2023 Colorado Revised Statutes › Title 32 - SPECIAL DISTRICTS (§§ 32-1-101 — 32-22-117) › WATER AND SANITATION DISTRICTS (§§ 32-4-101 — 32-4-547) › Article 4 - WATER AND SANITATION DISTRICTS (§§ 32-4-101 — 32-4-547) › Part 5 - METROPOLITAN SEWAGE DISPOSAL DISTRICTS (§§ 32-4-501 — 32-4-547) › Section 32-4-510 - [Effective 8/7/2024] Powers of the district

(1)
Any district has the following powers:
(a)
To have powers, privileges, immunities, rights, liabilities, no-rights, disabilities, and duties appertaining to a public body politic and corporate constituting a quasi-municipal district and political subdivision of the state established as an instrumentality exercising public and essential governmental and proprietary functions to provide for the public health, safety, and general welfare; and to have perpetual existence and succession;
(b)
To adopt, have, and use a corporate seal, and to alter the same at pleasure;
(c)
To sue and to be sued;
(d)
To enter into contracts and agreements including but not limited to contracts with the federal government and the state;
(e)
To borrow money and to issue securities evidencing any loan to or amount due by the district, to provide for and secure the payment of any securities and the rights of the holders thereof, and to purchase, hold, and dispose of securities, as provided in this part 5;
(f)
To purchase, trade, exchange, lease, buy, sell, encumber, and otherwise acquire and dispose of real and personal property and interests therein, including water and water rights;
(g)
To refund any bonded indebtedness of the district without an election;
(h)
In addition to all other means of providing revenue as provided in this section, during the first five years of the district's existence, to levy general ad valorem taxes on all taxable property within the district; but the total tax levy for the five-year period shall not exceed an aggregate total of three-fourths of one mill. When the district, within said period of five years, has levied taxes to the total of three-fourths of one mill, or when the district has been organized for a full five-year period, whichever occurs first, the district shall have no further power to levy general ad valorem taxes. Nothing in this part 5 shall be construed as preventing the collection of the proceeds in full of any tax levies authorized in this part 5, including but not limited to any delinquencies, as provided in this paragraph (h) and paragraph (m) of this subsection (1), and in section
32-4-511
. The board, if it desires to levy in any year all or any portion of the mill levy tax authorized in this paragraph (h), shall, in accordance with the schedule prescribed by section
39-5-128
, C.R.S., certify to the body having authority to levy taxes within each county wherein the district has any territory the rate so fixed, in order that, at the time and in the manner required by law for the levying of taxes, such body having authority to levy taxes shall levy such tax upon the valuation for assessment of all taxable property within the district. The levy and collection of taxes shall be as provided in section
32-4-511
.
(i)
To hire and retain officers, agents, employees, engineers, attorneys, and any other persons, permanent or temporary, necessary or desirable to effect the purposes hereof, to defray any expenses incurred thereby in connection with the district, and to acquire office space, equipment, services, supplies, fire and extended coverage insurance, use and occupancy insurance, workers' compensation insurance, property damage insurance, public liability insurance for the district and its officers, agents, and employees, and other types of insurance, as the board may determine. No provision in this part 5 authorizing the acquisition of insurance shall be construed as waiving any immunity of the district or any director, officer, or agent thereof, and otherwise existing under the laws of the state.
(j)
To condemn property for public use;
(k)
To acquire, hold, operate, maintain, equip, improve, and dispose of a sewage disposal system and appurtenant works or any interest therein, wholly within the district, or partially within and partially without the district, and wholly within, wholly without, or partially within and partially without any public body all or any part of the area of which is situated within the district; to acquire and, subject to mortgages, deeds of trust, or other liens, or otherwise, to hold, operate, maintain, equip, improve, and dispose of property of every kind appertaining to any such sewage disposal system and any improvements thereto, and necessary or convenient to the full exercise of any power provided in this part 5; to pay or otherwise defray the cost of any project; to pay or otherwise defray and to contract so to pay or defray, without an election, the principal of, any interest on, and any other charges appertaining to any securities or other obligations of any municipality or person incurred in connection with any such property so acquired by the district; and to establish and maintain facilities within or without the district, across or along any public street, highway, bridge, viaduct, or other public right-of-way, or in, upon, under, or over any vacant public lands, which public lands are the property of the state, or across any stream of water or watercourse, without first obtaining a franchise from the municipality, county, or other public body having jurisdiction over the same, but the district shall cooperate with any public body having such jurisdiction, shall promptly restore any such street, highway, bridge, viaduct, or other public right-of-way to its former state of usefulness as nearly as may be, and shall not use the same in such manner as to impair completely or unnecessarily the usefulness thereof;
(l)
To fix and from time to time increase or decrease rates and charges to municipalities within the district for the services provided by the district, including the power to fix and determine minimum charges and charges for availability of service; to pledge such revenue for the payment of any securities of the district; and to enforce the collection of such rates and charges by civil action or by any other means provided by law;
(m)
To enforce the collection of rates and charges made by the district to any municipality which fails to pay any such rates and charges within ninety days after said rates and charges become due and payable, in addition to the foregoing powers and not in limitation thereof, by an action in the nature of mandamus or other suit, action, or proceeding at law or in equity to compel the levy without limitation as to rate or amount by the governing body of the municipality and the collection of general ad valorem taxes on and against all taxable property within the municipality sufficient in amount to pay such delinquent rates and charges, together with the expenses of collection, including but not necessarily limited to reasonable penalties for delinquencies, interest on the amount due from any date due at a rate of not exceeding one percent per month, or fraction thereof, court costs, reasonable attorneys' fees, and any other costs of collection. Nothing in this part 5 shall be so construed as to prevent the governing body of any municipality from levying such taxes sufficient for the payment of such rates and charges as the same become due and payable, nor from applying therefor any other funds that may be in the treasury of the municipality and available for that purpose, whether derived from any rates and charges imposed for the use of or otherwise in connection with its sewer system or sewer facilities, or from any other source, and upon such payments being made, the general ad valorem tax levy provided in this part 5 may thereupon to that extent be diminished. Except to that extent, there shall be levied without limitation of rate or amount by the governing body of each municipality, in addition to all other taxes, direct annual general ad valorem taxes on all taxable property within the municipality sufficient in amount to pay said rates and charges of the district promptly as the same respectively become due. The levy and collection of taxes shall be as provided in section
32-4-511
.
