Fees

Fees. Fees. The department shall establish fees for laboratories participating in the laboratory accreditation program. These costs include those associated with laboratory evaluations, discretionary acceptance of data, reciprocity, training, and collection of fees. Fees may not be prorated and, except for overpayment, are not refundable. (1) Total fee income. (a) The laboratory accreditation program’s total fee income shall be designed to generate revenues equal to the costs of administering this chapter. Any amendments to the formulas in this subsection shall be reviewed by the council prior to being proposed as rule amendments. (b) The department may adjust the fee schedule according to the formulas in this subsection and the relative value unit items specified in Tables 1, 2, and 3. Annual fee adjustments shall be reviewed by the council and approved annually by the natural resources board. (c) The following formulas shall be used to generate and adjust the laboratory accreditation program’s fee schedule: 1. Fee Revenue Required = Projected Laboratory Accreditation Program Expenses - (Application Fees + Travel Reimbursement) a. Fee Revenue Required is the total amount of revenue which shall be collected via fees to cover all laboratory accreditation program costs. b. “Laboratory Accreditation Program Expenses” is the sum of all anticipated laboratory accreditation program expenses including salary, fringes, evaluation travel costs, supplies, and services. This includes travel costs for evaluation of out-of-state labs which are required to reimburse the laboratory accreditation program for laboratory evaluation travel costs. Application Fee revenues are excluded from the Fee Revenue required because the application fee revenues are variable and collected independently throughout an accreditation period. c. Application Fees is a three-year moving average of application fees received for the three most recent fiscal years. d. Travel Reimbursement is a three-year moving average of out-of-state travel reimbursements for the three most recent fiscal years. Laboratory accreditation program costs related to travel for out-of-state audits are negated because the department recovers these costs directly from each lab. 2. Total # RV Units = ∑ [ (#Laboratories in item) x (RV of item)]. a. Total # RV Units is the total number of RV units available for the fiscal year. It is the mechanism by which fees are distributed to individual laboratories. b. “# Laboratories in item” is a count of how many laboratories will be assessed the fee for that item for a fiscal year, based on accreditations currently held. c. The RV units for each fee item, “RV of item,” are listed in Table 3. The total number of RV units is the sum of all base fee RV, matrix fee RV, and technology or class fee RV. 3. Cost per RV = Fee Revenue Required / Total # RV Units. The Cost per RV is the dollar value assigned to one RV unit and is used to establish all fees for items in Table 3 of this section. The cost per RV is rounded to the nearest $0.50 to simplify fee statements. 4. Laboratory fees = (# RV units for a given laboratory) x (Cost per RV). The sum of base, matrix, technology, and class fees for a given laboratory is multiplied by the cost per RV to determine the fee for each laboratory. Any outstanding administrative fees may also be added. (2) Administrative fees. The department shall assess fees to recover the cost of specified administrative functions specified in this section, Table 1. Any outstanding administrative fees may be included as part of the annual fee. (3) Application fees. (a) The department shall assess fees for all applications specified in this section, Table 2. (b) The fee for an application also includes matrix and technology or class fees when a laboratory applies for a new matrix, technology, or class. The matrix fee is not required if a laboratory is applying for additional technologies or analytes within a matrix for which the lab already holds accreditation. Technology fees are not required if a laboratory already holds accreditation for that matrix and technology or matrix and class, for drinking water combination. (c) Application fees are not refundable in either whole or part. (d) If an application is not completed within a single fiscal year, the department may adjust the fees on the application to recover the difference in fees between the year the application was submitted and the year the application was completed. The laboratory shall pay this difference prior to receiving accreditations. (4) Annual fees. The department shall assess an annual fee to each laboratory holding accreditations under this chapter either directly or through agreements. A laboratory’s annual fee shall be the sum of all the following: (a) The base fees for accreditation. The department shall assess a base fee to all laboratories holding accreditations under this chapter. The number of RV units assigned to each type of base fee is specified in Table 3 of this subchapter. (b) The matrix fees. The department shall assess a fee per matrix type to all accredited laboratories. The number of RV units assigned to each type of matrix fee is specified in this section, Table 3. (c) All of the following analytical fees: 1. Analytical technology fees. The department shall assess a fee for each analytical technology, per matrix, to all accredited laboratories, in fields involving the aqueous and non-aqueous matrices. The assessed fee shall be based on the RV units specified in this section, Table 3. 2. Analytical class fees. The department shall assess a fee, per analytical class, to all certified laboratories in fields involving the drinking water matrix. The assessed fee shall be based on the RV units specified in this section, Table 3. (d) Any outstanding administrative fees.