April 11, 2005

Contact: (718/595-3601)

Public Hearings on Proposed Rates and Changes

PUBLIC NOTICE IS HEREBY GIVEN THAT in accordance with Section 1045-j (3) of the Public Authorities Law, public hearings will be held on May 2, 3 and 4, 2005, concerning proposed rates and charges to be effective July 1, 2005, for the use of, or services furnished, rendered or made available by the Water and Wastewater System of the City of New York (the “System”) and concerning changes to certain billing policies and miscellaneous fees and charges to be incorporated into the New York City Water Board's Rate Schedule effective July 1, 2005. The hearings will be held as follows:

1. It is anticipated that there will be a change from currently effective water rates and wastewater charges for services provided during the fiscal year commencing July 1, 2005.
   
   
   1. Metered and unmetered water rates will increase by 3%.
   2. Wastewater charges will remain at 159% of water charges.
   3. The regulated rate for water provided to municipalities and water districts outside of the City which does not exceed the allowance quantities set forth in Section 24-360 of the Administrative Code of the City of New York will increase by not more than 9.3% to $646.09 per million gallons, and the rate charged for water provided to municipalities and water districts outside of the City which exceeds the allowance quantities of water set forth in Section 24-360 of the Administrative Code of the City of New York will be equal to the in-City metered rate, currently anticipated to be $2,205.88 per million gallons.
      
      
2. It is also anticipated that changes to certain billing policies and miscellaneous fees and charges will be considered.
   
   
   1. Comprehensive Water Reuse Program – The Board proposes to extend this program to include graywater as well as blackwater systems.
   2. Renovation Bill Cap Program – The Board will consider discontinuing this program in its entirety or in the alternative respecifying program requirements to reincorporate omissions from the current version of the Rate Schedule, including but not limited to the age of eligible renovations, the duration of the program and the replacement of fixtures.
   3. Title Meter Readings, Flat-rate Reconciliations and Special Meter Readings – The Board will eliminate fees for title meter readings and flat-rate account reconciliations conducted in connection with property ownership transfers, and will increase the fee for a Special Meter Reading, requested by an owner and unconnected with a property transfer, from $55 to $115.
   4. Laundry Rate – The Board will establish an additional laundry fixture rate for clothes washing machines located within an individual apartment unit of $26.47 per fixture.
   5. Multiple Family Conservation Program (MCP) - The deadline for filing an application for the MCP, currently set forth as December 31, 2005, will be extended by one year to December 31, 2006. Other billing programs due to expire June 30, 2006 also will be extended by one year.
   6. Transition Program for Residential Premises with Six or More Dwelling Units – This program shall be modified to exclude new construction from program eligibility. All new construction should be billed on the basis of metered consumption or on the MCP rate.
   7. Cap on Metered Charges – Eligibility for this program will be limited to properties entirely equipped with low-flow toilets.
   8. Forgiveness Program for Extraordinary Leaks and Disasters – The minimum annualized threshold value used to determine program eligibility will be increased from $300 to $381.04 to account for previously adopted rate increases.
   9. Billing Program Requests - Part VI Section 1.D will be modified by requiring that all Billing Program requests must be in writing and requests will no longer be accepted over the phone or by visiting a borough office.
   10. Existing Board and Department of Environmental Protection (“DEP”) policies and procedures will be reiterated in the Rate Schedule to provide a more complete source of information to the Board’s customers including the following:
       1. Exemptions – the existing statutory authorization of and DEP’s administrative policies and procedures for implementing exemptions will be incorporated by reference into the Board’s Rate Schedule.
       2. Forgiveness Program for Extraordinary Leaks and Disasters – a failure of a maintainable plumbing fixture such as a toilet or faucet is not an extraordinary leak or disaster and will not be eligible for the program.
       3. Part VII Section 3 – Billing based on a representative average daily flow may be calculated based on a representative period occurring prior to or after failure of the meter as reasonably determined by DEP.
       4. Part VII Section 4 – Estimated bills, if not paid when due, are subject to late payment charges.
       5. Election of Meter Based Billing
          1. Election must be made on a DEP Election of Meter Based Billing Form
          2. If a meter is not registering, meter billing will be prospective only from the date a working meter is installed and approved by DEP.

All members of the public who wish to obtain copies of the Board's Information Booklet describing the rate proposal, and changes to billing policies and miscellaneous fees and charges, or who wish to testify at the hearing should contact Kevin Kunkle, New York City Water Board, 59-17 Junction Boulevard, 8th Floor, Flushing, NY 11373, Telephone (718) 595-3601 not later than April 28, 2005. Oral testimony will be limited to five (5) minutes duration. A copy of any prepared or written statement may be submitted to the Water Board at the above address at least two days prior to the meeting.