200.11 Powers and duties.

(1) General.

(a) Corporate status. The district shall be a municipal body corporate and shall be authorized in its name to contract and to be contracted with, and to sue and to be sued. The commission may employ persons or firms performing engineering, legal or other necessary services, require any employee to obtain and file with it an individual bond or fidelity insurance policy, and procure insurance. A commission may employ engineers or other employees of any municipality as its engineers, agents or employees.

(b) Plans. The commission shall prepare and by resolution adopt plans and standards of planning, design and operation for all projects and facilities which will be operated by the district or which affect the services to be provided by the district. Commissions may and are encouraged to contract with regional or area-wide planning agencies for research and planning services. The commission's plans shall be consistent with adopted plans of a regional planning commission or area-wide planning agency organized under s. 66.0309.

(c) Research. The commission may project and plan scientific experiments, investigations and research on treatment processes and on the receiving waterway to ensure that an economical and practical process for treatment is employed and that the receiving waterway meets the requirements of regulating agencies. The commission may conduct such scientific experiments, investigations and research independently or by contract or in cooperation with any public or private agency including any political subdivision of the state or any person or public or private organization.

(d) Rules. The commission may adopt rules for the supervision, protection, management and use of the systems and facilities operated by the district. Such rules may, in the interest of plan implementation, restrict or deny the provision of utility services to lands which are described in adopted master plans or development plans of a municipality or county as not being fit or appropriate for urban or suburban development. Rules of the district shall be adopted and enforced as provided by s. 200.45. Notwithstanding any other provision of law, such rules or any orders issued thereunder, may be enforced under s. 823.02 and the violation of any rule or any order lawfully promulgated by the commission is declared to be a public nuisance.

(e) Annual report. The commission shall prepare annually a full and detailed report of its official transactions and expenses and of all presently planned additions and major changes in district facilities and services and shall file a copy of such report with the department of natural resources, the department of health services and the governing bodies of all cities, villages and towns having territory in such district.

(2) Metropolitan sewerage collection and treatment. The commission shall plan, project, construct and maintain within the district interceptor and other main sewers for the collection and transmission of sewage. The commission shall also cause the sewage to be treated, disposed or recycled and may plan, project, construct and maintain works and facilities for this purpose.

(3) Connections with system. The commission may require any person or municipality in the district to provide for the discharge of its sewage into the district's collection and disposal system, or to connect any sanitary sewerage system with the district's disposal system wherever reasonable opportunity therefor is provided; may regulate the manner in which such connections are made; may require any person or municipality discharging sewage into the system to provide preliminary treatment therefor; may prohibit and impose a penalty for the discharge into the system of any substance which it determines will or may be harmful to the system or any persons operating it; and may, with the prior approval of the department, after hearing upon 30 days' notice to the municipality involved, require any municipality to discontinue the acquisition, improvement or operation of any facility for disposal of any wastes or material handled by the commission wherever and so far as adequate service is or will be provided by the commission. The commission shall have access to all sewerage records of any municipality in the district and shall require all such municipalities to submit plans of existing systems and proposed extensions of local services or systems. The commission or its employees may enter upon the land in any municipality within the district for the purpose of making surveys or examinations.

(4) Property acquisition. Commissions may acquire by gift, purchase, lease or other like methods of acquisition or by condemnation under ch. 32, any land or property necessary for the operations of the commission or in any interest, franchise, easement, right or privilege therein, which may be required for the purpose of projecting, planning, constructing and maintaining the system. Any municipality and state agency is authorized to convey to or permit the use of any facilities owned or controlled by the municipality or agency subject to the rights of the holders of any bonds issued with respect thereto, with or without compensation, without an election or approval by any other government agency. Property, or any part or interest therein, when acquired, may be sold, leased or otherwise disposed of by the district whenever in the discretion of the commission the property or any part or portion thereof or interest therein is not needed to carry out the requirements and powers of the commission.

(5) Construction.

(a) General. The district may construct, enlarge, improve, replace, repair, maintain and operate any works determined by the commission to be necessary or convenient for the performance of the functions assigned to the commission.

