Lead service lines pose a threat to the public health based
on the potential for leeching of lead into drinking water. The Board
of Trustees therefore finds that it is in the public interest to establish
a comprehensive program for the removal and replacement of lead water
service lines in use within the Water Utility system and to that end
declares the purposes of this article to be as follows:
A. To ensure that the water provided by the Water Utility meets the
water quality standards specified under the federal Safe Drinking
Water Act; and
B. To further protect the health and welfare of Village residents and
users of Village water; and
C. To meet the requirements of the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources
for local compliance with the federal Lead and Copper Rule; and
D. To accomplish the eventual replacement of all lead water service
lines in use in the Village.
This article is enacted pursuant to § 61.34(1), § 66.0911
and § 281.45, Wis. Stats.; and as mandated by the federal
Safe Drinking Water Act, the National Primary Drinking Water Regulation
for Lead and Copper, otherwise known as the federal Lead and Copper
Rule, and related regulations enforced by the Environmental Protection
Agency and the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources.
If the property owner elects to have a Village contractor replace
the property owner's lead service line as part of a street reconstruction
project or a project involving the replacement of the utility-side
lead service line or other utility service lines, the cost of replacing
the privately owned portion of the lead service line shall be determined
and paid as follows:
A. The Water Utility shall determine the cost to replace the property
owner's lead service line as part of a street reconstruction
project or a project involving the replacement of the utility-side
lead service line or other utility service lines, and shall notify
the property owner in writing of that determination and the basis
for it.
B. The owner's share of the cost shall be assessed to the property
as a special assessment.
(1) Upon receipt of an invoice for this special assessment from the Village,
the owner may pay the invoice, without interest, by making payment
to the Village within 45 days of the date of the invoice.
(2) If the invoice is not paid in full within the specified time, the
total amount of the principal of the invoice remaining unpaid shall
be spread equally over the first available and next succeeding two
tax rolls. In addition to the principal remaining, interest shall
be added commencing after the billing date of the invoice. A forty-five-day
grace period for payment shall be granted from the date of billing.
If the invoice is not paid within the grace period, interest shall
be charged on any remaining balance as of the date of the billing.
The interest rate charged shall be 3% per annum or the cost of capital
plus 1%, whichever is larger.
(3) After being placed on the tax roll in annual installments, the amounts
of the special assessments shall be paid within the time allowed for
the payment of general property taxes. If the property owner fails
to pay a special assessment within the time allowed for payment, it
shall become delinquent and shall be treated in the same manner and
subject to the same laws as a delinquent general property tax.
In addition to all other penalties as provided by §
1-4 of the Village Code, any property owner violating any provision of this article shall, upon conviction, be punished by forfeiture of not less than $100 nor more than $400 and the cost of prosecution. Each day of violation is a separate offense.