[Adopted 3-28-2000 by L.L. No. 7-2000 (Ch. 492, Art. I, of
the 1985 Code)]
A.
This Legislature hereby finds and determines that recent disclosures
regarding the contamination of well water throughout the County of
Suffolk as a result of industrial activities, commercial activities,
activities at the Brookhaven National Laboratory, pesticide applications
and other forms of groundwater contamination raise concerns that unsuspecting,
innocent purchasers of residential homes may be endangered unless
a well-water test is completed before acquisition.
B.
This Legislature further finds and determines that about 60,000 to
80,000 residential homes in Suffolk County use private water systems.
C.
Therefore, the purpose of this article is to protect public health
and safety by requiring the completion of a well-water test prior
to the acquisition of a residential home.
As used in this article, the following terms shall have the
meanings indicated:
Any system to provide drinking water other than that secured
from a public water system.
Either a community, noncommunity or nontransient noncommunity
water system which provides piped water to the public for human consumption,
if such system has at least five service connections or regularly
serves an average of at least 25 individuals daily at least 30 days
out of the year. Such term includes collection, treatment, storage
and distribution facilities under the control of the supplier of water
of such system and used in connection with such system; and collection
or pretreatment storage facilities not under such control which are
used in connection with such system.
Any building located within the County of Suffolk, permanent
or temporary, or any part thereof, occupied or intended to be occupied
by one or more individuals as a residence, home or sleeping place,
together with the land and buildings appurtenant thereto and all services,
privileges, furnishings, furniture and facilities supplied in connection
with the occupation thereof. It shall not include a lodging house,
boardinghouse, motel, or hotel.
[Amended 8-31-2000 by L.L. No. 19-2000; 11-21-2000 by L.L. No.
29-2000]
A.
No purchase of a residential dwelling served by a private water system
shall be consummated within the County of Suffolk unless and until
the purchaser has obtained a written certification from a New York
State approved laboratory, at his or her own cost and expense, that
such private water system, based on an analysis of untreated or raw
water, conforms to the water quality requirements of the Suffolk County
Department of Health Services for new residential construction.
B.
The certification shall be exchanged between the buyer and seller
of residential property at the time of closing.
C.
In the event that the test discloses a failure to conform to the
water quality requirements of the Suffolk County Department of Health
Services for new residential construction, then the purchaser shall
notify the seller within 15 days thereafter. The seller shall then
have the option of either correcting the condition at his or her own
cost and expense or canceling the contract of sale and returning the
down payment, in which case neither party shall be liable to the other.
The purchaser, upon notification by the seller that he or she will
not remediate or correct the condition, may nevertheless agree, in
writing, to consummate the transfer notwithstanding such noncompliance.
The requirements of § 840-3 of this article may be waived only by incorporation as a provision of the contract of sale for said premises, duly executed by the seller and purchaser, and specifically and affirmatively waiving the purchaser's right to have such an inspection as a precondition to the transfer of title. Nothing contained herein shall be construed as an affirmative representation by the County of Suffolk that executing such a waiver means that the private water system serving the residential dwelling so purchased is providing potable water that is safe for consumption.
