Inside Iowa State

May 21, 2004

Two-tiered surcharge begins July 1

by Linda Charles

Following extensive campus review and discussion, a revised plan for a hazardous materials surcharge has been approved. A two-tiered surcharge on the purchase of hazardous materials will go into effect July 1, although direct purchases through research grants and other sponsored programs won't be affected until July 1, 2006. Direct purchases are purchasing card transactions and acquisitions by contract, blanket or purchase order.

Funds raised through the surcharge will generate about $610,000 annually to pay off $6 million in bonds issued toward a new $10 million waste management facility on the north side of campus, said vice president for business and finance Warren Madden. The other $4 million will come from central funding

The building, which has been approved by the Board of Regents, State of Iowa, will house the environmental health and safety department (EH&S), which is responsible for dealing with ISU's regulated materials. The new facility is expected to be completed by summer 2005.

Under the revised plan, Madden said, departments and units will pay a 5 percent surcharge when they purchase hazardous materials that require the most EH&S oversight. For items requiring less oversight, departments and units will be charged 1.75 percent, Madden said. Some items such as disposable laboratory supplies, and farm chemicals and fertilizers used outside the Ames area were included in the original proposal but have been exempted from the surcharge under the new plan.

A complete list of surcharged items is available at the website listed below. Items such as laboratory gases and chemicals, radioactive materials, farm/turf chemicals and fertilizers (Ames area), batteries, cleaning supplies, paint, art equipment and supplies, and automotive parts fall under the 5 percent category, while petroleum products, computer hardware, and laboratory equipment are listed in the 1.75 percent category.

Orders placed prior to July 1 will not be subject to the surcharge.

The controller's department (Kathy Dobbs 4-6653) can be contacted if a department official feels a purchase has been surcharged in error.

More information about the new surcharge is online at http://www.public.iastate.edu/~purchasing/procurement/home.htm