19-27a02.   Board of county commissioners serves asgoverning body of district; powers and duties.The board of county commissioners shall be the governing body of any sewerdistrict it creates and, as provided by this act, shall have the power to:

      (a)   Create, construct, reconstruct, extend, enlarge, operate and maintaina sewer system in the sewer district;

      (b)   sue and be sued;

      (c)   enter contracts and interlocal agreements pursuant to K.S.A. 12-2901et seq., and amendments thereto;

      (d)   combine sewer districts;

      (e)   acquire, by purchase or condemnation, any real or personal propertynecessary to provide an adequate sewage system;

      (f)   improvesewers and appurtenances thereof, through, under or along any street,public highway, alley or park and across any land within the county andto a connection with any creek, ravine, river or any other place within10 miles of the district;

      (g)   construct, extend, enlarge, improve, operate and maintain sewage disposalplants at any pointalong or near the line of the sewer;

      (h)   acquire, by contract or purchase, easements, rights-of-way or anyother interests in sewers, sewage plants or other means ofdisposal of sanitary sewage, either within or outside the state, in themanner and on the terms the governing body deems advisable;

      (i)   issue permits to any individualor corporation to build any sewers in any lateral or jointsewer district under plans and specifications and under terms approvedby the governing body and under its inspection. Thecost of the construction shall be borne entirely by the person or corporationcontracting for the improvements;

      (j)   exercise powers of local legislation and administration, in conformancewith K.S.A. 19-101a, 19-101b and 19-101c, and amendments thereto, as maybe necessary and convenient for the purpose of providing sewer servicesand governing the operation and transaction of business of sewer districts;

      (k)   create lateral sewer districts and assess the cost thereof againstthe owner of the property benefited or against the maintenance budget ofthe main sewer district. There may not be included in a lateral sewer districtany unplatted contiguous tract of land, under one ownership, which exceeds10 acres in area without the consent of the owner of the land;

      (l)   dissolve any lateral sewer district in the main sewer district.The property located within the lateral district may be included in oneor more other lateral sewer districts;

      (m)   create an area-wide sewage disposal district, for the eliminationor prevention of pollution of the waters of the state in any drainage area,to be served by a single sewage system;

      (n) (1)   adopt any rule, regulation, standard, limitation or requirementwhich is necessary to provide for the efficient and economical operationof the sewer system. Before any such rule, regulation, standard, limitationor requirement takes effect, they shall be published once each week fortwo consecutive weeks in a newspaper of general circulation in the district.Except as otherwise provided by this section, the violation of any rule,regulation, standard, limitation or requirement shall be a misdemeanor punishableby a fine not to exceed $500. The governing body shall have the authorityto maintain special proceedings or civil actions in any court of competentjurisdiction for the purpose of enforcing or preventing the violation thereofand to abate nuisances maintained in violation thereof;

      (2)   if any industrial user neglects, fails or refuses to comply with anyrule, regulation, standard, limitation or requirement adopted pursuant tothis section, in addition to any other remedy provided by statute or commonlaw, the governing body is hereby authorized after notice and opportunityfor a hearing, to refuse the discharge of wastewater from the premises ofthe industrial user and to take any action necessary to prevent violatingdischarges by the industrial user from the sewage system until the timethe violations cease and are corrected. The governing body may conditionthe use of the sewage system upon the terms that are determined to ensurethat successive violations do not occur. The governing body is hereby authorized, afternotice and an opportunity for hearing, to assess a penaltyagainst the industrial user in an amount not to exceed $500 for the firstviolation and in an amount not to exceed $5,000 for the second violationand in an amount not to exceed $10,000 for the third and each successiveviolation. For the purposes of this subsection, each day of violation after noticeand a reasonable time to cease or correct the violation shall be considereda separate and successive violation;

      (3)   if the governing body determines any violation by an industrial userof any rule, regulation, standard, limitation or requirement poses a threator danger to the public health, safetyor welfare or to the proper operation of the sewage system, the governingbody is hereby authorized to take immediate and effective emergency actionto issue or obtain any preliminary injunctive relief, without notice orhearing, to prevent the discharge of the wastewater creating the threat or danger;

      (4)   if the governing body finds any violation by an industrial user of any rule,regulation, standard, limitation or requirement, after notice and opportunityfor hearing, to be intentional, willful, and knowingly in violation or withreckless disregard thereof, the governing body is hereby authorized to refuseany future discharge of wastewater from the violating industrial user andto prevent violating discharges by the industrial user into the sewage systemof the sewer district. The governing body is hereby authorized to assessa civil penalty upon the violating industrial user in an amount not to exceed $10,000;

      (5)   if the governing body finds any violation by an industrial user ofany rule, regulation, standard, limitation or requirement, after noticeand opportunity for hearing, to have directly caused or contributed to anyactual detriment to the public health, safety or welfareor to have directly caused or contributed to any damage to the sewage systemor treatment process and that the industrial user knew or should have knownthat its violation could cause those effects, the governing bodyis hereby authorized to assess against the industrial user a civil penaltyin an amount not to exceed $10,000 or tocollect from the industrial user the actual damages caused by the violation,whichever is greater;

      (6)   whenever the governing body takes any action to prevent violatingdischarges into the sewage systemof the sewer district, the governing body is hereby authorized to assessagainst the violator all costs of such action;

      (7)   all penalties, damages and costs assessed or awarded pursuant to theauthority of this section shall be a lien upon the premises of the violatorfrom the date assessed or awarded until the date fully paid. All proceedsreceived or collected from fines, penalties, damages or costs shall be usedby the governingbody first to defray the costs of administering any rule, regulation, standard,limitation or requirement adopted pursuant to this section and then todefray the costs of any repairs, replacements, maintenance or reconstructionnecessitated by violations thereof, and then to defray the general operationand maintenance costs of the sewer district;

      (o)   take any action necessary to prevent, control, reduce and eliminatewater pollution in order to comply with the clean water act, 33 U.S.C. 1251et seq., and amendments thereto; and

      (p)   take any action consistent with the provisions of this act for thesafe, proper and economical operation of any sewer district.

      History:   L. 1983, ch. 99, § 3; July 1.