WEST virginia Legislature
2017 regular session
By
[
to the Committee on Political Subdivisions then the Judiciary.
A BILL to amend and
reenact §16-13A-9 of the Code of West Virginia, 1931, as amended, relating to
public sewage services; requiring that individuals receiving public sewage
services who do not also receive public water services are charged based on the
mean or median of monthly water consumption in their customer class, whichever
is lower.
Be it enacted by the
Legislature of West Virginia:
That §16-13A-9 of the Code of West Virginia, 1931, as
amended, be amended and reenacted to read as follows:
ARTICLE 13A. PUBLIC SERVICE DISTRICTS.
§16-13A-9. Rules; service rates and charges;
discontinuance of service; required water and sewer connections; lien for
delinquent fees.
(a) (1) The board may make,
enact and enforce all needful rules in connection with the acquisition,
construction, improvement, extension, management, maintenance, operation, care,
protection and the use of any public service properties owned or controlled by
the district. The board shall establish
rates, fees and charges for the services and facilities it furnishes, which shall
be sufficient at all times, notwithstanding the provisions of any other law or
laws, to pay the cost of maintenance, operation and depreciation of the public
service properties and principal of and interest on all bonds issued, other
obligations incurred under the provisions of this article and all reserve or
other payments provided in the proceedings which authorized the issuance of any
bonds under this article. The schedule
of the rates, fees and charges may be based upon:
(A) The consumption of water
or gas on premises connected with the facilities, taking into consideration
domestic, commercial, industrial and public use of water and gas;
(B) The number and kind of
fixtures connected with the facilities located on the various premises;
(C) The number of persons
served by the facilities;
(D) Any combination of
paragraphs (A), (B) and (C) of this subdivision; or
(E) May be determined on
any other basis or classification which the board may determine to be fair and
reasonable, taking into consideration the location of the premises served and
the nature and extent of the services and facilities furnished. However, no rates, fees or charges for
stormwater services may be assessed against highways, road and drainage
easements or stormwater facilities constructed, owned or operated by the West
Virginia Division of Highways.
(2) Where water, sewer,
stormwater or gas services, or any combination thereof, are all furnished to
any premises, the schedule of charges may be billed as a single amount for the
aggregate of the charges. The board
shall require all users of services and facilities furnished by the district to
designate on every application for service whether the applicant is a tenant or
an owner of the premises to be served.
If the applicant is a tenant, he or she shall state the name and address
of the owner or owners of the premises to be served by the district. Notwithstanding the provisions of section
eight, article three, chapter twenty-four of this code to the contrary, all new
applicants for service shall deposit the greater of a sum equal to two twelfths
of the average annual usage of the applicant's
specific customer class or $50, with the district to secure the payment of
service rates, fees and charges in the event they become delinquent as provided
in this section. If a district provides
both water and sewer service, all new applicants for service shall deposit the
greater of a sum equal to two twelfths of the average annual usage for water
service or $50 and the greater of a sum equal to two twelfths of the average
annual usage for wastewater service of the applicant's specific customer class or $50. In any case where a deposit is forfeited to
pay service rates, fees and charges which were delinquent at the time of
disconnection or termination of service, no reconnection or reinstatement of
service may be made by the district until another deposit equal to the greater
of a sum equal to two twelfths of the average usage for the applicant's specific customer class or $50 has been remitted to
the district. After twelve months of
prompt payment history, the district shall return the deposit to the customer
or credit the customer's account at a
rate as the Public Service Commission may prescribe: Provided, That where the customer is a
tenant, the district is not required to return the deposit until the time the
tenant discontinues service with the district.
Whenever any rates, fees, rentals or charges for services or facilities
furnished remain unpaid for a period of twenty days after the same become due
and payable, the user of the services and facilities provided is delinquent and
the user is liable at law until all rates, fees and charges are fully
paid. The board may, under reasonable
rules promulgated by the Public Service Commission, shut off and discontinue
water or gas services to all delinquent users of either water or gas
facilities, or both, ten days after the water or gas services become
delinquent: Provided, however,
That nothing contained within the rules of the Public Service Commission shall
be deemed to require any agents or employees of the board to accept payment at
the customer's premises in lieu of
discontinuing service for a delinquent bill.
(b) In the event that any
publicly or privately owned utility, city, incorporated town, other municipal
corporation or other public service district included within the district owns
and operates separately water facilities, sewer facilities or stormwater
facilities and the district owns and operates another kind of facility either water
or sewer, or both, as the case may be, then the district and the publicly or
privately owned utility, city, incorporated town or other municipal corporation
or other public service district shall covenant and contract with each other to
shut off and discontinue the supplying of water service for the nonpayment of
sewer or stormwater service fees and charges: Provided, That any
contracts entered into by a public service district pursuant to this section
shall be submitted to the Public Service Commission for approval. Any public service district which provides
water and sewer service, water and stormwater service or water, sewer and
stormwater service has the right to terminate water service for delinquency in
payment of water, sewer or stormwater bills. Where one public service district is providing
sewer service and another public service district or a municipality included
within the boundaries of the sewer or stormwater district is providing water
service and the district providing sewer or stormwater service experiences a
delinquency in payment, the district or the municipality included within the
boundaries of the sewer or stormwater district that is providing water service,
upon the request of the district providing sewer or stormwater service to the
delinquent account, shall terminate its water service to the customer having
the delinquent sewer or stormwater account: Provided, however, That any termination of
water service must comply with all rules and orders of the Public Service
Commission: Provided further,
That nothing contained within the rules of the Public Service Commission shall
be deemed to require any agents or employees of the Public Service Districts to
accept payment at the customer's premises
in lieu of discontinuing service for a delinquent bill.
