Sewerage Commission Awards $11K To Belleville, Nutley

BELLEVILLE, NJ — The Passaic Valley Sewerage Commission (PVSC) recently awarded nearly a half million dollars in rebates to municipalities in its service area as part of its Municipal Rebate Incentive Program.

The rebates included $8,423 for Belleville, according to a news release from the agency.

The PVSC awarded $3,349 to Nutley.

What are the rebates for? According to the PVSC:

“The program is a cooperative effort between PVSC and its contributing communities. All construction projects within the PVSC service area are required to be assessed for connection fee applicability. First, a construction project application must be submitted to the PVSC Inspection and Compliance Bureau Connections Unit. PVSC inspectors then review each application and work closely with municipal Building Departments and Code Enforcement Offices in order to calculate the appropriate connection fee. In accordance with the Municipal Rebate Incentive Program, 15% of that fee (up to $5,000 per file) is then refunded back to the municipalities.”

The agency continued:

“Connection Unit Inspectors reviewed 1,874 applications in 2020. Of these, 1,100 were deemed to have no impact to the PVSC system and were therefore given a ‘no fee’ status. The remaining 774 applications resulted in a daily discharge of an additional 2,465,612 gallons per year into the PVSC system. This resulted in $6,191,808 in connection fees and $479,156 in rebates to PVSC’s contributing municipalities.”

Although some municipal leaders have questioned the program in the past, PVSC Chairman Thomas Tucci Jr. said it’s a “win-win for all involved.”

“Through this cooperative program, PVSC makes sure that all new construction projects pay the required connection fee,” Tucci said. “Then, our member towns receive some much-needed revenue to help offset the costs of basic services.”

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