§ 23-19-10 - General powers and duties.
SECTION 23-19-10
§ 23-19-10 General powers and duties.– The corporation shall have all of the powers necessary and convenient to carryout and effectuate the purposes and provisions of this chapter, including butwithout limiting the generality of the foregoing, the power to:
(1) Sue and be sued in its own name;
(2) Have an official seal and alter the same at pleasure;
(3) Have perpetual succession;
(4) Maintain an office at a place or places within the stateas it may designate;
(5) Adopt and from time to time amend and repeal bylaws,rules, and regulations, not inconsistent with this chapter and in a mannersubstantially similar to procedures set forth in the Administrative ProceduresAct as specified in chapter 35 of title 42, as amended, to carry into effectthe powers and purposes of the corporation and the conduct of its business; andthe bylaws, rules, and regulations may contain provisions indemnifying anyperson who is or was a commissioner, officer, employee, or agent of thecorporation, in the manner and to the extent provided in § 7-1.2-814 ofthe Business Corporation Act;
(6) Elect or appoint officers and employ a staff and fixtheir duties, qualifications, and compensation;
(7) Engage the services of consultants for renderingprofessional and technical assistance and advice, and employ architects,engineers, attorneys, accountants, construction, and financial experts and anyother advisors, consultants, and agents that may be necessary in its judgment,and to fix their compensation;
(8) Conduct any hearings, examinations, and investigationsthat may be necessary and appropriate to the conduct of its business andpurposes;
(9) Obtain access to public records;
(10) Charge reasonable fees for the services it performs andprovides;
(11) Purchase, receive, lease, or otherwise acquire, own,hold, improve, use, and otherwise deal in and with, any project, including realor personal property, or any interest therein, wherever situated;
(12) Sell, convey, mortgage, pledge, lease, exchange,transfer, and otherwise dispose of all or any part of its property and assetsfor consideration and upon terms and conditions that the corporation shalldetermine;
(13) Make contracts and guarantees and incur liabilities, andborrow money at rates of interest that the corporation may find feasible;
(14) Make and execute agreements of lease, conditional salescontracts, installment sales contracts, loan agreements, mortgages,construction contracts, operation contracts, and other contracts andinstruments necessary or convenient in the exercise of the powers and functionsof the corporation granted by this chapter, which contracts may includeprovisions for arbitration of disputes;
(15) Lend money for its purposes, invest and reinvest itsfunds, and at its option take and hold real and personal property as securityfor the payment of funds so loaned or invested;
(16) Acquire or contract to acquire, from any person, firm,corporation, municipality, the federal government, or the state, or any agencyof either the federal government or the state, by grant, purchase, lease, gift,or otherwise, or obtain options for the acquisition of any property, real orpersonal, improved or unimproved, and interests in land less than the feethereof; and own, hold, clear, improve, develop, and rehabilitate, and sell,assign, exchange, transfer, convey, lease, mortgage, or otherwise dispose of orencumber the same for the purposes of carrying out the provisions and intent ofthis chapter, for consideration that the corporation shall determine;
(17) Sell, mortgage, lease, exchange, transfer, or otherwisedispose of or encumber any of its projects, (or in the case of a sale to accepta purchase money mortgage in connection with the project) or grant options forany purposes with respect to any real or personal property or interest therein,all of the foregoing for the consideration that the corporation shalldetermine. Any lease by the corporation to another party may be for that partof the corporation's property, real or personal, for a period, upon terms orconditions, with or without an option on the part of the lessee to purchase anyor all of the leased property for consideration, at or after the retirement ofall indebtedness incurred by the corporation on account thereof, as thecorporation shall determine;
(ii) Without limiting the generality of the foregoing, thecorporation is expressly empowered to lease or sell any part of the real orpersonal property owned or controlled by the corporation to the state, or anydepartment of the state or to any municipality. The provisions of this sectionor of any other laws of this state (other than this chapter) restricting thepower of the state, its departments or any municipality, to lease or sellproperty, or requiring or prescribing publication of notice of the intention tolease or sell, that would in any manner interfere with the purpose of thissection, which is to provide for the mutual cooperation by and between thecorporation and the state, its departments, or any municipality, to the fullestextent possible, are not applicable to leases and sales made pursuant to thissection;
(18) Manage any project, whether then owned or leased by thecorporation, and enter into agreement with the state or any municipality or anyperson, firm, partnership, or corporation, either public or private, for thepurpose of causing any project to be managed;
(19) Make plans, surveys, studies, and investigationsnecessary or desirable, in conformity with applicable provisions of the stateguide plan as promulgated and provided for by the state planning agency, withthe participation of the state planning council with due consideration to localplans and other state plans;
(20) Design or provide for the design of the solid wastemanagement facilities that the corporation will construct or cause to beconstructed, as well as designs for the alteration, reconstruction,improvement, enlargement, or extension of the facilities;
(21) Construct or to cause to be constructed solid wastetransfer station facilities, processing facilities, resource recoveryfacilities, and ultimate disposal facilities and any other solid wastemanagement facilities that may be required by the corporation for the conductof its activities as herein provided;
(22) Construct, acquire, repair, develop, own, operate,maintain, extend, improve, rehabilitate, renovate, equip, and furnish one ormore of its projects and make provision for their management, and pay all orany part of the cost of one or more of its projects from the proceeds of thebonds and notes of the corporation or from any contribution, gift, donation, orany other funds made available to the corporation;
(23) Enter upon lands and waters, upon giving due notice asmay be necessary, to make surveys, soundings, borings, and any otherexaminations or tests as may be necessary to accomplish the purposes of thischapter;
(24) Enter into agreements or other transactions with andaccept grants and the cooperation of the federal government or anyinstrumentality of the federal government in furtherance of the purposes ofthis chapter, including, but not limited to, the development, maintenance,operation, and financing of any project, and to do any and all things necessaryin order to avail itself of aid and cooperation;
