2023 New York Laws › PBA - Public Authorities › Article 5 - Public Utility Authorities › Title 8-C - Water Authority of Western Nassau County › 1198-F - Powers of the Authority.

§ 1198-f. 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, 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
or 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.