CHAPTER 298
AN ACT AUTHORIZING THE GOVERNOR AND THE SECRETARY OF STATE TO CONVEY TO THE COMMISSIONERS OF BETHANY BEACH CERTAIN LANDS AND INTERESTS IN LAND BELONGING TO THE STATE OF DELAWARE.
WHEREAS, a great amount of pollution exists in southeastern Sussex County, particularly in and around Bethany Beach, which is caused by the general use of septic tanks and cesspools for disposal of human and commercial waste; and
WHEREAS, this area is in great need of central sewage facilities to alleviate the existing pollution problem; and
WHEREAS, the existing pollution problem creates an acute emergency in the area of southeastern Sussex County, particularly in and around Bethany Beach; and
WHEREAS, The Commissioners of Bethany Beach, a municipal corporation of the State of Delaware, has determined that it is necessary to construct and install a sewage system including a sewage disposal plant for the citizens residing within the corporate limits of the Town of Bethany Beach and under such terms and conditions as may be in the best interest of the Town of Bethany Beach for those persons, firms or corporations whose property lies outside the corporate limits of the Town of Bethany Beach to alleviate the existing pollution problem; and
WHEREAS, the State of Delaware is the owner of a large tract of land adjoining the corporate limits of the Town of Bethany Beach which is used by the National Guard of the State of Delaware; and
WHEREAS, it is in the best interest of the State of Delaware that adequate sewage facilities, including a sewage disposal plant and necessary pipelines, be available for the National Guard camp area as well as for the citizens of the Town of Bethany Beach; and
WHEREAS, part of the tract of land now owned by the State of Delaware is not used by the National Guard of the State of Delaware.
Now, therefore,
Be it enacted by the General Assembly of the State of Delaware, (two-thirds of all Members elected to each House thereof concurring therein):
Section 1. The Governor and the Secretary of State of the State of Delaware are hereby authorized, empowered and directed to execute and deliver, in the name of and under the Great Seal of the State of Delaware, a deed conveying to The Commissioners of Bethany Beach, a municipal corporation of the State of Delaware, its successors and assigns, the following described tract of land for use as part of its public sewage system, together with the right of ingress and egress over lands of the State of Delaware and used by the National Guard of the State of Delaware, said route to be designated by representatives of the National Guard of the State of Delaware, said tract of land to revert to the State of Delaware if, for any period of one year after the public sewage system is constructed and installed, the land ceases to be used as part of the public sewage system of The Commissioners of Bethany Beach;
ALL that certain tract, piece and parcel of land, situate, lying and being in Baltimore Hundred, Sussex County, Delaware, and being more particularly described as follows: Beginning at a point, said point being located the following two courses and distance from a concrete monument located in the western right of way of Delaware Route 14 and marking a corner of the lands of the State of Delaware used by the Delaware National Guard; South 8° 16' 40" East a distance of Four Hundred Twenty-seven and Seventy-eight one hundredths (427.78) feet and South 78° 44' 17" East a distance of One Thousand Six Hundred Three and Forty-one one hundredths (1,603.41) feet; thence from said beginning point South 4° 56' 14" East a distance of Two Hundred Twenty and Twelve one hundredths (220.12) feet; thence from said beginning point South 40° 03' 46" East One Thousand Thirty-five and Forty-three one hundredths (1,035.43) feet to a point in the northern edge of Bethany Beach Canal; thence North 73° 53' 35" West a distance of Three Hundred Sixty (360) feet to a concrete monument; thence North 75° 53' 35" West a distance of Thirty-eight (38) feet to a concrete monument; thence North 25° 59' 25" East a distance of One Hundred Sixty-six (166) feet to a concrete monument; thence North 25° 06' 25" East a distance of One Thousand Fifty one and Twenty-five one hundredths (1,051.26) feet to a concrete monument; thence North 17° 06' 25" East a distance of Nine Hundred and Ninety-five one hundredths (900.95) feet to a concrete monument; thence South 79° 34' 40" East, a distance of One Hundred Sixty (160) feet, thence South 4° 56' 14" West One Thousand Fifty-four and Sixty-two one hundredths (1,054.62) feet, home to the place of beginning, containing 22.21 acres of land more or less.
