N.Y. Public Authorities Law § 2710: Special powers with regard to water facilities

§ 2710. Special powers with regard to water facilities. The authority

shall have power:

1. to acquire, construct, purchase or lease, in the name of the

authority, any water facility, 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, wells or any other property incidental to and

included in such system or part thereof, and any improvements,

extensions and betterments, situated within the participating counties

for the purpose of supplying water for domestic, commercial and public

purposes within the participating counties to any person, the state, any

public corporation or the United States; and as a means of so acquiring

for such purposes, the authority may purchase all of the assets of any

existing privately owned water corporation or company;

2. to have and take ownership, jurisdiction, control, possession and

supervision of any existing water system and to construct and develop

any water facility including any water supply system or water

distribution system, including plants, works, instrumentalities, or

parts thereof, and appurtenances thereto, dams, reservoirs, water mains,

pipe lines, pumping stations and equipment, wells, or any other property

incidental to or included in such system or part thereof within the

participating counties and to acquire, by condemnation, as provided in

this section or otherwise lands, easements, rights of land, and water

rights and rights-of-way within the participating counties; or to

purchase or lease lands, easements, rights in land, and water rights and

rights-of-way in connection therewith within the participating counties

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;

3. to establish a schedule of rates, rentals or charges, to be called

"water rents," to be collected from all real property served by its

water facilities, and to prescribe the manner in which and the time at

which such water rents are to be paid, provided that in no event shall

the authority collect rents within any city within a participating

county, and to change such schedule from time to time as may be deemed

advisable. Such water rents may be determined by the authority on any

equitable basis. Prior to the final adoption or modification of such

schedule of water rents, the authority shall adopt a proposed schedule

of such water rents and publish notice thereof once a week for three

successive weeks in each participating county served by the authority's

water facilities. The notice so published shall be dated as of the date

of first publication thereof and shall state that the proposed schedule

of water rents will remain open for inspection in the office of the

authority for thirty days from the date of such notice, and that

objections thereto may be filed during said period with the authority by

any person conceiving himself aggrieved thereby. The authority shall

hear and examine any such complaints and may modify the proposed

schedule and shall adopt a final schedule of water rents within sixty

days after the date of said notice. The schedule of water rents so

adopted shall thereafter be the water rents to be charged all real

property served by the sewer facilities of the authority. From and after

the due date thereof, such water rents shall constitute a lien upon the

real property served by the facilities. In the event that any such water

rent shall remain unpaid for a period of ninety days, the authority, or

for property within any city within a participating county, such city,

may bring and maintain an action in the supreme court for the

foreclosure of such lien;

4. to adopt regulations in accordance with law providing that the

authority shall shut off the supply of water to any premises upon which

water rents have not been paid until the water rents are paid, together

with provision for an equitable charge for restoring water service to

said premises;

5. to sell water, however acquired, by volume and at retail to

consumers including the United States within the participating counties

for domestic, commercial, industrial and public purposes, or by volume

or in bulk and at wholesale to any or all persons, public corporations,

the United States or any privately owned public water supply and

distribution systems in the participating counties. To sell any water

not needed in such participating counties by volume and at retail to

consumers without the participating counties for domestic, commercial,

industrial and public purposes, or by volume or in bulk and at wholesale

to any municipality, public corporation or privately owned public water

supply and distribution system outside of the participating counties,

provided that the authority shall not sell water in any area outside of

the participating counties unless the governing board of the

municipality wherein such area is located shall enter into an agreement

with the authority for service or sale of water by it in such area or

shall by resolution request the authority to sell water within such

area. Any agreement between a municipality outside of the participating

counties and the authority for the sale of water to or within such

municipality shall be subject to the approval of the legislative body of

the participating county or counties wherein the water facility

supplying such water is located. In addition to the powers hereinbefore

granted the authority may develop and provide a sufficient amount of

water so as to supply water outside of the participating counties to

sell such water to consumers, any person, public corporation or

privately owned public water supply and distribution system provided

however, that no such sale shall be made without the approval of the

legislative body of the county in which the water facility supplying

such water is located;

6. to purchase water in bulk or by volume from any person, private

corporation or municipality when necessary or convenient for the

operation of any water supply and distribution system developed by it,

or when necessary or convenient for resale under the authority and

provisions of subdivision three of this section; and

7. to enter into cooperative agreements with other water authorities,

municipalities, persons, or public benefit corporations, for the

interconnection of facilities, the exchange or inter-change of services

and commodities, and to enter into contracts for the construction of

water supply and distribution systems by the authority for any

municipality 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 provided, however, that any such agreement with a

municipality located in a county, shall be subject to the approval of

the legislative body of such county; and

8. to enter into a contract or contracts with the board of

supervisors or county legislatures of each participating county for the

acquisition, construction and development of a water supply and

distribution system, or any part or parts thereof and to contract for

the operation and management of such water supply and distribution

system.