Citations Affected: IC 13-26.
Synopsis: Regional sewage districts. Prohibits a regional sewage
district from requiring a property owner to connect to the district's
sewer system if the property owner is already connected to a sewer
system that was approved by a state governmental entity. Provides that
if: (1) a campground elects to be billed for sewage service by use of a
meter, the rate charged by a district board for the metered sewage
service may not exceed the rate charged to residential customers for
equivalent usage; and (2) a campground does not install a meter and is
billed for sewage service at a flat rate, each camp site at a campground
may not equal more than 1/3 of one resident equivalent unit. Allows a
campground to file with the Indiana utility regulatory commission a
request for review of a disputed matter with a district board to be
conducted by the commission's appeals division.
Effective: January 1, 2005 (retroactive); upon passage.
January 11, 2005, read first time and referred to Committee on Environmental Affairs.
February 22, 2005, amended, reported _ Do Pass.
A BILL FOR AN ACT to amend the Indiana Code concerning
environmental law.
rights, easements, licenses, money, contracts, accounts, liens,
books, records, maps, or other property, whether real, personal, or
mixed, of a person or an eligible entity.
(6) Assume in whole or in part any liability or obligation of:
(A) a person;
(B) a nonprofit water, sewage, or solid waste project system;
or
(C) an eligible entity;
including a pledge of part or all of the net revenues of a works to
the debt service on outstanding bonds of an entity in whole or in
part in the district and including a right on the part of the district
to indemnify and protect a contracting party from loss or liability
by reason of the failure of the district to perform an agreement
assumed by the district or to act or discharge an obligation.
(7) Fix, alter, charge, and collect reasonable rates and other
charges in the area served by the district's facilities to every
person whose premises are, whether directly or indirectly,
supplied with water or provided with sewage or solid waste
services by the facilities for the purpose of providing for the
following:
(A) The payment of the expenses of the district.
(B) The construction, acquisition, improvement, extension,
repair, maintenance, and operation of the district's facilities
and properties.
(C) The payment of principal or interest on the district's
obligations.
(D) To fulfill the terms of agreements made with:
(i) the purchasers or holders of any obligations; or
(ii) a person or an eligible entity.
(8) Except as provided in section 2.5 of this chapter, require
connection to the district's sewer system of property producing
sewage or similar waste and require the discontinuance of use of
privies, cesspools, septic tanks, and similar structures if:
(A) there is an available sanitary sewer within three hundred
(300) feet of the property line; and
(B) the district has given written notice by certified mail to the
property owner at the address of the property at least ninety
(90) days before a date for connection to be stated in the
notice.
However, a district may not require a property owner to
connect to the district's sewer system if the property owner is
already connected to a sewer system that was approved by a
state governmental entity.
(9) Provide by ordinance for reasonable penalties for failure to
connect and also apply to the circuit or superior court of the
county in which the property is located for an order to force
connection, with the cost of the action, including reasonable
attorney's fees of the district, to be assessed by the court against
the property owner in the action.
(10) Refuse the services of the district's facilities if the rates or
other charges are not paid by the user.
(11) Control and supervise all property, works, easements,
licenses, money, contracts, accounts, liens, books, records, maps,
or other property rights and interests conveyed, delivered,
transferred, or assigned to the district.
(12) Construct, acquire by purchase or otherwise, operate, lease,
preserve, and maintain works considered necessary to accomplish
the purposes of the district's establishment within or outside the
district and enter into contracts for the operation of works owned,
leased, or held by another entity, whether public or private.
(13) Hold, encumber, control, acquire by donation, purchase, or
condemnation, construct, own, lease as lessee or lessor, use, and
sell interests in real and personal property or franchises within or
outside the district for:
(A) the location or protection of works;
(B) the relocation of buildings, structures, and improvements
situated on land required by the district or for any other
necessary purpose; or
(C) obtaining or storing material to be used in constructing and
maintaining the works.
(14) Upon consent of two-thirds (2/3) of the members of the
board, merge or combine with another district into a single district
on terms so that the surviving district:
(A) is possessed of all rights, franchises, and authority of the
constituent districts; and
(B) is subject to all the liabilities, obligations, and duties of
each of the constituent districts, with all rights of creditors of
the constituent districts being preserved unimpaired.
(15) Provide by agreement with another eligible entity for the
joint construction of works the district is authorized to construct
if the construction is for the district's own benefit and that of the
other entity. For this purpose the cooperating entities may jointly
appropriate land either within or outside their respective borders
if all subsequent proceedings, actions, powers, liabilities, rights,
and duties are those set forth by statute.
(16) Enter into contracts with a person, an eligible entity, the
state, or the United States to provide services to the contracting
party for any of the following:
(A) The distribution or purification of water.
(B) The collection or treatment of sanitary sewage.
(C) The collection, disposal, or recovery of solid waste.
(17) Make provision for, contract for, or sell the district's
byproducts or waste.
(18) Exercise the power of eminent domain.
(19) Remove or change the location of a fence, building, railroad,
canal, or other structure or improvement located within or outside
the district. If:
(A) it is not feasible or economical to move the building,
structure, or improvement situated in or upon land acquired;
and
(B) the cost is determined by the board to be less than that of
purchase or condemnation;
the district may acquire land and construct, acquire, or install
buildings, structures, or improvements similar in purpose to be
exchanged for the buildings, structures, or improvements under
contracts entered into between the owner and the district.
(20) Employ consulting engineers, superintendents, managers,
and other engineering, construction, and accounting experts,
attorneys, bond counsel, employees, and agents that are necessary
for the accomplishment of the district's purpose and fix their
compensation.
(21) Procure insurance against loss to the district by reason of
damages to the district's properties, works, or improvements
resulting from fire, theft, accident, or other casualty or because of
the liability of the district for damages to persons or property
occurring in the operations of the district's works and
improvements or the conduct of the district's activities.
(22) Exercise the powers of the district without obtaining the
consent of other eligible entities. However, the district shall:
(A) restore or repair all public or private property damaged in
carrying out the powers of the district and place the property
in the property's original condition as nearly as practicable; or
(B) pay adequate compensation for the property.
(23) Dispose of, by public or private sale or lease, real or personal
property determined by the board to be no longer necessary or
needed for the operation or purposes of the district.