§ 1174-F — Powers of the authority

§ 1174-f. Powers of the authority. Except as otherwise limited by this\ntitle, the authority shall have the power to:\n 1. sue and be sued;\n 2. have a seal and alter the same at pleasure;\n 3. borrow money and issue negotiable or non-negotiable notes, bonds,\nor other obligations and to provide for the rights of the holders\nthereof;\n 4. enter into contracts and execute all instruments necessary or\nconvenient or desirable for the purposes of the authority to carry out\nany powers expressly given it in this title;\n 5. acquire, by purchase, gift, grant, transfer, contract or lease or\nby condemnation pursuant to the eminent domain procedure law, lease as\nlessee, hold and use and to sell, lease as lessor, transfer or otherwise\ndispose of, any real or personal property or any interest therein,\nwithin or without the district, as the authority may deem necessary,\nconvenient or desirable to carry out the purpose of this title;\nprovided, however, that the authority may not condemn real property of a\nmunicipality without the consent of the governing body of such\nmunicipality;\n 6. purchase, in the name of the authority, any water supply system,\nincluding plants, works, instrumentalities or parts thereof and\nappurtenances thereto, lands, easements, rights in land and water\nrights, rights-of-way, contract rights, franchises, permits, approaches,\nconnections, dams, wells, pumps, reservoirs, water mains and pipe lines,\npumping stations, treatment facilities, meters, equipment and inventory,\nor any other property incidental to and included in such system or part\nthereof, and any improvements, extensions and betterments, situated\nwholly within the district, provided, however, that the authority shall\nhave the power to purchase any source of supply, or water supply system\nor any part thereof situated wholly or partly without the territorial\nlimits of the district, provided same shall be necessary in order to\nsupply water within the district; and in connection with the purchase of\nsuch properties the authority may assume any obligations of the owner of\nsuch properties and, to the extent required by the terms of any\nindentures or other instruments under which such obligations were\nissued, the authority may assume and agree to perform covenants and\nobserve the restrictions contained in such instruments; and furthermore\nthe owner of any properties, which the authority is authorized to\nacquire, is hereby authorized to sell or otherwise transfer the same to\nthe authority, whereupon the authority shall become charged with the\nperformance of all public duties with respect to such properties with\nwhich such owner was charged and such owner shall become discharged from\nthe performance thereof, as a means of so acquiring for such purpose,\nthe authority may purchase all of the stock of any existing privately\nowned water corporation or company and in the case of a sale or other\ntransfer of properties of a public utility corporation pursuant to this\nprovision, upon the purchase of the stock of such corporation or company\nit shall be lawful to dissolve such corporation within a reasonable\ntime;\n 7. construct, improve or rehabilitate water supply facilities required\nfor the maintenance, development or expansion of water supply sources;\n 8. operate and manage and to contract for the operation and management\nof facilities of the authority;\n 9. enter into contracts, and carry out the terms thereof, for the\nwholesale provision of water produced by supply facilities constructed\nand operated by the authority, to municipalities and private water\ncompanies and to carry out the terms thereof, for the transmission of\nwater from new or existing supply facilities;\n 10. apply to the appropriate agencies and officials of the federal,\nstate and local governments for such licenses, permits or approvals of\nits plans or projects as it may deem necessary or advisable, and upon\nsuch terms and conditions as it may deem appropriate, to accept, in its\ndiscretion, such licenses, permits or approvals as may be tendered to it\nby such agencies and officials;\n 11. take all necessary and reasonable actions within the district to\nconserve, preserve and protect the water supply to the district,\nincluding the making of plans and studies, the adoption of watershed\nrules and regulations, the enforcing of compliance with all current and\nfuture rules and regulations of the state sanitary code with regard to\nwater supply and usage, the requiring of cross-connection controls, the\nproviding of educational material and programs to the public, and the\ncooperating with water suppliers outside the district to conserve,\npreserve and protect the entire water reserve as it is affected within\nand outside the authority's supply area;\n 12. retain or employ counsel, auditors, engineers and private\nconsultants on a contract basis or otherwise for rendering professional\nor technical services and advice;\n 13. make plans and studies necessary, convenient or desirable for the\neffectuation of the purposes and powers of the authority and to prepare\nrecommendations in regard thereto;\n 14. prepare a water supply emergency plan which shall include, but not\nbe limited to, the following:\n (a) establishment of criteria and procedures to determine critical\nwater levels or safe yield of system;\n (b) identification of existing and future sources of water under\nnormal conditions and emergency conditions;\n (c) system capacity and ability to meet peak demand and fire flows\nconcurrently;\n (d) storage capacities;\n (e) current condition of present interconnections and identification\nof additional interconnections to meet a water supply emergency;\n (f) specific action plan to be followed during a water supply\nemergency including a phased implementation of the plan;\n (g) general water conservation programs and water use reduction\nstrategies for water supply users;\n (h) prioritization of water users;\n (i) identification and availability of emergency equipment needed\nduring a water supply