System Development Fees 

Purpose and Statement

The North Carolina General Assembly passed House Bill 436 in July 2017, amending Chapter 162A of the General Statutes by adding “Article 8, System Development Fees.” This amendment was enacted as “An Act to Provide for Uniform Authority to Implement System Development Fees for Public Water and Sewer Systems in North Carolina and to clarify the Applicable Statute of Limitations” which requires compliance with designated calculation methodology. 

Through House Bill 436 (HB 436), the General Assembly of North Carolina established a uniform approach and associated methodology required for local governmental units to calculate and implement System Development Fees (SDF) for public water and sewer systems. 

What are System Development Fees?

System Development Fees are defined as a charge imposed on each new customer or development that generally offsets the incremental cost of replacing existing and/or constructing new capital assets to provide capacity that will continue to meet the demands placed on the system by each new customer or development. Since water system capacity must, without exception, exceed customer demands, the major infrastructure components providing this capacity, such as water treatment plants, reservoirs, wells, pump stations, etc., must be planned and constructed well in advance and in large enough increments to keep pace with anticipated demand on the available system capacity.

More Information

The Town of Black Mountain retained McGill Associates (McGill) to review and make recommendations for revisions as necessary to water system system development fees (SDFs) to conform with HB436. McGill Associates is a qualified in engineering disciplines and financial analysis and has the expertise and experience to determine system development fees. McGill has prepared a report of their findings which may be downloaded below. 

Public Presentation & Hearing Notice

McGill Associates presented the System Development Fee Study Findings to the Town of Black Mountain Board of Aldermen and Citizens at the regularly scheduled Board of Aldermen meeting on Monday, June 10, 2019 at 6:00 p.m. in the board room of Town Hall located at 160 Midland Ave. Black Mountain NC 28711. 

Public Comment

Public comments were solicited via this website for 45 days and encouraged during the public hearing held on June 10, 2019 regarding implementation of these fees. 

Calculating and Paying Fees

System Development Fees are calculated based on the calculated (GPD) gallos per day flow rate of the anticipated use or increase in use of the proposed structure. Flow rates shall be determined in accordance with the flow rates established in the North Carolina Administrative Code, 15A NCAC 2T.0114 and 15A NCAC 18C.0409 as such may be amended from time to time. A licensed professional engineer is required to calculate flow rates for other uses not included within the North Carolina Administrative Code. The Town of Black Mountain shall not incur any expense associated with this requirement. 

Fees are collected through the Water Administration Office (water department).