SITE INFORMATION AND CORRESPONDENCE

Home Browse Search

ATTACHMENT REIMBURSEMENT PROCESS FOR REGULATORY OVERSIGHT We have identified your facility or property as requiring regulatory cleanup oversight. Pursuant to the Porter-Cologne Water Quality Control Act, reasonable costs for such oversight can be recovered by the Regional Water Quality Control Board (Regional Water Board) from the responsible party. The purpose of the enclosure is to explain the oversight billing process structure. INTRODUCTION The Porter-Cologne Water Quality Control Act authorizes the State Water Resources Control Board (State Water Board) to set up Cost Recovery Programs. The Budget Act of 1993 authorized the State Water Board to establish a Cost Recovery Program for Site Cleanup Unit (SCP). The program is set up so that reasonable expenses incurred by the State Water Board and Regional Water Boards in overseeing cleanup of illegal discharges, contaminated properties, and other unregulated releases adversely impacting the State's waters can be reimbursed by the responsible party. Reasonable expenses will be billed to responsible parties and collected by the Fee Coordinator at the State Board in the Division of Financial Assistance. THE BILLING SYSTEM Each cost recovery account has a unique charge number assigned to it. Whenever any oversight work is done, the hours are billed to the account number on the employee's time sheet. The cost of the staff hours is calculated by the State Accounting System based on the employee's salary and benefit rate and the State Water Board overhead rate. State Water Board and Regional Water Board Administrative charges for work such as accounting, billing preparation, general program meetings and program specific training cannot be charged directly to an account. This work will be charged to Administrative accounting codes. The Accounting Office totals these administrative charges for the billing period and distributes them back to all of the accounts based on the number of hours charged to each account during that billing period. These charges show as State Water Board Program Administrative Charges and Regional Water Board Program Administrative Charges on the Invoice. The overhead charges are based on the number of labor hours charged to the account. The overhead charges consist of rent, utilities, travel, supplies, training, and accounting services. Most of these charges are paid in arrears. Therefore, if there is no labor charged during the billing period, there still may be overhead charges associated with previous months services. The Accounting Office keeps track of these charges and distributes them back monthly to all of the accounts based on the number of hours charged to each account. Therefore, the quarterly statements could show no labor I