An Act To Amend the Charter of the Ogunquit Sewer District
Maine Legislature, Session 130, LD 1829
Committee: Energy, Utilities and Technology
Sponsors: LAWRENCE

Legislative Document
No. 1829
S.P. 646
In Senate, December 22, 2021
An Act To Amend the Charter of the Ogunquit Sewer District
Approved for introduction by a majority of the Legislative Council pursuant to Joint Rule 
203.
Received by the Secretary of the Senate on December 20, 2021.  Referred to the Committee 
on Energy, Utilities and Technology pursuant to Joint Rule 308.2 and ordered printed.
DAREK M. GRANT
Secretary of the Senate
Presented by Senator LAWRENCE of York.
Be it enacted by the People of the State of Maine as follows:
Sec. 1.  P&SL 1963, c. 87, §1, as amended by P&SL 2011, c. 24, §1, is further 
amended to read:
Sec. 1. Territorial limits; incorporation; purposes.  The inhabitants and 
territory within the Town of Ogunquit in York County constitute a public sewerage district 
and a body politic and corporate under the name of "Ogunquit Sewer District." The purpose 
of the district, subject to the provisions of section 10, is to take over, control, operate and 
manage the sanitary sewer system previously owned by the Town of Ogunquit and as 
further improved and expanded by the Ogunquit Sewer District with all appurtenances 
thereto; to extend, increase, enlarge and improve the sewer system; to extend the present 
system or systems so as to furnish sewerage facilities to those parts of the district and, as 
determined appropriate by the trustees of the district, to parts of adjoining municipalities 
not now served with such facilities or served by a failing or failed subsurface wastewater 
disposal system or septic system at the time service is extended thereto; to provide for 
removal and treatment of sewage when, as and if such treatment becomes necessary; and 
generally to construct, maintain, operate and provide a system of sewage collection and 
pumping, sewage disposal and sewage treatment for public purposes and for the health, 
welfare, comfort and convenience of the inhabitants of the district.
Sec. 2.  P&SL 1963, c. 87, §2-A, as enacted by P&SL 2011, c. 24, §4, is amended 
to read:
Sec. 2-A.  Sewer extensions.  Sewer extensions are governed by the Maine Revised 
Statutes, Title 38, section 1252, subsection 7 1042.
Sec. 3.  P&SL 1963, c. 87, §§3 and 4, as amended by P&SL 2001, c. 19, §4, are 
further amended to read:
Sec. 3.  Authority to acquire and hold property; right of eminent domain 
conferred.  Upon acceptance of this act Act, and subject to section 10, title to all public 
sewers in the Town of Ogunquit other than sewers used exclusively for storm or surface 
water drainage remain with and immediately pass to and are vested in the district, and the 
district shall maintain and operate the same.  Upon approval, title to all plans, maps, 
specifications and data relating to the existing public sewers and, subject to any obligation 
of the Town of Ogunquit to the United States of America or any agency of the United States 
of America, all plans, maps, specifications and data relative to any proposed improvement 
or expansion of the sanitary sewer system of the Town of Ogunquit remain with and 
immediately pass to the district.  The district is authorized and empowered to acquire and 
hold real and personal property necessary or convenient for the purposes of this act Act, 
and is expressly granted the right of eminent domain, and for the purposes of this act Act, 
is authorized to take and hold, either by exercising its right of eminent domain, or by 
purchase, lease or otherwise, as for public uses any land, real estate, easements or interests 
in that land, real estate or easements, and any sewers, drains or conduits and any sewer or 
drainage rights necessary for constructing, establishing, maintaining and operating sewers, 
drains, reservoirs, flush tanks, manholes, catch basins, treatment works, pumping stations 
and other appliances and property used or useful for collecting, holding, purifying, 
distributing and disposing of sewage matter and commercial and industrial waste and 
surface and waste waters.  Nothing in this section may be construed as authorizing the 
district to take by right of eminent domain any of the property or facilities of any other 
public service corporation or district utility used or required acquired for future use by the 
owner of that public service corporation or district in the performance of a public duty, 
unless expressly authorized by subsequent act of the Legislature.
The term "other public utility" as used in this Act may not be construed to imply that 
the district is a public utility for purposes of the Maine Revised Statutes, Title 35-A.
