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B-319556 1 (2010-09-29)

handle is hein.gao/gaobadsje0001 and id is 1 raw text is: i Accountability - Integrity * Reliability United States Government Accountability Office Washington, DC 20548 B-319556 September 29, 2010 Ms. Avis Marie Russell, Esq. General Counsel D.C. Water and Sewer Authority 5000 Overlook Avenue, S.W. Washington, D.C. 20090 Subject: Use of Appropriated Funds to Pay for the D.C. Water Impervious Surface Area Fee Dear Ms. Russell: The purpose of this letter is to inform you that we have evaluated the District of Columbia Water and Sewer Authority's (D.C. Water) Impervious Surface Area charge (ISA charge) and, for the reasons detailed in the Enclosure, have determined that GAO's appropriated funds are available to pay the assessment due on October 1, 2010. We have concluded that the ISA charge is a component of the utility rate customers pay for water and sewer services. In April 2009, D.C. Water transmitted to the Director of the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) D.C. Water's fiscal year 2011 water and sewer services bill for federal customers. Letter from Chief Financial Officer, D.C. Water, to Director, OMB, Apr. 15, 2009 (D.C. Water FY 2011 Bill). The D.C. Water FY 2011 Bill includes ISA charges assessed on District properties based on the amount of impervious surface located on each property. Id.. Funds collected are used to recover costs of construction projects directed at reducing and controlling combined sewer overflows, which occur during heavy rain events when combined sewage and stormwater from the combined sewer system overwhelm D.C. Water's facilities and untreated sewage is discharged into local waterways. It is well established that a federal agency may use appropriations to pay a fee, such as a utility rate, for services rendered. Because the purpose of the ISA charge is to cover the costs of capital improvements to D.C. Water's sewer system and treatment facilities, we view the ISA charge as a component of the utility rate a customer must pay to obtain water and sewer services. In evaluating the charge, GAO considered all the facts and circumstances in order to understand the essential nature of the charge. We do not find dispositive that D.C. Water, in billing for these costs, separates the costs of these capital improvements from other costs of operation as separate line items on customer bills.

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