SENATE DOCKET, NO. 3208        FILED ON: 6/16/2022

SENATE  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  No. 2945

The Commonwealth of Massachusetts

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PRESENTED BY:

Rebecca L. Rausch

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To the Honorable Senate and House of Representatives of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts in General
Court assembled:

The undersigned legislators and/or citizens respectfully petition for the adoption of the accompanying bill:

An Act relative to a town center wastewater service area for the town of Norfolk.

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PETITION OF:

SENATE DOCKET, NO. 3208        FILED ON: 6/16/2022

SENATE  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  No. 2945

The Commonwealth of Massachusetts

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In the One Hundred and Ninety-Second General Court
(2021-2022)

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An Act relative to a town center wastewater service area for the town of Norfolk.

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. Section 2 of chapter 101 of the acts of 2004 is hereby amended by striking out the first sentence and by inserting in place thereof the following sentence:- The select board of the town of Norfolk shall have all the powers and duties now or from time to time vested by general or special law, or by town by-law, in the following boards, commissions, or officers: highway department, including highway superintendent; water department, including the board of water commissioners; sewer department, including the board of sewer commissioners; and cemetery commission.

SECTION 2. Section 3 of chapter 101 of the acts of 2004 is hereby amended by inserting after the word “department” the following words:- of public works.

SECTION 3. Notwithstanding chapter 83 of the General Laws, or any other general or special act, rule or regulation to the contrary, the sewer commission of the town of Norfolk, in order to preserve and manage limited wastewater treatment capacity may allow at its discretion, owners of parcels of land or portions of parcels of land located within a municipal wastewater service area as shown on a plan entitled "Norfolk Town Center, Norfolk Strategic Plan, Norfolk, MA: Proposed Wastewater Service Area Map" dated September 23, 2010, prepared by Bergmeyer Associates, Inc., which is on file in the office of the town clerk, including in such term any later expansion of such Town Center Wastewater Service Area as may be approved by the board of sewer commissioners, and any other wastewater service area established by the town by two-thirds town meeting vote, to connect to common sewers located within such wastewater service area subject to available capacity, and may provide that each property owner proposing to connect to the common sewer shall pay to the town, in advance of construction of the common sewers within such service area, a proportional part of the cost of common sewers within such service area as the sewer commission shall determine is to be paid by those who initially propose to connect to the sewer.

SECTION 4. Notwithstanding said chapter 83, the sewer commission of the town of Norfolk may allow property owners who did not initially propose to connect to the sewer and did not initially make the prepayment as established in section 3 of this act to connect to the common sewer, provided that such subsequent connecters shall be assessed a surcharge upon and in addition to the annual sewer use charges authorized under section 16 of chapter 83 of the General Laws, which surcharge shall be proportionate to said prepayment and shall be over such term of years as the sewer commission shall determine to be just and equitable, with the objective that those owners who made such prepayment shall enjoy a proportionate reduction in their annual sewer use charges.

SECTION 5. A property owner who undertakes new construction or who changes the use of all or part of land or structure or expands a use or structure that existed at the time of connection, or otherwise increases sewage flow or estimated flow in a manner not contemplated by the sewer commission at the time the sewer commission calculated the prepayment as established in section 3 of this act or the surcharge as established in section 4 of this act, which construction, change of use or expansion of use is estimated by the sewer commission to result in an increased estimated sewage design flow allocation to the property, may be assessed a proportionate sewer use surcharge or additional surcharge, with the objective that those owners who made such prepayment and who did not so increase their estimated use of the common sewer shall enjoy a further proportionate reduction in their sewer use charges.

SECTION 6. The provisions of this act are not in derogation of the powers of the sewer commission under chapter 83 of the General Laws to assess betterments, special assessments, privilege fees, sewer connection fees, and annual sewer use charges as provided in said chapter 83, in addition to or instead of the prepayment and sewer use surcharges authorized herein.

SECTION 7. The sewer commission may, from time to time, prescribe rules and regulations for the connection of estates and buildings with common sewers and the assessment of charges and surcharges, as provided in this act, in the manner provided by section 10 of chapter 83 of the general laws.

SECTION 8. An enterprise fund is hereby established for the town of Norfolk under the provisions of Section 53F ½ of Chapter 44 of the General Laws for purposes of funding the construction, operation, maintenance, repair and replacement of a system of town common sewers and wastewater facilities in the Town Center Wastewater Service Area, to be known as the Town Center Wastewater Enterprise Fund, such enterprise fund to become effective as of the first day of July of the fiscal year following the effective date of this act.

SECTION 9. The provisions of sections 16A through 16F of chapter 83 of the General Laws shall be effective within the town of Norfolk upon the effective date of this act with no further vote of acceptance required by the town, and an affidavit attesting to the enactment of this act, recorded in lieu of the certificate referred to in section 16A of said chapter 83 and shall have the same effect as such a certificate.

SECTION 10. This act shall take effect upon passage.