Sec. 4.  Procedures under eminent domain, condemnation, damages and 
appeals.  In exercising from time to time the right of eminent domain conferred upon it, 
the district, by its board of trustees, shall proceed in accordance with and is subject to the 
limitations eminent domain procedures set forth in the Maine Revised Statutes, Title 38, 
section 1252, subsection 2 1040.
Sec. 4.  P&SL 1963, c. 87, §8-A, as enacted by P&SL 2011, c. 24, §7, is amended 
to read:
Sec. 8-A.  Lease of property.  The district's lease of its property is governed by the 
Maine Revised Statutes, Title 38, section 1252, subsection 10 1045.
Sec. 5.  P&SL 1963, c. 87, §12, as repealed and replaced by P&SL 2011, c. 24, §9, 
is amended to read:
Sec. 12.  Connection of private sewers.  Notwithstanding the Maine Revised 
Statutes, Title 38, section 1252 1046, subsection 3, every building within the district 
intended for human habitation or occupancy or with facilities for discharge or disposal of 
sewage or commercial or industrial waste that is accessible to a sewer or drain of the district 
must have a sanitary sewer or drainage system that must be connected with the sewer or 
drain of the district by the owner or person against whom taxes on the premises are assessed 
in the most direct manner possible within 90 days after receiving a request for connection 
from the district or within such further time as the trustees of the district may grant and, if 
feasible, with a separate connection for each building. Existing buildings An existing 
building that are is already served by a private sewer system are is not required to connect 
with any sewer or drain of the district as long as the private sewer or drainage system 
functions in a satisfactory and sanitary manner and does not violate any applicable law or 
ordinance applicable to the connection with a sewer or drain or a sewer district or any 
applicable requirements of the state plumbing code, as determined by the municipal 
plumbing inspector or the plumbing inspector's alternate or, in the event that both are 
trustees or employees of the district, the Department of Health and Human Services, 
Division of Health Engineering or successor organization. A Notwithstanding Title 38, 
section 1046, a building is considered to be accessible to a sewer or drain of the district for 
the purposes of this section if that building or any private sewer or drain directly or 
indirectly connected to the building, or carrying sewage or commercial or industrial waste 
from the building, is at any point or may at some point come within 150 feet of a sewer or 
drain of the district, except that nothing in this section requires the owner of any building 
to acquire any real property or easement for the sole purpose of making that connection.
Sec. 6.  P&SL 1963, c. 87, §13, as amended by P&SL 2011, c. 24, §10, is further 
amended to read:
Sec. 13. Sanitary provisions, standards, rules, regulations, bylaws and 
penalty for violations.  The district is authorized to adopt standards, establish and amend 
reasonable rules, regulations and bylaws for the proper management of the affairs of the 
district and perform other acts within the powers delegated by law to the trustees. Any 
person who places, discharges or leaves an offensive or injurious matter or material on or 
in the conduits, catch basins or receptacles of the district contrary to its rules or regulations, 
or willfully injures any conduit, pipe, reservoir, flush tank, catch basin, manhole, outlet, 
engine, pump or other property held, owned or used by the district for the purposes of this 
act is liable to pay twice the amount of the damages to the district, to be recovered in a civil 
action; and such person, on conviction of any of the acts or willful injury described in this 
section, and any person who violates section 11 or 12, may be punished by a fine of up to 
$1,000 per day.  The district may seek in a civil action injunctive relief from an industrial 
or commercial user that violates a pretreatment standard or requirement administered by 
the district.  The district may seek a civil penalty of up to $1,000 per day for each violation 
by an industrial or commercial user of a pretreatment standard or requirement.
Sec. 7.  P&SL 1963, c. 87, §14, first ¶, as amended by P&SL 2001, c. 19, §7, is 
further amended to read:
Sec. 14.  Trustees and officer; tenure of office; annual meetings; election to 
office; organization; vacancies; compensation; bylaws.  All of the affairs of the 
district are managed by a board of 3 trustees, residents of the district, who are chosen as 
provided in this section.
Sec. 8.  P&SL 1963, c. 87, §14, 4th ¶, as amended by P&SL 2011, c. 24, §11, is 
repealed.
Sec. 9.  P&SL 1963, c. 87, §14, 5th ¶, as amended by P&SL 2001, c. 19, §7, is 
repealed.
