February 28, 2008

Certain water/wastewater authorities have a statutory obligation to maintain sewer lines beyond customer property lines

Effect of Statute Requiring Maintenance of Sanitary Sewer Connections - Tenn. Attorney General Opinion No. 08-35 (February 26, 2008).

"The obligation for maintaining sewer lines beyond the property line of a customer, then, applies to any water and wastewater treatment authority created in accordance with Tenn. Code Ann. §§ 68-221-601 to 68-221-618 that also meets the criteria in Tenn. Code Ann. § 68-221-209(b)(1)(A) and (B) above. The provisions for maintaining sewer line connections in Tenn. Code Ann. § 68-221-209(b)(1) were added to the statute in 1999. According to [TDEC], which regulates these entities, this legislation applies to a number of existing water and wastewater treatment authorities in Tennessee, and not just the Hamilton County Water and Wastewater Treatment Authority. It is the opinion of this Office, therefore, that the provisions in Tenn. Code Ann. § 68-221-209(b)(1), requiring maintenance of sanitary sewer connections, constitute a general law of statewide application and a uniform policy on the maintenance of public sewage treatment works." Id.

Opinion available at the Tennessee Bar Association website: http://www.tba2.org/tba_files/AG/2008/ag_08_35.pdf