These directions are provided for requesting a refund of excess Construction Inspection Fees

Why did I receive a Statement for February of 2021 and what is MERCH

DC water has mailed an account statement to all merchant (MERCH) account owners to notify them of their account balances and to alert them of the refund policy.  The Merch Accounts represent mostly workorders for construction phase inspections and deposits. 

What do I need to do with this statement?

You might not need to do anything; 

• If your account has a credit this is a notice of the status, no action necessary.  
• If your account has a balance due then you are receiving a bill, payment was ether deducted from account credits or payment of fee in excess of original deposit must be made.
• If the statement has a credit and is for an account associated with a refundable construction inspection or deposit amount; and, that work has been satisfactorily completed, you may be eligible to apply for a refund of excess fees (see below).   

How do I know what project this is for?

The statement identifies the account number not the project name or address.  If you do not have records from the construction that indicate the project information you can email DC Water at construction.inspection.refund@dcwater.com to request us to research it.  

How to apply for a refund of excess inspection fees and deposits.

Refunds must be requested in writing by the account owner.  Make the request via email to construction.inspection.refund@dcwater.com.  Refunds will be issued to the account owner.  Any changes in account owner will require documentation/authorization from original account owner.  See directions below regarding where and how to request a refund.  

Refund Policy:

In accordance with the notes at the bottom of your statement, requests for refund should be made not later than 2 years after project completion, after which excess funds and deposits are subject to forfeiture.   At this time (March 2021) only accounts that have not shown activity for 10 or more years are scheduled for forfeiture.   

Inspection invoices typically include several types of accounts/charges and not all are refundable:

Flat Fees – Nonrefundable (Review Fees, Taps and Abandonments) lump sum amounts to cover DC water processing and personnel activities that are charged immediately, routed to revenue and are typically non-refundable.

Refundable Inspection Fees – Estimated cost for Inspection of new water and sewer lines and connections, site inspection for coordination with water and sewer lines, inspection of precast concrete structures, assistance with confined space access and for inspection/coordination of CCTV.  These are estimates of the charges that will accumulate on the account and represents inspections labor hours, equipment costs, overhead and fringes.  Once all work is complete, if there are excess funds the account owner may request a refund.  At any time the account shows a deficit the owner will be billed for the overage.    

Deposits – (Against damages or for new, large water meter services) These deposits are used to create accounts in the name of the owner and will be held until all work is complete.  Deposit accounts for projects may be debited to cover inspection fee deficits that are in default.   Once the work is complete, if there are excess funds the account owner may request a refund.  If there is a deficit, then the owner will be billed for the overage.     

What is meant by “the project is complete”

• All construction activity of both the foundation and the superstructure is complete.
• At least 6-months have passed since completion of superstructure to allow for a settlement period.
• All work orders in our Maximo tracking system have been closed out and any post construction sewer assessment/CCTV has been completed and satisfactorily passed.
• All water meters for the project have been installed and have been billing for at least 3-months.
• All water/sewer accounts are current.
• All redline and construction modification documents necessary to complete as-built drawings have been provided to DC Water.
• Where applicable the construction inspections branch has issued a completion report.
• New infrastructure has been added to our GIS data base.

Where and how to request a refund:

1. Request the DC Water site inspector to verify project completion and if indicated it is initiate you request. 
2. Send requests via email to Construction.Inspection.refund@dcwater.com.
   • Provide the project address, name, and account number from a statement.
   • You will receive an email response from DC Water acknowledging your request and requesting any backup documentation if necessary, to verify “Project Completion”.
3. Respond to the email with the requested documentation. 
4. Please allow at least 8 weeks from when all documents have been provided for staff to verify completion, research all accounts, complete refund authorization forms, post refund amounts and checks to be mailed. 

It should be noted that all accounts for a project will be refunded at the same time and not until project completion, that includes fees for raze, sheeting and shoring, and building site development.  This will match the initial invoices issued at the point the project plans were approved. 

How to Interpret a MERCH Statement