§ 34–2112. Sanitary sewer service charges for United States government.

(a) The sanitary sewer service charges prescribed herein shall be applicable to all sanitary sewer services furnished by the sanitary sewage works of the District through any connection thereto for direct use by the government of the United States or any department, independent establishment, or agency thereof, and such charges shall be predicated on the value of water and water services received by such facilities of the government of the United States or any department, independent establishment, or agency thereof from the District water supply system. Payment of the said sanitary sewer service charge shall be made as provided in subsection (b) of this section.

(b)(1) Beginning in the second quarter of fiscal year 1990, the government of the District of Columbia shall receive payment for sanitary sewer services from funds appropriated or otherwise available to the Federal departments, independent establishments, or agencies. In accordance with the provisions of paragraphs (2) and (3) of this subsection, one-fourth (25 percent) of the annual estimate prepared by the District government shall be paid, not later than the second day of each fiscal quarter, to the District government by the Secretary of the Treasury from funds deposited by said departments, establishments, or agencies in a United States Treasury account entitled “Federal Payment for Water and Sewer Services”. In the absence of sufficient funds in said account, payment shall be made by the Secretary of the Treasury from funds available to the respective user agencies. Payments shall be made to the District government by the Secretary of the Treasury without further justification, and shall be equal to one-fourth (25 percent) of the annual estimate prepared by the District government pursuant to paragraph (2) of this subsection.

(2) By April 15 of each calendar year the District shall provide the Office of Management and Budget, the Secretary of the Treasury, and the head of each of the respective Federal departments, independent establishments, and agencies, for inclusion in the President’s budget of the respective Federal departments, independent establishments, or agencies, an estimate of the cost of service for the fiscal year commencing October 1st of the following calendar year. The estimate shall provide the total estimated annual cost of such service and an itemized estimate of such costs by Federal department, independent establishment, or agency. The District’s estimates on a yearly basis shall reflect such adjustments as are necessary to (A) account for actual usage variances from the estimated amounts for the fiscal year ending on September 30th of the calendar year preceding April 15th, and (B) reflect changes in rates charged for water and sewer services resulting from public laws or rate covenants pursuant to water and sewer revenue bond sales.

(3) Each Federal department, independent establishment, or agency receiving sanitary sewer services in buildings, establishments, or other places shall pay from funds specifically appropriated or otherwise available to it, quarterly and on the first day of each such fiscal quarter, to an account in the United States Treasury entitled “Federal Payment for Water and Sewer Services” an amount equal to one-fourth (25 percent) of the annual estimate for said services as provided for in paragraph (2) of this subsection.

(4) The amount or time period for late payment of charges for sanitary sewer services involving a building, establishment, or other place owned by the Government of the United States imposed by the District of Columbia shall not be different from those imposed by the District of Columbia on its most favored customer.

(5) Repealed.

(c) Nothing in this section may be construed to require the District of Columbia to seek payment for sanitary sewer services directly from any Federal entity which is under the jurisdiction of a department, independent establishment, or agency which is required to make a payment for such services under this section, or to allocate any amounts charged for such services among the entities which are under the jurisdiction of any such department, independent establishment, or agency. Each Federal department, independent establishment, and agency receiving sanitary sewer services from the District of Columbia shall be responsible for allocating billings for such services among entities under the jurisdiction of the department, establishment, or agency, and shall be responsible for collecting amounts from such entities for any payments made to the District of Columbia under this section.

(May 18, 1954, 68 Stat. 108, ch. 218, title II, § 212; Oct. 6, 1977, 91 Stat. 1093, Pub. L. 95-122, § 1(2); Nov. 21, 1989, 103 Stat. 1280, Pub. L. 101-168, § 133(c); Dec. 21, 2000, 114 Stat. 2763, Pub. L. 106-554, § 1(a)(4), H.R. 5666, Div. A., Ch. 4, § 401(b); Dec. 21, 2001, 115 Stat. 942, 943, Pub. L. 107-96, par. 52(a)(1), (c)(1); Oct. 18, 2004, 118 Stat. 1348, Pub. L. 108-335, § 337(b).)

Prior Codifications

1981 Ed., § 43-1612.

1973 Ed., § 43-1611.

Section References

This section is referenced in § 47-131.