emergency; and\n (j) public notification program coordinated with the phased\nimplementation schedule; such plan shall not be adopted until a public\nhearing on such plan shall have been held, upon not less than fourteen\ndays' notice thereof to each customer, either by mail or by publication\nonce in a newspaper having general circulation within the district;\nevery five years, such plan shall be reviewed and revised if necessary\nafter a public hearing, with notice to each customer as aforesaid;\n 15. enter upon such lands, waters, or premises as in the judgment of\nthe authority shall be necessary for the purpose of making surveys,\nsoundings, borings and examinations to accomplish any purpose authorized\nby this title, the authority being liable only for actual damage done;\n 16. apply for and to accept any gifts or grants or loans of funds or\nproperty or financial or other aid in any form from the federal\ngovernment or any agency or instrumentality thereof, or from the state\nor any agency or instrumentality thereof, or from any other source, for\nany or all of the purposes specified in this title, and to comply,\nsubject to the provisions of this title, with the terms and conditions\nthereof;\n 17. obtain, store, treat, distribute, supply and sell water for\ndomestic, commercial and public purposes at retail to individual\nconsumers within the district;\n 18. purchase water from any municipal corporation, town water\ndistrict, person, association or corporation;\n 19. produce, develop, distribute and sell water or water services\nwithin or without the territorial limits of the district; provided,\nhowever, that water may be sold at retail to individual consumers only\nwithin the district and further provided that in exercising the powers\ngranted by this title, the authority shall not sell water in any area\nwhich is served by a water system owned or operated by a municipality or\nspecial improvement district unless the governing body of such\nmunicipality or district shall adopt a resolution requesting the\nauthority to sell water in such served areas;\n 20. make bylaws for the management and regulation of its affairs and\nrules and regulations for the conservation, preservation and protection\nof the authority's water supply and, subject to agreements with\nbondholders, rules for the sale of water and the collection of rents and\ncharges therefor. A copy of such rules, regulations and bylaws and any\nrules and regulations adopted pursuant to subdivision eleven of this\nsection, and all amendments thereto, duly certified by the secretary of\nthe authority shall be filed in the office of the municipalities within\nthe district and thereafter published once in a newspaper having general\ncirculation within the district. Violation of such rules and regulations\nshall be punishable by fine, not exceeding fifty dollars, or by\nimprisonment for not longer than thirty days, or both;\n 21. fix rates and collect charges for the use of the facilities of, or\nservices rendered by, or any commodities furnished by the authority such\nas to provide revenues sufficient at all times to pay, as the same shall\nbecome due, the principal and interest on the bonds, or other\nobligations of the authority together with the maintenance of proper\nreserves therefor, in addition to paying as the same shall become due,\nthe expense of operating and maintaining the properties of the authority\ntogether with proper maintenance reserves, capital reserves, repair\nreserves, tax stabilization reserves and other contingency reserves, and\nall other obligations and indebtedness of the authority; however, no\nsuch rates or charges shall be changed until a public hearing on such\nchanges shall have been held upon not less than fourteen days' notice\nthereof to each customer, either by mail or by publication once in a\nnewspaper having general circulation within the district;\n 22. enter into cooperative agreements with other authorities,\nmunicipalities, counties, cities, towns, villages, water districts,\nutility companies, individuals, firms or corporations, within or without\nthe territorial limits of the district for the interconnection of\nfacilities, the exchange or interchange of services and commodities, the\nconservation, preservation and protection of the authority's water\nreserve as it is affected within and outside the authority's supply\narea, and, within the territorial limits of the district, to enter into\na contract for the construction, operation and maintenance of a water\nsupply and distribution system by the authority for any municipality\nhaving power to construct and develop a water supply and distribution\nsystem, upon such terms and conditions as shall be determined to be\nreasonable including, but not limited to the reimbursement of all costs\nof such construction, or for any other lawful purposes necessary or\ndesirable to effect the purposes of this title;\n 23. provide for the discontinuance or disconnection of the supply of\nwater for nonpayment of fees, rates, rents or other charges therefor\nimposed by the authority, provided such discontinuance or disconnection\nof any supply of water shall not be carried out except in the manner and\nupon the notice as is required of a waterworks corporation pursuant to\nsubdivisions three-a, three-b and three-c of section eighty-nine-b and\nsection one hundred sixteen of the public service law;\n 24. contract for, provide and maintain such insurance as it deems\nnecessary or reasonable to:\n (a) secure and protect its real and personal property from fire, theft\nor other calamity or loss;\n (b) secure and protect it against liability imposed by law for damages\nor injuries to persons or property;\n (c) secure and protect it against any liability which may be imposed\npursuant to section eighteen of the public officers law; and\n (d) secure and protect it against any other liability, casualty or\nloss as it deems necessary or reasonable; and\n 25. do all things necessary, convenient or desirable to carry out its\npurposes and for the exercise of the powers granted in this title.\n