The next phase of the trial over the Metropolitan St. Louis Sewer District’s impervious-area charge will take place in October.

The second phase is scheduled to begin on Wednesday, Oct. 6, according to an order from Lincoln County Circuit Court Judge Dan Dildine.

The judge ruled last month that MSD’s 14-cent charge per 100 square feet of impervious area is a tax, not a user fee, that violates state law because district voters did not approve it.

In the second phase of the trial, Dildine will consider whether MSD should refund its customers the money it collected under the now-invalid impervious charge.

The district’s Board of Trustees recently approved legislation that suspends the impervious charge and reinstates flat monthly fees and property taxes to fund stormwater services.