Ohio § 6119.011

§ 6119.011.

As used in this chapter: (A) “ Court of common pleas ” or “ court ” means, unless the context indicates a different meaning or intent, the court of

common pleas in which the petition for the organization of a regional water and sewer

district is filed. (B) “ Political subdivision ” includes departments, divisions, authorities, or other units of state governments,

watershed districts, soil and water conservation districts, park districts, municipal

corporations, counties, townships, and other political subdivisions, special water

districts, including county and regional water and sewer districts, conservancy districts,

sanitary districts, sewer districts or any other public corporation or agency having

the authority to acquire, construct, or operate waste water or water management facilities,

and all other governmental agencies now or hereafter granted the power of levying

taxes or special assessments, the United States or any agency thereof, and any agency,

commission, or authority established pursuant to an interstate compact or agreement. (C) “ Person ” means any natural person, firm, partnership, association, or corporation other than

a political subdivision. (D) “ Beneficial use ” means a use of water, including the method of diversion, storage, transportation,

treatment, and application, that is reasonable and consistent with the public interest

in the proper utilization of water resources, including, but not limited to, domestic,

agricultural, industrial, power, municipal, navigational, fish and wildlife, and recreational

uses. (E) “ Waters of the state ” means all streams, lakes, ponds, marshes, watercourses, waterways, wells, springs,

irrigation systems, drainage systems, and all other bodies or accumulations of water,

surface and underground, natural or artificial, that are situated wholly or partly

within, or border upon, this state, or are within its jurisdiction, except those private

waters that do not combine or effect a junction with natural surface or underground

waters. (F) “ Water resources ” means all waters of the state occurring on the surface in natural or artificial

channels, lakes, reservoirs, or impoundments, and in subsurface aquifers, that are

available or may be made available to agricultural, commercial, recreational, public,

and domestic users. (G) “ Project ” or “ water resource project ” means any waste water facility or water management facility acquired, constructed,

or operated by or leased to a regional water and sewer district or to be acquired,

constructed, or operated by or leased to a regional water and sewer district under

this chapter, or acquired or constructed or to be acquired or constructed by a political

subdivision with a portion of the cost thereof being paid from a loan or grant from

the district under this chapter, including all buildings and facilities that the district

considers necessary for the operation of the project, together with all property,

rights, easements, and interest that may be required for the operation of the project.  Any water resource project shall be determined by the board of trustees of the district

to be consistent with any applicable comprehensive plan of water management approved

by the director of natural resources or in the process of preparation by the director

and to be not inconsistent with the standards set for the waters of the state affected

thereby by the environmental protection agency.  Any resolution of the board of trustees of the district providing for acquiring,

operating, leasing, or constructing such projects or for making a loan or grant for

such projects shall include a finding by the board of trustees of the district that

those determinations have been made. (H) “ Pollution ” means the placing of any noxious or deleterious substances in any waters of the

state or affecting the properties of any waters of the state in a manner that renders

those waters harmful or inimical to the public health, or to animal or aquatic life,

or to the use of the waters for domestic water supply, industrial or agricultural

purposes, or recreation. (I) “ Sewage ” means any substance that contains any of the waste products or excrementitious or

other discharge from the bodies of human beings or animals that pollutes the waters

of the state. (J) “ Industrial waste ” means any liquid, gaseous, or solid waste substance resulting from any process of

industry, manufacture, trade, or business, or from the development, processing, or

recovery of any natural resource, together with such sewage as is present, that pollutes

the waters of the state. (K) “ Waste water ” means any storm water and any water containing sewage or industrial waste or other

pollutants or contaminants derived from the prior use of the water. (L) “ Waste water facilities ” means facilities for the purpose of treating, neutralizing, disposing of, stabilizing,

cooling, segregating, or holding waste water, including, without limiting the generality

of the foregoing, facilities for the treatment and disposal of sewage or industrial

waste and the residue thereof, facilities for the temporary or permanent impoundment

of waste water, both surface and underground, and storm and sanitary sewers and other

systems, whether on the surface or underground, designed to transport waste water,

together with the equipment and furnishings thereof and their appurtenances and systems,

whether on the surface or underground, including force mains and pumping facilities

therefor when necessary. (M) “ Water management facilities ” means facilities for the purpose of the development, use, and protection of water

resources, including, without limiting the generality of the foregoing, facilities

for water supply, facilities for stream flow improvement, dams, reservoirs, and other

impoundments, water transmission lines, water wells and well fields, pumping stations

and works for underground water recharge, stream monitoring systems, facilities for

the stabilization of stream and river banks, and facilities for the treatment of streams

and rivers, including, without limiting the generality of the foregoing, facilities

for the removal of oil, debris, and other solid waste from the waters of the state

and stream and river aeration facilities. (N) “ Cost ” as applied to water resource projects means the cost of acquisition and construction,

the cost of acquisition of all land, rights-of-way, property rights, easements, franchise

rights, and interests required by the district for such acquisition and construction,

the cost of demolishing or removing any buildings or structures on land so acquired,

including the cost of acquiring any lands to which such buildings or structures may

be moved, the cost of acquiring or constructing and equipping a principal office and

sub-offices of the district, the cost of diverting highways, interchange of highways,

and access roads to private property, including the cost of land or easements therefor,

the cost of all machinery, furnishings, and equipment, financing charges, interest

prior to and during construction and for no more than eighteen months after completion

of acquisition or construction, engineering, expenses of research and development

with respect to waste water or water management facilities, legal expenses, plans,

specifications, surveys, estimates of cost and revenues, working capital, other expenses

necessary or incident to determining the feasibility or practicability of acquiring

or constructing any such project, administrative expense, and such other expense as

may be necessary or incident to the acquisition or construction of the project, the

financing of the acquisition or construction, including the amount authorized in the

resolution of the district providing for the issuance of water resource revenue bonds

to be paid into any special funds from the proceeds of those bonds and the financing

of the placing of any such project in operation.  Any obligation or expense incurred by any political subdivision, and approved by

the district, for surveys, borings, preparation of plans and specifications, and other

engineering services in connection with the acquisition or construction of a project

shall be regarded as a part of the cost of the project and may be reimbursed by the

district. (O) “ Owner ” includes all individuals, partnerships, associations, corporations, or political

subdivisions having any title or interest in any property rights, easements, and interests

authorized to be acquired by this chapter. (P) “ Revenues ” means all rentals and other charges received by a district for the use or services

of any project, all special assessments levied by the district pursuant to this chapter,

any gift or grant received with respect thereto, and moneys received in repayment

of and for interest on any loan made by the district to a political subdivision, whether

from the United States or a department, administration, or agency thereof, or otherwise. (Q) “ Public roads ” includes all public highways, roads, and streets in the state, whether maintained

by the state, county, city, township, or other political subdivision. (R) “ Public utility facilities ” includes tracks, pipes, mains, conduits, cables, wires, towers, poles, and other

equipment and appliances of any public utility. (S) “ Construction ,” unless the context indicates a different meaning or intent, includes reconstruction,

enlargement, improvement, or providing furnishings or equipment. (T) “ Water resources bonds ,” unless the context indicates a different meaning or intent, includes water resource

notes and water resource refunding bonds. (U) “ Regional water and sewer district ” means a district organized or operating for one or both of the purposes described

in section 6119.01 of the Revised Code and, if organized or operating for only one of those purposes, may be designated

either a regional water district or a regional sewer district, as the case may be. (V) “ Homestead exemption ” means the reduction of taxes allowed under division (A) of section 323.152 of the Revised Code . (W) “Low- and moderate-income person” has the same meaning as in section 175.01 of the Revised Code .