Washington, D.C. Fee Study Proposed DPW Fees and Adjustments Findings December 2, 2016 Page 10 till? 0 Tire Fee - Low volume fee with a rate structure that is similar to the refuse fee. - Tires are currently disposed of at the Covanta waste-to-energy facility when they are mixed in with the waste stream. DPW is currently evaluating a new tire recycling program, which would require the District to dispose of tires at a specialized facility. - Disposal costs for the proposed tire recycling program were estimated using an example vendor contract for disposal services from a nearby jurisdiction. - Under the new cost structure for recycling tires. the District?s current fee levels would recover a significant portion of the estimated costs to process one ton of tires. 0 Settlement Agreement Fee - Fee charged to two large private haulers covered under settlement agreements related to civil cases filed when the Solid Waste Facility Permit Act required the closure of solid waste handling facilities that did not meet operational requirements. In return for the negotiated closure of the facilities operated by the firms, the settlement agreements set a lower flat fee for disposal of waste at the District's transfer stations. - Under the agreement, waste from the firms is mingled with other streams of materials and the firms are required to remove an equal amount of material. - District personnel load the materials onto outbound trucks provided by the firms covered by the agreement. - The settlement agreements set daily and weekly maximums for the delivery of waste. The fees established under the settlement agreements are intended to recover the costs of transferring the materials to the trucks provided by the firms, and the fees may only be adjusted by the Consumer Price Index on an annual basis. - Underlying costs of service are conservatively estimated to be far higher than the current fee level. - In anticipation of the expiration of the settlement agreements in 2018 and 2022, the District may consider revisiting the cost of service analysis at those junctures to determine adjustments to settlement agreement fees for greater cost recovery. It should also be noted that several key variables can significantly impact the estimated costs of service to process waste at the transfer stations. The District's costs of service for transfer station fees are driven to a large extent by the volume of waste over which the fixed costs of the transfer station operations can be spread. In addition, disposal and hauling costs represent a large portion of the total costs on a per ton basis. To the extent that the District can influence