2023 Wisconsin Statutes & Annotations › Chapter 66 - General municipality law. › 66.0821 - Sewerage and storm water systems.

66.0821
Sewerage and storm water systems.
(1)
Definitions. In this section:
(a)
“Municipality" means a town, village, city or metropolitan sewerage district created under ss. 200.01 to 200.15 or under ss. 200.21 to 200.65.
(b)
“Sewerage" is a comprehensive term, including all constructions for collection, transportation, pumping, treatment and final disposition of sewage or storm water and surface water.
(2)
General authority.
(a)
1.
In addition to all other methods provided by law, a municipality may construct, acquire or lease, extend or improve any plant and equipment within or without its corporate limits for the collection, transportation, storage, treatment and disposal of sewage or storm water and surface water, including necessary lateral, main and interceptor sewers, and a town, village or city may arrange for the service to be furnished by a metropolitan sewerage district or joint sewerage system.
2.
If the extension of a sewer line or water main that is described under subd. 1. is required because of a new subdivision, as defined in s. 236.02 (12), or commercial development, the municipality may recoup some or all of the costs that it has incurred for the extension by a method described under subd. 1. or by any other method of financing agreed to by the municipality and the developer. If a person, whose property is outside of the subdivision for which a developer is paying, or has paid, the costs of a sewerage project under this subdivision, connects an extension into the sewerage project after the amount is established that the developer is required to pay under this subdivision, that person shall pay to the developer an amount determined by the public service commission. The public service commission shall promulgate rules to determine the amount that such a person shall pay to a developer. The rules promulgated under this subdivision, shall be based on the benefits accruing to the property that connects an extension into the sewerage project.
(b)
The governing body of a municipality, and the officials in charge of the management of the sewerage system as well as other officers of the municipality, are governed in the discharge of their powers and duties under this section by ss. 66.0809 to 66.0813 or 62.69 (2) (f), to the extent consistent with this section, or, in the case of a metropolitan sewerage district created under ss. 200.21 to 200.65, by ss. 200.55 and 200.59.
(3)
Funding.
(a)
Except as provided in s. 66.0721, all or a portion of the cost of exercising the authority under sub. (2) may be funded, to the extent applicable, from the municipality's general fund, by taxation, special assessment or sewerage service charges, by municipal obligations or revenue bonds or from any combination of these sources.
(b)
If funding under par. (a) in whole or in part is by the issue and sale of revenue bonds, the payments shall be made as provided in s. 66.0621 to the extent not inconsistent with this section. In this paragraph, “public utility" as used in s. 66.0621 includes the sewerage system, accessories, equipment and other property, including land. The mortgage or revenue bonds or mortgage certificates do not constitute an indebtedness of the municipality and may be secured only by the sewerage system and its revenue, and the franchise provided for in this section.
(c)
Any municipality may pledge, assign or otherwise hypothecate the net earnings or profits derived or to be derived from a sewerage system to secure the payment of the costs of purchasing, constructing or otherwise acquiring a sewerage system or any part of a sewerage system, or for extending or improving the sewerage system, in the manner provided in s. 66.0621 (5).
(4)
Service charges.
(a)
The governing body of the municipality may establish sewerage service charges in an amount to meet all or part of the requirements for the construction, reconstruction, improvement, extension, operation, maintenance, repair, and depreciation of the sewerage system, and for the payment of all or part of the principal and interest of any indebtedness incurred for those purposes, including the replacement of funds advanced by or paid from the general fund of the municipality. Service charges made by a metropolitan sewerage district to any town, village, or city shall be levied by the town, village, or city against the individual sewer system users within the corporate limits of the municipality, and the municipality shall collect the charges and promptly remit them to the metropolitan sewerage district. Delinquent charges shall be collected in accordance with sub. (4) (d). The governing body of a municipality may not establish any charge under this paragraph that is not related to providing sewerage service.
(b)
For the purpose of making equitable charges for all services rendered by the sanitary sewerage system to the municipality or to citizens, corporations and other users, the property benefited by the system may be classified, taking into consideration the volume of water, including surface or drain waters, the character of the sewage or waste and the nature of the use made of the sewerage system, including the sewage disposal plant. The charges may include standby charges to property not connected but for which sewerage system facilities have been made available.
