Water Pollution Control Authority Powers

You asked (1) if the statutes or town charter control the Water Pollution Control Authority (WPCA) for Killingworth and Clinton respectively and (2) what powers and duties the statutes lay out for WPCAs.

The Office of Legislative Research is not authorized to give legal opinions and this should not be considered one.

Towns only have the powers granted to them by statute or special act. There is no special act concerning the control of the respective WPCAs for Killingworth or Clinton, both charter towns. But Killingworth did create a Water Pollution Control Commission and designated it the WPCA “…with all the powers, purposes and objectives set forth in chapter 103 [CGS § 7-245 et seq. ] of the Connecticut General Statutes as amended. ” Clinton did the same concerning its WPCA. Westbrook, a nearby statutory town, also established its WPCA by ordinance, under CGS § 7-246, according to town attorney John Bennet.

Because the statutes allowing towns to establish WPCA’s do not have an exception for conflicting local laws and Killingworth and Clinton adopted ordinances incorporating the statutes, the statutes control their

respective WPCAs. Notably, the town of Killingworth does not have a sewer system, according to William Howard, town attorney. (Its WPCA webpage provides information on maintaining septic tanks http: //www. killingworthct. com/wpca/wpca. htm).

The statutes set out the process for establishing a WPCA by ordinance and give towns certain power concerning the control of a WPCAs while specifying the powers and responsibilities of the authorities.

Under CGS § 7-246(a), a municipality may establish, by ordinance, a WPCA. A municipality may desiginate a new or an existing board or commission or itself to be the WPCA. But a municipality that has the town meeting as a form of government cannot make it the WPCA. Where WPCAs are concerned, the statutes define “municipality” as any metropolitan district, town, consolidated town and city, consolidated town and borough, city, borough, village, fire and sewer district, and each municipal organization having authoirty to levy and collect taxes (CGS § 7-245).

State law requires towns that establish their WPCAs under CGS § 7-246 to, also by ordinance, determine:

1. the number of WPCA members and their compensation;

2. whether the members are to be elected or appointed (and, if appointed, the method of their appointment);

3. the method of removal; and

4. the terms of office, which must be arranged so that less than one-half of the terms expire within any one year.

A WPCA may establish rules for the transaction of its business. It must keep a record of its proceedings and designate an officer or employee to be the custodian of its books, papers and documents. Any

municipality’s WPCA planning to acquire, construct, or operate a new or additional sewerage system must consider the feasibility of using the sewage collected by such system as an energy source for the generation of electricity or the production of other energy sources (CGS § 7-247).

A municipal WPCA may ensure the effective management of a community sewerage system not owned by a municipality by requiring its management to meet standards set by the law. For example, all properties served by the system must be members of a property owners’ association and the association must operate the system to prevent the pollution of state waters. If an association fails to fulfill its requirements, the municipal WPCA may take any action to ensure the effective operation of the system (CGS § 7-246f).

The law prohibits the WPCA of a municipality that has a city or borough from exercising any power within the city or borough without the express consent of the city or borough, except that consent is not required for any action taken to comply with a pollution abatement order that the Department Environmental Protection (DEP) commissioner issues (CGS § 7-246(a)).

Each municipal WPCA designated under CGS § 7-246 may prepare and periodically update a water pollution control plan for the municipality. The plan must designate and delineate the boundary of areas:

1. served by any municipal sewerage system,

2. where municipal sewerage facilities are planned and the schedule of design and construction anticipated or proposed,

3. where sewers are to be avoided,

4. served by any community sewerage system not owned by a municipality, and

5. to be served by any proposed community sewerage system not owned by a municipality.

The plan must also describe how the municipal programs are implemented to avoid community pollution problems. The authority must (1) file a copy of the plan and any updates with the DEP commissioner and (2) manage or ensure the effective management of any community sewerage system not owned by a municipality (CGS § 7-246(b)).

1. acquire, construct, and operate a sewerage system or systems;

2. enter, take, and hold by purchase, condemnation, or other method the whole or any part of any real property or interest therein that it determines is necessary or desirable for use in connection with any sewerage system;

3. may establish and revise rules and regulations for the supervision, management, control, operation and use of a sewerage system, including rules and regulations prohibiting or regulating the discharge into a sewerage system of any sewage or any stormwater runoff that in the opinion of the WPCA will adversely affect any part or any process of the sewerage system; and

4. may enter into and fulfill contracts, including contracts for a term of years, with any person or any other municipality or municipalities to provide or obtain sewerage system service for any sewage, and may make arrangements for the provision or exchange of staff services and equipment with any person or any other municipality or municipalities, or for any other lawful services.


August 19, 2004		2004-R-0667
WATER POLLUTION CONTROL AUTHORITY POWERS

By: Joseph Holstead, Research Analyst