Sec. 10.  P&SL 1963, c. 87, §14, 7th ¶, as amended by P&SL 2001, c. 19, §7, is 
further amended by amending the 2nd to last sentence to read:
In preparing the voter's ballot the voter shall mark a cross (X) or a check mark ( ) () against 
and to the right of the names on the ballot as the voter desires to vote for, not to exceed the 
number of trustees so to be elected in the district.
Sec. 11.  P&SL 1963, c. 87, §14, 10th ¶, as amended by P&SL 2011, c. 24, §11, is 
further amended to read:
Members of the board of trustees are eligible to serve in any office under the board. 
Notwithstanding the Maine Revised Statutes, Title 38, section 1252, subsection 5, the The 
trustees of the district receive a salary not to exceed $950 per year and the treasurer may 
be allowed further compensation as the trustees determine  compensation as recommended 
by the trustees and approved by majority vote of the municipal officers in municipalities 
representing a majority of the population within the district, including compensation for 
any duties they perform as officers as well as for their duties as trustees.  Certification of 
the vote must be recorded with the Secretary of State and recorded in the bylaws.  
Compensation for duties as trustees must be based on an amount specified in the bylaws 
for each meeting actually attended plus reimbursement for travel and expenses, with the 
total not to exceed a specific amount as specified in the bylaws.  Compensation schedules 
in effect on January 1, 2013 continue in effect until changed.
Sec. 12.  P&SL 1963, c. 87, §14, as amended by P&SL 2011, c. 24, §11, is further 
amended by adding at the end 2 new paragraphs to read:
The annual meeting of the district, not the Town of Ogunquit's annual meeting, must 
be held at an hour, date and place designated by resolution of the board of trustees. At the 
annual meeting of the district, the trustees shall elect a chair, a treasurer and a clerk to serve 
for the ensuing year and until their successors are elected and qualified.
The board of trustees shall adopt a budget for the next fiscal year of the district 
following an opportunity for public comments on the budget.
Sec. 13.  P&SL 1963, c. 87, §15, last ¶, as enacted by P&SL 1997, c. 78, §2, is 
repealed.
Sec. 14.  P&SL 1963, c. 87, §17, first ¶, as enacted by P&SL 2011, c. 24, §12, is 
amended to read:
Sec. 17.  Authorized to borrow money and to issue bonds and notes.  To 
procure funds for the purposes of this Act and for such other expenses as may be necessary 
for the carrying out of the purposes, the district without a district vote but by action of its 
board of trustees is authorized to raise funds from sources other than operational activities 
by receiving governmental aid and also by borrowing money in accordance with this 
section. The district may issue its notes and bonds in one series or in separate series from 
time to time, as long as the aggregate outstanding principal balance at any one time does 
not exceed $7,000,000 $12,000,000, unless a higher debt obligation limit is approved 
established pursuant to the Maine Revised Statutes, Title 38, section 1256 1054, except that 
the district may employ the procedures set forth in Title 30-A, section 2354 as an alternative 
to the procedures in Title 30-A, chapter 121.
Sec. 15.  P&SL 1963, c. 87, §17, sub-§1, last ¶, as enacted by P&SL 2011, c. 24, 
§12, is amended by amending the 5th sentence to read:
Bonds may be issued without obtaining the consent of a commission, board, bureau or 
agency of the State or of a municipality encompassed by the district and without any 
proceedings or conditions other than those specifically required by this Act or other 
applicable law.
Sec. 16.  P&SL 1963, c. 87, §17, sub-§4, last ¶, as enacted by P&SL 2011, c. 24, 
§12, is amended to read:
The resolution authorizing the issuance of bonds under this Act, or a trust agreement 
securing those bonds, may provide that all or a sufficient amount of revenues, after 
providing for the payment of the cost of repair, maintenance and operation and reserves as 
may be provided in the resolution or trust agreement, are must be set aside at such regular 
intervals as may be provided in the resolution or trust agreement and deposited in the credit 
of a fund for the payment of the interest on and the principal of bonds issued under this Act 
as the payment becomes due, and the redemption price or purchase price of bonds retired 
by call or purchase. The use and disposition of money to the credit of the fund are subject 
to such regulations as may be provided in the resolution authorizing the issuance of the 
bonds or in the trust agreement securing the bonds and, except as may otherwise be 
provided in the resolution or trust agreement, the fund is must be a fund for the benefit of 
all bonds without distinction or priority of one over another.
