§ 41-10-113 — Powers of district board

Wyoming § 41-10-113

• Jurisdiction: Wyoming
• Title 41: Water
• Ch. 10: WATER AND SEWER DISTRICT LAW

Text

(a) For and on behalf of the district the board of any
district shall have the following powers:
(i) To have perpetual existence;
(ii) To have and use a corporate seal;
(iii) To sue and be sued, and be a party to suits,
actions and proceedings;
(iv) In the case of a sewer district or water and
sewer district, to prepare or cause to be prepared and to revise
and adopt plans, designs, and estimates of costs, of a system or
systems of outfall sewers, trunks, mains, submains,
interceptors, lateral sewers, outlets for sewerage, storm water
drains, pumping and ventilating stations, disposal and treatment
plants and works, and any and all other structures, systems,
works, and things, which, in the judgment of the board, will
provide an effective and advantageous means for insuring the
area within such district of adequate sanitary disposal and
treatment of the sewage thereof, or such section or parts of
such system or systems as the board may from time to time deem
proper or convenient to construct, consistent with the purposes
of this act, and to take any and all such steps as the board may
deem proper and necessary to effect the purposes hereof;
(v) In the case of a sewer district or water and
sewer district, to establish, own, construct, improve, lease,
operate, and maintain, as part of the sewer and drainage system
or systems of the district, sewage treatment and disposal plants
and systems and all appurtenances and appliances thereunto
belonging, and to sell any product or by-product manufactured in
the course of sewage treatment;
(vi) In the case of a sewer district or water and
sewer district, to enter into and perform contracts, whether
long-term or short-term, with any establishment, whether within
or without the district, for the provision and operation by the
district of sewerage facilities to abate or reduce the pollution
of waters caused by discharges of wastes by such establishment,
and the payment periodically by such establishment of the
district of amounts at least sufficient to compensate the
district for the cost of providing (including payment of
principal and interest charges, if any) and operating and
maintaining the sewerage facilities serving such establishment;
(vii) In the case of a sewer district or water and
sewer district, to acquire an appropriate outlet within or
without the district and to extend its sewer lines thereto;
(viii) In the case of a water district or water and
sewer district, to prepare or cause to be prepared and to revise
and adopt plans, designs, and estimates of costs, of a system or
systems of raw and clear water and distribution storage
reservoirs, deep and shallow wells, pumping and gauging
stations, tunnels, flumes, conduits, canals, infiltration
galleries, hydrants, meters, filtration and treatment plants and
works, and any and all other structures, systems, works and
things which, in the judgment of the board, will provide an
effective and advantageous means for insuring the territory
within such district of an adequate supply of domestic water, or
such sections or parts of such system or systems as the board
may from time to time deem proper or convenient to construct,
consistent with the purposes of this act, and to take any and
all such steps as the board may deem proper and necessary to
effect the purposes hereof consistent with the appropriation
laws and the uses prescribed by statute;
(ix) In the case of a water district or water and
sewer district, to establish, own, construct, improve, lease,
operate and maintain, as part of the water system or systems of
the district, water treatment plants and systems and all
appurtenances and appliances thereunto belonging;
(x) In the case of a water district or water and
sewer district, to appropriate and otherwise acquire sources of
supply of water within and without the district and to extend
its water lines thereto;
(xi) Except as otherwise provided in this act, to
enter into contracts and agreements affecting the affairs of the
district, including but not limited to contracts with the United
States of America and any of its agencies or instrumentalities,
and contracts with any municipality or district for the
operation of a common or jointly owned project. Any improvement
of any nature made in any district where the entire cost, value
or amount of such work including labor and materials shall
exceed seventy-five thousand dollars ($75,000.00), except such
work done by employees of the district with supplies and
materials purchased by it as hereinafter provided or except by
labor or supplies and materials, or all of such, supplied under
agreement with the United States of America, the state of
Wyoming, or any federal or state agency, instrumentality or
corporation, or other political subdivision, shall be done only
under independent contract to be entered into by the district
