|
DRAFT LOCAL LAW NO. OF 2009 COUNTY OF ROCKLAND STATE OF NEW YORK (Introduced by: Hon. Joseph L. Meyers) A local law amending chapter 345 of the laws of the county of Rockland to impose a prohibition of sewer connections to the Rockland County Sewer District No. 1 from structures outside the physical boundaries of the county of Rockland. Be it enacted by the legislature of the county of Rockland as follows: Section 1. Name of local law This law shall be known as "the Rockland County Sewer District No. 1 prohibition of sewer connections from outside the county of Rockland. Section 2. Legislative intent. Under New York state law counties may to establish and implement publicly owned treatment works and sewer systems for the treatment of raw sewage to protect the health and welfare of the residents of said county. Rockland County Sewer District No. 1 was originally formed in 1963 to primarily service the towns of Ramapo and Clarkstown through a district’s wastewater treatment facility located in Orangeburg, New York. The original wastewater treatment plant was constructed to treat ten million gallons per day (mgd). The Rockland County Sewer District No. 1 has continuously expanded and developed in conjunction with the population growth and development of Rockland County. At the beginning of the twenty-first century, the County undertook a substantial development project to build an additional wastewater treatment plant in the town of Ramapo, adjacent to the Mahwah River, as well as development and extension of additional lines to previously unserviced areas in the County. By resolution 256 of 2004, the legislature adopted a policy that "there shall be no connections to the Rockland County Sewer District No. 1 from structures outside the county of Rockland, without prior legislative approval by a local law". It is the intention of the legislature to incorporate that resolution into the County Sewer Law (chapter 345) of Rockland County. Section 3. Prohibited Sewer Line Connections. The Rockland County Sewer District No. 1 shall not permit nor accept any request for connections to the Rockland County Sewer District No. 1 from any structure outside the physical boundaries of the county of Rockland. Section 4. Penalties for offenses. A violation of the provisions of this article shall constitute a civil offense and any person violating or aiding or abetting in the violation of this provision shall be subject to a civil penalty thereof of the sum of three times the sewer charges billed or due for such period of connection, together with the cost of removing the violating connection and any related expenses thereto, including legal fees. Any employee of the Rockland County Sewer District No. 1 or of the county of Rockland who knowingly participates and/or facilities said connection shall be subject to discipline, including but not limited to removal from service. Section 7. Severability. If any clause, sentence, paragraph, subdivision, section or part of this local law or the application thereof to any person, individual, corporation, firm, partnership, entity or circumstance shall be adjudged by any court of competent jurisdiction to be invalid or unconstitutional, such order or judgment shall not affect, impair, effect or invalidate the remainder thereof, but shall be confined in its operation to the clause, sentence, paragraph, subdivision, section or part of this law or in its application to the person, individual, corporation, firm, partnership, entity or circumstance directly involved in the controversy in which such order or judgment shall be rendered. Section 8. Effective date. This local law shall take effect ninety (90) days after filing with the New York State Secretary of State.
RM/cs LG2797LL; 4/17/09
|