NY Pub Auth L § 1197-E (2021)
2021 New York Laws PBA - Public Authorities Article 5 - Public Utility Authorities Title 8-B - Water Authority of Great Neck North 1197-E - Powers of the Authority.

§ 1197-e. Powers of the authority. Except as otherwise limited by this title, the authority shall have the power to:   1. sue and be sued;   2. have a seal and alter the same at pleasure;   3.  borrow  money and issue negotiable or non-negotiable notes, bonds, or other obligations and to  provide  for  the  rights  of  the  holders thereof;   4.  enter  into  contracts  and  execute  all instruments necessary or convenient or desirable for the purposes of the authority to  carry  out any powers expressly given it in this title;   5.  acquire,  by purchase, gift, grant, transfer, contract or lease or by condemnation pursuant to the eminent domain procedure law,  lease  as lessee, hold and use and to sell, lease as lessor, transfer or otherwise dispose  of,  any  real  or  personal  property or any interest therein, within or without the district, but within the territorial limits of the town of North Hempstead, as the authority may deem necessary, convenient or desirable to carry out the purpose of this title; provided,  however, that  the  authority  may  not  condemn  real property of a municipality without the consent of the governing body of such municipality;   6. purchase, in the name of the authority, any  water  supply  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, permits, approaches, connections, dams, wells, pumps, reservoirs, water mains and pipe lines, pumping stations, treatment facilities, meters, equipment and inventory, or  any other property incidental to and included in such system or part thereof, and any  improvements,  extensions  and  betterments,  situated wholly  within the district, 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, provided same shall be  necessary  in  order  to supply water within 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,  as a means of so acquiring for such purpose, the authority may purchase all of the stock of  any  existing  privately owned  water  corporation  or company and in the case of a sale or other transfer of properties of a public utility corporation pursuant to  this provision, upon the purchase of the stock of such corporation or company it  shall  be  lawful  to  dissolve such corporation within a reasonable time;   7. construct, improve or rehabilitate water supply facilities required for the maintenance, development or expansion of water supply sources;   8. operate and manage and to contract for the operation and management of facilities of the authority;   9. enter into contracts, and carry out  the  terms  thereof,  for  the wholesale  provision  of water produced by supply facilities constructed and operated by the  authority,  to  municipalities  and  private  water companies  and  to  carry out the terms thereof, for the transmission of water from new or existing supply facilities;    10. apply to the appropriate agencies and officials  of  the  federal, state  and  local governments for such licenses, permits or approvals of its plans or projects as it may deem necessary or  advisable,  and  upon such  terms and conditions as it may deem appropriate, to accept, in its discretion, such licenses, permits or approvals as may be tendered to it by such agencies and officials;   11.  take  all necessary and reasonable actions within the district to conserve, preserve  and  protect  the  water  supply  to  the  district, including  the  making  of  plans and studies, the adoption of watershed rules and regulations, the enforcing of compliance with all current  and future  rules  and regulations of the state sanitary code with regard to water supply and usage, the requiring of cross-connection controls,  the providing  of  educational  material and programs to the public, and the cooperating with water  suppliers  outside  the  district  to  conserve, preserve  and  protect the entire water reserve as it is affected within and outside the authority's supply area;   12.  retain  or  employ  counsel,  auditors,  engineers  and   private consultants  on a contract basis or otherwise for rendering professional or technical services and advice;   13. make plans and studies necessary, convenient or desirable for  the effectuation  of the purposes and powers of the authority and to prepare recommendations in regard thereto;   14. prepare a water supply emergency plan which shall include, but not be limited to, the following:  (a) establishment of criteria and  procedures  to  determine  critical water levels or safe yield of system;  (b)  identification  of  existing  and  future  sources of water under normal conditions and emergency conditions;  (c) system capacity and ability to meet peak  demand  and  fire  flows concurrently;  (d) storage capacities;  (e)  current  condition of present interconnections and identification of additional interconnections to meet a water supply emergency;  (f) specific  action  plan  to  be  followed  during  a  water  supply emergency including a phased implementation of the plan;  (g)  general  water  conservation  programs  and  water  use reduction strategies for water supply users;  (h) prioritization of water users;  (i) identification and  availability  of  emergency  equipment  needed during a water supply emergency; and  (j)   public   notification   program   coordinated  with  the  phased implementation schedule; such plan shall not be adopted until  a  public hearing  on  such plan shall have been held, upon not less than fourteen days' notice thereof to each customer, either by mail or by  publication once  in  a  newspaper  having  general circulation within the district; every five years, such plan shall be reviewed and revised  if  necessary after a public hearing, with notice to each customer as aforesaid;   15.  