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October
4, 2005
Little
Rock --
Beginning October 1, 2005,the Arkansas Department of Health and Human Services is announcing that the fee that citizens pay to have their private water supplies tested for coliform bacteria has increased from $10.00 per sample to $17.00 per sample. This fee increase is necessary to cover the cost of sample analysis, which has increased over the last several years. The authorized increase in fees is required to cover the actual costs the Public Health Laboratory incurs in performing coliform analyses of these samples. The current fee of $10.00 was authorized in 1987 by Act 146 allowing the Lab to collect this fee. In 1991, the Arkansas General Assembly amended Arkansas Code Ann. §20-7-114 section (b)(1) to allow the following:
The Department of Health may establish fees to be charged for performing analyses of various types of samples submitted to the public health laboratory for examination. The amount of fees established by the board shall not exceed the actual cost of performing the test.
For 18 years, the Public Health Laboratory has charged only $10.00 per sample, and this fee has not been adjusted for inflation or the increase in technology and staffing.
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