Sec. 17.  P&SL 1963, c. 87, §17, sub-§§8 and 9, as enacted by P&SL 2011, c. 24, 
§12, are amended to read:
8.  Tax exemption.  All bonds, notes or other evidences of indebtedness issued under 
this Act and their transfer and the income from bonds, notes or other evidences of 
indebtedness, including the any profit made on the sale of bonds, notes or other evidences 
of indebtedness are at all times free exempt from taxation within the State.
9.  Bonds declared legal investments.  Bonds and notes issued by the district under 
this Act are made securities in which all public officers and public bodies of the State and 
its political subdivisions, all insurance companies and associations and other persons 
carrying on an insurance business, trust companies, banks, bankers, banking associations, 
savings banks and savings associations, including savings and loan associations, credit 
unions, building and loan associations, investment companies, executors, administrators, 
trustees and other fiduciaries, pension, profit-sharing, retirement funds and other persons 
carrying on a banking business, and all other persons who are now or may hereafter be 
authorized to invest in bonds or other obligations of the State, may properly and legally 
invest funds, including capital in their control or belonging to them. The bonds and notes 
are made securities that may properly and legally be deposited with and received by a state, 
municipal or public officer, or an agency or political subdivision of the State, for any 
purpose for which the deposit of bonds or other obligations of the State is now or may 
hereafter be authorized by law.
Sec. 18.  P&SL 1963, c. 87, §17-A is enacted to read:
Sec. 17-A.  Investments.  Investments by the district are governed by the Maine 
Revised Statutes, Title 38, section 1055.
Sec. 19.  P&SL 1963, c. 87, §19, 3rd ¶, as enacted by P&SL 2011, c. 24, §13, is 
amended by adding at the end a new sentence to read:
Rates, tolls, rents and entrance charges for services provided in adjoining municipalities 
must be established by the trustees based on costs associated with those services and are 
not subject to a requirement of uniformity.
Sec. 20.  P&SL 1963, c. 87, §19, sub-§3, as enacted by P&SL 2011, c. 24, §13, is 
amended to read:
3.  Sinking fund for retirement of obligations; repairs; replacement; renewals.  
Create and maintain sinking funds and other reserves for retirement of obligations as may 
be required by any trust agreement or resolution securing bonds and notes and provide 
funds for paying the cost of all necessary repairs, replacements and renewals of the 
sewerage, drainage and treatment systems of the district; and
Sec. 21.  P&SL 1963, c. 87, §19, sub-§3-A is enacted to read:
3-A.  Payment of repairs, replacements and renewals.  Provide funds for paying the 
cost of all necessary repairs, replacements and renewals of the sewerage, drainage and 
treatment systems of the district; and
Sec. 22.  P&SL 1963, c. 87, §20, first ¶, as amended by P&SL 2001, c. 19, §9, is 
further amended by amending the 2nd sentence to read:
The district shall then estimate and assess upon such lots and parcels of land, and against 
the owner of the lots or parcels of land, or person in possession or against whom taxes on 
the lots or parcels of land are assessed, whether the person to whom the assessment is so 
made is the owner, tenant, lessee or agent, or against the heirs or devises devisees of a 
deceased owner without designating any of them by name and whether the same is occupied 
or not, a sum reflecting an appropriate portion of the expenses of constructing the common 
sewer or acquisition of other improvements, the amount assessed not to exceed the amount 
of such benefit as the district determines just and equitable towards defraying the expenses 
of constructing and completing such sewer, construction or acquisition of other 
improvements, together with such sewage disposal units and appurtenances as may be 
necessary.
Sec. 23.  P&SL 1963, c. 87, §24-A, as enacted by P&SL 2011, c. 24, §14, is 
amended to read:
Sec. 24-A.  Landlord access to tenant bill payment information.  Landlord 
access to payment information related to sewer service is governed by the Maine Revised 
Statutes, Title 38, section 1252, subsection 11 1051.
Sec. 24.  P&SL 1963, c. 87, §25, 2nd ¶, as enacted by P&SL 2001, c. 19, §10, is 
amended by amending the 2nd sentence to read:
This lien arises and is perfected as services are provided and takes precedence over all other 
claims on the real estate, excepting only claims for taxes.
