1197-E - Powers of the authority.
§ 1197-e. Powers of the authority. 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, but within the territorial limits of the town of North Hempstead, 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 disconnectionof 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 for 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.