HOUSE BILL REPORT

SHB 929

BYHouse Committee on Local Government (originally sponsored by Representatives Haugen, L. Smith, Allen and Nutley)

Providing for sewer connections by residents of cities, towns, counties, public utility districts, and sewer districts.

House Committe on Local Government

Majority Report:     The substitute bill be substituted therefor and the substitute bill do pass.  (12)

     Signed by Representatives Haugen, Chair; Cooper, Vice Chair; Beck, Bumgarner, Hine, Madsen, Nealey, Nelson, Nutley, Rayburn, L. Smith and Zellinsky.

House Staff:Steve Lundin (786-7127)

AS PASSED HOUSE JANUARY 18, 1988

BACKGROUND:

Various local governments have been authorized to provide sanitary sewer systems, which includes the authority to require persons to pay connection charges to hook up to a sewer line.  Sewer districts are authorized to permit persons to make installment payments on these connection charges, with interest, over a ten-year period.  No other local government is authorized to allow installment payments for these connection charges.

Sewer districts are authorized to require property owners within an area served by sewers to connect their private sewer systems to the sewer district sewer line.  By reference a water district may provide sewers under sewer district laws.  No other governments expressly have been granted this authority to require connection to their sewer systems.  However, under general public health authority, a county or city can abate a public nuisance such as stopping raw sewage from flowing down a culvert or require persons to vacate a house that is an extreme health hazard.

SUMMARY:

Cities and towns, counties, public utility districts are authorized to compel property that is in area served by their sewers to connect to these sewer lines, after giving the property owners a reasonable period to connect to the sewer lines, if the public sewer line is located within 200 feet of the building to be served.  Sewer district law is amended to require the provision of a reasonable period of time before a sewer district itself makes the connection, and to restrict the ability of a sewer district to situations where the public sewer line is within 200 feet of the building to be served.

Cities, towns, counties, and public utility districts are authorized to permit persons to make installment payments on connection charges, with interest, over a fifteen year period.  The term of installment payments that a sewer district is authorized to permit is increased from 10 years to 15 years.

Fiscal Note:    Not Requested.

House Committee ‑ Testified For:     Ed Thorp, Coalition for Clean Water; Victor Ehrich, City of Vancouver; Dennis Kroll, Spokane County; and Bob Reich, Snohomish County Health Department.

House Committee - Testified Against: None Presented.

House Committee - Testimony For:     The costs of suing to force a connection are often greater than the costs of making the connection.  Installment payments ease the impact of connection charges.

House Committee - Testimony Against: None Presented.