4074 ARTICLE 17.

district or area, shall petition the said Commission, in writing, to construct
and establish a sewerage system or part thereof to serve such locality, the
said Commission shall, if it be found practical, proceed to construct and
establish the same, provided the cost of construction, operation and main-
tenance of said system or said part of a system be borne by the petitioners.
The system or part of a system so built shall be maintained and operated
under the rules and regulations of the Commission but shall remain the
property of the petitioners, unless incorporated in the County system, as
provided in this Act, in which case the petitioners and all using said
system or parts thereof, shall be subject to such reasonable annual mainte-
nance, tax, or rental, as the Commission may fix.

1914, ch. 793, sec. 529-I.

920. It may be lawful instead of following the methods provided in
Sections 917, 918 or 919, that where any individual, corporation or muni-
cipality, has at the time of the passage of this Act or may hereafter install
a complete or partially complete system of sewerage or drainage, and it is
found that said private or municipal system or part thereof can be in-
corporated into part of the County systems, so as to serve other persons or
property in the same district or area, but beyond the limits of the property
of said person, corporation or municipality, the said Commission may,
after investigation, purchase said system or parts thereof under agreement
with the said individual, corporation or municipality, provided, how-
ever, that the price of it shall not exceed a sum in the same proportion to
the cost of such system or part thereof as the area within the property
of said individual, corporation or municipality contributing to such system
or part thereof bears to the entire area in the sewerage district or area that
will contribute to the said system or part thereof, through its incorpora-
tion with the County system. In case of failure to agree as to price the
system or parts thereof may be acquired by condemnation proceedings
under the general laws of the State. No part of the cost of said system,
or parts thereof, as acquired, shall be charged by the Commission against
the taxpayers within the limits of the property of said individual, corpo-
ration, or municipality.

The said Commission may require the system or parts thereof of said
individual, corporation, or municipality, to be connected to the County
system, and shall prescribe the annual charge or tax to be paid for such
connection, which sum shall be applied toward the payment of the interest
and principal of sewerage and drainage bonds issued for the construction
of connecting sewers. The said Commission shall also fix a maintenance
tax or rental to be charged against all individuals, thereby admitted to
use of the County system. Before any existing systems or parts thereof
are connected with the County system, the owners of said systems or parts
thereof shall be required to make such changes in or repairs to them as
the said Commission may deem necessary to put them in proper shape
for connection.