Article 3. Procedure For Abatement of California Health And Safety Code >> Division 5. >> Part 3. >> Chapter 6. >> Article 3.

The state department or local health officer may issue a peremptory order requiring the abatement of a contamination, and shall immediately furnish to the proper regional board a report of information and data relating thereto. Coincident with issuing such order, or if any order or regulation is not complied with, the director or local health officer may bring and prosecute an action for an injunction in the superior court of the county in which the contamination occurs. The state department or local health officer shall render to persons subject to such order all possible assistance in complying with the order, including all possible assistance in securing any necessary funds for such purpose.

Any person who discharges sewage or other waste in any manner which results in contamination is guilty of a misdemeanor.

Any action taken pursuant to this article with respect to the abatement of contamination created by the disposal of sewage or other waste from a community or cooperative sewerage system, shall be taken only against the agent or the agency operating such system and the contributor or contributors to the system whose waste in and of itself creates a contamination.

Any health officer or governing board of any city, county, sanitary district, or other district having the power to operate and maintain a sewerage system, having served written notice upon the owner or reputed owner of land upon which there is a dwelling house, and the owner or reputed owner, after 30 days, having refused, neglected, or failed to connect the dwelling house, together with all toilets, sinks, and other plumbing therein, properly vented, and in a sanitary manner, with the adjoining street sewer, may construct the same at a reasonable cost, and the person doing that work at the request of the health officer or governing board has a lien upon that real estate for his or her work done and materials furnished, and the work done and materials furnished shall be held to have been done and furnished at the instance of the owner or reputed owner, or person claiming or having any interest therein. The governing board may pay all or any part of the cost or price of such connection to the person or persons who furnished labor, materials, or equipment for the same, and, to the extent the governing board pays the cost or price of the connection, it shall succeed to and have all the rights, including the lien provided for above, of the person or persons against the real estate and against the owner or reputed owner thereof. As an alternative power to the enforcement of the lien provided for in this section, the governing body of the public agency performing the work of connection to the public sewer may, by order entered upon its minutes, declare that the amount of the costs of the work and the administrative expenses incurred by the governing body incident to the proceedings, together with other charges uniformly applicable within the jurisdiction of the governing body for the connection of the premises to the public sewer, shall be transmitted to the assessor and tax collector of the public agency, whereupon it shall be the duty of those officers to add the amount of the assessment to the next regular bill for taxes levied against the lot or parcel of land. The liens provided for by this section shall be enforced in the same manner as those provided for by Part 6 (commencing with Section 8000) of Division 4, of the Civil Code. The governing board may also use the procedures in Section 5474 for levying the costs incurred for the construction of the improvements for the connection of the premises to the public sewer.

An owner or reputed owner, who has his or her property included within an assessment district for the construction of a main trunkline or collector sewer lines, may request the governing board to construct all necessary plumbing to connect his or her property to the adjoining street public sewer system. The person employed by the governing board to do the work shall have a lien upon the property, for work done and materials furnished, and the work done and materials furnished shall be deemed to have been done and furnished at the request of the owner, reputed owner, or person claiming or having an interest in the property. The governing board may pay all, or any part, of the cost or price of the connection to the person or persons who furnished labor, materials, or equipment and, to the extent that the governing board pays the cost or price of the connection, it shall succeed to and have all the rights, including the lien, of the person or persons against the property and the owner or reputed owner of the property. As an alternative power to the enforcement of the lien provided for in this section, the governing body of the public agency performing the work of connection to the public sewer may, by the power of ordinance approved by two-thirds vote of the members of the legislative body, fix the cost of improvement for connection to the sanitation or sewerage facilities, fix the times at which such costs shall become due, provide for the payment of the costs prior to the construction and connection or in installments over a period, not to exceed 30 years, provide a rate of interest, not to exceed 12 percent per annum, to be charged on the unpaid balance of the costs, and provide that the amount of the costs and the interest shall constitute a lien against the respective lots or parcels upon which the facilities are constructed. The governing body may use the procedures specified in Section 5474 to implement the levying of the costs for the construction and connection of the premises to the public sewer.

(a) The procedures specified in this section may be used by a public agency that is an entity, as defined in Section 5470.
  (b) An entity may use the procedures specified in Section 5464 for either of the following purposes, whether or not an order or other action has been issued or taken for an abatement of contamination created by sewage disposal:
  (1) Converting properties from onsite septic systems and connecting them to a sewer system. The conversion improvements and costs may include, but are not limited to, pipes, pumps, and other equipment, septic system abandonment, and associated sewage treatment capacity.
  (2) Replacing or repairing existing sewer laterals connecting pipes to a sewer system. The cost of the lateral replacement or repair shall constitute the cost of an improvement for connection to a sewer system.
  (c) For purposes of this section, and in addition to any other power, an entity may exercise the powers specified in Article 4 (commencing with Section 5470).
  (d) The authority granted by this section shall be in addition to, shall not be in derogation of, and shall not affect, any authority granted by other law relating to recovering the cost incurred by an entity for connecting properties to the public sewer system, or the entity's exercise of powers pursuant to any other law. This section shall be deemed to provide a complete and supplemental method for exercising the powers authorized by this section, and shall be deemed supplemental to the powers conferred by other applicable laws.
  (e) For purposes of this section, the following definitions shall apply:
  (1) "Assessment district" as used in statutes referenced in this section also means an improvement district or any other area served by the entity's sewer collection system.
  (2) "Governing board" and "governing body" mean the governing body of the entity.
  (3) "Ordinance" as used in statutes referenced in this section also means a resolution.