Section 2. (a) The Commissioners of the Town of Bethany Beach may adopt rules governing the admission or exclusion of persons from entry on to land used for sewer treatment purposes as described in Section 1 above.
(b) Any conveyance of the land described in Section 1 of this Act shall be subject to the condition that the National Guard of the State of Delaware shall have the right to prohibit entry through land owned by the State of Delaware to the land described in Section 1 of this Act in the event of a national emergency as declared by the President of the United States; PROVIDED, HOWEVER, that in the event entry is prohibited, the sewer system shall be operated by personnel of the Town of Bethany Beach given clearance by the National Guard of the State of Delaware.
Section 3. The Governor and the Secretary of State of the State of Delaware are hereby authorized, empowered and directed to execute and deliver, in the name of and under the Great Seal of the State of Delaware, a deed of easement conveying to The Commissioners of Bethany Beach, a municipal corporation of the State of Delaware, its successors and assigns, three (3) easements and rights of way, hereinafter described, including the right of The Commissioners of Bethany Beach, its agents, servants, employees or independent contractors of The Commissioners of Bethany Beach to enter upon said land over routes designated by the National Guard of the State of Delaware for the purpose of constructing, maintaining and repairing underground pipelines and/or mains for the purpose of conveying sewage across, through and under the lands of the State of Delaware, together with the right to excavate and refill ditches and/or trenches for the location of said pipeline and/or mains, and the further right to remove trees, bushes, undergrowth and other obstructions interfering with the location, construction and maintenance of said pipelines and/or mains, said easements to continue so long as The Commissioners of Bethany Beach, its successors and assigns use the said easements as part of its public sewer system, said easements and right of way hereinafter described, to revert to the State of Delaware if the land hereinafter described ceases to be used as part of public sewage system of The Commissioners of Bethany Beach for any period of one year after construction and installation of the public sewage system is completed:
EASEMENT No. 1
ALL that certain tract, piece and parcel of land, situate, lying and being in Baltimore Hundred, Sussex County, Delaware, being more particularly described as follows: Beginning at a point, said point being located South 8° 16' 40" East a distance of Four Hundred Twenty-seven and Seventy-eight one hundredths (427.78) feet from a concrete monument located on the western right of way of Delaware Route 14 and marking a corner of the lands of the State of Delaware used by the Delaware National Guard; thence from said beginning point South 78° 44' 17" West a distance of One Thousand Six Hundred Three and Forty-one one hundredths (1,603.41) feet to a point; thence South 4° 56' 14" East a distance of Twenty and twelve one hundredths (20.12) feet to a point; thence North 78° 44' 17" East a distance of One Thousand Six Hundred Four and Fifty-eight one hundredths (1,604.58) feet to a point located on the western right of way line of Delaware Route 14; thence North 8° 16' 40" West a distance of Twenty and Three one hundredths (20.3) feet, home to the place of beginning, containing .74 acres of land more or less.
EASTMENT No. 2
ALL that certain tract, piece and parcel of land located in Baltimore Hundred, Sussex County, Delaware, and being more particularly described as follows: Beginning at a point, said point being located the following 3 courses and distances from a concrete monument located in the western right of way of Delaware Route 14 and marking a corner of the lands of the State of Delaware used by the Delaware National Guard; thence from said concrete monument South 8° 16' 40" East a distance of Four Hundred Twenty-seven and Seventy-eight one hundredths (427.78) feet; thence South 78° 44' 17" East a distance of. One Thousand Six Hundred Three and Forty-one one hundredths (1,603.41) feet; thence South 4° 56' 14" East a distance of Two Hundred Twenty and Twelve one hundredths (220.12) feet to the place of beginning; thence from said point of beginning South 4° 56' 14" East a distance of One Thousand Seventy-one and Forty-five one hundredths (1,071.45) feet to a point; thence South 80° 06' 25" West a distance of Twenty and eight one hundredths (20.08) feet to a point; thence North 4° 46' 14" West a distance of One Thousand Fifty-three and Nineteen one hundredths (1,053.19) feet to a point; thence North 40° 03' 46" East a distance of Twenty-eight and twenty-eight one hundredths (28.28) feet to the place of beginning containing .49 acres of land more or less.
