23-3602. Legislative findings.

The Legislature finds that:

(1) The ability of Nebraska to attract and retain large commercial or industrial businesses to the state is dependent to a large extent upon the presence of adequate and efficient infrastructure improvements, available for use at the time the business begins construction of new plant or facilities;

(2) The ability to construct the necessary infrastructure improvements and most particularly sewerage disposal systems and plant or plants depends upon the presence and willingness of an appropriate public entity to plan, develop, and finance the facilities;

(3) The distance of many large tracts of land appropriate for industrial development from nearby cities and the large cost for developing sewerage disposal systems and plant or plants often makes it impractical, infeasible, and unfair for the financing burdens to be borne by a single municipality;

(4) The benefits of new industrial and commercial businesses are generally spread throughout a regional area and it is fairer and more appropriate that the costs of providing sewerage disposal systems and plant or plants for such users should be shared more broadly through the same area;

(5) It is necessary to facilitate industrial and commercial development in certain areas of the state by providing the authority for county governments to plan, develop, finance, and construct sewerage disposal systems and plant or plants so that the costs and benefits of such development are more properly allocated;

(6) The development of sewerage disposal systems and plant or plants can inevitably lead to additional urbanization and residential development in areas surrounding industrial tracts which are beyond the current limits of authorized zoning control by municipalities;

(7) This urbanization beyond municipal control can lead to the distortion of logical, planned development patterns and the creation of new demands for county services and other infrastructure improvements which distort budget priorities and add additional pressures on scarce financial resources;

(8) It is appropriate to extend to neighboring municipalities that may, through future growth, assume the responsibility for the planning and zoning and ultimately the annexation of the area the additional authority to prevent additional residential development in the area by authorizing it to review and control the activity of the county in authorizing the use of the sewerage disposal system and plant or plants constructed under its authority for additional residential purposes; and

(9) Because of the primary role of municipalities in the development and construction of sewerage disposal systems and plant or plants under the state's current statutory scheme, it is appropriate to provide for the review of county disposal sewerage development plans by appropriate municipalities prior to the construction of such systems and plant or plants to foster cooperative arrangements and insure that appropriate municipal concerns about additional residential development impacts have been addressed by the county.

Source:Laws 1994, LB 1139, ยง 2.