(c) Any district furnishing
sewer facilities within the district may require, or may by petition to the
circuit court of the county in which the property is located, compel or may
require the Division of Health to compel all owners, tenants or occupants of
any houses, dwellings and buildings located near any sewer facilities where
sewage will flow by gravity or be transported by other methods approved by the
Division of Health, including, but not limited to, vacuum and pressure systems,
approved under the provisions of section nine, article one, chapter sixteen of
this code, from the houses, dwellings or buildings into the sewer facilities,
to connect with and use the sewer facilities and to cease the use of all other
means for the collection, treatment and disposal of sewage and waste matters
from the houses, dwellings and buildings where there is gravity flow or
transportation by any other methods approved by the Division of Health,
including, but not limited to, vacuum and pressure systems, approved under the
provisions of section nine, article one, chapter sixteen of this code and the
houses, dwellings and buildings can be adequately served by the sewer
facilities of the district and it is declared that the mandatory use of the
sewer facilities provided in this paragraph is necessary and essential for the
health and welfare of the inhabitants and residents of the districts and of the
state. If the public service district
requires the property owner to connect with the sewer facilities even when
sewage from dwellings may not flow to the main line by gravity and the property
owner incurs costs for any changes in the existing dwellings' exterior plumbing
in order to connect to the main sewer line, the Public Service District Board
shall authorize the district to pay all reasonable costs for the changes in the
exterior plumbing, including, but not limited to, installation, operation,
maintenance and purchase of a pump or any other method approved by the Division
of Health. Maintenance and operation
costs for the extra installation should be reflected in the users charge for
approval of the Public Service Commission.
The circuit court shall adjudicate the merits of the petition by summary
hearing to be held not later than thirty days after service of petition to the
appropriate owners, tenants or occupants.
(d) Whenever any district
has made available sewer facilities to any owner, tenant or occupant of any
house, dwelling or building located near the sewer facility and the engineer
for the district has certified that the sewer facilities are available to and
are adequate to serve the owner, tenant or occupant and sewage will flow by
gravity or be transported by other methods approved by the Division of Health
from the house, dwelling or building into the sewer facilities, the district
may charge, and the owner, tenant or occupant shall pay, the rates and charges
for services established under this article only after thirty-day notice of the
availability of the facilities has been received by the owner, tenant or
occupant. Rates and charges for sewage
services shall be based upon actual water consumption or the average mean
or median monthly water consumption, whichever is lower, based upon
the owner's, tenant's or occupant's
specific customer class.
(e) The owner, tenant or
occupant of any real property may be determined and declared to be served by a
stormwater system only after each of the following conditions is met: (1) The district has been designated by the
Environmental Protection Agency as an entity to serve a West Virginia Separate
Storm Sewer System community, as defined in 40 C.F.R. §122.26; (2) the district's authority has been properly expanded to operate and
maintain a stormwater system; (3) the district has made available a stormwater
system where stormwater from the real property affects or drains into the
stormwater system; and (4) the real property is located in the Municipal
Separate Storm Sewer System's designated
service area. It is further hereby
found, determined and declared that the mandatory use of the stormwater system
is necessary and essential for the health and welfare of the inhabitants and
residents of the district and of the state.
The district may charge and the owner, tenant or occupant shall pay the
rates, fees and charges for stormwater services established under this article
only after thirty-day notice of the availability of the stormwater system has
been received by the owner. An entity
providing stormwater service shall provide a tenant a report of the stormwater
fee charged for the entire property and, if appropriate, that portion of the
fee to be assessed to the tenant.
(f) All delinquent fees,
rates and charges of the district for either water facilities, sewer
facilities, gas facilities or stormwater systems or stormwater management
programs are liens on the premises served of equal dignity, rank and priority
with the lien on the premises of state, county, school and municipal
taxes. Nothing contained within the rules
of the Public Service Commission shall be deemed to require any agents or
employees of the Public Service Districts to accept payment at the customer's premises in lieu of discontinuing service for a
delinquent bill. In addition to the
other remedies provided in this section, public service districts are granted a
deferral of filing fees or other fees and costs incidental to the bringing and
maintenance of an action in magistrate court for the collection of delinquent
water, sewer, stormwater or gas bills.
If the district collects the delinquent account, plus reasonable costs,
from its customer or other responsible party, the district shall pay to the
magistrate the normal filing fee and reasonable costs which were previously
deferred. In addition, each public
service district may exchange with other public service districts a list of
delinquent accounts: Provided, That an owner of real property may not be
held liable for the delinquent rates or charges for services or facilities of a
tenant, nor may any lien attach to real property for the reason of delinquent
rates or charges for services or facilities of a tenant of the real property,
unless the owner has contracted directly with the public service district to
purchase the services or facilities.
(g) Anything in this
section to the contrary notwithstanding, any establishment, as defined in
section three, article eleven, chapter twenty-two of this code, now or
hereafter operating its own sewage disposal system pursuant to a permit issued
by the Department of Environmental Protection, as prescribed by section eleven
of said article, is exempt from the provisions of this section.
(h) A public service
district which has been designated by the Environmental Protection Agency as an
entity to serve a West Virginia Separate Storm Sewer System community shall
prepare an annual report detailing the collection and expenditure of rates,
fees or charges and make it available for public review at the place of
business of the governing body and the stormwater utility main office.
NOTE: The purpose of this bill is to require that individuals
receiving public sewage services who do not also receive public water services
are charged based on the mean or median of monthly water consumption in their
customer class, whichever is lower.
Strike-throughs indicate language
that would be stricken from a heading or the present law, and underscoring
indicates new language that would be added.