(n)
To sell and otherwise dispose of any by-products resulting from the operation and activities of the district;
(o)
To appropriate revenues for the purpose of carrying on investigations and research in the treatment and disposal of sewage and industrial wastes;
(p)
To deposit any moneys of the district in any banking institution within or without the state or in any depository authorized in section
24-75-603
, C.R.S., and to invest any surplus money in the district treasury, including such money in any sinking fund established for the purpose of retiring any securities of the district, not required for the immediate necessities of the district in securities meeting the investment requirements established in part 6 of article
75
of title
24
, C.R.S., and such investment may be made by direct purchase of any such securities at the original sale of the same or by the subsequent purchase of such securities. Any securities thus purchased and held may be sold, from time to time, and the proceeds reinvested in securities, as provided in this paragraph (p). Sales of any securities thus purchased and held shall be made, from time to time, in season so that the proceeds may be applied to the purposes for which the money with which the securities were originally purchased was placed in the treasury of the district.
(q)
To accept contributions or loans from the federal government for the purpose of financing the planning, construction, maintenance, and operation of any enterprise in which the district is authorized to engage, and to enter into contracts and cooperate with, and accept cooperation from, the federal government in the planning, construction, maintenance, and operation, and in financing the planning, construction, maintenance, and operation, of any such enterprise in accordance with any legislation which congress may adopt, under which aid, assistance, and cooperation may be furnished by the federal government in the planning, construction, maintenance, and operation, or in financing the planning, construction, maintenance, and operation, of any such enterprise, including, without limiting the generality of the foregoing, costs of engineering, architectural, and economic investigations and studies, surveys, designs, plans, working drawings, specifications, procedures, and other action preliminary to the acquisition, improvement, or equipment of any project; and to do all things necessary in order to avail itself of such aid, assistance, and cooperation under any federal legislation enacted;
(r)
(I)
To enter, without an election, into joint operating or service contracts and agreements, acquisition, improvement, or disposal contracts or other arrangements with any municipality or person concerning sewage facilities, sewers, sewer systems, intercepting sewers, project or sewage disposal systems, and any water and water rights appertaining thereto, whether acquired by the district or by any public body or other person, and to accept grants and contributions from any public body or other person in connection therewith; and when determined by the board to be in the public interest and necessary for the protection of the public health, to enter into and perform, without an election, contracts and agreements with any municipality or person for the provision and operation by the district of sewage facilities, sewers, sewer systems, intercepting sewers, and a project or sewage disposal system to abate or reduce the pollution of waters or other nuisance caused by discharges of sewage, liquid wastes, solid wastes, night soil, and industrial wastes by the municipality or person, and for the payment periodically by the municipality or person to the district of amounts at least sufficient, in the determination of the board, to compensate the district for the cost of providing, operating, and maintaining the sewage facilities, sewers, sewer system, intercepting sewers, project, or sewage disposal system serving such municipality or person.
(II)
Subject to the rights and privileges of the holder or holders of any bonds or other securities of the district, any such joint operating or service contract between the district and ten or more municipalities may be amended, from time to time, by written agreement, duly authorized and signed by representatives of two-thirds of the parties thereto. This subparagraph (II) shall apply to any existing as well as any future joint operating or service contract entered into with such municipalities.
