N.Y. Pub. Auth. Law § 1154

Current through 2024 NY Law Chapter 553

Section 1154 - Powers of the authority

The authority shall have power:

1. To sue and be sued;

2. To have a seal and alter the same at pleasure;

3. To acquire, in the name of the authority, lease, hold and dispose of real estate and personal property or any interest therein for its corporate purposes, including the power to purchase prospective or tentative awards in connection with the exercise of the power of condemnation hereinafter granted;

4. To purchase, in the name of the authority, any water supply system, water distribution 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, approaches, connections, dams, reservoirs, water mains and pipe lines, pumping stations and equipment, or any other property incidental to and included in such system or part thereof, and any improvements, extensions and betterments, situated wholly within the county, 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; 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, and in the case of a sale or other transfer of properties of a public utility corporation pursuant to this provision, it shall be lawful to dissolve such corporation;

5. To supply and sell water for domestic, commercial and public purposes at retail to individual consumers within the county of Onondaga or at wholesale in the manner provided by subdivision eight of this section as a means of so acquiring for such purposes, and the authority may purchase all of the stock of any existing privately owned water corporation or company, and thereafter, within a reasonable time, such water corporation or company shall be dissolved;

6. To condemn in the name of the authority, within the territorial limits of the county, any water supply system, water distribution 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, approaches, connections, dams, reservoirs, water mains and pipe lines, pumping stations and equipment or any other property incidental to and included in such system or part thereof, and any improvements, extensions and betterments for the purpose of supplying water for domestic, commercial and public purposes at retail to individual consumers within the county of Onondaga or at wholesale in the manner provided by subdivision eight of this section. The authority shall exercise the power of condemnation hereby granted in the manner provided by the condemnation law and title to the properties described in the condemnation proceedings shall become and be vested in the authority in accordance with the provisions of the condemnation law. In the exercise of such power of condemnation, the property being condemned shall be deemed, when so determined by the authority, to be for a public use superior to the public use in the hands of any other person, association, or corporation, provided, however, that the authority shall have no power to condemn property the legal title to which is vested in a municipality or a political subdivision of the state, unless such municipality or political subdivision shall consent thereto.

7. To construct and develop any water supply system, water distribution system including plants, works, instrumentalities, or parts thereof, and appurtenances thereto, dams, reservoirs, water mains, pipe lines, pumping stations and equipment, or any other property incidental to or included in such system or part thereof within the county of Onondaga, and to acquire, by condemnation in the manner provided by this title, or by purchase, lands, easements, rights in land, and water rights and rights-of-way in connection therewith within such county; and to own and operate, maintain, repair, improve, reconstruct, enlarge and extend, subject to the provisions of this title, any of its properties acquired or constructed under this title, all of which, together with the acquisition of such properties are hereby declared to be public purposes;

8. To sell water by volume to any or all municipalities, duly established water districts or privately owned public water supply and distribution systems in such county. The fact that any municipality has procured or is about to procure an independent source of water supply shall not prevent such municipality from purchasing water from the authority. To sell any water not needed in such county to any duly established water district, municipality or privately owned public water supply and distribution system outside of the county in which created. Not only may the authority sell any surplus water it may have developed, but it may develop and provide a sufficient amount of water so as to supply water outside of the county to any municipality, duly established water district or privately owned public water supply and distribution system;

9. To purchase water in bulk from any person, private corporation or municipality when necessary or convenient for the operation of such water supply and distribution system;

10. To acquire, hold, use, lease, sell, transfer and dispose of any property, real, personal or mixed, or interest therein, for its corporate purposes, including the right to sell, lease, convey or otherwise dispose of any distribution system or improvements thereto which the authority may acquire or construct to any municipal corporation or town water district, town water supply district, or to the county;

11. To produce, develop, distribute and sell water or water services within or without the territorial limits of the district; and to purchase water from any municipal corporation, town water district, person, association or corporation; provided, however, that water may be sold at retail to individual consumers only within the county of Onondaga 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 board of such municipality or district shall adopt a resolution requesting the authority to sell water in such served area; and the authority shall not interfere with any water supply or water system of any municipality unless requested by such municipality after such municipality has held a referendum on such question and approval given thereon;

12. To make by-laws for the management and regulation of its affairs 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 and by-laws, and all amendments thereto, duly certified by the secretary of the authority shall be filed in the office of the clerk of the county and thereafter published once in two newspapers having a general circulation in the county. Violation of such rules shall be punishable by fine, not exceeding fifty dollars, or by imprisonment for not longer than thirty days, or both. Exclusive jurisdiction is hereby conferred upon the local criminal courts of the county, outside the city of Syracuse, which have trial jurisdiction, to hear and determine, subject to the provisions of the criminal procedure law, any violation of this title;

13. To use the officers, employees, facilities and equipment of the county with the consent of the county, paying a proper portion of the compensation or cost;

14. To make contracts and to execute all necessary or convenient instruments, including evidences of indebtedness, negotiable or non-negotiable;

15. To enter on any lands, waterways and premises for the purpose of making surveys, soundings and examinations;

16. To borrow money and to issue negotiable bonds or notes or other obligations and to fund or refund the same, and to provide for the rights of the holders of its obligations;

17. To 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, notes 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 reserves for depreciation, maintenance and contingencies and all other obligations and indebtedness of the authority;

18. To enter into cooperative agreements with other water authorities, municipalities, counties, 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, and within the territorial limits of the district to enter into a contract for the construction and 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;

19. To accept grants, loans or contributions from the United States, the state of New York, or any agency or instrumentality of either of them, or the county, or an individual, by bequest or otherwise, and to expend the proceeds for any purposes of the authority;

20. To do all things necessary or convenient to carry out the powers expressly given in this title.

21. To contract with the board of supervisors of the county of Onondaga for the acquisition, construction and development of a water supply and distribution system, or any part or parts thereof, on behalf of a county water district or districts, and to contract for the operation and management of any such district or districts, in accordance in each case with the provisions of article five-A of the county law.

22. To act as a county water agency in accordance with the provisions of article five-A of the county law.

23. To contract for the purposes of subdivision twenty-four of section ten of article two of the highway law.

24. Notwithstanding any other provision of this section, to purchase, construct, lease and operate water systems and properties in the towns of Sullivan, Lenox, Lincoln, Volney, Verona, Vienna, Hannibal, Hastings, Minetto, Schroeppel, Scriba, Oswego, West Monroe, Annsville, Granby, Constantia, Parish and Sterling to enter into any contract authorized by this section with any municipality within the territorial limits of said towns, and to supply and sell any water not needed in the county of Onondaga at retail or at wholesale to individual consumers within the territorial limits of said towns.

N.Y. Pub. Auth. Law § 1154

Amended by New York Laws 2019, ch. 515,Sec. 1, eff. 11/20/2019.