Metropolitan Council Environmental Services (MCES) has created an online portal that makes it easier to submit information and materials for a sewer availability charge (SAC) determination.
SAC is owed when any property connects to the regional wastewater system for the first time. The Council may also charge SAC when a business grows or changes the use of its space, which may create more potential demand on the system. A determination is a calculation of the total SAC owed, based on maximum potential flow from a property.
New portal prevents incomplete applications
MCES developed the new user-tested web portal in 2018. The portal brings customers through a step-by-step process that cannot be completed without submitting all required information. The portal also allows customers to return to the site and see what they’ve saved in a current application or what they submitted for previous applications.
“The online portal will reduce considerably the back and forth that happens with an applicant before we can calculate the SAC charge,” said Jessie Nye, SAC Manager for Metropolitan Council Environmental Services, “because the site will not allow an applicant to submit an incomplete application.”
Visit metrocouncil.org/SACsubmittal to access the web portal. Applicants may still submit their materials by email at [email protected] if they wish.
Local governments or the Council can calculate SAC for residential and commercial properties. The Council does all determinations for industrial properties.
What is SAC?
SAC is a mechanism for paying for extra capacity built into wastewater pipes and treatment plants reserved for future growth in the region. Wastewater pipes and treatment plants are expensive to build. The Council borrows money to build them large enough to serve current and future customers so that construction costs and disruption are minimized. SAC helps pay off the debt for construction.
The Council charges SAC to local governments, who pass it on to business or property owners. Most local governments charge SAC when they issue a building permit for either a new building or a remodel, or when they issue a connection permit for an existing building that is connecting to the wastewater system for the first time. Some local governments also charge an additional fee on top of the regional SAC.
More information about SAC