application forms are included as Appendix B. 3.3 SAC Revenue SAC revenue collected by MCES is used to finance the reserved capacity portion of the capital costs of the MDS,either directly("pay-as-you-go"funding)or as debt service payments.The remaining portion of the capital costs,representing currently used capacity, is paid by the Communities through a portion of their monthly municipal wastewater charges. Some think of SAC as paying for a piece of the wastewater infrastructure, making sewer service available,while regular sewer bills pay to treat wastewater for amounts actually measured. The per-unit SAC to the Community is determined and approved by the Council. The base rate is dependent on various factors, including the annual SAC requirement,the amount of the pay-as-you- Page 110