Effect of Amendments

Pub. L. 107-96, in subsec. (b), par. (2), inserted “the Secretary of the Treasury, and the head of each of the respective Federal departments, independent establishments, and agencies,”; and added subsec. (c) relating to payment for sanitary sewer services.

Pub. L. 108-335, in subsec. (b), repealed par. (5) which had read as follows: “(5) Not later than the 15th day of the month following each quarter (beginning with the first quarter of fiscal year 2001), the inspector general of each Federal department, establishment, or agency receiving sanitary sewer services from the District of Columbia shall submit a report to the Committees on Appropriations of the House of Representatives and Senate analyzing the promptness of payment with respect to the services furnished to such department, establishment, or agency.”

Effective Dates

Pub. L. 107-96, 115 Stat. 944, the District of Columbia Appropriations Act, 2002, provided in part:

“This section and the amendments made by this section shall apply with respect to fiscal year 2002 and each succeeding fiscal year.”

Section 337(c) of Pub. L. 108-335 provided: “(c) The amendments made by this section shall apply with respect to quarters occurring during fiscal year 2005 and each succeeding fiscal year.”

Editor's Notes

Apportionment of appropriations: Public Law 102-382, 106 Stat. 1429, the District of Columbia Appropriations Act, 1993, provided for the Water and Sewer Enterprise Fund, $251,630,000, of which $39,602,000 shall be apportioned and payable to the debt service fund for repayment of loans and interest incurred for capital improvement projects. Restrictions on use of Federal payment: Section 134 of § 1(c) of Pub. L. 100-202, the District of Columbia Appropriations Act, 1988, provided that none of the funds available to the District of Columbia government shall be used for any purpose involved in billing individual agencies or establishments for water and water services and sanitary sewer services traditionally funded under the account “Federal Payment for Water and Sewer Services” unless and until existing statutes (sections 106 and 212 of the District of Columbia Public Works Act of 1954, as amended, Public Law 364, approved May 18, 1954) are amended to specifically provide for such billing. Apportionment of appropriations: For construction projects, $45,908,000, as authorized by § 43-1512 et seq.: Provided, That the requirements and restrictions that are applicable to general fund capital improvement projects and set forth in this Act under the Capital Outlay appropriation title shall apply to projects approved under this appropriation title: Provided further, That $22,705,000 in water and sewer enterprise fund operating revenues shall be available for pay-as-you-go capital projects. Section 128 of Pub. L. 103-334, 108 Stat. 2576, the District of Columbia Appropriations Act, 1995, amended section 133(e) of the District of Columbia Appropriations Act, 1990, by striking “shall take effect” and all that follows and inserting “shall apply with respect to water and sanitary sewer services furnished on or after January 1, 1990.” Thus, as of September 30, 1994, section 133(e) of the District of Columbia Appropriations Act, 1990, has read as follows: “The amendments made by this section shall apply with respect to water and sanitary sewer services furnished on or after January 1, 1990.” Section 133(e) controls the effectiveness of this section. Section 401(c) of Chapter 4 of Division A of H.R. 5666, as enacted by reference by section 1(a)(4) of Pub. L. 106-554, stated that “The amendments made by this section shall take effect as if included in the enactment of section 133 of the District of Columbia Appropriations Act, 1990.”

Change in Government

This section originated at a time when local government powers were delegated to a Board of Commissioners of the District of Columbia (see Acts Relating to the Establishment of the District of Columbia and its Various Forms of Governmental Organization in Volume 1). Section 401 of Reorganization Plan No. 3 of 1967 (see Reorganization Plans in Volume 1) transferred all of the functions of the Board of Commissioners under this section to a single Commissioner. The District of Columbia Self-Government and Governmental Reorganization Act, 87 Stat. 818, § 711 ( D.C. Code, § 1-207.11), abolished the District of Columbia Council and the Office of Commissioner of the District of Columbia. These branches of government were replaced by the Council of the District of Columbia and the Office of Mayor of the District of Columbia, respectively. Accordingly, and also pursuant to § 714(a) of such Act ( D.C. Code, § 1-207.14(a)), appropriate changes in terminology were made in this section.