NOTICE OF PUBLIC HEARING

JUNE 25, 2008 AT 6:30 P.M.

ORANGE COUNTY SANITATION DISTRICT

REGARDING PROPOSED LOCAL SEWER SERVICE CHARGES

BACKGROUND

Local cities and special districts collect wastewater from residential, commercial and industrial properties through local sewer lines. The local sewers are a system of connecting pipes located under city streets (and sometimes include pumping facilities) that discharge into OCSD regional interceptors, pumping facilities and eleven major trunk lines that lead to one of our two treatment plants in Fountain Valley or Huntington Beach. Each city or special district has established its own local sewer fee depending on its site-specific costs to own, manage, operate and maintain its local wastewater collection system. Direct monthly billing for the local sewer fee often appears as a line item on the water bill or other utility bill. In parts of Tustin and unincorporated areas of the County, the process works differently. These areas are serviced entirely by OCSD. You are receiving this notification because the local sewer lines that service your property are owned and operated by OCSD. OCSD has not charged a fee in prior years for this separate service provided to your property.

In May of 2006, the State Water Resources Control Board issued Order No. 2006-0003-DWQ establishing requirements for local sewer lines including adequate funding for operation and maintenance. Based upon this report, OCSD is now proposing a local sewer service fee for the properties whose local sewer lines are serviced by OCSD. As a property owner, your local sewer service fee will help to pay the costs of operations and maintenance of the local sewer system. Also, the sewer infrastructure in your area, like all local areas, is reaching the end of its useful life and will need to be repaired or replaced during the next decade. The local sewer service fee will help pay for these costs as well. A small portion of the property taxes you pay and other sources of income also help to pay for these services. In order to continue to provide these services and to comply with the SWRCB Order No. 2006-0003-DWQ, OCSD must now collect a local sewer service fee.

These local sewer service fees do not provide facilities for new development; those facilities are paid for by the developers connecting to the local sewer system. The OCSD has a separate fee for new development.

Explanation of Charge

The cost of the local sewerage system will be apportioned to each property owner based on the amount of the average wastewater discharged from that type of parcel. Parcels are categorized by use on the Orange County Assessor's database. Although the Sanitation District’s sewer service fee is not a tax, it will be collected as a separate line item on the property tax bill. Using the services of the County Tax Collector-Treasurer significantly reduces the Sanitation District’s administrative and collection costs. These savings are reflected in your rate.

The local sewer service fees being considered by the Sanitation District for the next five years are based upon financial and engineering studies and reports. The rate structure equitably allocates costs to all types of users on a basis proportional to their use of the local sewer system. The single-family residential (SFR) user rate is uniform for all SFR properties based upon the average amount of wastewater discharged by a single family residence and is the minimum fee that any user can pay for our local sewer services.

The proposed local uniform SFR annual user rate for each of the next five years is $199; $204; $208; $212; and $216.

The multi-family residential (MFR) use per apartment unit has been established by flow monitoring and census data to be 70% of the SFR use. Thus, the MFR rate will increase proportionally per unit per year. Non-residential users pay a rate per 1,000 square feet of building area, based upon the average quantity of wastewater discharged as determined by studies of actual flows discharged into the system by each particular category of users.

Protest of Proposed Fee

The Orange County Sanitation District Board of Directors will hold a public hearing on Wednesday, June 25, 2008 to consider your input on the proposed fee. The hearing will be held at 6:30 p.m. in the OCSD Board Room, 10844 Ellis Avenue, Fountain Valley, California. Any property owner within the local sewer service area may protest the proposed fee at the public hearing and may file a written protest by sending a letter to OCSD, P.O. Box 8127, Fountain Valley, CA 92728-8127 or an email to rates @ocsd.com. A valid protest letter or email must include your name, the parcel number at which you receive local sewer service from OCSD and a statement of protest.

Commonly asked questions about this fee and the answers to those questions are listed on the reverse side of this notification. If you have additional questions or want more information, please call (714) 593-7281. Our office hours are 8:00 a.m. to 4:30 p.m., Monday through Friday. If these times are not convenient, you may leave a recorded message after hours or on weekends and a member of the Sanitation District’s staff will return your call. You may also email your questions or concerns to rates@ocsd.com.

FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS

What is a sanitation district?

A sanitation district is an independent district responsible for safely collecting, treating, and disposing of wastewater (sewage) and industrial waste. It is a public agency, separate from the County of Orange or any city government, established under the State Health and Safety Code to provide sewerage service to a specific regional geographic area. The Orange County Sanitation District (OCSD) collects, treats and disposes of more than 230 million gallons of wastewater from 21 cities, 3 sanitary districts and unincorporated portions of Orange County.. The OCSD is governed by a Board of Directors comprising an elected official from each of the local sewering agencies or cities within our 470-square-mile service area.

Don’t I already pay a fee for my sewer services?

You currently pay the regional OCSD Sewer User Fee on your Secured Property Tax Bill. This fee is for the regional services provided to all of our service area cities and sanitary districts. This fee does not cover the costs for the local sewer services being provided to your property.

What if I am not connected to the sewer system?

The Sanitation District’s local sewer service fee ordinance will only apply to parcels that are connected to the sewer system. Parcels that are on a septic system will be exempt from OCSD’s local sewer servicefee. While we have attempted to identify all parcels that utilize a septic system, it is possible that we may have missed some. If this is your situation, please write to us and include the portion of this notice containing your Assessor's Parcel Number with the notation, "not connected to sewer system", complete with your signature.

Am I required to respond to this notice?

You are not required to respond to this notice. This notice is being sent to notify you of the public hearing that has been scheduled. Should you desire, you may send your written input on the new rates to “Orange County Sanitation District P.O. Box 8127, Fountain Valley, CA 92728”. You may also email your comments to rates@ocsd.com. Your comments will be read and considered during the public hearing.