(c)
For the purpose of making equitable charges for all services rendered by a storm water and surface water sewerage system to users, the property served may be classified, taking into consideration the volume or peaking of storm water or surface water discharge that is caused by the area of impervious surfaces, topography, impervious surfaces and other surface characteristics, extent and reliability of mitigation or treatment measures available to service the property, apart from measures provided by the storm water and surface water sewerage system, and any other considerations that are reasonably relevant to a use made of the storm water and surface water sewerage system. The charges may also include standby charges to property not yet developed with significant impervious surfaces for which capacity has been made available in the storm water and surface water sewerage system. No additional charges, beyond those charged to similar properties, may be charged to a property for services rendered by a storm and surface water system for a property that continually retains 90 percent of the difference between the post-development and predevelopment runoff on site.
(d)
Sewerage service charges shall be collected and charged and shall be a lien upon the property served in the same manner as water rates are charged and collected under s. 62.69 (2) (f) or 66.0809 to the extent applicable, except that charges of a metropolitan sewerage district created under ss. 200.21 to 200.65 shall be assessed and collected as provided in s. 200.55 (5).
(5)
Unreasonable or discriminatory rates, rules and practices.
(a)
If a user of a service complains to the public service commission that rates, rules and practices are unreasonable or unjustly discriminatory, or if a holder of a mortgage or revenue bond or mortgage certificate or other evidence of debt, secured by a mortgage on the sewerage system or any part of the system or pledge of the income of sewerage service charges, complains that rates are inadequate, the public service commission shall investigate the complaint. If there appears to be sufficient cause for the complaint, the commission shall set the matter for a public hearing upon 10 days' notice to the complainant and the town, village or city. After the hearing, if the public service commission determines that the rates, rules or practices complained of are unreasonable or unjustly discriminatory, it shall determine and by order fix reasonable rates, rules and practices and may make any other order respecting the complaint that is just and reasonable, including, in the case of standby charges imposed under sub. (4) (c), an order that a municipality refund to the user any amount of the standby charges that have been collected if the user has filed a complaint with the public service commission not later than 60 days after receiving the original notice of charge or after receiving a notice of charge that relates to an increased standby charge. The proceedings under this paragraph are governed, to the extent applicable, by ss. 196.26 to 196.40. Except as provided in pars. (e) and (f), the commission shall bill any expense of the commission attributable to a proceeding under this paragraph to the town, village or city under s. 196.85 (1).
(b)
Judicial review of a determination of the public service commission under par. (a) may be had by any person aggrieved in the manner prescribed in ch. 227.
(c)
For purposes of this subsection, “user" of a service includes a licensed disposer, as defined in s. 281.49 (1) (b), who disposes of septage at a municipal sewage system under a disposal plan under s. 281.49 (5) and initiates under s. 281.49 (11) (d) a review under par. (a) of a disputed septage disposal fee by the public service commission.
(d)
If the public service commission determines in a proceeding under par. (a) that a septage disposal fee is unreasonable, the commission shall determine and fix under par. (a) a reasonable fee that conforms with s. 281.49 (5) (c) 4.
(e)
Any expense of the commission attributable to a proceeding under par. (a) that is initiated under s. 281.49 (11) (d) is subject to the following:
1.
If the commission determines in the proceeding that one or more septage disposal fees are unreasonable and determines and fixes by order reasonable septage disposal fees that, when combined with any other applicable septage disposal fees, total an amount that is at least 15 percent lower than the total amount of septage disposal fees established by the municipal sewage system for the quantity and type of septage specified in s. 281.49 (11) (b), the municipal sewage system that is a party to the dispute shall pay the entire amount of the assessment.
2.
If the commission determines in the proceeding that one or more of the septage disposal fees are unreasonable and determines and fixes by order reasonable fees that, when combined with any other applicable septage disposal fees, total an amount that is not at least 15 percent lower than the total amount of septage disposal fees established by the municipal sewage system for the quantity and type of septage specified in s. 281.49 (11) (b), the commission may require the licensed disposer that is a party to the dispute to pay the entire amount of the assessment.
3.
If the commission determines in the proceeding that the septage disposal fees are reasonable, the commission may require the licensed disposer that is a party to the dispute to pay the entire amount of the assessment.
4.