enter  upon such lands, waters, or premises as in the judgment of the authority shall be necessary for  the  purpose  of  making  surveys, soundings, borings and examinations to accomplish any purpose authorized by this title, the authority being liable only for actual damage done;   16.  apply  for and to accept any gifts or grants or loans of funds or property or financial  or  other  aid  in  any  form  from  the  federal government  or  any agency or instrumentality thereof, or from the state or any agency or instrumentality thereof, or from any other source,  for any  or  all  of  the  purposes  specified in this title, and to comply, subject to the provisions of this title, with the terms  and  conditions thereof;    17.  obtain,  store,  treat,  distribute,  supply  and  sell water for domestic,  commercial  and  public  purposes  at  retail  to  individual consumers within the district;   18.   purchase  water  from  any  municipal  corporation,  town  water district, person, association or corporation;   19. produce, develop, distribute and  sell  water  or  water  services within  or  without  the  territorial  limits of the district; provided, however, that water may be sold at retail to individual  consumers  only within  the  district 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  body  of  such municipality  or  district  shall  adopt  a  resolution  requesting  the authority to sell water in such served areas;   20.   make bylaws for the management and regulation of its affairs and rules and regulations for the conservation, preservation and  protection of  the  authority's  water  supply  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, regulations and bylaws and  any rules  and  regulations  adopted  pursuant to subdivision eleven of this section, and all amendments thereto, duly certified by the secretary  of the  authority shall be filed in the office of the municipalities within the district and thereafter published once in a newspaper having general circulation  within  the  district.    Violation  of  such   rules   and regulations shall be punishable by fine, not exceeding fifty dollars, or by imprisonment for not longer than thirty days, or both;   21. 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,  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  maintenance  reserves,  capital  reserves,  repair reserves, tax stabilization reserves and other contingency reserves, and all  other  obligations  and  indebtedness of the authority; however, no such rates or charges shall be changed until a public  hearing  on  such changes  shall  have  been held upon not less than fourteen days' notice thereof to each customer, either by mail or by  publication  once  in  a newspaper having general circulation within the district;   22.   enter   into  cooperative  agreements  with  other  authorities, municipalities, counties,  cities,  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, the conservation, preservation  and  protection  of  the  authority's  water reserve  as  it  is  affected  within and outside the authority's supply area, and, within the territorial limits of the district, to enter  into a  contract  for  the construction, 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;   23.  provide  for the discontinuance or disconnection of the supply of water for nonpayment of fees, rates, rents  or  other  charges  therefor imposed  by the authority, provided such discontinuance or disconnection  of any supply of water shall not be carried out except in the manner and upon the notice as is required of a waterworks corporation  pursuant  to subdivisions  three-a,  three-b and three-c of section eighty-nine-b and section one hundred sixteen of the public service law;   24.  contract  for,  provide  and  maintain such insurance as it deems necessary or reasonable to:  (a) secure and protect its real and personal property from fire, theft or other calamity or loss;  (b) secure and protect it against liability imposed by law for damages for injuries to persons or property;  (c) secure and protect it against any liability which may  be  imposed pursuant to section eighteen of the public officers law; and  (d)  secure  and  protect  it against any other liability, casualty or loss as it deems necessary or reasonable; and   25. do all things necessary, convenient or desirable to carry out  its purposes and for the exercise of the powers granted in this title.