Section 1174-F. Powers of the authority  


Latest version.
  • Except as otherwise limited by this
      title, the authority shall have the power to:
        1. sue and be sued;
        2. have a seal and alter the same at pleasure;
        3.  borrow  money and issue negotiable or non-negotiable notes, bonds,
      or other obligations and to  provide  for  the  rights  of  the  holders
      thereof;
        4.  enter  into  contracts  and  execute  all instruments necessary or
      convenient or desirable for the purposes of the authority to  carry  out
      any powers expressly given it in this title;
        5.  acquire,  by purchase, gift, grant, transfer, contract or lease or
      by condemnation pursuant to the eminent domain procedure law,  lease  as
      lessee, hold and use and to sell, lease as lessor, transfer or otherwise
      dispose  of,  any  real  or  personal  property or any interest therein,
      within or without the district, as the  authority  may  deem  necessary,
      convenient  or  desirable  to  carry  out  the  purpose  of  this title;
      provided, however, that the authority may not condemn real property of a
      municipality  without  the  consent  of  the  governing  body  of   such
      municipality;
        6.  purchase,  in  the name of the authority, any water supply system,
      including  plants,  works,  instrumentalities  or  parts   thereof   and
      appurtenances  thereto,  lands,  easements,  rights  in  land  and water
      rights, rights-of-way, contract rights, franchises, permits, approaches,
      connections, dams, wells, pumps, reservoirs, water mains and pipe lines,
      pumping stations, treatment facilities, meters, equipment and inventory,
      or any other property incidental to and included in such system or  part
      thereof,  and  any  improvements,  extensions  and betterments, situated
      wholly within the district, provided, however, that the authority  shall
      have  the power to purchase any source of supply, or water supply system
      or any part thereof situated wholly or partly  without  the  territorial
      limits  of  the  district,  provided same shall be necessary in order to
      supply water within the district; and in connection with the purchase of
      such properties the authority may assume any obligations of the owner of
      such properties and,  to  the  extent  required  by  the  terms  of  any
      indentures  or  other  instruments  under  which  such  obligations were
      issued, the authority may assume and  agree  to  perform  covenants  and
      observe  the restrictions contained in such instruments; and furthermore
      the owner of any  properties,  which  the  authority  is  authorized  to
      acquire,  is hereby authorized to sell or otherwise transfer the same to
      the authority, whereupon the authority shall  become  charged  with  the
      performance  of  all  public duties with respect to such properties with
      which such owner was charged and such owner shall become discharged from
      the performance thereof, as a means of so acquiring  for  such  purpose,
      the  authority  may  purchase all of the stock of any existing privately
      owned water corporation or company and in the case of a  sale  or  other
      transfer  of properties of a public utility corporation pursuant to this
      provision, upon the purchase of the stock of such corporation or company
      it shall be lawful to dissolve  such  corporation  within  a  reasonable
      time;
        7. construct, improve or rehabilitate water supply facilities required
      for the maintenance, development or expansion of water supply sources;
        8. operate and manage and to contract for the operation and management
      of facilities of the authority;
        9.  enter  into  contracts,  and  carry out the terms thereof, for the
      wholesale provision of water produced by supply  facilities  constructed
      and  operated  by  the  authority,  to  municipalities and private water
      companies and to carry out the terms thereof, for  the  transmission  of
      water from new or existing supply facilities;
    
        10.  apply  to  the appropriate agencies and officials of the federal,
      state and local governments for such licenses, permits or  approvals  of
      its  plans  or  projects as it may deem necessary or advisable, and upon
      such terms and conditions as it may deem appropriate, to accept, in  its
      discretion, such licenses, permits or approvals as may be tendered to it
      by such agencies and officials;
        11.  take  all necessary and reasonable actions within the district to
      conserve, preserve  and  protect  the  water  supply  to  the  district,
      including  the  making  of  plans and studies, the adoption of watershed
      rules and regulations, the enforcing of compliance with all current  and
      future  rules  and regulations of the state sanitary code with regard to
      water supply and usage, the requiring of cross-connection controls,  the
      providing  of  educational  material and programs to the public, and the
      cooperating with water  suppliers  outside  the  district  to  conserve,
      preserve  and  protect the entire water reserve as it is affected within
      and outside the authority's supply area;
        12.  retain  or  employ  counsel,  auditors,  engineers  and   private
      consultants  on a contract basis or otherwise for rendering professional
      or technical services and advice;
        13. make plans and studies necessary, convenient or desirable for  the
      effectuation  of the purposes and powers of the authority and to prepare
      recommendations in regard thereto;
        14. prepare a water supply emergency plan which shall include, but not
      be limited to, the following:
        (a) establishment of criteria and  procedures  to  determine  critical
      water levels or safe yield of system;
        (b)  identification  of  existing  and  future  sources of water under
      normal conditions and emergency conditions;
        (c) system capacity and ability to meet peak  demand  and  fire  flows
      concurrently;
        (d) storage capacities;
        (e)  current  condition of present interconnections and identification
      of additional interconnections to meet a water supply emergency;
        (f) specific  action  plan  to  be  followed  during  a  water  supply
      emergency including a phased implementation of the plan;
        (g)  general  water  conservation  programs  and  water  use reduction
      strategies for water supply users;
        (h) prioritization of water users;
        (i) identification and  availability  of  emergency  equipment  needed
      during a water supply emergency; and
        (j)   public   notification   program   coordinated  with  the  phased
      implementation schedule; such plan shall not be adopted until  a  public
      hearing  on  such plan shall have been held, upon not less than fourteen
      days' notice thereof to each customer, either by mail or by  publication
      once  in  a  newspaper  having  general circulation within the district;
      every five years, such plan shall be reviewed and revised  if  necessary
      after a public hearing, with notice to each customer as aforesaid;
        15.  enter  upon such lands, waters, or premises as in the judgment of
      the authority shall be necessary for  the  purpose  of  making  surveys,
      soundings, borings and examinations to accomplish any purpose authorized
      by this title, the authority being liable only for actual damage done;
        16.  apply  for and to accept any gifts or grants or loans of funds or
      property or financial  or  other  aid  in  any  form  from  the  federal
      government  or  any agency or instrumentality thereof, or from the state
      or any agency or instrumentality thereof, or from any other source,  for
      any  or  all  of  the  purposes  specified in this title, and to comply,
      subject to the provisions of this title, with the terms  and  conditions
      thereof;
    