(b) Roads. The district may enter upon any state, county or municipal street, road or alley, or any public highway for the purpose of installing, maintaining and operating the system, and it may construct in any such street, road or alley or public highway necessary facilities without a permit or a payment of a charge. Whenever the work is to be done in a state, county or municipal highway, the public authority having control thereof shall be duly notified, and the highway shall be restored to as good a condition as existed before the commencement of the work with all costs incident thereto borne by the district. All persons, firms or corporations lawfully having buildings, structures, works, conduits, mains, pipes, tracks or other physical obstructions in, over or under the public lands, avenues, streets, alleys or highways which block or impede the progress of district facilities, when in the process of construction, establishment or repair shall upon reasonable notice by the district, promptly so shift, adjust, accommodate or remove the same at the cost and expense of such individuals or corporations, as fully to meet the exigencies occasioning such notice. Any entry upon or occupation of any state freeway right-of-way after relocation or replacement of district facilities for which reimbursement is made under s. 84.295 (4m) shall be done in a manner which is acceptable to the department of transportation.

(c) Waterways. The district shall have power to lay or construct and to forever maintain, without compensation to the state, any part of the utility system, or of its works, or appurtenances, over, upon or under any part of the bed of any river or of any land covered by any of the navigable waters of the state, the title to which is held by the state, and over, upon or under canals or through waterways, and if the same is deemed advisable by the commission, the proper officials of the state are authorized and directed upon application of the commission to execute, acknowledge and deliver such easements, or other grants, as may be proper for the purpose of carrying out the district operations.

(d) Bids. Whenever plans and specifications for any facilities have been completed and approved by the commission and by any other agency which must approve the plans and specifications, and the commission has determined to proceed with the work of the construction thereof, it shall advertise by a class 2 notice under ch. 985, for bids for the construction of the facilities. Contracts for the work shall be let to the lowest responsible bidder, or the agency may reject any and all bids and if in its discretion the prices quoted are unreasonable, the bidders irresponsible or the bids informal, it may readvertise the work or any part of it. All contracts shall be protected by such bonds, penalties and conditions as the district shall require. The commission may itself do any part of any of the works.

(6) Acquisition of existing facilities. The commission may order that the district shall assume ownership of such existing utility works and facilities within the district as are needed to carry out the purposes of the commission. Appropriate instruments of conveyance for all such property shall be executed and delivered to the district by the proper officers of each municipality concerned. All persons regularly employed by a municipality to operate and maintain any works so transferred, on the date on which the transfer becomes effective, shall be employees of the district, in the same manner and with the same options and rights as were reserved to them in their former employment. The commission, upon assuming ownership of any works, shall become obligated to pay to the municipality amounts sufficient to pay when due all remaining principal of and interest on bonds issued by the municipality for the acquisition or improvement of the works taken over. Such amounts may be offset against any amounts due to be paid by the municipality to the district. The value of any works and facilities taken over by a commission may be agreed upon by the commission and the municipality owning the same. Should the commission and the governing body of the municipality be unable to agree upon a value, the value shall be determined by and fixed by the public service commission after a hearing to be held upon application of either party, and upon reasonable notice to the other party, to be fixed and served in such manner as the public service commission shall prescribe.

(7) Storm water drainage. The commission may plan, project, construct and maintain storm sewers, works and facilities for the collection, transmission, treatment, disposal or recycling of storm water effluent to the extent such is permitted for sewage.

(8) Solid waste management. The district may engage in solid waste management and shall for such purposes have all powers granted to county boards under s. 59.70 (2), except acquisition of land by eminent domain, if each county board having jurisdiction over areas to be served by the district has adopted a resolution requesting or approving the involvement of the district in solid waste management. County board approval shall not be required for the management by the district of such solid wastes as are contained within the sewage or storm water transmitted or treated by the district or as are produced as a by-product of sewerage treatment activities.

(9) Extraterritorial service by contract. A district may provide service to territory outside the district, including territory in a county not in that district, under s. 66.0301, subject to ss. 200.01 to 200.15 and 200.45, except that s. 200.09 (1) does not require the appointment of a commissioner from that territory.

History: 1971 c. 276; Sup. Ct. Order, 67 Wis. 2d 585, 774 (1975); 1975 c. 425; 1977 c. 29 s. 1654 (8) (c); 1977 c. 379 s. 33; 1981 c. 282 s. 47; 1987 a. 399; 1995 a. 27 s. 9126 (19); 1995 a. 201; 1999 a. 150 s. 320; Stats. 1999 s. 200.11; 2007 a. 20 s. 9121 (6) (a).

Sub. (5) (c) does not exempt a sewerage district from the requirements of s. 30.12. Cassidy v. DNR, 132 Wis. 2d 153, 390 N.W.2d 81 (Ct. App. 1986).