Placing liability on the city for overtaxed sewer lines and requiring the city to develop a plan to mitigate and prevent sewer backups.

A Local Law to amend the administrative code of the city of New York, in relation to placing liability on the city for overtaxed sewer lines and requiring the city to develop a plan to mitigate and prevent sewer backups

This proposed local law would make the city liable to homeowner for claims filed against the city for water damage or loss due to capacity-related sewer backups, i.e., overtaxation of the system. The proposed bill would also require the city to develop a sewer backup mitigation plan. Approximately 60 percent of the city’s sewer system is combined, meaning it carries sanitary waste as well as storm water. According to the Department of Environmental Protection, sewer backups can result from a number of factors, including grease, debris and heavy rain. Sewer backups can lead to raw sewage backing up into the basements of homes throughout parts of Brooklyn, Queens and Staten Island.