ALBERT C. RITCHIE, GOVERNOR. 1293

rates shall be subject to change from time to time as said
authorities deem necessary. Said rates shall be payable at such
times, and shall be subject to such penalties for non-payment,
as said authorities may determine, and they shall be collectable
against the owner of the property served, in the same manner
as other debts are collectable at law.

348-H. Municipal authorities shall be empowered and author-
ized to formulate and cause to be effective such rules and
regulations as they may deem necessary for maintaining and1
operating water supply, sewerage, drainage and refuse disposal
systems under their control, and may formulate and put into
effect plumbing regulations, which shall govern the installation
and alteration of all water supply, plumbing and drainage
arrangements on private property. Said authorities may require
that no water supply, plumbing or drainage work be done on
any private property without the receipt of a permit and with-
out the payment of such charge as they may deem reasonable.
Any violation of any rule or regulation promulgated under
authority of this section shall be misdemeanor, punishable under
Section 348-O.

348-1. Municipal authorities are authorized and empowered
to take over by purchase or condemnation any privately owned
water supply, sewerage, drainage or refuse disposal system.
Such condemnation proceedings shall be in accordance with the
provisions of Section 348-B. When any such private system is
taken possession of, said authorities may extend or alter and
maintain or operate said system in conjunction with their general
system, and thereafter all properties along the lines of said
privately owned systems, so taken over, shall stand in the same
relation, bear the same benefit assessment, and be subject to the
same regulations and penalties as though the system so acquired
had been constructed and put into operation by said authorities;
provided, however, that said authorities may take into account
and compensate for any portion of the cost of constructing the
privately owned system that they may determine to have been
paid by properties abutting upon any portion of said system.
Whenever there is in existence a privately owned water supply,
sewerage, drainage or refuse disposal system, which, in the judg-
ment of said authorities is unfit as a whole or in part for incorpo-
ration into the general system established by said authorities,
said authorities may disregard the existence of said system or
unfit part thereof, and extend their system to serve the area
tributary to the existing private system or unfit part thereof,
and all the provisions of this Act relating to systems constructed
by said authorities shall apply to said extensions.