§ 190-G — Water quality treatment districts

§ 190-g. Water quality treatment districts. 1. The town board of any\ntown is hereby authorized to establish or extend a water quality\ntreatment district, or more than one such district, for the purposes of\n(a) procuring by purchase, lease or other means, and installing water\nquality treatment units or devices, if required; providing periodic\ntesting and monitoring of raw and finished water from private wells in\nthe district; monitoring, modifying, repairing, replacing, operation and\nmaintenance, regenerating water quality treatment units and devices and\nthe administering of the treatment and disposal of residuals generated\nin the operation of the district pursuant to rules and regulations\nadopted by the public health and health planning council under section\ntwo hundred twenty-five of the public health law; (b) assisting local,\nstate and federal agencies and officials in efforts to establish causes\nof, and implement remedial measures to reduce, water contamination and\nprotect future water resources within the district; (c) conduct public\nmeetings and issue an annual public report to members of the district on\nthe operation, financial position and water quality condition of said\ndistrict.\n 2. A water quality treatment district established hereunder may\nconsist of noncontiguous or contiguous benefited parcels of property and\nshall be created by a resolution of the town board, upon petition after\na public hearing. The petition may be executed and acknowledged by one\nor more of the owners of taxable real property of record situated within\nthe town whose private well water is contaminated and at the time the\npetition is executed and acknowledged, notice and copy of such petition\nshall be submitted to the state department of health. Upon a petition\nsigned and acknowledged the town board may, or on its own motion, after\na public hearing, assemble data relating to the number and location of\nprivate wells within the town, the contaminants present in the water\nsupply in such town's private wells, (for the purposes of this section,\n"contaminants" shall mean those substances found in amounts or\nconcentrations which violate federal, state or local laws, guidelines or\nrules and regulations relating to drinking water or which may pose a\nrisk to public health), the extent of contamination of the water supply\nin the town's private wells, and the availability of appropriate\ntreatment technologies for the contaminants found to be present, or\nwhich are reasonably expected to be found, currently or in the future,\nin the water supply in the town's private wells. Upon presentation of\nthe petition or on its own motion, the town board may direct or cause\nmaps and plans to be prepared, provided however, that if the owner or\nowners of taxable real property undertake to furnish or pay the cost of\nsuch maps and plans at his or their cost and expense, the town board\nshall accept or prepare the same or the town board may adopt a\nresolution, subject to a permissive referendum, appropriating a specific\namount to pay the cost of preparing a general map and plan for providing\nwater quality treatment units or devices and related services. The town\nboard may determine that such maps and plans shall be prepared by or\nunder the supervision of town officers and employees to be designated by\nthe town board, or by persons to be employed for that purpose, or the\ntown board may contract for the preparation thereof, within the\nlimitations of the amount appropriated. Except as otherwise provided\nherein, the expense incurred for the preparation of such maps and plans\nshall be a town charge, and shall be assessed, levied and collected in\nthe same manner as other town charges. If the town board shall\nthereafter establish or extend a water quality treatment district, the\nexpense incurred by the town for the preparation of the maps and plans\ntherefor shall be deemed to be part of the cost of such improvement, and\nthe town shall be reimbursed the amount paid therefor, or such portion\nof that amount which the town board, at the public hearing held pursuant\nto section one hundred ninety-four of this chapter, shall allocate\nagainst such district. Nothing in this section contained, or in any\nother section of this act, shall be construed to prevent the financing,\nin whole or in part, of expenditures by private sources, grants or by\nother means. All such maps and plans shall be filed with the town clerk.\nSuch maps and plans shall show (1) the location of all benefited parcels\nof properties with water quality treatment units or devices installed\nprior to the formation of the district and/or those properties requiring\ninstallation of water quality treatment units or devices and the mode\nand frequency of testing, monitoring, modifying if required, operation\nand maintenance, regenerating of such water quality treatment units or\ndevices and the administering of the treatment and disposal of residuals\nand any other requirements pursuant to rules and regulations adopted by\nthe public health and health planning council under section two hundred\ntwenty-five of the public health law, and (2) estimates of the costs of\nprocurement, installation, monitoring, testing, modifying, if required,\noperation and maintenance, regenerating of such water quality treatment\nunits or devices and the treatment and disposal of residuals, and the\nmethod of financing the same. Any water quality treatment unit or device\nwhich has been installed prior to the formation of the district must be\napproved pursuant to rules and regulations adopted by the public health\nand health planning council under section two hundred twenty-five of the\npublic health law, prior to acceptance of such unit or device and its\nbenefited property within the district.\n 3. Maps and plans shall be submitted to and approved or denied, in\nwriting, by the state department of health. Copy of such notice of\napproval or denial shall be filed in the office of the clerk of the town\nin which the proposed district or extension is located. No public\nhearing shall be called to establish or extend a water quality treatment\ndistrict until such maps and plans have been approved by the state\ndepartment of health.\n 4. After such maps and plans shall have been approved by the state\ndepartment of health, the town board shall, by resolution designate the\nplace where and time when a public hearing will be held to consider the\nestablishment or extension of a water quality treatment district. The\ntown board shall cause a notice of such hearing to be published and\nposted in the manner prescribed in section one hundred ninety-three. The\nnotice shall comply with the requirements of section one hundred\nninety-three as to content, except that no recitation of the filing of a\npetition shall be made. The notice of public hearing shall recite in\ngeneral terms the purpose thereof and describe the location or locations\nof the proposed district or extension.\n