Wastewater permit applicants and holders would pay state oversight fees

Nebraska’s Department of Water, Energy, and Environment would collect application and yearly fees for covered wastewater permits. The fees would cover wastewater discharge permits and required permits for treating wastewater before it enters a treatment system. Application fees could not exceed the cost of handling applications. Yearly fees could not exceed the actual cost of services provided. Applications and permits for livestock operations under section 54-2428 would be exempt. The Water Quality and Quantity Cash Fund would hold these fees and other money intended for the fund. It would pay reasonable direct and indirect costs of developing and running wastewater discharge programs. Both types of fees would begin July 1, 2027.

The state water and environment department would collect a $200 water well registration fee in advance, plus a separate fee required by law. These rules would cover wells registered with the department. The separate fee would go to the Water Well Standards and Contractors’ Licensing Fund. Industrial wells would pay separately for the first ten, then by groups of up to ten. Monitoring and cleanup wells would pay separately for the first five, then by groups of up to five. Each geothermal well series would pay one registration charge. Wells in cleanup projects approved under the listed cleanup laws would be charged as one well. Irrigation wells pumped into a shared carrier under one site plan would pay for the first two wells. Additional wells in that series would have no new registration fee. Registration money would cover specified notice costs and direct and indirect costs of well registration and related work. The remainder would go to the Water Well Decommissioning Fund. The department would collect the applicable fees in advance.

The environmental rulemaking council would set fees for hazardous waste producers and permitted businesses that process or dispose of hazardous waste. The fees would cover hazardous waste producers and permitted hazardous waste processing facilities or disposal areas. Producers’ fees would use yearly charges, the amount of waste reported to the national hazardous waste tracking system, or both. Processing and disposal businesses would pay based on waste weight or volume. They could charge people who use their facilities. The fee schedule would cover, but could not exceed, the department’s direct and indirect costs of regulating hazardous waste. The money would go to the Integrated Solid Waste Management Cash Fund to carry out hazardous waste rules.

The state water and environment department would review and adjust livestock waste fees each year to cover 40% of the previous year’s program costs. The rules would cover animal feeding operations with wastewater discharge permits and large concentrated animal feeding operations with the listed state permits or construction approvals. Annual charges would be based on the number of animals allowed by the facility’s permit. For the listed starting charges, pigs weighing 55 pounds or more would fall in the higher fee group. Pigs weighing less than 55 pounds would fall in the lower group. The department would review and adjust the fees annually.