Pricing & Fees
Silver City is committed to providing sustainable, high-quality environmentally compliant wastewater collection, processing, and maintenance services. Service rates, surcharges, and fees vary based on service type, location, regulatory requirements, and government taxes or fees. These charges and fees are intended to recover direct and indirect costs of operation and to achieve an acceptable profit margin. Please refer to the information provided below for more detail on the Company’s rate policies and the most common charges and fees.
Silver City Rates & Surcharges
Rate Increases
In order to provide environmentally compliant, safe, and stellar service Silver City Processing will occasionally need to increase service rates. Increases in rates are not taken lightly and are a necessity in order to keep pace with rising operational costs and environmental guidelines. Over the past year Silver City Processing has absorbed cost increases in labor, fuel, regulatory, and equipment that has exceed CPI adjustment averages.
Fuel Surcharge
Silver City has implemented a Fuel Surcharge that is indexed to the price of diesel fuel as recorded by the U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA). The rate of the fuel surcharge is determined at the beginning of each quarter by cross-referencing the EIA published US weekly On-Highway diesel fuel price with the Company’s Fuel Surcharge Schedule. Customers benefit from this system as, when Silver City’s fuel costs decrease objectively, so do customer’s costs. This surcharge replaces all prior fuel charges and environmental fees except city specific charges.
Please note: The amount or percentage of your Fuel Surcharge is not specifically tied to the direct or indirect costs to service a specific customer account, and rates are established by contract or at a WRM operating company’s discretion. Through fuel surcharges, WRM operating companies attempt to collectively recover all WRM enterprise-wide costs for diesel, natural gas and other hydrocarbon-based fuels and related products used by WRM operating companies on a local, regional or national basis, and the fuel surcharges are designated for achieving a reasonable rate of return and operating margin.
Trucks and fuel are some of our most significant operating costs and this surcharge allows us to maintain competitive rates, even as operating expenses rise.
Late Payment Fee
Silver City reserves the right to charge you a late payment fee if you fail to pay your balance on or before the invoice due date. Late payment fees help Silver City to offset the costs associated with collections and managing unpaid accounts.
Emergency Fee
Experiencing an emergency? Silver City works hard to create efficient dispatch routes. To accommodate emergency service, Silver City may need to charge an additional emergency fee to offset the cost associated with changing those routes.
Manifest Fee
In select municipalities Silver City is required to purchase manifests and maintain a historical manifest record. In these municipalities, Silver City charges a Manifest Fee to help offset the direct costs of the manifests and the administrative costs of recording and archiving manifests.
Franchise Fee
Franchise fees are charged by certain municipalities for services rendered inside their jurisdictions. If applicable, these fees are billed separately and submitted to the appropriate franchising authority.
How is the Fuel Surcharge Calculated?
The Energy Information Administration of the U.S. Department of Energy (EIA) publishes Weekly Retail On-Highway Diesel Prices. At the beginning of each quarter, the Fuel Surcharge is determined by comparing that week’s US On-Highway Diesel Price with the corresponding surcharge % in the Company’s Fuel Surcharge Schedule.
Pricing & Fee FAQs
Why does Silver City charge a surcharge?
The cost of fuel is beyond our control. In order to maintain competitive rates within the market, this surcharge helps offset the cost of collection, transfer, and disposal of liquid waste.
How is the average diesel price set?
Every Monday, the U.S. Energy Information Administration collects prices from a sample size of approximately 400 diesel outlets throughout the continental US based on cash self-serve on-highway diesel prices.
If the cost of fuel goes down, will my surcharge go down?
Yes! If the national average diesel price decreases, so will your Fuel Surcharge. Refer to the above table for rates.
Is there a separate environmental surcharge?
No! As part of our transition to the Fuel Surcharge effective 1/1/2022, we have replaced any previous fuel and environmental charges with the indexed Fuel Surcharge
When did Silver City implement the Fuel Surcharge?
This change is effective 1/1/2022, and will appear on your invoice moving forward.
I still have questions about my bill
We’re sorry to hear that. If you have additional questions and need to speak to someone, please fill out our Contact Us form or give us a call at (702) 642-9318
