2006 Indiana Code - CHAPTER 2. OHIO RIVER VALLEY WATER SANITATION COMPACT
IC 13-29-2
Chapter 2. Ohio River Valley Water Sanitation Compact
IC 13-29-2-1
Ratification; text of compact
Sec. 1. The following Ohio River Valley Water Sanitation
Compact, which has been negotiated by representatives of the states
of Illinois, Indiana, Kentucky, New York, Ohio, Pennsylvania,
Tennessee, and West Virginia, is hereby approved, ratified, adopted,
enacted into law, and entered into by the state of Indiana as a party
thereto and signatory state, namely:
Whereas, A substantial part of the territory of each of the
signatory states is situated within the drainage basin of the Ohio
river; and
Whereas, The rapid increase in the population of the various
metropolitan areas situated within the Ohio drainage basin, and the
growth in industrial activity within that area, have resulted in recent
years in an increasingly serious pollution of the waters and streams
within the said drainage basin, constituting a grave menace to the
health, welfare, and recreational facilities of the people living in such
basin, and occasioning great economic loss; and
Whereas, The control of future pollution and the abatement of
existing pollution in the waters of said basin are of prime importance
to the people thereof, and can best be accomplished through the
cooperation of the states situated therein, by and through a joint or
common agency;
Now Therefore, The states of Illinois, Indiana, Kentucky, New
York, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Tennessee, and West Virginia do hereby
covenant and agree as follows:
Article 1.
Each of the signatory states pledges to each of the other signatory
states faithful cooperation in the control of future pollution in and
abatement of existing pollution from the rivers, streams, and waters
in the Ohio river basin which flow through, into, or border upon any
of such signatory states, and in order to effect such object, agrees to
enact any necessary legislation to enable each such state to place and
maintain the waters of said basin in a satisfactory sanitary condition,
available for safe and satisfactory use as public and industrial water
supplies after reasonable treatment, suitable for recreational usage,
capable of maintaining fish and other aquatic life, free from unsightly
or malodorous nuisances due to floating solids or sludge deposits,
and adaptable to such other uses as may be legitimate.
Article 2.
The signatory states hereby create a district to be known as the
"Ohio River Valley Water Sanitation District", hereinafter called the
district, which shall embrace all territory within the signatory states,
the water in which flows ultimately into the Ohio river, or its
tributaries.
Article 3.
The signatory states hereby create the "Ohio River Valley Water
Sanitation Commission", hereinafter called the commission, which
shall be a body corporate, with the powers and duties set forth herein,
and such additional powers as may be conferred upon it by
subsequent action of the respective legislatures of the signatory states
or by act or acts of the congress of the United States.
Article 4.
The commission shall consist of three (3) commissioners from
each state, each of whom shall be a citizen of the state from which he
is appointed, and three (3) commissioners representing the United
States government. The commissioners from each state shall be
chosen in the manner and for the terms provided by the laws of the
state from which they shall be appointed, and any commissioner may
be removed or suspended from office as provided by the laws of the
state from which he shall be appointed. The commissioners
representing the United States shall be appointed by the President of
the United States, or in such other manner as may be provided by
congress. The commissioners shall serve without compensation, but
shall be paid their actual expenses incurred in and incident to the
performance of their duties; but nothing herein shall prevent the
appointment of an officer or employee of any state or of the United
States government.
Article 5.
The commission shall elect from its number a chairman and vice
chairman and shall appoint, and at its pleasure remove or discharge,
such officers and legal, clerical, expert, and other assistants as may
be required to carry the provisions of this compact into effect, and
shall fix and determine their duties, qualifications, and
compensation. It shall adopt a seal and suitable bylaws, and shall
adopt and promulgate rules and regulations for its management and
control. It may establish and maintain one (1) or more offices within
the district for the transaction of its business, and may meet at any
time or place. One (1) or more commissioners from a majority of the
member states shall constitute a quorum for the transaction of
business.
The commission shall submit to the governor of each state, at such
time as he may request, a budget of its estimated expenditures for
such period as may be required by the laws of such state for
presentation to the legislature thereof.
The commission shall keep accurate books of account, showing
in full its receipts and disbursements, and said books of account shall
be open at any reasonable time to the inspection of such
representatives of the respective signatory states as may be duly
constituted for that purpose.
On or before the first day of December of each year, the
commission shall submit to the respective governors of the signatory
states a full and complete report of its activities for the preceding
year.
The commission shall not incur any obligations of any kind prior
to the making of appropriations adequate to meet the same; nor shall
the commission pledge the credit of any of the signatory states,
except by and with the authority of the legislature thereof.
Article 6.
It is recognized by the signatory states that no single standard for
the treatment of sewage or industrial wastes is applicable in all parts
of the district due to such variable factors as size, flow, location,
character, self-purification, and usage of waters within the district.
