Detroit Water and Sewerage Department - File #: 17-0075

• File #: 17-0075
• Version: 1
• Type: Resolution, BOWC
• Status: Approved
• In control: Office of the Director
• Final action: 4/19/2017
• Title: The Board of Water Commissioners for the City of Detroit, Water and Sewerage Department authorizes the Director to implement a five (5) year drainage fee policy, and also authorizes the Director to take such other actions as may be necessary to accomplish the intent of this vote.
• Indexes: Board of Water Commissioners

Date	Ver.	Action By	Action	Result
4/19/2017	1	Board of Water Commissioners	approved	Pass

Title
The Board of Water Commissioners for the City of Detroit, Water and Sewerage Department authorizes the Director to implement a five (5) year drainage fee policy, and also authorizes the Director to take such other actions as may be necessary to accomplish the intent of this vote.

Body
Agenda of April 19, 2017
Item No. 17-0075

TO: The Honorable
Board of Water Commissioners
City of Detroit, Michigan

FROM: Gary Brown, Director
Water and Sewerage Department

RE: Adoption of the DWSD Five (5) Year Drainage Fee Policy

MOTION
Upon recommendation of Gary Brown, Director, the Board of Water Commissioners for the City of Detroit, Water and Sewerage Department authorizes the Director to implement a five (5) year drainage fee policy, and also authorizes the Director to take such other action as may be necessary to accomplish the intent of this vote.

BACKGROUND
In 1972, the EPA passed the Federal Clean Water Act (CWA) which prohibits the discharge of untreated combined sewage/storm water into the Detroit or Rouge Rivers. In 1977, The City of Detroit ("City") was sued for failure to comply with the CWA- more than twenty billion gallons of untreated waste was dumped annually into the Detroit River and Rouge River. As a result, the federal courts placed the wastewater treatment system in federal receivership in 1977.

Over the years, the City has spent $1.5 billion building improvements to reduce illegal discharges. As a result, the Michigan Department of Environmental Quality (MDEQ) and the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has allowed the City until 2022 to comply with the NPDES permit, which in turn will allow the City to continue to invest in building new storm water retention basins in an effort to comply with the CWA's sewage/storm water treatment requirements.

While the City invests in green infrastructure projects and other improvements to reduce illegal discharges, the City must continue to store and transport billions of gallo...