If the commission terminates the proceeding before making a final determination on the reasonableness of the septage disposal fees, the commission may require the municipal sewage system and the licensed disposer that are parties to the dispute to each pay 50 percent of the assessment or a different allocation of the assessment agreed to by the parties.
(f)
1.
In this paragraph, “ complainant" means a person who makes a complaint under par. (a) that is not initiated under s. 281.49 (11) (d).
2.
The public service commission may bill a complainant for any expense of the commission attributable to a proceeding under par. (a) as follows:
a.
If the commission determines in the proceeding that the rates, rules, or practices that are the subject of the complaint are not unreasonable, unjustly discriminatory, or inadequate, the commission may require the complainant to pay all or a portion, as determined by the commission, of the expenses.
b.
If the commission terminates the proceeding before making a final determination, the commission may require the municipality and complainant to each pay 50 percent of the expenses or a different allocation of the expenses agreed to by the municipality and complainant.
3.
The public service commission shall mail a complainant a bill for any expense the commission requires the complainant to pay under subd. 2. The bill constitutes demand for payment. Within 30 days after the mailing of the bill, the complainant shall pay to the commission the amount billed. Ninety percent of the payment shall be credited to the appropriation account under s. 20.155 (1) (g).
(6)
Foreclosure sale. If there is a sale of mortgaged sewerage system premises on a judgment of foreclosure and sale, the price paid for the premises may not exceed the amount of the judgment and the costs of sale to and including the recording of the sheriff's deed. The purchaser on the foreclosure sale may operate and maintain the sewerage system and collect sewerage service charges, and for that purpose is deemed to have a franchise from the municipality. The term “purchaser" includes the purchaser's successors or assigns. The rates to be charged, in addition to the contributions, if any, which the municipality has obligated itself to make toward the capital or operating costs of the plant, shall be sufficient to meet the requirements of operation, maintenance, repairs, depreciation, interest and an amount sufficient to amortize the judgment debts and all additional capital costs which the purchaser contributes to the plan over a period not exceeding 20 years. In addition, the purchaser of the premises may earn a reasonable amount, as determined by the public service commission, on the actual amount of the purchaser's investment in the premises represented by the purchase price of the premises, plus any additions made to the investment by the purchaser or minus any payments made by the municipality on account of the investments. The municipality may by payment reduce the investment of the purchaser and after full payment of the purchase price plus the cost of subsequent improvements the premises shall revert to the municipality. While the premises are owned by the private purchaser, the premises shall be considered a public utility and are subject to ch. 196 to the extent applicable.
(7)
Relation to other authority. The authority under this section is in addition to any power which municipalities otherwise have with respect to sewerage or sewage disposal. Nothing in this section shall be construed as restricting or interfering with any powers and duties of the department of health services as prescribed by law.
History:  1971 c. 276; 1975 c. 414 s. 28; 1977 c. 29; 1981 c. 282, 314; 1983 a. 207; 1989 a. 322; 1991 a. 316; 1995 a. 27 s. 9126 (19); 1997 a. 53, 213; 1999 a. 32; 1999 a. 150 ss. 215 to 229, 242 to 249; Stats. 1999 s. 66.0821; 1999 a. 186 ss. 46, 47; 2001 a. 30; 2003 a. 321; 2005 a. 347; 2007 a. 20 s. 9121 (6) (a); 2015 a. 55, 299; 2017 a. 243, 317.
NOTE:  2005 Wis. Act 347, which affected this section, contains extensive explanatory notes.
A charge “in lieu of tax" was not an allowable method of sewerage treatment cost recovery under sub. (4). Fred Rueping Leather Co. v. City of Fond du Lac, 99 Wis. 2d 1, 298 N.W.2d 227 (Ct. App. 1980).
The PSC is not authorized by sub. (9) [now sub. (5)] to set rates retroactively or to order refunds. Kimberly-Clark Corp. v. Public Service Commission, 110 Wis. 2d 455, 329 N.W.2d 143 (1983).
Mobile home owners who rented lots from a mobile home park on which their homes were placed who asserted the rate scheme applied to the park was discriminatory under this section could not complain directly under that statute. They were not “users" of the service within the meaning of sub. (5) when the service fee was assessed to the owners of the park and did not identify a legally protectible interest that would confer the standing necessary to obtain relief. Zehner v. Village of Marshall, 2006 WI App 6, 288 Wis. 2d 660, 709 N.W.2d 64, 04-2789.