Washington § 35.58.200 - Powers relative to water pollution abatement.

If a metropolitan municipal corporation shall be authorized to perform the function of metropolitan water pollution abatement, it shall have the following powers in addition to the general powers granted by this chapter:

(1) To prepare a comprehensive water pollution abatement plan including provisions for waterborne pollutant removal, water quality improvement, sewage disposal, and stormwater drainage for the metropolitan area.

(2) To acquire by purchase, condemnation, gift, or grant and to lease, construct, add to, improve, replace, repair, maintain, operate and regulate the use of metropolitan facilities for water pollution abatement, including but not limited to, removal of waterborne pollutants, water quality improvement, sewage disposal and stormwater drainage within or without the metropolitan area, including but not limited to trunk, interceptor and outfall sewers, whether used to carry sanitary waste, stormwater, or combined storm and sanitary sewage, lift and pumping stations, pipelines, drains, sewage treatment plants, flow control structures together with all lands, property rights, equipment and accessories necessary for such facilities. Sewer facilities which are owned by a county, city, or special district may be acquired or used by the metropolitan municipal corporation only with the consent of the legislative body of the county, city, or special districts owning such facilities. Counties, cities, and special districts are hereby authorized to convey or lease such facilities to metropolitan municipal corporations or to contract for their joint use on such terms as may be fixed by agreement between the legislative body of such county, city, or special district and the metropolitan council, without submitting the matter to the voters of such county, city, or district.

(3) To require counties, cities, special districts and other political subdivisions to discharge sewage collected by such entities from any portion of the metropolitan area which can drain by gravity flow into such metropolitan facilities as may be provided to serve such areas when the metropolitan council shall declare by resolution that the health, safety, or welfare of the people within the metropolitan area requires such action.

(4) To fix rates and charges for the use of metropolitan water pollution abatement facilities, and to expend the moneys so collected for authorized water pollution abatement activities.

(5) To establish minimum standards for the construction of local water pollution abatement facilities and to approve plans for construction of such facilities by component counties or cities or by special districts, which are connected to the facilities of the metropolitan municipal corporation. No such county, city, or special district shall construct such facilities without first securing such approval.

(6) To acquire by purchase, condemnation, gift, or grant, to lease, construct, add to, improve, replace, repair, maintain, operate and regulate the use of facilities for the local collection of sewage or stormwater in portions of the metropolitan area not contained within any city or special district operating local public sewer facilities and, with the consent of the legislative body of any such city or special district, to exercise such powers within such city or special district and for such purpose to have all the powers conferred by law upon such city or special district with respect to such local collection facilities: PROVIDED, That such consent shall not be required if the department of ecology certifies that a water pollution problem exists within any such city or special district and notifies the city or special district to correct such problem and corrective construction of necessary local collection facilities shall not have been commenced within one year after notification. All costs of such local collection facilities shall be paid for by the area served thereby.

(7) To participate fully in federal and state programs under the federal water pollution control act (86 Stat. 816 et seq., 33 U.S.C. 1251 et seq.) and to take all actions necessary to secure to itself or its component agencies the benefits of that act and to meet the requirements of that act, including but not limited to the following:

(a) authority to develop and implement such plans as may be appropriate or necessary under the act.

(b) authority to require by appropriate regulations that its component agencies comply with all effluent treatment and limitation requirements, standards of performance requirements, pretreatment requirements, a user charge and industrial cost recovery system conforming to federal regulation, and all conditions of national permit discharge elimination system permits issued to the metropolitan municipal corporation or its component agencies. Adoption of such regulations and compliance therewith shall not constitute a breach of any sewage disposal contract between a metropolitan municipal corporation and its component agencies nor a defense to an action for the performance of all terms and conditions of such contracts not inconsistent with such regulations and such contracts, as modified by such regulations, shall be in all respects valid and enforceable.