(a)  The Rhode Island commerce corporation shall have full and complete authority to limit, deny, or cause appropriate direct or indirect connections to be made between any building or property located in the Quonset Point/Davisville Industrial Park, or from any location outside the boundaries of the Quonset Point/Davisville Park and discharging into the corporation’s sewage treatment facility. The corporation shall prescribe those rules and regulations for sewer connections that in the opinion of the corporation are necessary and appropriate for the maintenance and operation of the sewer treatment facility. No person shall make any connection from any structure to any sewer or appurtenance thereto discharging to the sewage treatment facility without first being granted a written permit from the corporation in accordance with its rules and regulations. The Rhode Island commerce corporation shall have full and complete power and authority to compel any person within the Quonset Point/Davisville Industrial Park, for the purpose of sewage disposal, to establish a direct connection on the property of the individual, firm, partnership or corporation, or at the boundary thereof to the corporation’s sewage treatment facility. These connections shall be made at the expense of the individual, firm, partnership or corporation. The term “appurtenance” as used herein shall be construed to include adequate pumping facilities, whenever the pumping facilities shall be necessary to deliver sewage to the sewage treatment facility.

lawyer at desk

Ask a legal question, get an answer ASAP!
Click here to chat with a lawyer about your rights.

Terms Used In Rhode Island General Laws 42-64-7.8

  • authority: means the governmental agency and public instrumentality, formerly known as the "Rhode Island port authority and economic development corporation" and/or also formerly known as the "Rhode Island economic development corporation" and now known as the Rhode Island commerce corporation authorized, created, and established pursuant to § 42-64-4, or any subsidiary corporation thereof which is established pursuant to Rhode Island General Laws 42-64-3
  • Corporation: A legal entity owned by the holders of shares of stock that have been issued, and that can own, receive, and transfer property, and carry on business in its own name.
  • Evidence: Information presented in testimony or in documents that is used to persuade the fact finder (judge or jury) to decide the case for one side or the other.
  • Lien: A claim against real or personal property in satisfaction of a debt.
  • Partnership: A voluntary contract between two or more persons to pool some or all of their assets into a business, with the agreement that there will be a proportional sharing of profits and losses.
  • person: may be construed to extend to and include co-partnerships and bodies corporate and politic. See Rhode Island General Laws 43-3-6
  • real estate: may be construed to include lands, tenements, and hereditaments and rights thereto and interests therein. See Rhode Island General Laws 43-3-10
  • Sewage: shall be construed to mean the same as "pollutant" as defined in subsection (16) above. See Rhode Island General Laws 42-64-3
  • Sewage treatment facility: means the sewage treatment plant, structure, combined sewer overflows, equipment, interceptors, mains, pumping stations and other property, real, personal or mixed, for the treatment, storage, collection, transporting or disposal of sewage, or any property or system to be used in whole or in part for any of the aforesaid purposes located or operated within the boundaries of the Quonset Point/Davisville Industrial Park, or utilized by the corporation for the transport, collection, treatment, storage or disposal of waste. See Rhode Island General Laws 42-64-3
  • town: may be construed to include city; the words "town council" include city council; the words "town clerk" include city clerk; the words "ward clerk" include clerk of election district; the words "town treasurer" include city treasurer; and the words "town sergeant" include city sergeant. See Rhode Island General Laws 43-3-9
  • User fees: Fees charged to users of goods or services provided by the government. In levying or authorizing these fees, the legislature determines whether the revenue should go into the treasury or should be available to the agency providing the goods or services.

(b)  The Rhode Island commerce corporation shall assess any person having a direct or indirect connection to the Quonset Point/Davisville Industrial Park sewage treatment facility the reasonable charges for the use, operation, maintenance and improvements to the facility.

(c)  The Rhode Island commerce corporation shall proceed under the provisions of this chapter to collect the fees, charges and assessments from any individual, firm, partnership or corporation so assessed. Each entity so assessed shall pay the fees, charges, or assessments within the time frame prescribed by the rules and regulations of the corporation. The Rhode Island commerce corporation may collect the fees, charges and assessments in the same manner in which taxes are collected by municipalities, with no additional fees, charges, assessments or penalties (other than those provided for in chapter 9 of Title 44). All unpaid charges shall be a lien upon the real estate of the individual, firm, partnership or corporation. The lien shall be filed in the records of land evidence for the city or town in which the property is located and the corporation shall simultaneously with the filing of the lien give notice to the property owner. Owners of property subject to a lien for unpaid charges are entitled to a hearing within fourteen (14) days of the recording of the lien.

(d)  Notwithstanding the provisions of subsection (c), the Rhode Island commerce corporation is authorized to terminate the water supply service of any individual, firm, partnership or corporation for the nonpayment of sewer user fees, charges and assessments. The corporation shall notify the user of termination of water supply at least forty-eight (48) hours prior to ceasing service. The corporation may assess any individual, firm, partnership or corporation any fees, charges and assessments affiliated with the shut off and restoration of service.

History of Section.
P.L. 1997, ch. 39, § 2; P.L. 1997, ch. 62, § 2; P.L. 2013, ch. 243, § 3; P.L. 2013, ch. 490, § 3.