Sec. 25.  P&SL 1963, c. 87, §25, 6th ¶, as enacted by P&SL 2001, c. 19, §10, is 
amended to read:
The treasurer shall notify the party named on the certificate and each record holder of 
a mortgage on the real estate no more than 45 days nor less than 30 days before the date of 
foreclosure of the mortgage created under this section.  The notification must be in writing 
left at the owner's and all mortgagees' last and usual abode or sent by certified mail, return 
receipt requested, to the owner and mortgagees at their last known addresses.  The notice 
must indicate the exact date of foreclosure and include the warnings and other information 
substantially in the following form:  
OGUNQUIT SEWER DISTRICT
NOTICE OF IMPENDING AUTOMATIC FORECLOSURE OF SEWER LIEN 
P & S L 2001, c. 19  
IMPORTANT:  DO NOT DISREGARD THIS NOTICE.  YOU WILL LOSE YOUR 
PROPERTY UNLESS YOU TIMELY PAY THE SEWER CHARGES, COSTS AND 
INTERESTS THAT HAVE BEEN LIENED BY THE OGUNQUIT SEWER DISTRICT.  
To:  
You are the party named on the Sewer Lien Certificate filed on _________, 20___, by 
the Ogunquit Sewer District and recorded in the York County Registry of Deeds in Book 
_____, Page _____.
The district's filing created a sewer lien mortgage on the real estate described in the 
Sewer Lien Certificate.  On _________, 20__, the sewer lien mortgage will be foreclosed 
and your rights to redeem the mortgage and recover your property by paying the sewer 
charges, costs and interest that are owed will expire.
IF THE SEWER LIEN FORECLOSES, THE OGUNQUIT SEWER DISTRICT WILL 
OWN YOUR PROPERTY, SUBJECT ONLY TO MUNICIPAL TAX LIENS.  
If you cannot pay the outstanding sewer charges, costs and interest that are the subject 
of this notice, please contact me to discuss this notice.   
___________________
                                                       District Treasurer      
Sec. 26.  P&SL 1963, c. 87, §25, 7th ¶, as enacted by P&SL 2001, c. 19, §10, is 
amended to read:
The filing of the certificate in the registry of deeds is sufficient notice of the existence 
of the mortgage provided for in this section. If In the event that the rate, assessment or 
supplemental assessment, interest and costs are paid within the period of redemption 
provided for in this section, the treasurer of the district shall discharge the mortgage in the 
same manner as is now provided for discharge of real estate mortgages.
Sec. 27.  P&SL 1963, c. 87, §25, last ¶, as enacted by P&SL 2001, c. 19, §10, is 
repealed.
Sec. 28.  P&SL 1963, c. 87, §25, as repealed and replaced by P&SL 2001, c. 19, 
§10, is amended by adding at the end a new paragraph to read:
The fee to be charged by the district to the ratepayer for the notice and filing may not 
exceed $3 in addition to the fee to be charged to the district by the register of deeds for 
filing and recording the same.
Sec. 29.  P&SL 1963, c. 87, §25-A is enacted to read:
Sec. 25-A.  Waiver of sewer district lien foreclosure.  The district's waiver of a 
lien foreclosure for any lien created pursuant to this Act is governed by the Maine Revised 
Statutes, Title 38, section 1049.
Sec. 30.  P&SL 1963, c. 87, §28, as enacted, is repealed.
Sec. 31.  P&SL 1963, c. 87, §28-A, as enacted by P&SL 2011, c. 24, §15, is 
amended to read:
Sec. 28-A.  Coordination with municipal planning.  The district shall coordinate 
municipal planning and sewer extension planning in accordance with the Maine Revised 
Statutes, Title 38, section 1252, subsection 9 1037.
Sec. 32.  P&SL 1963, c. 87, §31 is enacted to read:
Sec. 31.  Town of Ogunquit; sewer system; storm water system.  The 
authority to construct and maintain a sanitary sewer system and to provide for the removal 
and treatment of sewage, and to construct, maintain, operate and provide a system of 
sewage collection and pumping, sewage disposal and sewage treatment, having been 
granted to the district, the Town of Ogunquit may not construct or maintain sanitary sewers 
or sewage treatment facilities.  This section does not limit the authority of the Town of 
Ogunquit to construct and maintain storm water sewers or a storm water sewer system.
SUMMARY
This bill amends the Ogunquit Sewer District charter to update the charter and make it 
conform with the Maine Revised Statutes, Title 38, chapter 10 and reflect current and more 
efficient and effective practices.