(25) Receive and accept bids or contributions from any sourceof money, property, labor, or other things of value, to be held, used, andapplied to carry out the purposes of this chapter subject to the conditionsupon which the grants and contributions may be made, including, but not limitedto, gifts or grants from any governmental agency or instrumentality of theUnited States or the state, for any purpose consistent with this chapter;
(26) Prepare or cause to be prepared plans, specifications,designs, and estimates of costs for the construction, reconstruction,rehabilitation, improvement, alteration, or repair of any of its projects, andfrom time to time to modify the plans, specifications, designs or estimates;
(27) Provide advisory, consultative, training, andeducational services, technical assistance and advice to any person, firm,partnership, corporation, or municipality, whether they are public or private,in order to carry out the purposes of this chapter;
(28) Review all municipal plans and proposals for theconstruction, or installation of solid waste management facilities;
(29) Undertake and promote the conduct of research intosource separation and source reduction techniques, facilities, and systems andinto other solid waste management areas for any purpose consistent with thischapter; the corporation shall consistent with regulations of the department ofenvironmental management adopt a statewide plan for separation of solid wasteat the source of generation, at collection points or transfer stations and thecorporation and the department of environmental management shall cooperate onthe implementation of a statewide plan. The corporation, with the assistance ofthe department of environmental management, will submit an annual report on thestatus of separation of solid waste in the state;
(30) Produce materials, fuels, energy, and by-products in anyform from the processing of solid wastes by the system, facilities, andequipment under its jurisdiction, and to receive funds or revenues from theirsale, and to deposit the funds or revenues in a bank or banks;
(31) Borrow money and issue revenue bonds and notes andprovide for the rights of the holders, for any of its purposes, including,without limitation, the purpose of providing funds to pay all or any part ofthe cost of any project and all costs incident to any project, or for thepurpose of refunding any bonds or notes issued;
(32) Subject to the provisions of any contract withnoteholders or bondholders, consent to the modification, with respect to rateof interest, time of payments or any installment of principal or interest,security or any other term of any mortgage, mortgage loan, mortgage loancommitment, contract, or agreement of any kind to which the corporation is aparty;
(33) In connection with the property on which it has made amortgage loan, foreclose on the property or commence an action to protect orenforce any right conferred upon it by law, mortgage, contract, or otheragreement, and bid for and purchase the property at any foreclosure or anyother sale, or acquire or take possession of the property; and in that eventthe corporation may complete, administer, pay the principal of or interest onany obligations incurred in connection with the property, dispose of andotherwise deal with the property in a manner that may be necessary or desirableto protect the interest of the corporation;
(34) As security for the payment of principal and interest onany bonds or notes or any agreements made in connection therewith, mortgage andpledge any or all of its projects and property, whether then owned orthereafter acquired, and pledge the revenues and receipts from all or partthereof, and assign and pledge the leases, sales contracts, or loan agreementsor other agreements on any portion or all of its projects and property, andassign or pledge the income received by virtue of the lease, sales contracts,loan agreements, or other agreements;
(35) Invest any funds of the corporation including funds heldin reserve or sinking funds, or any money not required for immediate use ordisbursement at the discretion of the corporation;
(36) Contract with the federal government, other states,state agencies, and regional authorities, as the corporation shall deemnecessary or convenient in carrying out the purposes of this chapter;
(37) Be a promoter, partner, member, associate, or manager ofany partnership, enterprise, or venture;
(38) Have and exercise all powers necessary or convenient toeffect its purposes;
(39) Insofar as the provisions of this chapter areinconsistent with the common law or the provisions of any other laws of thisstate, general or special, restricting the power of any public agency to enterinto long term contracts which exceed the term of the governing body of theagency or its members, the provisions of this chapter are controlling and thecorporation shall be deemed to have the power to enter into long term contractswhich extend beyond the terms of the commissioners as may be considerednecessary, desirable, or convenient by the corporation; provided, however, thatprior to the execution of the contract, the contract has been reviewed by theauditor general;
(40) Control the transportation, storage, and final disposalof all solid waste in the state other than from sources owned or operated bythe federal government, including the final disposal of solid waste infacilities owned, operated, controlled, financed, or otherwise designated bythe corporation; provided, however, that the corporation shall not be empoweredto engage in the transportation, transfer, or storage of solid waste, otherthan at recycling facilities, except in temporary situations where amunicipality has defaulted in its obligation under this act or in conjunctionwith its activities at its disposal sites; provided, however, that thecorporation shall not be empowered to take any action that would adverselyaffect or impair the validity of rights and obligations under any validcontract for the disposal of municipal waste, which was in effect on March 1,1985, or any extension of the contract if extension was approved by thecorporation, or the right of any municipality to continue the operation of itsown landfill until closure if the landfill was in use by the municipality onDecember 1, 1986;
(41) Undertake and promote continuing efforts to reduce thewaste stream to the extent practicable and economically feasible;
(42) To purchase, receive, lease, or otherwise acquire, own,hold, improve, use, sell, convey, and otherwise deal in and with real orpersonal property, wherever situated; and
(43) Conduct a training course for newly appointed andqualified members and new designees within six (6) months of theirqualification or designation. The course shall be developed by the executivedirector of the corporation, approved by the corporation, and conducted by theexecutive director of the corporation. The corporation may approve the use ofany corporation or staff members or other individuals to assist with training.The training course shall include instruction in the following areas: theprovisions of chapters 23-19, 42-46, 36-14, and 38-2; and the corporation'srules and regulations.