        17.  obtain,  store,  treat,  distribute,  supply  and  sell water for
      domestic,  commercial  and  public  purposes  at  retail  to  individual
      consumers within the district;
        18.   purchase  water  from  any  municipal  corporation,  town  water
      district, person, association or corporation;
        19. produce, develop, distribute and  sell  water  or  water  services
      within  or  without  the  territorial  limits of the district; provided,
      however, that water may be sold at retail to individual  consumers  only
      within  the  district and further provided that in exercising the powers
      granted by this title, the authority shall not sell water  in  any  area
      which is served by a water system owned or operated by a municipality or
      special   improvement   district  unless  the  governing  body  of  such
      municipality  or  district  shall  adopt  a  resolution  requesting  the
      authority to sell water in such served areas;
        20.  make  bylaws for the management and regulation of its affairs and
      rules and regulations for the conservation, preservation and  protection
      of  the  authority's  water  supply  and,  subject  to  agreements  with
      bondholders, rules for the sale of water and the collection of rents and
      charges therefor. A copy of such rules, regulations and bylaws  and  any
      rules  and  regulations  adopted  pursuant to subdivision eleven of this
      section, and all amendments thereto, duly certified by the secretary  of
      the  authority shall be filed in the office of the municipalities within
      the district and thereafter published once in a newspaper having general
      circulation within the district. Violation of such rules and regulations
      shall be  punishable  by  fine,  not  exceeding  fifty  dollars,  or  by
      imprisonment for not longer than thirty days, or both;
        21. fix rates and collect charges for the use of the facilities of, or
      services rendered by, or any commodities furnished by the authority such
      as to provide revenues sufficient at all times to pay, as the same shall
      become   due,  the  principal  and  interest  on  the  bonds,  or  other
      obligations of the authority together with  the  maintenance  of  proper
      reserves  therefor,  in addition to paying as the same shall become due,
      the expense of operating and maintaining the properties of the authority
      together with proper  maintenance  reserves,  capital  reserves,  repair
      reserves, tax stabilization reserves and other contingency reserves, and
      all  other  obligations  and  indebtedness of the authority; however, no
      such rates or charges shall be changed until a public  hearing  on  such
      changes  shall  have  been held upon not less than fourteen days' notice
      thereof to each customer, either by mail or by  publication  once  in  a
      newspaper having general circulation within the district;
        22.   enter   into  cooperative  agreements  with  other  authorities,
      municipalities, counties,  cities,  towns,  villages,  water  districts,
      utility companies, individuals, firms or corporations, within or without
      the  territorial  limits  of  the  district  for  the interconnection of
      facilities, the exchange or interchange of services and commodities, the
      conservation, preservation  and  protection  of  the  authority's  water
      reserve  as  it  is  affected  within and outside the authority's supply
      area, and, within the territorial limits of the district, to enter  into
      a  contract  for  the construction, operation and maintenance of a water
      supply and distribution system by the  authority  for  any  municipality
      having  power  to  construct and develop a water supply and distribution
      system, upon such terms and conditions as  shall  be  determined  to  be
      reasonable  including, but not limited to the reimbursement of all costs
      of such construction, or for any  other  lawful  purposes  necessary  or
      desirable to effect the purposes of this title;
        23.  provide  for the discontinuance or disconnection of the supply of
      water for nonpayment of fees, rates, rents  or  other  charges  therefor
      imposed  by the authority, provided such discontinuance or disconnection
    
      of any supply of water shall not be carried out except in the manner and
      upon the notice as is required of a waterworks corporation  pursuant  to
      subdivisions  three-a,  three-b and three-c of section eighty-nine-b and
      section one hundred sixteen of the public service law;
        24.  contract  for,  provide  and  maintain such insurance as it deems
      necessary or reasonable to:
        (a) secure and protect its real and personal property from fire, theft
      or other calamity or loss;
        (b) secure and protect it against liability imposed by law for damages
      or injuries to persons or property;
        (c) secure and protect it against any liability which may  be  imposed
      pursuant to section eighteen of the public officers law; and
        (d)  secure  and  protect  it against any other liability, casualty or
      loss as it deems necessary or reasonable; and
        25. do all things necessary, convenient or desirable to carry out  its
      purposes and for the exercise of the powers granted in this title.