2052-E - Powers of the authority.
* § 2052-e. Powers of the authority. The authority shall have the power: 1. To sue and be sued. 2. To have a seal and alter the same. 3. To acquire in the name of the authority, hold, sell, lease, mortgage or otherwise dispose of property, real, personal or mixed, or any interest therein, without limitation, for its corporate purposes. 4. To take by eminent domain, in the name of the authority, pursuant to the eminent domain procedure law, any real property within the area of operation required by the authority to carry out the powers granted by this title. 5. To collect, receive, transport, process, dispose of, sell, store, convey, recycle and deal with, in any lawful manner and way, solid waste and any products or byproducts thereof now or hereafter developed or discovered, including any energy generated by the operation of any solid waste management facility. Any such disposal or sale may be effected on such terms and in such manner as the authority may deem proper; provided, however, that in the acquisition of any real property designated as the site for any facility, the authority shall give consideration to the present and any proposed land use character of the area in which the site is to be located and zoning laws or regulations, if any, otherwise generally applicable to such area. The authority shall not determine to construct a facility within its area of operation without approval of the proposed location of the facility by a unanimous vote of the governing body of the authority. The authority shall not determine to construct a facility outside of its area of operation without the approval of the solid waste management planning unit (as that term is defined in section 27-0107 of the environmental conservation law) responsible for the municipality in which such facility is to be constructed and without the approval of the chief executive officer and local legislative body of such municipality. 6. To plan, develop and construct projects and to pay the cost thereof and to have the right to contract in relation thereto with the towns or other municipalities or persons within or without the area of operation and to own and operate, maintain, repair, improve, reconstruct, enlarge and extend, subject to the provisions of this title, any of its projects acquired or constructed under this title, to enter into contracts for any and all such purposes and for the management and operation of a project, and to sell, lease, mortgage or otherwise dispose of any project or part thereof to any person or public corporation, municipality or the state, subject to such conditions and limitations as the authority may determine to be in the public interest. 7. To assist in the planning, development and construction of and the financing of the cost of any solid waste management facility to be located in any of the local governments whether or not such solid waste management facility is to be owned or operated by the authority, which assistance may include loans to any person or public corporation. 8. To collect, receive from the United States, the state, any of the local governments, any other municipality or public corporation or person, solid waste for the purpose of treatment or disposal thereof, with the right of the authority to sell and dispose of any products or by-products (including energy) of such process of treatment or disposal, as the authority may deem proper. 9. To contract with any of the local governments, other municipalities, state agencies, agencies or authorities created pursuant to state law, public corporations or persons within or without each of the local governments, for the purpose of receiving, treating and disposing of solid waste, including, without limitation, to contractwith municipalities, state agencies, public corporations or persons for the delivery of all solid waste generated within a stated area to a specific solid waste management facility. 10. To make by-laws for the management and regulation of its affairs and, subject to agreements with bondholders, for the regulation of the use of any project or other property of the authority, which by-laws and all amendments thereto, duly certified by the secretary of the authority, shall be filed in the office of the authority and in the office of the clerk of each of the local governments, and to provide for the enforcement of such by-laws by legal or equitable proceedings which are or may be provided or authorized by law. In addition, the legislative bodies of the local governments and the other municipalities within the area of operation shall have power to prescribe that violations of specific by-laws of the authority, including, without limitation, any failure to comply with any by-law requiring the payment of a fee or charge by any person in connection with the delivery of solid waste to any facility or any other use of any facility by such person, shall constitute offenses or infractions and provide for the punishment of violations thereof by civil and criminal penalties. 11. With the consent of the chief executive officer of each of the affected local governments, to use officers or employees of each such local government and to pay a proper portion of the compensation or costs for the services for such officers or employees. 12. To make contracts and to execute all necessary or convenient instruments, including evidences of indebtedness, negotiable or non-negotiable. 