with the lowest responsible bidder submitting the lowest and
best bid upon proper terms after due public notice by
publication has been given asking for competitive bids. The
district shall have the right to reject any and all bids and to
waive any irregularity in any bid. Any contract may be let on a
lump sum or unit basis. No contract shall be entered into for
such work unless the contractor shall give an undertaking with a
sufficient surety or sureties approved by the board and in an
amount fixed by the board for the faithful performance of the
contract. Upon default in the performance of any contract, the
proper official may advertise and relet the remainder of the
work without further resolution and deduct the cost from the
original contract price and recover any excess cost by suit on
the original bond, or otherwise. The district shall have the
power to make any improvement, or portion thereof, in any
district, directly by the officers, agents and employees of the
district, with supplies and materials purchased or otherwise
acquired therefor. All supplies, materials, equipment, machinery
and apparatus purchased by the board for any district (but not
by a contractor) costing seventy-five thousand dollars
($75,000.00) or more shall be purchased only after notice by
publication for competitive bids. The district shall accept the
lowest bid, kind, quality and material being equal, but the
district shall have the right to reject any and all bids, to
waive any irregularity in any bid, and to select a single item
from any bid. The bidding requirements of this paragraph shall
not apply to the purchase of patented and manufactured products
offered for sale in a noncompetitive market or solely by a
manufacturer's authorized dealer;
(xii) To borrow money and incur indebtedness and
other obligations and evidence the same by certificates, notes
or debentures, and to issue bonds, in accordance with the
provisions of this act;
(xiii) To acquire, dispose of and encumber real and
personal property, water, water rights, water and sewer works
and plants, and any interest therein, including leases,
easements, and revenues derived from the operation thereof. The
constitutional and inherent powers of the legislature are hereby
delegated to the board for the acquisition, disposal and
encumbrance of property provided that the board shall in no case
receive title to property already devoted to public purpose or
use, except with the consent of the owners of such property, and
except upon approval of a majority of the board;
(xiv) To enter on any lands, waters and premises for
the purposes of making surveys, soundings, examinations, tests
and inspections;
(xv) To consult with the state department of health
about any system or proposed system of water supply, drainage or
sewage, as to the most appropriate source of water supply and
the best method of assuring its purity, or as to the best method
of disposing of the district's drainage or sewage with reference
to the existing and future needs of other cities, towns,
districts or other persons which may be affected thereby; and to
submit to the department of health for its advice and approval
the district's proposed system of water supply or of the
disposal of drainage or sewage. No district shall proceed to
acquire or improve any system of water supply, drainage or
sewage disposal without first obtaining the approval of the
state department of health. In this subsection the term
"drainage" means rainfall, surface and subsoil water only, and
"sewage" means domestic and industrial filth and waste;
(xvi) To have the management, control and supervision
of all the business and affairs of the district, and the
acquisition, improvement, equipment, operation and maintenance
of any district project;
(xvii) To hire and retain agents, employees,
servants, engineers and attorneys, and any other persons
necessary or desirable to effect the purposes of this act;
(xviii) To prescribe the duties of officers, agents,
employees and servants, and fix their compensation provided that
the compensation of district employees and officers shall be
established as prevailing rates of pay for equivalent work;
(xix) To have and exercise the power of eminent
domain and dominant eminent domain and in the manner provided by
law for the condemnation by a city of private property for
public use to take any property necessary to the exercise of the
powers granted, both within and without the district;
(xx) To construct and maintain works and establish
and maintain facilities across or along any public street and
in, upon, or over any vacant public lands which are now or may
become the property of the state of Wyoming, and to construct
works and establish and maintain facilities across any stream of
water or watercourse. The district shall promptly restore the
street to its former state of usefulness as nearly as possible,
and shall not completely or unnecessarily impair its usefulness.
