N.Y. Public Authorities Law § 1154: Powers of the authority

§ 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.