PRINTER'S NO. 2990
No. 2236 Session of 1990
INTRODUCED BY GEORGE, FEE, HASAY, MORRIS, COHEN, BILLOW, PESCI,
MELIO, DALEY, MICHLOVIC, TANGRETTI, GIGLIOTTI, HECKLER,
STISH, BURD AND HAYDEN, JANUARY 29, 1990
REFERRED TO COMMITTEE ON CONSERVATION, JANUARY 29, 1990
AN ACT
1 Amending the act of June 22, 1937 (P.L.1987, No.394), entitled,
2 as amended, "An act to preserve and improve the purity of the
3 waters of the Commonwealth for the protection of public
4 health, animal and aquatic life, and for industrial
5 consumption, and recreation; empowering and directing the
6 creation of indebtedness or the issuing of non-debt revenue
7 bonds by political subdivisions to provide works to abate
8 pollution; providing protection of water supply and water
9 quality; providing for the jurisdiction of courts in the
10 enforcement thereof; providing additional remedies for
11 abating pollution of waters; imposing certain penalties;
12 repealing certain acts; regulating discharges of sewage and
13 industrial wastes; regulating the operation of mines and
14 regulating the impact of mining upon water quality, supply
15 and quantity; placing responsibilities upon landowners and
16 land occupiers and to maintain primary jurisdiction over
17 surface coal mining in Pennsylvania," requiring that certain
18 sewer system and water treatment projects be approved by a
19 referendum before a permit is issued.
20 The General Assembly of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania
21 hereby enacts as follows:
22 Section 1. The act of June 22, 1937 (P.L.1987, No.394),
23 known as The Clean Streams Law, is amended by adding a section
24 to read:
25 Section 207.1. Referendum Required Prior to Issuance of
26 Permit.--It shall be the duty of a municipality or municipal
1 authority applying for a permit to construct any new sewer
2 system or water treatment project or expand any existing sewer
3 system or water treatment project to include in its application
4 to the department an estimate of the projected user's fees for
5 the service area after completion of the project. The
6 department, when reviewing the application, shall compare the
7 projected user's fees of the applicant municipality with the
8 user's fees of municipalities of similar size throughout the
9 Commonwealth. If the applicant municipality's projected user's
10 fees are more than twenty-five per cent greater than the
11 Commonwealth average for municipalities of similar size, the
12 department shall notify the applicant of its findings. The
13 department shall take no further action on the application until
14 such time as the governing body of the municipality or the
15 governing body or bodies of the municipality or municipalities
16 which formed the municipal authority, by appropriate action,
17 cause to be submitted to the qualified electors of the service
18 area at a municipal or general election, the question of whether
19 or not the project should be undertaken and a majority of the
20 electors voting on the question vote "yes." The form of the
21 question shall be subject to the approval of the department
22 prior to being submitted to the county board of elections for
23 placement on the ballot. If a majority of the electors voting on
24 the question vote "no," a project which is substantially the
25 same, as determined by the department, shall not be submitted to
26 the electors for approval within the ensuing four-year period.
27 Voting proceedings shall be in accordance with the provisions of
28 the act of June 3, 1937 (P.L.1333, No.320), known as the
29 "Pennsylvania Election Code." Certificates of the results of any
30 such election shall be filed by the board of elections with the
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1 governing body of the municipality or the governing body or
2 bodies of the municipality or municipalities which formed the
3 municipal authority and with the department.
4 The provisions of this section shall not be applicable where
5 the project has been mandated by the Commonwealth or when the
6 department determines that the proposed project is required for
7 protection of public health or safety.
8 Section 2. This act shall take effect in 60 days.
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