Board debates simpler standard for sewer/water abatement policy

The Orleans Board of Water and Sewer spent substantial time reviewing revisions to Policy 2026-4-15, the board’s abatement policy, focusing on how the policy defines a property owner’s duty to discover leaks.

Commissioner Mark Buren proposed replacing the draft definition with a shorter test: whether “a reasonably prudent property owner under similar circumstances exercising ordinary care and maintenance would have discovered the leak.” Counsel Mike Celitro said the board could adopt Mark’s suggested language and that it would work in place of the existing phrasing.

The exchange centered on clarity and litigation risk. Mark argued the shorter wording is “simpler, shorter, straightforward,” and reduces opportunities for argument over constructive notice. Other commissioners agreed the shorter language avoids some ambiguity, and counsel said there is not a major distinction between the alternatives.

Rather than finalize the policy at this meeting, the board asked members to submit minor editorial comments to staff and counsel, return a clean, revised copy at the next meeting, and then set a public hearing. No formal vote on the substantive policy was taken; the board said it prefers to preserve the current abatement process while the revised language is refined.

The discussion also included small grammatical fixes and confirmations that council-directed edits should remain intact. Counsel emphasized one definition in the current draft had been specifically edited by council and asked that substantive council edits not be altered without review. The board accepted that approach and scheduled a follow-up review before any public hearing or vote.