1. A. Baseline monitoring fees. The Department shall assess, and a public water system participating in the baseline monitoring assistance program shall pay, the following annual fees, subject to adjustments referenced in subsection (B):

   1. 1. An annual fee of $447, and
   2. 2. A unit fee of $4.60 per meter or service connection.
2. B. Baseline monitoring fund surplus credit process. If the monitoring assistance fund has a surplus after execution of the previous year’s contract, any surplus above annual operation costs of the baseline monitoring assistance program shall be used to reduce future annual fees for public water systems that paid baseline monitoring annual fees in the previous compliance period, in a manner consistent with the program invoicing system and A.R.S. § 49-360(G). In the first compliance period that a public water system participates in the baseline monitoring assistance program, the public water system shall pay the full amount of annual fees due under this Section, and is not entitled to a fee reduction resulting from a surplus in the monitoring assistance fund from a prior compliance period. Triggered monitoring fees are not considered part of the annual operation costs of the mandatory baseline monitoring assistance program. ADEQ shall account and reconcile triggered monitoring fees separately from baseline monitoring fees in the monitoring assistance fund.

3. C. Baseline monitoring eligibility change impacts on participation cessation and fees. If a public water system serving 10,000 or fewer persons at the beginning of a compliance period increases service during the compliance period so that the public water system serves more than 10,000 persons annually, the public water system may elect to cease participation in the baseline monitoring assistance program under the following conditions:

   1. 1. If the monitoring assistance program has already conducted monitoring for the public water system during the compliance period, the public water system shall remain in the monitoring assistance program, and pay annual fees, for the remainder of the compliance period. Upon conclusion of the compliance period, said public water system may conditionally elect to continue to be a part of the monitoring assistance program, subject to the approval, or re-approval, required by the voluntary participation requirements in R18-4-301(C).
   2. 2. If the monitoring assistance program has not conducted monitoring for the public water system during the compliance period, the public water system may cease participating in the monitoring assistance program, and if so, the Department shall refund any monitoring fees paid by the public water system during the compliance period.

4. D. Triggered monitoring participation and cessation.

   1. 1. Only a public water system that participates in the baseline monitoring assistance program may elect to participate in the triggered monitoring assistance program.
   2. 2. A qualifying public water system may elect to participate in the triggered monitoring assistance program by notifying the Department on a form provided by the Department.

   3. 3. A triggered monitoring program system participant shall continue to be part of the triggered monitoring assistance program until one or more of the following applies:

      1. a. Triggered monitoring is no longer required,
      2. b. The public water system opts out of the program via notice in writing to the Department, on a form provided by the Department,
      3. c. The Department removes the public water system from participation in the program for nonpayment under R18-4-305(F), or
      4. d. The Department removes the public water system from participation in triggered and or voluntary baseline monitoring because the public water system likely poses a financial or administrative burden to the program, as set forth in R18-4-301(C)(2).
   4. 4. A public water system may opt out of the triggered monitoring assistance program, unless the public water system participates in the program as a condition of an administrative or judicial order, in which case the terms of the administrative or judicial order apply.

5. E. Triggered monitoring fees.

   1. 1. If a public water system elects to allow, on a case-by-case basis, the Department to conduct triggered increased monitoring, then prior to sampling the public water system shall agree to pay the invoiced fees on a form provided by the director, which are based on the maximum fees listed in Table 1.
   2. 2. The Department shall only charge triggered monitoring fees up to the actual costs to the agency for the specific services provided, including necessary administrative cost fees.
   3. 3. The Department may refuse to continue triggered increased monitoring if the public water system has not paid the fees in subsection (E)(1) of this section.

6. F. Triggered monitoring Consumer Price Index (CPI) annual adjustment. The Department shall adjust all max triggered monitoring assistance program fees identified in subsection (E), including Table 1, every December, to the nearest dollar, by multiplying each of the fees by the Consumer Price Index (CPI) for the most recent year, and then dividing by the CPI for the year 2023. The CPI for any year is the average of the Consumer Price Index for All Urban Consumers, Phoenix-Mesa-Chandler, AZ Metropolitan Statistical Area, all items published by the United States Department of Labor, as of the close of the 12-month period ending in October of that year. The Department shall publish the CPI adjusted fees each year via either:

   1. 1. The Department’s website, or
   2. 2. A Notice of Public Information published in the Arizona Administrative Register.

Table 1. Table of Maximum Fees for the Triggered Monitoring Assistance Program

Footnote: * Includes one sampling trip and administrative fees

Historical Note

Table 1 made by final rulemaking at 31 A.A.R. 4179 (October 31, 2025), effective December 7, 2025 (Supp. 25-4).

Historical Note

Adopted effective April 28, 1995 (Supp. 95-2). Section R18-4-304 repealed; new Section renumbered from R18-4-225 and amended by final rulemaking at 14 A.A.R. 2978, effective August 30, 2008 (Supp. 08-3). Amended by final rulemaking at 31 A.A.R. 4179 (October 31, 2025), effective December 7, 2025 (Supp. 25-4).