Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives in General Court assembled, and by the authority of the same, as follows:

SECTION 1. Notwithstanding chapters 80 and 83 of the General Laws or any other general or special law to the contrary, the city of Gloucester may assess sewer betterment charges to properties which abut a public sewer constructed by means of any intermunicipal agreement between the city of Gloucester and the towns of Essex or Rockport, even if the public sewer constructed in the city of Gloucester was built by the town of Essex or the town of Rockport. Any such assessment shall not exceed the amount of the adjudged benefit as provided in section 1 of chapter 80 of the General Laws. In the case of the Essex intermunicipal agreement, the benefit shall be determined by including the Essex intermunicipal agreement sewer construction together with the contiguous Little River sewer construction project with the total number of properties sewered being treated as 1 project.

SECTION 2. This act shall take effect upon its passage.