Ogunquit Sewer District v. Town of Ogunquit

1997 ME 33, 691 A.2d 654, 1997 Me. LEXIS 51
Supreme Judicial Court of Maine·Decided February 28, 1997·Published·Cited by 11 cases

Opinions

ROBERTS, Justice.

[¶ 1] The Ogunquit Sewer District and The Cliff House and Motels, Inc., appeal from the judgment entered in the Superior Court (York County, Calkins, J.) affirming the decision of the Town of Ogunquit Board of Selectmen not to issue a written assurance that a proposed sewer extension is consistent with the Town’s municipal plans and ordinances. On appeal the District and the Cliff House argue that the Board’s decision is not supported by substantial evidence and is arbitrary and capricious. The Cliff House also argues the Board exceeded its authority, or alternatively, the statute creating that authority is unconstitutional. We affirm the judgment.

[¶ 2] The Cliff House, a hotel located in the town of York, currently disposes of its sanitary sewage in accordance with a grandfathered overboard discharge license. The Ogunquit Sewer District, a quasi-municipal corporation organized pursuant to P. & S.L. 1963, ch. 87, is charged with the control of sanitary sewage collection, treatment, and disposal in the town of Ogunquit. The District agreed to provide sewer service to the Cliff House on the condition that the Cliff House, at its expense, construct the neces[656] sary sewer extension line and associated facilities.

[¶ 3] In January 1995, pursuant to 38 M.R.S.A. § 1252(7)(A)(2), the District requested written assurance from the Town that the proposed sewer extension was consistent with the Town’s municipal plans and ordinances regulating land use.1 The Ogunquit Board of Selectmen held a public meeting to discuss the District’s request. The chairman of the Ogunquit Planning Board and representatives of the District and the Cliff House appeared at that meeting.

[¶ 4] Information gathered at the meeting shows: The District operates a sewage treatment facility with a capacity of 1,280,000 gallons per day (gpd). The facility began operating in 1991. Its design capacity is based on population projections contained in the Town’s comprehensive plan, plus 25%. In accordance with the plan, the facility is designed to serve both a resident and transient population that is projected to double between 1990 and 2010. Expressed in terms of sewage generation, the facility is designed to handle a 600,000 gpd increase in sewage between 1987 and 2020, or an annual increase of about 3%. The actual flow increase to the plant since 1987 has been less than per year, and in 1993 the flow was 760,000 gpd. Because design projections show the plant was anticipated to receive 920,000 gpd in 1993, the plant had an excess capacity of 160,000 gpd in 1993.

[¶ 5] The planned sewer connection consists of a force main that would run northerly from the Cliff House in York along Shore Road to Ogunquit where it would tie into an existing manhole that is part of the District sewer system. The portion of the project in Ogunquit would consist of about 510 feet of sewer line, i.e., the length needed to span the distance between the town line and the existing sewer manhole. A pump station would be located at the Cliff House. The design eapacity of the project as a whole is 60,000 gpd, an amount equal to the current licensed discharge capacity of the Cliff House.

[¶ 6] The Board expressed several concerns at the meeting, including whether the force main along Shore Road would enable additional users in either York or Ogunquit to connect to the sewer system; whether additional users in York could connect to the pump station located at the Cliff House; and whether the expected use of the treatment facility’s capacity would be detrimental generally to development in Ogunquit. At the end of the meeting the Board voted to deny written assurance based on its conclusion that the proposed sewer expansion was not consistent with the Town’s comprehensive plan. The Board’s written findings of fact include (1) the expected level of use by the Cliff House was a significant amount of the remaining capacity of the District’s facility; (2) historically, the Town had a capacity problem with the District’s facility; (3) when the comprehensive plan was revised in 1987, the Town recognized the inadequacy of the existing treatment facility and acknowledged that the proposed expansion of the facility would increase capacity for twenty years; (4) when the plan was revised in 1987 and 1991, it was not contemplated that the District would ever allow its system to be used by entities outside Ogunquit; and (5) the plan contemplates there are areas in Ogunquit where growth is dependent on the availability of public sewer service.

I.

The Authority of the Board of Selectmen

[¶ 7] The Cliff House argues that 38 M.R.S.A. § 1252(7)(A)(2) should not be interpreted to allow the Town to review all issues peripherally related to land use controls contained in the comprehensive plan, but rather should be limited to allow consideration of [657] issues immediately related to the laying of sewer extension pipes, i.e., issues typically addressed in zoning ordinances. These contentions are without merit. The plain meaning of the statute is clear. See Fullerton v. Knox County Comm’rs, 672 A.2d 592, 594 (Me.1996) (statute interpreted by first looking at the plain meaning of the statutory language seeking to give effect to the legislative intent). Section 1252(7)(A)(2) states that a municipality may determine whether a sewer extension is “consistent with adopted municipal plans and ordinances regulating land use.” The comprehensive plan is an adopted municipal plan regulating land use, and its contents were properly considered by the Board.

[If 8] The Cliff House next argues that the Board exceeded its authority in denying written assurance based on concerns about the future capacity of the District’s treatment plant. The Cliff House contends, first, that the Board’s review exceeds the terms of the comprehensive plan referring to sewer projects; and, second, the decision interferes with the statutory authority of the District. The Town argues that provisions in both the plan and the statute enable the Board to consider the remaining capacity of the District’s treatment facility. We agree.

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Ogunquit Sewer District v. Town of Ogunquit, 1997 ME 33, 691 A.2d 654, 1997 Me. LEXIS 51 (Me. 1997).

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