Whenever it is necessary, in making any improvements under the
provisions of this act, to enter upon or cross any property of
the state acquired for and utilized in the operation and
maintenance of a state highway, the district shall have the
right-of-way over the same by filing a plat of the lands and of
its proposed improvements with the state department of
transportation and acquiring a license from the department. The
license shall provide that the utility facility will be
constructed in a manner to conform with applicable federal,
state or local laws, codes and ordinances and as directed by the
state department of transportation;
(xxi) To fix and from time to time to increase or
decrease water and sewer rates, tolls or charges, including but
not necessarily limited to use charges, connection fees and
standby charges, for services or facilities furnished by the
district, and to pledge such revenue for the payment of any
indebtedness of the district. Until paid, all rates, tolls or
charges shall constitute a perpetual lien on and against the
property served, and any such lien may be foreclosed in the same
manner as provided by the laws of the state of Wyoming for the
foreclosure of mechanics' liens. Before any such lien is
foreclosed the district shall hold a hearing thereon after
notice thereof by publication and by registered first class
mail, postage prepaid, addressed to the last known owner at his
last known address according to the records of the district and
the real property assessment roll in the county in which the
property is located. The board shall shut off or discontinue
service for delinquencies in the payment of such rates, tolls or
charges, or in the payment of taxes or assessments levied
pursuant to this act, and prescribe and enforce rules and
regulations for the connection with and the disconnection from
properties of the facilities of the district. For health and
sanitary purposes the board shall have the power to compel the
owners of inhabited property within a sewer district to connect
their property with the sewer system of such district and upon a
failure so to connect within sixty (60) days after such written,
mailed notice by the board so to do the board may cause such
connection to be made and a lien to be filed against the
property for the expense incurred in making such connection. No
owner shall be compelled to connect his property with such
system unless a service line is brought, by the district, to a
point within four hundred (400) feet of his dwelling place;
(xxii) To adopt and amend bylaws, not in conflict
with the constitution and laws of the state for carrying on the
business, objects and affairs of the board and of the district.
These bylaws shall be filed with the county clerk for each
county in which the district is located;
(xxiii) To have and exercise all rights and powers
necessary or incidental to or implied from the specific powers
granted in this act. Such specific powers shall not be
considered as a limitation upon any power necessary or
appropriate to carry out the purposes and intent of this act;
(xxiv) When a district abuts a city or town and when
all of its indebtedness has been fully paid or satisfied, to
convey to such city or town with the consent of the governing
authority thereof, all of the property of such district upon the
condition that such city or town will operate and maintain such
property regardless of whether the area comprising the district
is annexed to the municipality. Upon such conveyance the
district shall be dissolved and a certificate to such effect
shall be signed by the clerical officer of the city or town and
filed with the secretary of state and any county clerk and
recorder of any county in which the order establishing the
district is filed;
(xxv) When two (2) or more districts are using the
same or joint facilities and when the obligations of each
district are fully paid or satisfied, to consolidate such
districts into one (1). In such an event the consolidated
district shall be under the control of a joint board consisting
of the members of each board, until by the occurrence of
vacancies or expiration of terms of office the board is reduced
to five (5) members. Thereafter the members of the board shall
be elected as provided in W.S. 41-10-112;
(xxvi) If a boundary of a district is contiguous with
the corporate boundary of a city or town, a district may
contract with a city or town to supply water or to provide
sanitary sewer or other services for which the district was
organized to property within the city or town, if it is
economically feasible in the opinion of the board. Any water
service shall be accomplished in strict adherence with the water
rights held by the district, or as such rights may be amended or
enlarged under procedures of law provided in title 41 of the
Wyoming statutes through the state engineer. The board may
finance the extension and maintenance of the water or sewer
system through revenue bonds or other means granted by law for
financing the service. A one-time connection fee or system
investment fee reasonably calculated to permit recovery of a
proportionate share of the system infrastructure cost necessary
to treat, deliver or transport the water or sewer may also be
charged. A one-time fee may also be charged to recover
reasonable expenses incurred by the district in determining the
actual costs necessary to treat, deliver or transport the water
or sewer to the point of connection. The district board may
establish one (1) or more service areas outside the district in
each of which an average rate may be used for all customers.
Charges for special services such as line installation and
maintenance shall be in addition to the water or sewer rate.
The rate established for use of water or sewer pursuant to this
section is as follows:
(A) A district which at any time after April 1,
1999, enters into a contract to serve property within a
contiguous city or town outside of its district boundaries shall
establish rates, tolls and charges that are no less than the
rates, tolls and charges charged for the same or similar service
within the district and that do not exceed the actual costs of
treating, delivering or transporting the water or sewer to the
point of connection. As used in this paragraph, "actual costs"
of treating, delivering or transporting water or sewerage shall
include a proportionate share of the following costs related to
the water or sewer system:
(I) Fees, interest charges and principal
payments on all bonds issued and other indebtedness incurred to
construct, purchase or improve the system;
(II) Salaries and wages of employees;
(III) The cost of materials, supplies,
utilities and outside services;
(IV) Other costs directly related to the
water delivery or sewer system;
(V) The cost for providing and maintaining
a depreciation fund, a fund for emergencies and a fund for
acquisition and development of new water rights and water
sources;
(VI) Administrative and overhead expenses;
and
(VII) The cost of acquiring, treating,
delivering or transporting water or sewer.