The guiding principle of this compact shall be that pollution by
sewage or industrial wastes originating within a signatory state shall
not injuriously affect the various uses of the interstate waters as
hereinbefore defined.
All sewage from municipalities or other political subdivisions,
public or private institutions, or corporations, discharged or
permitted to flow into those portions of the Ohio River and its
tributary waters which form boundaries between or are contiguous
to two (2) or more signatory states, or which flow from one (1)
signatory state into another signatory state, shall be so treated, within
a time reasonable for the construction of the necessary works, as to
provide for substantially complete removal of settleable solids, and
the removal of not less than forty-five percent (45 percent) of the
total suspended solids: Provided, That in order to protect the public
health or to preserve the waters for other legitimate purposes,
including those specified in Article 1, in specific instances such
higher degree of treatment shall be used as may be determined to be
necessary by the commission after investigation, due notice, and
hearing.
All industrial wastes discharged or permitted to flow into the
aforesaid waters shall be modified or treated, within a time
reasonable for the construction of the necessary works, in order to
protect the public health or to preserve the waters for other legitimate
purposes, including those specified in Article 1, to such degree as
may be determined to be necessary by the commission after
investigation, due notice, and hearing.
All sewage or industrial wastes discharged or permitted to flow
into tributaries of the aforesaid waters situated wholly within one (1)
state shall be treated to that extent, if any, which may be necessary
to maintain such waters in a sanitary and satisfactory condition at
least equal to the condition of the waters of the interstate stream
immediately above the confluence.
The commission is hereby authorized to adopt, prescribe, and
promulgate rules, regulations, and standards for administering and
enforcing the provisions of this article.
Article 7.
Nothing in this compact shall be construed to limit the powers of
any signatory state, or to repeal or prevent the enactment of any
legislation or the enforcement of any requirement by any signatory
state, imposing additional conditions and restrictions to further lessen
or prevent the pollution of waters within its jurisdiction.
Article 8.
The commission shall conduct a survey of the territory included
within the district, shall study the pollution problems of the district
and shall make a comprehensive report for the prevention or
reduction of stream pollution therein. In preparing such report, the
commission shall confer with any national or regional planning body
which may be established, and any department of the federal
government authorized to deal with matters relating to the pollution
problems of the district. The commission shall draft and recommend
to the governors of the various signatory states uniform legislation
dealing with the pollution of rivers, streams, and waters and other
pollution problems within the district. The commission shall consult
with and advise the various states, communities, municipalities,
corporations, persons, or other entities with regard to particular
problems connected with the pollution of waters, particularly with
regard to the construction of plants for the disposal of sewage,
industrial, and other waste. The commission shall, more than one (1)
month prior to any regular meeting of the legislature of any state
which is a party thereto, present to the governor of the state its
recommendations relating to enactments to be made by any
legislature in furthering the intents and purposes of his compact.
Article 9.
The commission may from time to time, after investigation and
after a hearing, issue an order or orders upon any municipality,
corporation, person, or other entity discharging sewage or industrial
waste into the Ohio river or any other river, stream, or water, any
part of which constitutes any part of the boundary line between any
two (2) or more of the signatory states, or into any stream any part of
which flows from any portion of one (1) signatory state through any
portion of another signatory state. Any such order or orders may
prescribe the date on or before which such discharge shall be wholly
or partially discontinued, modified, or treated or otherwise disposed
of. The commission shall give reasonable notice of the time and
place of the hearing to the municipality, corporation, or other entity
against which such order is proposed. No such order shall go into
effect unless and until it receives the assent of at least a majority of
the commissioners from each of not less than a majority of the
signatory states; and no such order upon a municipality, corporation,
person, or entity in any state shall go into effect unless and until it
receives the assent of not less than a majority of the commissioners
from such state.
It shall be the duty of the municipality, corporation, person, or
other entity to comply with any such order issued against it or him by
the commission and any court of general jurisdiction or any United
States district court in any of the signatory states shall have the
jurisdiction, by mandamus, injunction, specific performance, or other
form of remedy, to enforce any such order against any municipality,
corporation, or other entity domiciled or located within such state or
whose discharge of the waste takes place within or adjoining such
state, or against any employee, department, or subdivision of such
municipality, corporation, person, or other entity: Provided, however,
such court may review the order and affirm, reverse, or modify the
same upon any of the grounds customarily applicable in proceedings
for court review of administrative decisions. The commission or, at
its request, the attorney general or other law enforcing official, shall
have power to institute in such court any action for the enforcement
of such order.
Article 10.
