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BK -00028 PG -0106 LEE COUNTY Committed Today for a Better Tomorrow MEMORANDUM Date: February 15, 2016 To: lee County Board of Commissioners From: Kerry A. Self, Lee County Attorney V Re: Legal Obligations Concerning the Provision of Drinking Water to Lee County Citizens At the last regular meeting, this Board asked me to research the legal obligations the County may have concerning the provision of drinking water to county citizens, as well as any options that may be allowed under law to address water quality concerns and to mitigate the threat of contaminated water in private wells and private surface water features. Obligation of Local Governments to Provide Safe Drinking Water Under state law, counties are not legally obligated to provide water or sewer services to citizens. North Carolina General Statutes §153A-283 states, "[i]n no case may a county be held liable for damages for failure to furnish water or sewer services." Case law supports this notion of non -liability. In McNeill v. Harnett, 327 N.C. 552, 398 S.E.2d 475, 1990 N.C. LEXIS 994 (N.C. 1990) (distinguished on other grounds), a case involving the disconnection of citizens from a county -owned water system for failure to pay their water and sewer bill, the North Carolina Supreme Court found that the particular "water service furnished by the County ... does not rise to the level of 'property' protected by due process requirements." The Court further stated, "[w]hile other statutes specifically authorize disconnections in certain situations, N.C.G.S. § 153A-283 states specifically that'[i]n no case may a county be held liable for damages for failure to furnish water or sewer services.' In light of this statutory provision, a citizen of a county in North Carolina may not assert a claim of entitlement to water services." Id. Unlike Harnett County in the above case, Lee County is not in the water business. Thus, no property right has been created, nor can any citizen argue that the County is legally obligated to provide such a service, given the plain language of NCGS § 153A-283. Regulation of Contaminants in Water Clean Water Act and Safe Drinking Water Act — Public Water vs. Private Water The Environmental Protection Agency's ("EPA") Clean Water Act and the Safe Drinking Water Act are the two federal regulatory bodies of law controlling water quality in the United States. Public water and