§ 1199-D — Powers of the authority

New York § 1199-D

• Jurisdiction: New York
• Law PBA: Public Authorities
• Title 8-D: Rensselaer County Water and Sewer Authority
• Art. 5: Public Utility Authorities

Text

§ 1199-d. Powers of the authority. The authority shall have the power:\n 1. To sue and be sued;\n 2. To have a seal and alter the same at pleasure;\n 3. To borrow money and issue bonds or other obligations and to provide\nfor the rights of the holders thereof;\n 4. To enter into contracts and to 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. To acquire, by purchase, gift, grant, transfer, contract or lease\nor by condemnation pursuant to the eminent domain procedure law, lease\nas lessee, hold, and use any real or personal property or any interest\ntherein, as the authority may deem necessary, convenient or desirable to\ncarry out the purpose of this title; provided however, that the\nauthority may not condemn real property of a municipality of the state\nunless such municipality shall consent thereto;\n 6. To purchase, in the name of the authority, any water facility or\nsewerage facility, and any improvements, extensions and betterments,\nsituated wholly within the district, provided, however, that the\nauthority shall have the power to purchase any source of supply, supply\nfacility or transmission facility or any part thereof situated wholly or\npartly without the territorial limits of the district, provided the same\nshall be necessary in order to supply water within the district; and in\nconnection with the purchase of such properties, the authority may\nassume any obligations of the owner of such properties and, to the\nextent required by the terms of any indentures or other instruments\nunder which such obligations were issued, the authority may assume and\nagree to perform covenants and observe the restrictions contained in\nsuch instruments; and furthermore the owner of any properties, which the\nauthority is authorized to acquire, is hereby authorized to sell or\notherwise transfer the same to the authority, whereupon the authority\nshall become charged with the performance of all public duties with\nrespect to such properties with which such owner was charged and such\nowner shall become discharged from the performance thereof, and as a\nmeans of so acquiring for such purpose, the authority may purchase all\nof the stock of any existing privately owned water corporation or\ncompany and in the case of a sale or other transfer of properties of a\npublic utility corporation pursuant to this provision, upon the purchase\nof the stock of such corporation or company it shall be lawful to\ndissolve such corporation within a reasonable time;\n 7. To construct, improve, maintain, develop, expand or rehabilitate\nwater facilities or sewerage facilities;\n 8. To operate and manage and to contract for the operation and\nmanagement of properties of the authority;\n 9. To 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. To enter into contracts with municipalities for the collection,\ntreatment and disposal of sewage;\n 11. To 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, and to accept, in\nits discretion, such licenses, permits or approvals as may be tendered\nto it by such agencies and officials;\n 12. To appoint such officers and employees as are required for the\nperformance of its duties, to fix and determine their qualifications,\nduties and compensation, and to retain or employ counsel, auditors,\nengineers and private consultants on a contract basis or otherwise for\nrendering professional or technical services and advice;\n 13. To make plans and studies necessary, convenient or desirable for\nthe effectuation of the purposes and powers of the authority and to\nprepare recommendations in regard thereto;\n 14. To 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 15. To apply for and to accept any gifts or grants or loans of funds\nor property 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 16. To supply and sell water for domestic, commercial and public\npurposes at retail to individual consumers within the district and to\ncollect, treat and discharge sewage produced for such purposes by such\ngenerators;\n 17. To purchase water in bulk from any person, private corporation or\nmunicipality when necessary or convenient for the operation of such\nwater system;\n 18. To produce, develop, distribute and sell water or sewerage\nservices within or without the territorial limits of the district; and\nto purchase water from any municipal corporation, town water district,\nperson, association or corporation; provided, however, that water and\nsewerage services 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 or sewerage\nservices in any area which is served by a water system or sewerage\nsystem owned or operated by a municipality or special improvement\ndistrict unless the governing body of such municipality or district\nshall adopt a resolution requesting the authority to sell water or\nsewerage services, as the case may be, in such served areas;\n 19. To make by-laws for the management and regulation of its affairs\nand subject to agreements with bondholders, rules for the sale of water\nor collection of sewage and the collection of rents and charges\ntherefor. A copy of such rules and by-laws, and all amendments thereto,\nduly certified by the secretary of the authority shall be filed in the\noffice of the county clerk of the county. In addition, the county\nlegislature by local law shall have power to prescribe that violation of\nspecific by-laws of the authority, published once in a newspaper having\na general circulation in the county, shall be punishable by fine, not\nexceeding fifty dollars, or by imprisonment for not longer than thirty\ndays, or both;\n 20. To fix rates and collect charges for the use of the facilities of,\nor services rendered by, or any commodities furnished by the authority\nsuch as to provide revenues sufficient at all times to pay, as the same\nshall become 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 reserves for maintenance, contingencies and all\nother obligations and indebtedness of the authority;\n 21. To enter into cooperative agreements with other authorities,\nmunicipalities, counties, towns, villages, water districts, utility\ncompanies, individuals, firms or corporations, within or without the\nterritorial limits of the district, for the interconnection of\nfacilities, the exchange or interchange of services and commodities, and\nwithin the territorial limits of the district to enter into a contract\nfor the construction and operation and maintenance of a water or\nsewerage system by the authority for any municipality having power to\nconstruct and develop a water or sewerage system, upon such terms and\nconditions as shall be determined to be reasonable including but not\nlimited to the reimbursement of all costs of such construction, or for\nany other lawful purposes necessary or desirable to effect the purposes\nof this title;\n 22. To provide for the discontinuance or disconnection of water or\nsewerage service, or both, as the case may be, for non-payment of fees,\nrates, rents or other charges therefor imposed by the authority,\nprovided such discontinuance or disconnection of any water or sewerage\nservice, or both, as the case may be, shall not be carried out except in\nthe manner and upon the notice as is required of a waterworks\ncorporation pursuant to subdivisions three-a, three-b and three-c of\nsection eighty-nine-b and section one hundred sixteen of the public\nservice law;\n 23. To act as a county water agency in accordance with the provisions\nof article five-A of the county law; and\n 24. To do all things necessary, convenient or desirable to carry out\nits purposes and for the exercise of the powers granted in this title.\n