The signatory states agree to appropriate for the salaries, office,
and other administrative expenses, their proper proportion of the
annual budget as determined by the commission and approved by the
governors of the signatory states, one-half (1/2) of such amount to be
prorated among the several states in proportion to their population
within the district at the last preceding federal census, the other half
to be prorated in proportion to their land area within the district:
Provided, that the total cost to the state of Indiana be limited to the
appropriation specifically mentioned in section 5 of this bill.
Article 11.
This compact shall become effective upon ratification by the
legislatures of a majority of the states located within the district and
upon approval by the Congress of the United States; and shall
become effective as to any additional states signing thereafter at the
time of such signing.
In Witness Whereof, The various signatory states have executed
this compact through their respective compact commissioners.
The state of Indiana hereby consents that the state of Virginia may
become a party to and a signatory state of the aforesaid compact as
fully as if it had been expressly named herein. As added by P.L.1-1996, SEC.19.
IC 13-29-2-2
"Commission" defined
Sec. 2. "Commission", for purposes of sections 5 through 7 of this
chapter, refers to the Ohio River Valley Water Sanitation
Commission. As added by P.L.1-1996, SEC.19.
IC 13-29-2-3
"Commissioner" defined
Sec. 3. "Commissioner", for purposes of sections 5 through 7 of
this chapter, means a member of the Ohio River Valley Water
Sanitation Commission. As added by P.L.1-1996, SEC.19.
IC 13-29-2-4
"Compact" defined
Sec. 4. "Compact", for purposes of sections 5 through 7 of this
chapter, refers to the Ohio River Valley Water Sanitation Compact. As added by P.L.1-1996, SEC.19.
IC 13-29-2-5
Commissioners
Sec. 5. (a) In pursuance of Article 4 of the Ohio River Valley
Water Sanitation Compact, there are three (3) members of the Ohio
River Valley Water Sanitation Commission from Indiana.
(b) The governor shall appoint two (2) commissioners, each of
whom must be a resident and citizen of Indiana. The term of one (1)
of the two (2) commissioners first appointed is three (3) years and
the term of the other commissioner is six (6) years. The successors
shall be appointed by the governor for terms of six (6) years each.
Each commissioner holds office until a successor is appointed and
qualified. Vacancies occurring in the office of a commissioner from
any reason or cause shall be filled by appointment by the governor
for the unexpired term.
(c) The third commissioner from Indiana is the commissioner of
the department of environmental management ex officio. The term
of the ex officio commissioner terminates at the time the individual
ceases to hold the office of commissioner of the department of
environmental management, and the commissioner's successors as a
commissioner are the commissioner's successors as the commissioner
of the department of environmental management.
(d) With the exception of the issuance of any order under Article
9 of the compact, the ex officio commissioner may delegate, from
time to time, to any deputy or other subordinate in the
commissioner's department or office the power to be present and
participate, including voting, as the commissioner's representative or
substitute at any meeting of or hearing by or other proceeding of the
commission.
(e) The terms of each of the initial three (3) members begin at the
date of the appointment of the two (2) appointive commissioners if
the compact has gone into effect in accordance with Article 11 of the
compact. If the compact has not gone into effect, the terms begin
upon the date upon which the compact becomes effective in
accordance with Article 11 of the compact.
(f) The governor may remove a commissioner from office upon
charges and after a hearing but the commissioner shall be given the
opportunity to be heard. As added by P.L.1-1996, SEC.19.
IC 13-29-2-6
Members of the commission; jurisdiction of courts; enforcement
actions
Sec. 6. (a) There is granted to the commission and the
commissioners all the powers provided for in the compact and all the
powers necessary or incidental to the carrying out of the compact in
every way. All officers of the state shall do all things falling within
their respective provinces and jurisdiction necessary to or incidental
to the carrying out of the compact in every way. It is the policy of the
state to perform and carry out the compact and to accomplish the
purposes of the compact. All officers, bureaus, departments, and
persons of and in the state government or administration of the state
shall, at convenient times and upon request of the commission:
(1) furnish the commission with information and data possessed
by any of them; and
(2) aid the commission by loan of personnel or other means
lying within their legal powers respectively.
(b) The courts of general jurisdiction of the state have the
jurisdiction specified in Article 9 of the compact, and the office of
the attorney general or any other law enforcing officer of the state
may institute any action for the enforcement of the orders of the
commission as specified in Article 9 of the compact. As added by P.L.1-1996, SEC.19.
IC 13-29-2-7
Effect of grant of powers
Sec. 7. Any powers granted to the commission by this chapter
shall be construed as in aid of and supplemental to and not as a
limitation upon any of the powers vested in the commission by any
of the following:
(1) Other laws of the state.
(2) The laws of any of the other states in the compact other than
Indiana.
(3) The United States Congress.
(4) The terms of the compact. As added by P.L.1-1996, SEC.19.
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