(a) Each authority created hereunder shall be deemed to be an instrumentality exercising public and essential governmental functions to provide for the public health and welfare and shall be for the purpose of acquiring, holding, constructing, reconstructing, repairing, improving, maintaining and operating, owning or leasing, either in the capacity of lessor or lessee, a project or projects within or partly within and partly without 1 or more of the municipality or municipalities by action of whose governing body or governing bodies the authority was created.
(b) Every authority is granted and shall have and may exercise all powers necessary or convenient for the carrying out the aforesaid purposes including, but without limiting the generality of the foregoing, the following rights and powers:
(1) To have perpetual existence;
(2) To adopt bylaws for the regulation of its affairs and the conduct of its business;
(3) To adopt an official seal and alter the same at pleasure;
(4) To maintain an office at such place or places as it may designate;
(5) To appoint officers, agents, employees and servants, to prescribe their duties and to fix their compensation;
(6) To sue and be sued;
(7) To acquire, purchase, hold, lease as lessee and use any franchise, property, real, personal or mixed, tangible or intangible, or any interest therein necessary or desirable for carrying out the purposes of the authority and to sell, lease as lessor, transfer or dispose of any property or interest therein at any time acquired by it;
(8) To acquire by gift, purchase or the exercise of the right of eminent domain lands or rights in land or water rights in connection therewith; provided, however, that no property or any interest therein owned by any county, city, town or other political subdivision of the State shall be acquired by the exercise of the power of eminent domain without the consent of the governing body of such county, city, town or political subdivision;
(9) To issue revenue bonds of the authority, payable solely from revenues, for the purpose of paying all or a part of the cost of any 1 or more projects, and to secure the payment of such bonds or any part thereof by pledge or deed of trust of all or any part of its revenues, and to make such agreements with the purchasers or holders of such bonds or with others in connection with any such bonds, whether issued or to be issued, as the authority may deem advisable, and in general, to provide for the security for said bonds and the rights of the holders thereof;
(10) To combine any water system and any sewerage system as a single system for the purpose of operation and financing;
(11) To fix, alter, charge and collect rates, fees and charges for the use of or for the services furnished by its systems and each of them for the purpose of providing for the payment of the expenses of the authority, the construction, reconstruction, extension, repair, improvement, maintenance and operation of its facilities and properties, the payment of the principal of and interest on its bonds, and to fulfill the terms and provisions of any agreements made with the purchasers or holders of any of its bonds or with the municipality or municipalities incorporating or the municipalities which are members of said authority or with any municipality served or to be served by said authority; said rates, fees and charges to be at reasonable and uniform rates to be determined exclusively by the authority. Any person questioning the reasonableness or uniformity of any rate, fee or charge fixed by an authority may bring suit against the authority;
(12) To enter into contracts with the federal government, the State, or any agency or instrumentality thereof, or with any municipality, private corporation, copartnership, association or individual providing for or relating to the furnishing of services and facilities of any project of the authority or in connection with the services and facilities rendered by any water system or sewerage system owned or controlled by the federal government or the State, any agency or instrumentality thereof, and any municipality, private corporation, copartnership, association or individual;
(13) To contract with any municipality, county, corporation, individual or any public authority of this or any adjoining state, on such terms as the said authority shall deem proper, for the construction and operation of any project which is partly in this State and partly in such adjoining state;
(14) To make and enter into all contracts or agreements, as the authority may determine, which are necessary or incidental to the performance of its duties and to the execution of the powers granted by this chapter, including contracts with any federal agency or with any municipality, on such terms and conditions as the authority may approve, relating to (i) the use by such agency or by such municipality or the inhabitants thereof of any project acquired or constructed by the authority under this subsection or the services therefrom or the facilities thereof, or (ii) the use by the authority of the services or facilities of any water system or sewerage system owned or operated other than by the authority. Any such contract shall be subject to such provisions, limitations or conditions as may be contained in the resolution of the authority authorizing revenue bonds of the authority or the provisions of any trust agreement securing such bonds. Any such contract may provide for the collecting of fees, rates or charges for the services and facilities rendered to a municipality or to the inhabitants thereof by such municipality or by its agents or by the agents of the authority, and for the enforcement of delinquent charges for such services and facilities. The provisions of any such contract and of any ordinance or resolution of the governing body of a municipality enacted pursuant thereto shall be irrepealable so long as any of the revenue bonds issued under the authority of this chapter shall be outstanding and unpaid, and the provisions of any such contract and of any ordinance or resolution enacted pursuant thereto shall be and be deemed to be for the benefit of such bondholders. The aggregate of any fees, rates or charges which shall be required to be collected pursuant to any such contract or any ordinance or resolution enacted thereunder shall be sufficient to pay all obligations which may be assumed by the other contracting party;
(15) To enter upon, use, occupy and dig up any street, road, highway or private or public lands necessary to be entered upon, used or occupied in connection with the acquisition, construction or improvement, maintenance or operation of a project, subject, however, to such reasonable local police regulation as may be established by the governing body of any municipality having jurisdiction in the particular respect;
(16) To receive and accept from any federal agency grants for or in aid of the construction, acquisition or operation of any project, and to receive and accept aid or contributions from any source of either money, property, labor or other things of value to be held, used and applied only for the purposes for which such grants and contributions may be made;
(17) To charge a reasonable tapping fee whenever the owner of any property connects such property with a water or sewer system operated by the authority, which fee shall be in addition to any rental or use charges assessed by the authority;
(18) In the event of any annexation by a municipality not a member of the authority of lands, areas or territory served by the authority, to continue to do business, exercise its jurisdiction over its properties and facilities in and upon or over such lands, areas or territory as long as any bonds or indebtedness remain outstanding or unpaid, or any contracts or other obligations remain in force.