13. To enter on any lands, waterways or premises for the purpose of making surveys, soundings and examinations, any liability for which shall not exceed actual damages. 14. To borrow money and to issue bonds and to fund or refund the same, and to provide for the rights of the holders thereof. 15. To determine classifications of users, to fix and collect rates, rentals, fees and other charges for the use of the facilities of, or services rendered by, or any commodities furnished by, the authority, which rates, rentals, fees and charges may be different for each classification of user, so as to provide revenues sufficient at all times to pay, as the same shall become due, the principal and interest on the bonds of the authority, together with the maintenance of proper reserves therefor, in addition to paying, as the same shall become due, the expenses of operating and maintaining the properties of the authority, together with proper reserves for debt service, depreciation, maintenance and contingencies and all other obligations and indebtedness of the authority. No such rates, rentals, fees and other charges for the use of the facilities of, or services rendered by, the authority shall be established, fixed or revised unless the authority shall have held a public hearing at which the users of the facilities of, or services rendered by, the authority together with the owners of property served or to be served and others interested have had the opportunity to be heard concerning the same. Notice of such public hearing shall be published by the authority at least ten days before the date set therefor in at least one newspaper having a general circulation in each of the towns. Such notice shall set forth the date, time and place of such hearing and shall include a brief description of the matters to be considered at such hearing. A copy of the notice shall be filed in the office of the clerk of each of the towns and shall be available for inspection by the public. At any such hearing, any person shall have an opportunity to be heard concerning the matters under consideration. Any decision of the authority on matters considered at any such publichearing shall be in writing and shall be made available to any such person in the office of the authority during regular office hours. All rates, rentals, fees and other charges for the use of the facilities of, or services rendered by, the authority shall be a lien upon the real property upon which, or in connection with which, services were provided. Any such liens shall take precedence over all other liens or encumbrances, except taxes or assessments. The treasurer of the authority shall prepare and transmit to the respective legislative body of each town or the treasurer of the city, on or before the first day of December in each year, a list of properties within each respective local government for which such services were provided and which the payments of rates, rentals, fees and other charges are in arrears for the period of thirty days or more after the last day fixed for payment of such rates, rentals, fees and other charges without penalty. The list shall contain a brief description of the properties for which such services were provided, the names of the persons or corporations liable to pay for the same, and the amount chargeable to each, including penalties and interests computed to December thirty-first of that year. Each legislative body shall levy such sums against the properties liable and shall state the amount thereof in a separate column in the annual tax rolls of the various local governments under the heading "solid waste disposal charge". Such amounts, when collected by the several municipal collectors or receivers of taxes, shall be paid over to each respective town treasurer or the treasurer of the city, who immediately shall pay the same over to the treasurer of the authority. All of the provisions of the tax laws of the state covering enforcement and collection of unpaid taxes or assessments for special improvements not inconsistent herewith shall apply to the collection of such unpaid rates, rentals, fees and other charges. 16. To enter into agreements, in its discretion, to pay annual sums in lieu of taxes to the towns or the city or any other municipality, political subdivision or taxing district of the state in respect to any real property which is owned by the authority and located in such towns, city, municipality, political subdivision or taxing district. 17. To accept gifts, grants, loans or contributions from the United States, the state or any agency or instrumentality of either of them, or any municipality or from any person or public corporation, by bequest or otherwise, and to expend the proceeds for any corporate purposes of the authority. 18. To covenant and consent that the interest on any of its bonds or notes issued pursuant to this title shall be includible, under the United States Internal Revenue Code of 1986, or any subsequent corresponding internal revenue law of the United States, in gross income of the holders of the bonds or notes to the same extent and in the same manner that the interest on bills, bonds, notes or other obligations of the United States is includible in the gross income of the holders thereof under said Internal Revenue Code or any such subsequent law. 19. To do all things necessary or convenient to carry out the powers expressly given in this title. * NB There are 2 § 2052-e's