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II. THE MCES COST ALLOCATION SYSTEM <br /> Regional Approach The regional approach was reaffirmed by the <br /> 1995 customer-based Sewer Rates/Cost <br /> MCES is one of four divisions of a regional Allocation Task Force,which said: <br /> public agency, serving 2.5 million residents <br /> in 104 communities in the seven-county A uniform sewer service rate is the <br /> metropolitan area. MCES owns nine most equitable way to allocate costs <br /> treatment plants, which it operates in throughout the Metropolitan Disposal <br /> continuous process 24 hours a day, 365 days System (MDS)for sewage requiring a <br /> a year. Regional treatment provides cost normal level of treatment because the <br /> savings not available with local treatment. system is designed to maximize <br /> ::i general, the larger the plant, the lower regional efficiency and regional <br /> the unit cost of treatment. water quality goals. <br /> In the 1970s the Metropolitan Council and Over time, the system has gone through <br /> the Metropolitan Waste Control Commission several phases of development. In the early <br /> (a predecessor agency to MCES), acting years the focus was on consolidating and <br /> under statutatory direction, took a regional regionalizing the system—decommissioning <br /> approach to the cost of wastewater small inefficient plants, especially those <br /> treatment.As a result, a community's bill which were discharging into lakes rather <br /> does not depend on the size of the nearest than rivers.A primary focus was on bringing <br /> treatment plant(and its unit cost of the entire system into compliance with <br /> treatment); rather, the costs of the system evolving federal and state environmental <br /> are pooled and allocated across all standards. In the second phase, expansion <br /> communities. In the 1980s the regional and upgrade of several larger regional <br /> approach was also applied for the costs of plants was completed to meet the demands <br /> construction of interceptors and conveyance of growth and of increased regulation. In the <br /> of wastewater. current phase, as we move into the future, <br /> maintenance and rehabilitation are the <br /> primary issues. <br /> Systemwide Cost Allocation and <br /> Revenues <br /> The 1995 Sewer Rates/Cost Allocation Task <br /> Force recommended significant changes in <br /> the system of allocating sewer service <br /> charges. The principal recommendation was <br /> that a uniform rate be set and that <br /> Study of 1998 Sewerage Rates 5 <br />