WHEREAS, by Ordinance No. 2004-05 the Town of Emmitsburg imposed a temporary moratorium on the issuance of any zoning certificates for new construction which would result in new or additional connections to the Town sanitary sewer system for properties situated within the municipal boundaries of Emmitsburg; and

WHEREAS, that moratorium was imposed in response to enforcement proceedings brought by the Maryland Department of the Environment (MDE), Water Management Administration because of deficiencies in the Town's sanitary sewer system; and WHEREAS, the moratorium imposed in Ordinance No. 2004-05 was to continue for a limited time in order to permit the Town to resolve the enforcement proceeding being pursued by MDE and so that the Town could reduce, to a limited degree, the impact which new additions to the Town sanitary sewer system would otherwise have on sewer system while the Town negotiated with MDE in its enforcement proceedings; and WHEREAS, the Town and MDE have reached an accord regarding the enforcement proceeding and have agreed to the terms of a Consent Order pursuant to the Annotated Code of Maryland, Environment Article, §§ 9-334 et seq. By the terms of that Consent Order, MDE has required the Town to limit the number of building permits which may be issued to no more than twenty (20) such permits per equivalent dwelling units per year until such time as the sanitary sewer system deficiencies have been properly addressed in accordance with the terms of the Consent Order. WHEREAS, the Annotated Code of Maryland, Environment Article, §9-512 prohibits a municipality from issuing any permit which authorizes building construction if the sanitary sewer system is inadequate to service that new construction. The Town finds that the deficiencies in the sanitary sewer system violate that provision of Maryland law, and further finds that the deficiencies have caused discharges of raw and inadequately treated sewage into the waters of the State, that this creates and results in serious environmental, health and safety hazards, and that such hazards constitute a menace and are a nuisance prejudicial to the health, safety and comfort of the public; and WHEREAS, by adhering to the Consent Order and by adopting a Plan to limit annually the number of sanitary sewer connections, without totally precluding such connections, the Town can reduce, to a limited degree, the adverse impact which new additions to the Town sanitary sewer system would otherwise have on the environment and on the health, safety and welfare of the public; and WHEREAS, the Town finds that the adoption of a sanitary sewer connection allocation policy is in the best interest of the Town and is for the good of the public health, safety and welfare. NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED, ENACTED AND ORDAINED by the Mayor and Board of Commissioners of the Town of Emmitsburg, Maryland as follows:

• SECTION I. Ordinance No. 2004-05 is hereby repealed, and the moratorium which was established thereby is hereby terminated.
   

• SECTION II. The Consent Order to be entered into between the Town and the Maryland Department of the Environment, Water Management Administration, a copy of which is attached to this Ordinance, ("the Consent Order") is hereby approved.
   

• SECTION III. Until such time as the Town has made improvements to the Town sanitary sewer system so as to comply with the requirements of the Consent Order, the Town shall not authorize or approve new connections to the sanitary sewer collection system in excess of twenty (20) equivalent dwelling units per year without the prior approval from the Maryland Department of the Environment
   

• SECTION IV. The manner in which the Town shall allocate such connections shall be made in accordance with the "Residential Sanitary Sewer Tap System Connection Allocation Plan" which is attached to this Ordinance and which is incorporated by reference herein. • SECTION V. The Town shall diligently pursue and implement the obligations and procedures as required by the Consent Order and shall take such reasonable measures as may be required so as to limit the duration and impact of the Plan as much as reasonably practicable.

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, ENACTED AND ORDAINED that this Ordinance shall take effect on the date on which the Mayor approves the Ordinance after passing by the Board of Commissioners or on the date on which the Board of Commissioners pass the Ordinance over the veto of the Mayor. PASSED this 23rd day of August, 2004

RESIDENTIAL SANITARY SEWER TAP SYSTEM CONNECTION ALLOCATION PLAN

1. On September 1 of each year, or on such other date as determined by the Mayor and Commissioners, the total number of Approved Residential Housing Units or Lots available for construction shall be determined by the Town Manager with the assistance of the Planning Staff. "Approved Residential Housing Units or Lots" are those units or lots which have satisfied all requirements to obtain a zoning certificate under the provisions of the Town ordinances.
    

2. At the same time as the number of Approved Residential Housing Units or Lots are determined, a "Connection Allocation Factor" shall also be determined by the Town Manager with the assistance of the Planning Staff. The Connection Allocation Factor shall be determined by dividing twenty (20) [or such other number of annual connections as permitted by the Maryland Department of the Environment (MDE) as part of a Consent Order or as part of any enforcement proceedings taken by MDE against the Town] by the number of Approved Residential Housing Units or Lots.
    

3. The annual number of sanitary sewer connections which may be approved and allocated for any one subdivision, development or construction project of Approved Residential Housing Units or Lots shall be determined by multiplying the Connection Allocation Factor by the number of Approved Residential Housing Units or Lots in that subdivision, development or construction project. If the multiplication product includes a fractional number of 0.5 or greater, the product shall be increased to the next higher round number. If the multiplication product includes a fractional number of less than 0.5, the product shall be decreased to the next lower round number; provided, however, that if the product is less than one (1), the product shall be increased to one (1).

EXAMPLE: There are three subdivision projects known as Project A, Project B and Project C, and all of the projects have satisfied all requirements to obtain zoning certificates for the lots situated therein. On September 1, Projects A, B, and C each contain, respectively, 10, 30 and 50 Approved Residential Housing Lots. There are, therefore, 90 Approved Residential Housing Units or Lots. Only 20 connections are permitted by the MDE. The Connection Allocation Factor is, therefore, 0.222222 (20 ÷ 90 = 0.222222).

•  Project A may be allocated 2 connections (10 x 0.222222 = 2.222222 - Rounded to the next lower round number, i.e. 2).
   

• Project B may be allocated 7 connections (30 x 0.222222 = 6.666666 - Rounded to the next higher round number, i.e. 7).
   

• Project C may be allocated 11 connections (50 x 0.222222 = 11.111111 - Rounded to the next lower round number, i.e. 11).

4. Sanitary Sewer Connection Permits may only be applied for by the owner of the property for which the connection is sought or with the written permission of the owner. Permits for the connections shall be available for purchase on September 15 after the annual calculations are made. Any allocated connections which have not been purchased or reserved by the following November 15 shall be deemed forfeited, and those forfeited connection permits may be distributed to other applicants on a first come, first served basis.
    

5. The owner of property on which a multi-unit residential structure is to be constructed (e.g., condominiums, townhouses, apartments) may obtain and reserve an annual allocation in accordance with this Plan without purchasing such connection. Such allocated connections may be reserved by paying a non-refundable deposit of $3,500.00 per allocated connection. Upon payment of the deposit, the connection shall be reserved for that owner for a period of no more than three (3) years from the date of the allocation and may be accumulated until such time as sufficient connections have been allocated to permit the construction of the multi-unit structure. If the connection is purchased within the three (3) year period, the deposit shall be credited toward the purchase cost of the connection. If the connection is not purchased within the three (3) year period, then the deposit shall be forfeited and the connection allocation shall be rescinded.
    

6. Nothing contained in this Plan shall be construed to have repealed or rescinded any other requirements to obtain a sanitary sewer system connection, and all requirements not inconsistent with this Plan shall remain in full force and effect.
    

7. This Plan shall remain in effect until such time as the Maryland Department of the Environment shall authorize the issuance of more than twenty (20) sanitary sewer connections per year in accordance with the Consent Order and enforcement proceedings instituted by the MDE in case number ________ before the Secretary of the Environment, Water Management Administration, or until such time as the MDE shall authorize the termination or modification of this plan.