Sec. 22a-501. Regional water pollution control authorities: Powers.
Sec. 22a-501. Regional water pollution control authorities: Powers. (a) An authority created pursuant to section 22a-500 may:
(1) Make and revise bylaws and rules governing the administration of its property
and the conduct of its affairs and may revise its plan of operation to better fulfill the
purposes of sections 22a-500 to 22a-519, inclusive. A copy of all bylaws, and amendments thereto, duly certified, shall be filed in the offices of the clerks of the constituent
municipalities and with the Secretary of the State. Any revision of the bylaws of an
authority shall be initiated by the adoption of a resolution by a two-thirds vote of the
entire board of directors of such authority and such resolution shall contain the complete
draft of such revision;
(2) Establish offices where necessary in any constituent municipality or the region;
(3) Employ a staff and fix their duties, compensation and benefits;
(4) Have a seal;
(5) Contract and be contracted with, sue and be sued and institute, prosecute, maintain and defend any action or proceeding in any court or before any agency or tribunal
of competent jurisdiction;
(6) Retain by contract or employ legal counsel, accountants, engineers, private consultants and other professional advisers;
(7) Conduct such hearings, examinations and investigations as may be necessary
or convenient to the conduct of its operations and the fulfillment of its responsibilities;
(8) Obtain access to public records and apply for the process of subpoena if necessary to produce books, papers, records and other data;
(9) Establish and impose fees, rates, charges and penalties and levy assessments on
property benefited by the wastewater system of such authority, including municipal
users and property owned by any municipality, including without limitation a constituent
municipality, in accordance with sections 22a-500 to 22a-519, inclusive, for the services
it performs and waive, suspend, reduce or otherwise modify such fees, rates, charges,
penalties or assessments provided each such fee, rate, charge, penalty or assessment
shall apply uniformly to all users and benefited properties within the constituent municipalities with respect to a given type or category of wastewater, in accordance with criteria
established by the authority, and further provided no change may be made in user fees
without at least sixty days prior notice to the users affected thereby;
(10) Purchase, lease or otherwise acquire the right to use such real and personal
property and any interest in such property as it may deem necessary or convenient;
(11) Appoint such advisory councils as it may deem advisable to benefit the people
of a constituent municipality within the region of the authority or the region generally;
(12) Own, manage and use real property or any interest therein;
(13) Determine the location and character of any wastewater system to be developed
under the provisions of sections 22a-500 to 22a-519, inclusive, subject to applicable
statutes and regulations, and establish a wastewater treatment and disposal system;
(14) Purchase, receive by gift or otherwise, lease, exchange or otherwise acquire
and construct, reconstruct, improve, maintain, equip and furnish any wastewater system
as required by the Commissioner of Environmental Protection or this chapter;
(15) Sell or lease to any person all or any portion of a wastewater system of the
authority whenever, in the opinion of the authority, such action is deemed to be in
furtherance of the purposes of sections 22a-500 to 22a-519, inclusive;
(16) Mortgage or otherwise encumber all or any portion of the authority whenever,
in the opinion of the authority, such action is deemed to be in furtherance of the purposes
of sections 22a-500 to 22a-519, inclusive;
(17) Grant options to purchase, or to renew a lease for, any wastewater system of
the authority on such terms as the authority may determine to be reasonable;
(18) Acquire, by purchase, gift, transfer or by condemnation for public purposes,
and manage and operate, hold and dispose of real property and, subject to agreements
with lessors or lessees, develop or alter such property by making improvements and
betterments with the purpose of enhancing the value and usefulness of such property;
(19) Make plans, surveys, studies and investigations necessary or desirable in conformity with the state plan and the plan of operation of such authority;
(20) Design or provide for the design of any wastewater system of the authority,
including design for the alteration, reconstruction, improvement, enlargement or extension of any existing wastewater system acquired by such authority;
(21) Construct, erect, build, acquire, alter, reconstruct, improve, enlarge or extend
any wastewater system of the authority including provision for the inspection and supervision thereof and the engineering, architectural, legal, fiscal and economic investigations and studies, surveys, designs, plans, working drawings, specifications, procedures
and any other actions incidental thereto;
(22) Open the ground in any public street or way or public grounds for the purpose
of laying, installing, maintaining or replacing pipes and conduits provided the grounds
shall be restored to their previous conditions upon the completion of such work;
(23) Own, operate and maintain the wastewater systems of the authority and make
provision for their management;
(24) Enter upon lands and waters, as may be necessary, to make surveys, soundings,
borings and examinations in order to accomplish the purposes of sections 22a-500 to
22a-519, inclusive;
(25) Contract with municipalities, municipal, state and regional authorities, and
state and federal agencies to provide waste management and water pollution control
services in accordance with the provisions of sections 22a-500 to 22a-519, inclusive,
and to plan, design, construct, manage, operate and maintain facilities on their behalf;
(26) Design and construct improvements or alterations on properties which it owns
or which it operates by contract on behalf of other municipal or regional authority, state
agency or municipality, including without limitation any constituent municipality, and
restore sewers to beneficial public or private use;
