H. B. 4470\
(By Delegates Flanigan, By Request, and Osborne)
[Introduced February 18, 1998; referred to the
Committee on Political Subdivisions then the
Judiciary.]
A BILL to amend and reenact section nine, article thirteen-a,
chapter sixteen of the code of West Virginia, one thousand
nine hundred thirty-one, as amended, relating to public
service districts for water, sewerage and gas services; and
providing that unpaid charges for water services do not
become a lien against the owner of real property, nor is the
owner liable for the charges unless the owner contracted
directly with the public service district for the services
or is the owner of the water line or facility.
Be it enacted by the Legislature of West Virginia:
That section nine, article thirteen-a, chapter sixteen of
the code of West Virginia, one thousand nine hundred thirty-one,
as amended, be amended and reenacted to read as follows:
ARTICLE 13A. PUBLIC SERVICE DISTRICTS FOR WATER, SEWERAGE AND
GAS SERVICES.
§16-13A-9. Rules; service rates and charges; discontinuance of
service; required water and sewer connections;
lien for delinquent fees.
The board may make, enact and enforce all needful rules and
regulations 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, and the board shall establish rates
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 such 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 for in the proceedings which authorized
the issuance of any bonds hereunder. The schedule of such rates
and charges may be based upon either (a) the consumption of water
or gas on premises connected with such facilities, taking into
consideration domestic, commercial, industrial and public use of
water and gas; or (b) the number and kind of fixtures connected
with such facilities located on the various premises; or (c) the
number of persons served by such facilities; or (d) any
combination thereof; 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. Where water, sewer and gas services are
all furnished to any premises, the schedule of charges may be
billed as a single amount for the aggregate thereof. 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. All new applicants for service shall
deposit a minimum of fifty dollars with the district to secure
the payment of service rates and charges in the event they become
delinquent as provided in this section. In any case where a
deposit is forfeited to pay service rates 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 minimum deposit of fifty dollars
has been remitted to the district. Whenever any rates, rentals
or charges for services or facilities furnished remain unpaid for
a period of thirty days after the same become due and payable,
the property and the owner thereof, as well as the user of the
services and facilities provided are delinquent and the owner,
user and property are liable at law until such time as all such rates and charges are fully paid:
Provided, That
the property
owner shall be given notice of any said delinquency by certified
mail, return receipt requested an owner of real property may not
be held liable for the delinquent rates or charges for services
or facilities of a tenant for water services, nor may any lien
attach to real property by reason of the delinquency of a tenant
for water services, unless the owner has contracted directly with
the public service district to purchase the water services or is
the owner of the water line or the facility. The board may,
under reasonable rules
promulgated proposed by the public service
commission
for approval by the Legislature in accordance with the
provisions of article three, chapter twenty-nine-a of this code,
shut off and discontinue water or gas services to all delinquent
users of either water or gas facilities, or both:
Provided,
however, That upon written request of the owner or owners of the
premises, the board shall shut off and discontinue water and gas
services where any rates, rentals, or charges for services or
facilities remain unpaid by the user of the premises for a period
of sixty days after the same became due and payable.
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 either water facilities or sewer facilities,
and the district owns and operates the other kind of facilities, either water or sewer, as the case may be, then the district and
such 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 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 providing water and sewer
service to its customers has the right to terminate water service
for delinquency in payment of either water or sewer 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 district is providing water service,
and the district providing sewer service experiences a
delinquency in payment, the district or the municipality included
within the boundaries of the sewer district that is providing
water service, upon the request of the district providing sewer
service to the delinquent account, shall terminate its water
service to the customer having the delinquent sewer account:
Provided, however, That any termination of water service must
comply with all rules and orders of the public service
commission.
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 bureau of public health to compel all owners, tenants or
occupants of any houses, dwellings and buildings located near any
such sewer facilities, where sewage will flow by gravity or be
transported by such other methods approved by the bureau of
public 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 such houses, dwellings or
buildings into such sewer facilities, to connect with and use
such sewer facilities, and to cease the use of all other means
for the collection, treatment and disposal of sewage and waste
matters from such houses, dwellings and buildings where there is
such gravity flow or transportation by such other methods
approved by the bureau of public 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 such houses, dwellings and buildings can be adequately
served by the sewer facilities of the district, and it is hereby
found, determined and declared that the mandatory use of such
sewer facilities provided for in this paragraph is necessary and
essential for the health and welfare of the inhabitants and
residents of such districts and of the state:
Provided, That if
the public service district determines that the property owner must connect with the sewer facilities even when sewage from such
dwellings may not flow to the main line by gravity and the
property owner must incur 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 such 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 bureau of public health; maintenance and
operation costs for such extra installation should be reflected
in the users charge for approval of the public service
commission. The circuit court shall adjudicate the merits of
such petition by summary hearing to be held not later than thirty
days after service of petition to the appropriate owners, tenants
or occupants.
Whenever any district has made available sewer facilities to
any owner, tenant or occupant of any house, dwelling or building
located near such sewer facility, and the engineer for the
district has certified that such sewer facilities are available
to and are adequate to serve such owner, tenant or occupant, and
sewage will flow by gravity or be transported by such other
methods approved by the bureau of public health from such house,
dwelling or building into such sewer facilities, the district may
charge, and such 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.
All delinquent fees, rates and charges of the district for
either water facilities, sewer facilities or gas facilities are
liens on the premises served of equal dignity, rank and priority
with the lien on such premises of state, county, school and
municipal taxes. In addition to the other remedies provided in
this section, public service districts are hereby 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 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.
Anything in this section to the contrary notwithstanding,
any establishment, as defined in section three, article eleven,
chapter twenty-two, now or hereafter operating its own sewage
disposal system pursuant to a permit issued by the division of
environmental protection, as prescribed by section eleven,
article eleven, chapter twenty-two of this code, is exempt from the provisions of this section.
NOTE: The purpose of this bill is to eliminate landlord
liability for delinquent accounts of the tenant to the public
service district for water services.
Strike-throughs indicate language that would be stricken
from the present law, and underscoring indicates new language
that would be added.