§ 1199-EEE — Powers of the authority

New York § 1199-EEE

• Jurisdiction: New York
• Law PBA: Public Authorities
• Title 8-F: Saratoga County Water Authority
• Art. 5: Public Utility Authorities

Text

§ 1199-eee. Powers of the authority. Except as otherwise limited by\nthis title, 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 negotiable or non-negotiable notes,\nbonds, or other obligations and to provide for the rights of the holders\nthereof;\n 4. To 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. To acquire, by purchase, gift, grant, transfer, contract or lease\nor by condemnation pursuant to the eminent domain procedure law within\nthe district, lease as lessee, hold and use and to sell, lease as\nlessor, transfer or otherwise dispose of, any real or personal property\nor any interest therein, within or without the district, as the\nauthority may deem necessary, convenient or desirable to carry out the\npurpose of this title and to pay the costs thereof; provided, however,\nthat the authority may not condemn real property of a municipality\nwithout the consent of the governing body of such municipality.\nProvided, however, notwithstanding any provision of the eminent domain\nprocedure law to the contrary, in any proceeding brought by the\nauthority to condemn real property pursuant to such law, title shall\nvest in the authority and compensation shall be paid only upon (a) a\ndecision by the supreme court that compensation for the real property\ncondemned shall be determined solely by the income capitalization method\nof valuation based on the actual net income as allowed by the public\nservice commission, and (b) such supreme court's determination that the\namount of such compensation shall be based on the income capitalization\nmethod, entry of a final judgment, the filing of the final decree and\nthe conclusion of any appeal or the expiration of the time to file an\nappeal related to the condemnation proceeding. If any court shall\nutilize any method of compensation other than the income capitalization\nmethod, or if the proposed compensation is more than the rate base of\nthe assets taken in condemnation, as utilized by the public service\ncommission in setting rates and as certified by such commission, then\nthe authority may withdraw the condemnation proceeding without prejudice\nor costs to any party;\n 6. To purchase, in the name of the authority, any water facility,\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 and to pay the costs thereof; provided,\nhowever, that the authority shall have the power to purchase any source\nof supply, supply facility, water supply system, or transmission\nfacility or any part thereof situated wholly or partly without the\nterritorial limits of the district, provided the same shall be necessary\nin order to supply water within the district; and in connection with the\npurchase of such properties the authority may assume any obligations of\nthe owner of such properties, and, to the extent required by the terms\nof any indentures 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 thereof, and 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. To construct, improve, maintain, develop, expand or rehabilitate\nwater facilities and to pay the costs thereof;\n 8. To operate and manage and to contract for the operation and\nmanagement of facilities or property 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,\nowned or 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 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. To take all necessary and reasonable actions within the district\nto conserve, 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 of New York, its agencies and\ndepartments with regard to water supply and usage, the requiring of\ncross-connection controls, the providing of educational material and\nprograms to the public, and the cooperating with water suppliers outside\nthe district to conserve, preserve and protect the entire water reserve\nas it is affected within and outside the authority's supply area;\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. With the consent of the governing body of a municipality, to use\nofficers and employees of such municipality and to pay a proper\nproportion of the compensation or costs for the services for such\nofficers or employees;\n 14. 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 15. To prepare a water supply emergency plan which may include, but\nnot be 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 16. 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 17. 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 18. To obtain, store, treat, distribute, supply and sell water for\ndomestic, commercial and public purposes at retail to individual\nconsumers within the district;\n 19. To purchase water in bulk from any person, private or public\nbenefit corporation or municipality when necessary or convenient for the\noperation of such water system;\n 20. To produce, develop, distribute and sell water or water services\nwithin or without the territorial limits of the district; and to\npurchase water from any municipality, town water district, person,\nassociation or corporation, provided, however, that water may be sold at\nretail to individual consumers only within the district and further\nprovided that in exercising the powers granted by this title, the\nauthority shall not sell water in any area which is served by a water\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 in such\nserved areas;\n 21. To make bylaws for the management and regulation of its affairs\nand rules and regulations for the conservation, preservation, protection\nand distribution of the authority's water supply and, subject to\nagreements with bondholders, rules for the sale of water and the\ncollection of rents and charges therefor. A copy of such rules,\nregulations and bylaws and any rules and regulations adopted pursuant to\nsubdivision eleven of this section, and all amendments thereto, duly\ncertified by the secretary of the authority shall be filed in the office\nof the county clerk of the county. In addition, the board of supervisors\nby local law shall have power to prescribe that violation of specific\nbylaws, rules, or rules and regulations of the authority, published once\nin a newspaper having general circulation within the county, shall be\npunishable by fine, not exceeding one hundred dollars, or by\nimprisonment for not longer than fifteen days, or both;\n 22. 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 of and interest on the bonds, notes, or\nother obligations of the authority together with the maintenance of\nproper reserves therefor, in addition to paying as the same shall become\ndue, the expense of operating and maintaining the properties of the\nauthority together with proper maintenance reserves, capital reserves,\nrepair reserves, tax stabilization reserves and other contingency\nreserves, and all other obligations and indebtedness of the authority;\nhowever, no such rates or charges shall be changed until a public\nhearing on such changes 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;\n 23. To 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 provision, exchange or interchange of services and\ncommodities, the conservation, preservation and protection of the\nauthority's supply area, and, within the territorial limits of the\ndistrict, to enter into a contract for the construction, operation and\nmaintenance of a water supply and distribution system by the authority\nfor any municipality, upon such terms and conditions as shall be\ndetermined to be reasonable including, but not limited to, the\nreimbursement of all costs of such construction, or for any other lawful\npurposes necessary or desirable to effect the purposes of this title;\n 24. To provide for the discontinuance or disconnection of the supply\nof water 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 25. To act as a county water agency, pursuant to the provisions of\narticle five-A of the county law; and\n 26. To do all things necessary, convenient or desirable to carry out\nits purposes and for all exercise of the powers granted in this title.\n