(27) Contract for architectural, engineering and design, and construction supervision, wastewater system management and facility management services, and for such
other professional or technical services as may require either the prequalification of a
contractor or the submission by any individual, firm or consortium or association of
individuals or firms of a proposal in response to an official request for proposal or similar
written communication of such authority, deemed necessary, desirable or convenient
in carrying out the purposes of such authority;
(28) Contract for the construction, operation or management of wastewater systems
of the authority with private persons or firms, or consortia of such persons or firms,
pursuant to applicable provisions of sections 22a-500 to 22a-519, inclusive, the requirements of applicable regulations and the state plan and in accordance with such specifications, terms and conditions as the authority may deem necessary or advisable;
(29) Accept gifts, grants or loans of funds, property or service from any source,
public or private, and comply, subject to the provisions of sections 22a-500 to 22a-519,
inclusive, with the terms and conditions thereof;
(30) Receive funds from the sale of the authority's bonds and of its real and personal
properties;
(31) Contract for and receive revenues in the form of rents, fees and charges paid
by units or agencies of any municipality, including without limitation any constituent
municipality, by the state and by any private person or entity, to compensate the authority
for the use of its facilities or the performance of its services;
(32) Accept from the state and any federal agency any loan or grant for use in
carrying out its purposes and enter into agreements with such agency respecting any
such loan or grant;
(33) Make a loan of the proceeds of its bonds, notes or other funds to any private
person or entity, any municipality, including without limitation any constituent municipality, any municipal authority, any state agency or authority or any regional authority
for the planning, design, acquisition, construction, reconstruction, improvement, equipping and furnishing of a wastewater system of the authority, which loans may be secured
by loan agreements, contracts or any other instruments or agreements containing such
terms and conditions as the authority shall determine necessary or desirable, including
provisions for the establishment and maintenance of reserve funds, and for the construction, use, operation and maintenance and the payment of operating and other costs of a
wastewater system. In connection with the making of any such loan, an authority may
purchase, acquire and take assignments of any note or bond of any municipality, including without limitation any constituent municipality, any municipal, state or regional
authority and any private entity or person and may receive other forms of security and
evidence of indebtedness, and in furtherance of the purposes of sections 22a-500 to 22a-519, inclusive, and in order to assure the payment of the principal of and interest on
such loans, and in order to assure the payment of the principal of and interest on bonds
of the authority issued to provide funding for such loans, may attach, seize, purchase,
acquire, accept or take title to any wastewater system, and may sell, lease or rent any
wastewater system for a use specified in sections 22a-500 to 22a-519, inclusive;
(34) Indemnify and hold harmless any person in connection with the financing of
a wastewater system;
(35) In connection with the sale, purchase, receipt, lease, exchange, other disposition, acquisition, improvement or expansion of a wastewater system of the authority or
of real property, indemnify and hold harmless any person or entity including, without
limitation, indemnification against taxation by the federal and state governments respecting any state or local property taxes and any realization of tax benefits or incentives
associated with ownership of a wastewater system or of real property; and
(36) Otherwise do all things necessary for the performance of its duties, the fulfillment of its obligations, the conduct of its operations and the maintenance of its working
relationships with the state, other municipalities, regions and persons.
(b) An authority shall have the powers accorded to and the duties of a municipality
or a municipal authority under the general statutes for the purpose of assessing benefits;
imposing rates, fees, fines, and charges; issuing orders to connect; collecting assessments, rates, fees, fines and charges; and receiving grants and loans under the Clean
Water Fund.
(c) Any authority created under section 22a-500 shall have all powers necessary to
fulfill the purposes of sections 22a-500 to 22a-519, inclusive, and to carry out its assigned
responsibilities and that the provisions of sections 22a-500 to 22a-519, inclusive, are
to be construed liberally in furtherance of such purposes. The constituent municipalities
of any authority shall be deemed to have delegated to such authority all of their respective
municipal powers consistent with the preliminary and final plan of operation and necessary and convenient to own and operate a water pollution control system and an authority
shall have all of the powers of a municipality and a municipal water pollution control
authority necessary and convenient to fulfill the purposes of sections 22a-500 to 22a-519, inclusive, to conduct a comprehensive program for water pollution control and for
water pollution control management services in accordance with applicable law.
(d) Any contracts authorized by sections 22a-500 to 22a-519, inclusive, to be entered into by an authority may be entered into on either a negotiated or an open-bid
basis, and the authority in its discretion may select the type of contract it deems most
prudent, considering the scope of work, the management complexities associated therewith, the extent of current and future technological development requirements and the
best interests of the region. The terms and conditions of such contracts and the fees or
other compensation to be paid to any contracting persons pursuant to such contracts
shall be determined by the authority.
(P.A. 95-329, S. 11, 31.)
History: P.A. 95-329, S. 11 effective July 13, 1995.