Read first time 01/29/08.   Referred to Committee on Water, Energy & Telecommunications.

     AN ACT Relating to protecting sole source aquifers by providing sewer utility service to mobile home parks; and amending RCW 35.67.370.

BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF WASHINGTON:

Sec. 1   RCW 35.67.370 and 2003 c 297 s 1 are each amended to read as follows:
     (1) Except as provided in subsection (3) of this section, cities, towns, or counties may not require existing mobile home parks to replace existing, functional septic systems with a sewer system within the community unless the local board of health determines that the septic system is failing.
     (2) Cities, towns, and counties are prohibited from requiring existing mobile home parks to pay a sewer service availability charge, standby charge, consumption charge, or any other similar types of charges associated with available but unused sewer service, including any interest or penalties for nonpayment or enforcement charges, until the mobile home park connects to the sewer service. When a mobile home park connects to a sewer, cities, towns, and counties may only charge mobile home parks prospectively from the date of connection for their sewer service. Chapter 297, Laws of 2003 is remedial in nature and applies retroactively to 1993.
     (3) Any county lying east of the crest of the Cascade mountains with a population greater than four hundred thousand, and any city within such county, may require a mobile home park to connect to a sewer system, when the city or county legislative authority determines that:
     (a) The mobile home park lies above a federally designated sole source aquifer;
     (b) The sewer system is available for connection by the mobile home park;
     (c) Replacement of existing on-site septic systems by connection to a sewer system is needed to ensure the protection of drinking water supplies from the aquifer; and
     (d) The cost of connecting the mobile home park to the sewer system on a per unit basis is reasonable and comparable to the current estimated average cost of connecting single-family residences to the sewer system.
     (4) The county or city legislative authority requiring a mobile home park to connect to a sewer system, as provided in subsection (3) of this section, should identify and extend, as applicable, those financial assistance programs it can access and provide to that mobile home park. This may include, but not be limited to, local, state, or federal affordable housing programs, water quality protection grant and loan programs, and public health, safety, and welfare programs.