Oct. 25, 2007 — Environmental and waste-water user fees proposed by the V.I. Waste Management Authority will be the focus of public hearings next week in both districts.
On St. Thomas, the public hearing will be held at 9:30 a.m. Tuesday at the Public Services Commission offices in Barbel Plaza. On St. Croix, the public hearing will be held at 9:30 a.m. Nov. 2 at the V.I. Port Authority conference room at the Henry E. Rohlsen Airport.
Once hearings are complete, WMA's application will go before the PSC for final approval. In the meantime, community members can also review the proposal — which is some 500 pages long — at PSC offices in both districts.
If approved by the commission, the fees are anticipated to go into effect early next year, and will be used to supplement WMA's annual operating revenues. On the solid waste side, the environmental user fee — a tax placed on imported goods that could eventually end up in the territory's landfills — is expected to pull in about $8 million within the first 12 months, and would be used to subsidize some of WMA's fiscal year 2008 expenses.
From that point, it would take between three to five years for the authority to generate the revenues needed to subsidize its solid waste operations, WMA representatives have said at previous Senate and PSC meetings. Though the waste-water user fee is not expected to generate as much revenue, it would also give the authority the financial flexibility needed to cover more of its waste water expenses, according to May Adams Cornwall, WMA executive director.
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