N.Y. Public Authorities Law § 1078: Powers

§ 1078. Powers. The powers and duties of the authority shall be as

follows:

1. To sue and be sued.

2. To have a seal and alter the same.

3. To acquire, in the name of the authority, lease, hold and dispose

of 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. (a) 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 for the purpose of supplying water for domestic, commercial and

public purposes at retail to individual consumers within the county of

Suffolk or at wholesale in the manner provided by subdivision seven of

this section as a means of so acquiring for such purposes, and subject

to the approval of the public service commission, 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.

(b) To condemn in the name of the authority, except where located in

another 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 Suffolk or at wholesale in the manner provided by subdivision seven

of this section. The authority shall exercise the power of condemnation

hereby granted in the manner provided either by the condemnation law or

by the Suffolk county improvement act. 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

unless such municipality shall consent thereto.

(c) To construct, develop and operate 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 Suffolk, 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.

(d) To acquire, hold, use, lease, sell, transfer and dispose of any

property, real, personal or mixed, or interest therein, for its

corporate purposes.

5. 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. To sell water in bulk to any

not-for-profit corporation, public corporation, private corporation or

person at its regular retail rates.

6. To fix, alter, charge and collect rates and other charges for the

use of water by the inhabitants of the county or other consumers

thereof, at reasonable rates to be determined by the authority for the

purpose of providing for the payment of the expenses of the authority,

the construction, improvement, repair, maintenance and operation of the

water supply and distribution system of the authority, the payment of

the principal of and interest on the obligations of the authority, and

to fulfill the terms and provisions of any agreements made with the

purchasers or holders of any such obligations.

7. To sell water by volume to any or all municipalities 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. Subject to the approval of the

board of supervisors of Suffolk county to sell any water not needed in

such county to any 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, with the consent of such board of supervisors, develop and provide

a sufficient amount of water so as to supply water outside of the county

to any municipality or privately owned public water supply and

distribution system.

8. To make contracts and execute all instruments necessary or

convenient.

9. To make by-laws for the management and regulation of its affairs

and the regulation of and the charges made for water sold.

10. To appoint officers, agents and employees.

11. To enter upon any lands, waters and premises for the purpose of

making surveys, soundings, drillings and examinations.

12. To enter into cooperative agreements with other water authorities,

municipalities, or utility companies, for the interconnection of

facilities, the exchange or inter-change of services and commodities or

for any other lawful purposes necessary or desirable to effect the

purposes of this title, provided, however, that any such agreement with

a municipality located in a county, other than Suffolk county, shall be

subject to the approval of the board of supervisors of such county, if

any.

12-a. To enter into a contract or contracts with the board of

supervisors of Suffolk county 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, and to contract for

the operation and management of such county water district, all as

provided in article five-a of the county law and article five-b of the

general municipal law. Such water authority shall be deemed the agent of

Suffolk county under any such contract. If such contract shall authorize

the water authority to purchase supplies or equipment or to construct

public works, such authority shall be subject to all provisions of law

to which Suffolk county would be subject in relation to advertising and

awarding any such contracts for supplies, equipment or public works.

13. To do all things necessary or convenient to carry out the powers

expressly given or necessarily implied in this title.

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 unless the governing board of such

municipality shall adopt a resolution requesting the authority to sell

water in such area.

Notwithstanding any other provision of law, the authority may not

approve by resolution or otherwise make a final determination regarding

a construction project for any new structure which exceeds thirty feet

in height unless it holds a public hearing in the municipality where the

construction will take place not less than fifteen days after notice has

been given as hereinafter provided. Notice of such public hearing shall

be published once a week for two consecutive weeks in a newspaper of

general circulation in the area affected by the proposed construction

project.