CHAPTER 22. CONTRACTS WITH PROPERTY OWNERS FOR SEWER CONSTRUCTION BY MUNICIPALITIES
IC 36-9-22
Chapter 22. Contracts With Property Owners for Sewer
Construction by Municipalities
IC 36-9-22-1
Application of chapter
Sec. 1. This chapter applies to all municipalities.
As added by Acts 1981, P.L.309, SEC.95.
IC 36-9-22-2
Terms of contract; power to fix; duration; share of cost; parties bound;
waiver of rights
Sec. 2. (a) The power of the municipal works board to fix the
terms of a contract under this section applies to contracts for the
installation of sewage works that have not been finally approved or
accepted for full maintenance and operation by the municipality on
July 1, 1979.
(b) The works board of a municipality may contract with owners
of real property for the construction of sewage works within the
municipality or within four (4) miles outside its corporate boundaries
in order to provide service for the area in which the real property of
the owners is located. The contract must provide, for a period of not
to exceed fifteen (15) years, for the payment to the owners and their
assigns by any owner of real property who:
(1) did not contribute to the original cost of the sewage works;
and
(2) subsequently taps into, uses, or deposits sewage or storm
waters in the sewage works or any lateral sewers connected to
them;
of a fair pro rata share of the cost of the construction of the sewage
works, subject to the rules of the board and notwithstanding any
other law relating to the functions of local governmental entities.
However, the contract does not apply to any owner of real property
who is not a party to it unless it has been recorded in the office of the
recorder of the county in which the real property of the owner is
located before the owner taps into or connects to the sewers and
facilities. The board may provide that the fair pro rata share of the
cost of construction includes interest at a rate not exceeding the
amount of interest allowed on judgments, and the interest shall be
computed from the date the sewage works are approved until the date
payment is made to the municipality.
(c) The contract must include, as part of the consideration running
to the municipality, the release of the right of the parties to the
contract and their successors in title to remonstrate against pending
or future annexations by the municipality of the area served by the
sewage works. Any person tapping into or connecting to the sewage
works contracted for is considered to waive his rights to remonstrate
against the annexation of the area served by the sewage works.
(d) Subsection (c) does not apply to a landowner if all of the
following conditions apply:
(1) The landowner is required to connect to the sewage works
because a person other than the landowner has polluted or
contaminated the area.
(2) The costs of extension of or connection to the sewage works
are paid by a person other than the landowner or the
municipality.
As added by Acts 1981, P.L.309, SEC.95. Amended by P.L.172-1995,
SEC.5.
IC 36-9-22-3
Sewage works; approval of plans and specifications before
construction; ownership by municipality; maintenance and operation
Sec. 3. (a) Plans and specifications for the sewage works
contracted for must be approved by the municipal works board
before construction is begun.
(b) Upon their completion, final inspection, and approval the
sewage works become the property of the municipality, and the
works board may:
(1) approve the construction of the sewage works;
(2) accept sewage from the sewers and pumping stations subject
to the sewage rates that the municipality establishes;
(3) operate and maintain the disposal plants subject to the
sewage rates that the municipality establishes; and
(4) accept storm water from sewers or approve the location of
discharge of storm water.
(c) After the sewage works are approved and accepted by the
works board, all further maintenance and operation of them are the
responsibility of the municipality.
(d) Subsections (b) and (c) do not apply to lateral sewers or other
extensions that, upon completion, become the property and
responsibility of the landowners whose property they benefit.
As added by Acts 1981, P.L.309, SEC.95. Amended by Acts 1982,
P.L.77, SEC.21.
IC 36-9-22-4
Taps into sewage works; prerequisites; amounts received under
contracts; pay out without appropriation; unauthorized taps; removal
and disposal without liability
Sec. 4. (a) A person may not be granted a permit or be authorized
to tap into, use, or deposit sewage into any sewage works contracted
for under this chapter, or any extension of them, during the period
prescribed in the contract without first:
(1) obtaining the approval of the municipal works board; and
(2) paying to the municipality:
(A) charges made or assessed for the tap, use, or deposit, or for
the sewers constructed in connection with the tap, use, or
deposit; and
(B) the amount required by the contract.
All amounts received by the municipality under the contract shall be
paid out, without appropriation, under the terms of the contract
within sixty (60) days after they are received.
(b) Whenever any tap or connection is made in violation of
subsection (a), the works board shall:
(1) remove or cause to be removed the unauthorized tap or
connection and all connecting tile located in the right-of-way
for the sewage works; and
(2) dispose of the unauthorized materials that are removed,
without any liability on the part of the municipality.
As added by Acts 1981, P.L.309, SEC.95.
IC 36-9-22-5
Sewer connected to existing works; certain cases; amounts to be
included in cost estimate and assessments; payment of assessments in
installments; amount of bonds; cash payments
Sec. 5. (a) This section applies when:
(1) any part of the cost of a sewer, whether local or general,
storm, sanitary, combination, or otherwise, is to be assessed
against the owners of real property;
(2) the proposed sewer is to be connected into sewage works
constructed under this chapter; and
(3) the owners did not contribute to the cost of those sewage
works.
(b) There shall be included in:
(1) the engineer's estimate submitted to the municipal works
board before the hearing on the proposed sewer; and
(2) the assessments;
a sum equal to the amount provided in or computed from the contract
as the fair pro rata share due from the owners upon and for the
contracted sewage works, including any interest owed. The sum
included in the engineer's estimate must be separately itemized.
(c) If an owner elects to pay his assessment by installments in
anticipation of which bonds and coupons are issued, the amount of
the bonds and coupons must include the fair pro rata share of the cost
of the contracted sewage works. However, an owner may elect to pay
the fair pro rata share in cash within sixty (60) days after the
assessment is final and to pay the remainder of the assessment in
installments.
As added by Acts 1981, P.L.309, SEC.95.