(s)
To enter into and perform, without an election, contracts and agreements with any municipality or person for or concerning the planning, construction, lease, or other acquisition, operation, maintenance, improvement, equipment, disposal, and the financing of any project;
(t)
To enter upon any land, to make surveys, borings, soundings, and examinations for the purposes of the district, in order to locate the necessary works of any project and any roadways and other rights-of-way appertaining to any project authorized in this part 5; to acquire all property necessary for the acquisition or improvement of said works, including lands for compensating reservoirs, and all necessary appurtenances;
(u)
To carry on technical and other investigations of all kinds, make measurements, collect data, and make analyses, studies, and inspections pertaining to water supply, water rights, control of floods, and use of water, sewage facilities, and any project, both within and without the district;
(v)
To have the right to provide from revenues or other available funds an adequate fund for the improvement of a sewage disposal system or of any parts of the works and properties of the district;
(w)
To prescribe and enforce reasonable rules and regulations for the availability of service from, the connection with, the use of, and the disconnection from a sewage disposal system, any other facilities, project, or other property of the district authorized in this part 5, and the operation of a sewage disposal system and any sewer system;
(x)
To make and keep records in connection with any project or otherwise concerning the district;
(y)
To arbitrate any differences arising in connection with any project or otherwise concerning the district;
(z)
To have the management, control, and supervision of all the business and affairs appertaining to any project authorized in this part 5, or otherwise concerning the district, and of the acquisition, improvement, equipment, operation, and maintenance of any such project;
(aa)
To prescribe the duties of officers, agents, employees, and other persons, and fix their compensation, but the compensation of employees and officers shall be established at prevailing rates of pay for equivalent work;
(bb)
To enter into contracts of indemnity and guaranty, in such form as may be approved by the board, relating to or connected with the performance of any contract or agreement which the district is empowered to enter into under the provisions of this part 5 or of any other law of the state;
(cc)
To provide, by any contract, without an election:
(I)
For the joint use of personnel, equipment, and facilities of any district and public bodies, including sewer systems, sewage disposal plants, and public buildings constructed by or under the supervision of the board of a district or the governing body of the public body concerned, upon such terms and agreements, and within such areas within the district, as may be determined, for the promotion and protection of health, comfort, safety, life, welfare, and property of the inhabitants of the district and public bodies;
(II)
For the joint employment of clerks, stenographers, and other employees appertaining to any sewer system or sewage disposal system, or both, now existing or hereafter established in any district, upon such terms and conditions as may be determined for the equitable apportionment of the expenses therefrom resulting;
(dd)
To obtain financial statements, appraisals, economic feasibility reports, and valuations of any type appertaining to any project or any property pertaining thereto;
(ee)
To adopt any resolution authorizing a project or the issuance of securities, or both, or otherwise appertaining thereto, or otherwise concerning the district;
(ff)
To make and execute a mortgage, deed of trust, indenture, or other trust instrument appertaining to a project or to any securities authorized in this part 5, or to both, except as provided in paragraph (gg) of this subsection (1) and in section
32-4-524 (8)
;
(gg)
To make all contracts, execute all instruments, and do all things necessary or convenient in the exercise of the powers granted in this part 5, or in the performance of the district's covenants or duties, or in order to secure the payment of its securities, if no encumbrance, mortgage, or other pledge of property, excluding any money, of the district is created thereby, and if no property, excluding money, of the district is liable to be forfeited or taken in payment of said securities;
(hh)
To have and exercise all rights and powers necessary or incidental to or implied from the specific powers granted in this part 5. Such specific powers shall not be considered as a limitation upon any power necessary or appropriate to carry out the purposes and intent of this part 5.
(ii)
To exercise all or any part or combination of the powers granted in this part 5.
(jj)
(I)
For authorized inspectors of the district, upon presentation of proper credentials, to enter and inspect at any reasonable time and in a reasonable manner, any property, premises, or place for the purpose of investigating any actual, suspected, or potential violations of the environmental protection agency's approved industrial pretreatment program pursuant to 40 CFR 403 . The inspectors may obtain samples of wastewater. The district may furnish a copy of the results of any analysis of the sample to the owner, operator, or person in charge of the property, premises, or place.
(II)
If the owner, operator, or person in charge of any property, premises, or place denies entry or inspection, the district may obtain from the district court or county court for the judicial district or county in which such property, premises, or place is located, a warrant to enter and inspect the property, premises, or place. The district courts and county courts of the state may issue a warrant as specified in this subsection (1)(jj)(II) upon a district's proper showing of the need for entry and inspection.
Amended by 2024 Ch. 71,§ 1, eff. 8/7/2024.
L. 60: p. 169, § 6. CRS 53: § 89-15-6. L. 62: pp. 188, 192, §§ 4, 5. C.R.S. 1963: § 89-15-6. L. 67: p. 535, § 8. L. 71: p. 1214, § 10. L. 77: (1)(h) amended, p. 1505, § 56, effective July 15. L. 79: (1)(p) amended, p. 1624, § 36, effective June 8. L. 81: (1)(r) amended, p. 1638, § 3, effective May 8. L. 89: (1)(p) amended, p. 1118, § 37, effective July 1. L. 90: (1)(i) amended, p. 572, § 66, effective July 1. L. 93: (1)(k), (1)(r)(I), (1)(s), and IP(1)(cc) amended, p. 21, § 2, effective March 4.
2024 Ch. 71, was passed without a safety clause. See Colo. Const. art. V, § 1(3).
This section is set out more than once due to postponed, multiple, or conflicting amendments.