FILED ON: 8/25/2022

SENATE  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  No. 3113

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 further regulating wastewater services in 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 inserting after the word “commissioners”, in line 4, the following words:- ; sewer department, including the board of sewer commissioners.

SECTION 2. Section 3 of said chapter 101 is hereby amended by inserting after the word “department”, in line 3, the second time it appears, the following words:- , sewer department.

SECTION 3. Notwithstanding chapter 83 of the General Laws or any other general or special law to the contrary, the select board of the town of Norfolk, in order to preserve and manage limited wastewater treatment capacity, may allow 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 and 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 select board 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 chapter 83 of the General Laws, the select board 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 to connect to the common sewer; provided, however, that such subsequent connecters shall be assessed a surcharge upon and in addition to the annual sewer use charges authorized under section 16 of said chapter 83. The surcharge shall be proportionate to the prepayment and shall be over such term of years as the select board 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, changes the use of all or part of land or structure, 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 select board of the town at the time the select board calculated the prepayment as established in section 3 or the surcharge as established in section 4, which construction, change of use, expansion of use or other action is estimated by the select board 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. Nothing in this act shall limit the powers of the select board of the town of Norfolk exercising the powers of a sewer commission under chapter 83 of the General Laws to assess betterments, special assessments, privilege fees, sewer connection fees or 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 select board of the town of Norfolk 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. There shall be a Town Center Wastewater Enterprise Fund for the town of Norfolk under section 53F½ 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 under section 3. The enterprise fund shall take effect as of the first day of July of the fiscal year following the effective date of this act.

SECTION 9. Sections 16A to 16F, inclusive, of chapter 83 of the General Laws shall take effect in the town of Norfolk upon the effective date of this act with no further vote of acceptance required by the town. An affidavit attesting to the enactment of this act, recorded in lieu of the certificate referred to in said section 16A of said chapter 83 shall have the same effect as such a certificate.

SECTION 10. This act shall take effect upon passage.