2023 New York Laws › TWN - Town › Article 12 - District and Special Improvements › 190-G - Water Quality Treatment Districts.

§  190-g.  Water quality treatment districts. 1. The town board of any
  town is hereby  authorized  to  establish  or  extend  a  water  quality
  treatment  district, or more than one such district, for the purposes of
  (a) procuring by purchase, lease or other means,  and  installing  water
  quality  treatment  units  or  devices,  if required; providing periodic
  testing and monitoring of raw and finished water from private  wells  in
  the district; monitoring, modifying, repairing, replacing, operation and
  maintenance,  regenerating water quality treatment units and devices and
  the administering of the treatment and disposal of  residuals  generated
  in  the  operation  of  the  district  pursuant to rules and regulations
  adopted by the public health and health planning council  under  section
  two  hundred  twenty-five of the public health law; (b) assisting local,
  state and federal agencies and officials in efforts to establish  causes
  of,  and  implement remedial measures to reduce, water contamination and
  protect future water resources within the district; (c)  conduct  public
  meetings and issue an annual public report to members of the district on
  the  operation,  financial  position and water quality condition of said
  district.
2. A  water  quality  treatment  district  established  hereunder  may
  consist of noncontiguous or contiguous benefited parcels of property and
  shall  be created by a resolution of the town board, upon petition after
  a public hearing. The petition may be executed and acknowledged  by  one
  or more of the owners of taxable real property of record situated within
  the  town  whose  private well water is contaminated and at the time the
  petition is executed and acknowledged, notice and copy of such  petition
  shall  be  submitted  to the state department of health. Upon a petition
  signed and acknowledged the town board may, or on its own motion,  after
  a  public  hearing, assemble data relating to the number and location of
  private wells within the town, the contaminants  present  in  the  water
  supply  in such town's private wells, (for the purposes of this section,
  "contaminants"  shall  mean  those  substances  found  in   amounts   or
  concentrations which violate federal, state or local laws, guidelines or
  rules  and  regulations  relating  to drinking water or which may pose a
  risk to public health), the extent of contamination of the water  supply
  in  the  town's  private  wells,  and  the  availability  of appropriate
  treatment technologies for the contaminants  found  to  be  present,  or
  which  are  reasonably expected to be found, currently or in the future,
  in the water supply in the town's private wells.  Upon  presentation  of
  the  petition  or  on its own motion, the town board may direct or cause
  maps and plans to be prepared, provided however, that if  the  owner  or
  owners  of taxable real property undertake to furnish or pay the cost of
  such maps and plans at his or their cost and  expense,  the  town  board
  shall  accept  or  prepare  the  same  or  the  town  board  may adopt a
  resolution, subject to a permissive referendum, appropriating a specific
  amount to pay the cost of preparing a general map and plan for providing
  water quality treatment units or devices and related services. The  town
  board  may  determine  that  such maps and plans shall be prepared by or
  under the supervision of town officers and employees to be designated by
  the town board, or by persons to be employed for that  purpose,  or  the
  town  board  may  contract  for  the  preparation  thereof,  within  the
  limitations of the amount appropriated.  Except  as  otherwise  provided
  herein,  the expense incurred for the preparation of such maps and plans
  shall be a town charge, and shall be assessed, levied and  collected  in
  the  same  manner  as  other  town  charges.  If  the  town  board shall
  thereafter establish or extend a water quality treatment  district,  the
  expense  incurred  by the town for the preparation of the maps and plans
  therefor shall be deemed to be part of the cost of such improvement, and
  the town shall be reimbursed the amount paid therefor, or  such  portion

  of that amount which the town board, at the public hearing held pursuant
  to  section  one  hundred  ninety-four  of  this chapter, shall allocate
  against such district. Nothing in this  section  contained,  or  in  any
  other  section of this act, shall be construed to prevent the financing,
  in whole or in part, of expenditures by private sources,  grants  or  by
  other means. All such maps and plans shall be filed with the town clerk.
  Such maps and plans shall show (1) the location of all benefited parcels
  of  properties  with  water quality treatment units or devices installed
  prior to the formation of the district and/or those properties requiring
  installation of water quality treatment units or devices  and  the  mode
  and  frequency  of testing, monitoring, modifying if required, operation
  and maintenance, regenerating of such water quality treatment  units  or
  devices and the administering of the treatment and disposal of residuals
  and  any other requirements pursuant to rules and regulations adopted by
  the public health and health planning council under section two  hundred
  twenty-five  of the public health law, and (2) estimates of the costs of
  procurement, installation, monitoring, testing, modifying, if  required,
  operation  and maintenance, regenerating of such water quality treatment
  units or devices and the treatment and disposal of  residuals,  and  the
  method of financing the same. Any water quality treatment unit or device
  which  has been installed prior to the formation of the district must be
  approved pursuant to rules and regulations adopted by the public  health
  and health planning council under section two hundred twenty-five of the
  public  health  law,  prior to acceptance of such unit or device and its
  benefited property within the district.
3. Maps and plans shall be submitted to and  approved  or  denied,  in
  writing,  by  the  state  department  of  health. Copy of such notice of
  approval or denial shall be filed in the office of the clerk of the town
  in which the proposed  district  or  extension  is  located.  No  public
  hearing shall be called to establish or extend a water quality treatment
  district  until  such  maps  and  plans  have been approved by the state
  department of health.
4. After such maps and plans shall have been  approved  by  the  state
  department  of health, the town board shall, by resolution designate the
  place where and time when a public hearing will be held to consider  the
  establishment  or  extension  of a water quality treatment district. The
  town board shall cause a notice of such  hearing  to  be  published  and
  posted in the manner prescribed in section one hundred ninety-three. The
  notice  shall  comply  with  the  requirements  of  section  one hundred
  ninety-three as to content, except that no recitation of the filing of a
  petition shall be made. The notice of public  hearing  shall  recite  in
  general terms the purpose thereof and describe the location or locations
  of the proposed district or extension.