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Sewer Accessibility Fee

WHY: The fee is a one-time expense to establish, or to modify, a connection to the town’s sewer infrastructure based on a predetermined flow rate for the following situations:

  • Property owners who are constructing new residential or new commercial/retail buildings and (1) must connect to the existing sewer system fronting their property because the structure is within 150-feet of the sewer line, or (2) want to connect to the existing sewer system fronting their property when the connection lateral will be over 150-feet in length.

  • Property owners who are an existing customer of the Goffstown Sewer System and intend to modify their building which: (1) for residential structures will increase the number of bedrooms; (2) for commercial/
    retail structures will increase their capacity for customers or employees, or (3) will result in a conversion between residential use and commercial/retail use.

  • The fee supports the present and future capital expense of maintaining the entire public sewer infrastructure system including the town’s proportional share of the regional treatment facility. The amount of the fee depends on the type of residential or commercial/retail use and is based on a sewer flow measured in “Treatment Units (TU)”.

  • The Sewer Commission maintenance supervisor determines the appropriate TU value when processing the Sewer Permit Application Form. The Sewer Commission reviews/approves the TU. The TU calculations are based on the following guidance extracted from the Sewer Use Ordinance.

 Category

 TU

 Fee

 Single family dwelling up to three bedrooms

 1.0

 $5,000

 Duplex dwelling

 2.0

 $10,000

 Accessory dwelling less than 650 square feet

 0.5

 $2,500

For all other situations of residential and commercial/retail use the fee is calculated using flow design values published in the NH Code of Administrative Rules, Part Env-Wq 1008, “Design Requirements for All Systems”, specifically Table 1008.1 (Unit Design Flow Figures). This table (near page 54 of the Part Env-Wq 1008 document) provides many categories of uses, each with a gallons-per-day (GPD) value. Goffstown Sewer Ordinance specifies that each 450 GPD as equal to one (1) TU with the assigned total TUs for the property rounded (up or down) to the nearest one-half TU.

    • If the Sewer Permit is for an increased sewer flow, only the increase in the TU value for the property is used for the Accessibility Fee calculation.

    PAYMENT: The Accessibility Fee is based on a rate of $5,000 for each TU.

    • The fee is payable to “Town of Goffstown”

    • The fee payment is submitted to the Sewer Department office at 16 Main St.

    • The payment must be received before a Certificate of Occupancy is issued for the specified property improvement.

    CONDITIONS: The satisfaction of the Sewer Accessibility Fee is tied to the property and not to the name of the current or future owners of the property.