North Carolina General Statutes Chapter 160A. Cities and Towns § 160A-317. Power to require connections to water or sewer service and the use of solid waste collection services

(a) Connections.--A city may require an owner of developed property on which there are situated one or more residential dwelling units or commercial establishments located within the city limits and within a reasonable distance of any water line or sewer collection line owned, leased as lessee, or operated by the city or on behalf of the city to connect the owner's premises with the water or sewer line or both, and may fix charges for the connections. In lieu of requiring connection under this subsection and in order to avoid hardship, the city may require payment of a periodic availability charge, not to exceed the minimum periodic service charge for properties that are connected.

(a1) to (a3) Reserved.

(a4) System Development Fees.--A city may require system development fees only in accordance with Article 8 of Chapter 162A of the General Statutes.

(b) Solid Waste.--A city may require an owner of improved property to do any of the following:

(c) A city may impose a fee for the solid waste collection service provided under subdivision (4) of subsection (b) of this section. The fee may not exceed the costs of collection.

(d) In accordance with G.S. 87-97.1, when developed property is located so as to be served by a city water line and the property owner has connected to that water line, the property owner may continue to use any private water well located on the property for nonpotable purposes as long as the water well is not interconnected to the city water line and the city shall not require the owner of any such water well to abandon, cap, or otherwise compromise the integrity of the water well.

(e) The owner of real property subject to an agreement under Part 6 of Article 4A or Article 20 of Chapter 160A of the General Statutes that is denied connection to water or sewer by a city may, notwithstanding the agreement, seek to obtain water or sewer from any other unit of local government. If a court order impacts the provision of water or sewer to real property, the owner of real property denied the provision of water or sewer shall have standing to petition the court for an order for appropriate relief and the court shall, as promptly as possible, set any such petition for hearing. For purposes of this subsection, “impacts” shall include any effect or ramification that prevents the owner of real property from seeking voluntary annexation by a city capable of providing water or sewer to that real property.