EASEMENT No. 3
ALL that certain tract, piece and parcel of land situate, lying and being in Baltimore Hundred, Sussex County, Delaware and being more particularly described as follows: Beginning at a concrete monument located in the western right of way of Delaware Route 14 at its intersection with the northwest corner of 5th Street as shown on a plot of the Town of Bethany Beach; thence from said beginning point along and with the northerly right of way of 5th Street South 80° 06' 25" West a distance of One Thousand Four Hundred Eleven and Eighty-four one hundredths (1,411.84) feet to a concrete monument said concrete monument located in the easterly edge of the Bethany Beach Canal; thence by and with the easterly edge of the Bethany Beach Canal North 52° 53' 35" West a distance of Twenty-seven and Thirty-five one hundredths (27.35) feet to a point, thence North 80° 06' 25" East a distance of One Thousand Four Hundred thirty-seven and seventy-four one hundredths (1,437.74) feet to a point; thence South 10° 02' 32" West a distance of Twenty-one and twenty-seven one hundredths (21.27) feet home to the place of beginning containing .65 of an acre more or less.
Section 4. Any conveyance of any easement described in Section 3 of this Act shall be subject to the following conditions:
a. Any easement and right of way described in Section 3 above and any equipment located or situated herein may be relocated if it is determined by the Adjutant General of the National Guard of the State of Delaware that any easement and right of way described above and any equipment located or situate therein causes substantial interference with use of the other land of the State of Delaware used by the National Guard of the State of Delaware; PROVIDED, HOWEVER, that any relocation shall be done at the expense of The Commissioners of Bethany Beach; and PROVIDED FURTHER, that the relocation of any easement and right of way and the equipment situate therein does not interfere with planned or constructed sewage facilities; and
b. The present property currently being used by the State of Delaware shall be accorded free sewage treatment for the National Guard of the State of Delaware so long as the land is held by the State of Delaware for non-income producing purposes; and
c. The Commissioners of Bethany Beach shall pay to the State of Delaware an annual fee of One Dollar ($1.00) for each and every year that the facilities are in use, the first such annual payment to be made on or before February 1 of the first year following the date of approval of this Act by the Governor of the State of Delaware and continuing on a like day each year thereafter.
Section 5. Any conveyance of the land described in Section 1 hereof or of any easement described in Section 3 hereof shall be subject to the right of those persons, firms and corporations, including the State of Delaware, whose property lies outside the corporate limits of the Town of Bethany Beach to connect to the sewer systems upon payment of all costs of construction and installation to the sewer facilities by such connecting person, firm, or corporation, including the State of Delaware; PROVIDED, HOWEVER, that any such connection shall be accomplished pursuant to plans and specifications approved by the Commissioners of Bethany Beach; and PROVIDED FURTHER, that any such person, firm or corporation, including the State of Delaware, agrees to accept and abide by the provisions of any ordinance adopted by the Commissioners of Bethany Beach relating to the use of the public sanitary sewer, including the sewage treatment facilities, and the payment of fees for the use of the sewage treatment facilities; PROVIDED, HOWEVER, said charges or fees are set out in a validly enacted ordinance of the Commissioners of Bethany Beach, and said charges are uniform, both within and without the municipal boundaries of Bethany Beach, and without regard to whether such user is an individual, firm or corporation, including the State of Delaware, excepting however, the National Guard of the State of Delaware, as required by the terms of Section 4, Subsection 6, thereof.
Be it further enacted that all fees for both residents and non-resident participants of the said sewage system and facilities thereof be based and charged on a cost study conducted by a recognized professional engineer of the State of Delaware.
Approved June 11, 1968.