2023 South Carolina Code of Laws › Title 6 - Local Government - Provisions Applicable to Special Purpose Districts and Other Political Subdivisions › Chapter 13 - Rural Community Water Districts › Section 6-13-970. Powers and duties.

The Authority shall be fully empowered to acquire, construct, operate, maintain, improve and extend facilities which would enable it to obtain fresh water in large volume, and to distribute and sell the same, subject to the limitations set forth in Section 6-13-960, to persons, firms, corporations, municipal corporations, political divisions, and the United States Government, or any agencies thereof, at any point within its service area. To that end, the Authority shall have the following powers:
(1) To have perpetual succession.
(2) To sue and be sued.
(3) To adopt, use and alter a corporate seal.
(4) To define a quorum for its meetings.
(5) To establish a principal office.
(6) To make bylaws for the management and regulation of its affairs.
(7) To build, construct, maintain and operate canals, aqueducts, ditches, tunnels, culverts, flumes, conduits, mains, pipes, dikes, dams and water reservoirs.
(8) To impound fresh water in lakes or reservoirs.
(9) To build, construct, maintain and operate water distribution systems for the distribution of water for domestic or industrial use and from time to time enlarge and extend such systems.
(10) To acquire and operate any type of machinery, appliances or appurtenances, necessary or useful to discharge the functions committed to the Authority by this act.
(11) To accept gifts or grants of services, properties or moneys from the United States, or any of its agencies, under such conditions as the United States, or such agency shall prescribe.
(12) Subject to the provisions of Section 6-13-960, to sell water for industrial or domestic use.
(13) To prescribe rates and regulations under which water shall be sold for domestic and industrial use.
(13A) To prescribe rates and regulations under which sewer service shall be provided for domestic and industrial use.
(14) Subject to the provisions of Section 6-13-960, to enter into contracts for the sale of water, upon such terms as the parties thereto shall approve, with persons, private corporations, municipal corporations, public bodies, public agencies and with the United States Government or any agencies thereof.
(15) To prescribe such regulations as it shall deem necessary to protect from pollution all water in its canals, aqueducts, reservoirs or distribution systems, and to provide for the efficient and sanitary collection and treatment of sewage.
(16) To make contracts of all sorts and to execute all instruments necessary or convenient for the carrying on of the Authority.
(17) To lease or sell and convey lands, or interests therein.
(18) To make use of county and State highway rights of way in which to lay pipes and lines, in such manner and under such conditions as the appropriate officials in charge of such rights of way shall approve.
(19) Subject always to the limitations of Section 15, Article VIII of the Constitution, to make use of the streets and public ways of any incorporated municipality for the purpose of laying pipes and lines.
(20) To alter and change county and State highways wherever necessary in order that it may discharge the functions committed to it, in such manner and under such conditions as the appropriate officials in charge of such highways shall approve.
(21) To acquire, by purchase, gift, or through the exercise of eminent domain, all land, interests therein, easements, rights of way which the Authority shall deem necessary to enable it to fully and adequately discharge all functions committed to it. The power herein granted shall be deemed to include the power to acquire protective areas of land adjacent to any of its facilities.
(22) To exercise the power of eminent domain for any corporate function. The power of eminent domain may be exercised through any procedure prescribed by law or by following the procedure for the exercise of eminent domain by the Department of Transportation, prescribed by Article 1, Chapter 3, Title 57, as such statutes are now constituted or as they may afterwards be constituted following any amendments thereto.
(23) To appoint officers, agents, employees and servants, to prescribe the duties of such, to fix their compensation, and to determine if and to what extent they shall be bonded for the faithful performance of their duties.
(24) To make contracts for construction, engineering, legal and other services, with or without competitive bidding.
(25) To borrow money and to make and issue negotiable bonds, notes and other evidences of indebtedness, payable from all or any part of the revenues derived from the operation of its facilities. The sums borrowed may be those needed to pay all costs incident to the construction and establishment of the facilities, and any extension, addition, and improvement thereto, including engineering costs, construction costs, the sum needed to pay interest during the period prior to which the facilities, or any extension, addition or improvement thereto shall be fully in operation, and self-liquidating, such sum as is needed to supply working capital to place the facilities in operation, and all other expenses of any sort that the Authority may incur in establishing, extending and enlarging the facilities. Neither the faith and credit of the State, nor of any county, municipality, or political subdivision of the State shall be pledged for the payment of the principal and interest of the obligations and there shall be on the face of each obligation a statement, plainly worded to that effect. Neither the members of the Authority nor any person signing the obligations shall be personally liable thereon. To the end that a convenient procedure for borrowing money may be prescribed, the Authority shall be fully empowered to avail itself of all power granted by law and by Chapter 16, Title 6, as now or hereafter constituted, it being the intent of this provision that further amendments and modifications of these Code provisions shall be deemed to amend and revise correspondingly the powers granted by this section. In exercising the power conferred upon the Authority by such Code provisions, the Authority may make all pledges and covenants authorized by any provision thereof, and may confer upon the holders of its securities all rights and liens authorized by such Code provisions. Specifically, and notwithstanding contrary provisions in any of such Code provisions, if contrary provisions there be, the Authority may:
(a) Covenant and agree that upon it being adjudged in default as to the payment of any installment of principal or interest upon any obligation issued by it or in default as to the performance of any covenant or undertaking made by it, that in such event, the principal of all obligations of such issue may be declared forthwith due and payable, notwithstanding that any of them may not have then matured;
(b) Confer upon a corporate trustee the power to make disposition of the proceeds from all borrowings and of all revenues derived from the operation of the facilities, in accordance with and in the order of priority prescribed by the resolutions adopted by the Authority as an incident to the issuance of any notes, bonds or other types of securities;
(c) Declare that such obligations and the interest thereon shall be exempt from all State, county, municipal, school district, and all other taxes or assessments, direct or indirect, general or special, whether imposed for the purpose of general revenue or otherwise. This provision shall be deemed a part of the contract, inuring to the benefit of all holders or beneficiaries of its securities;
(d) Dispose of its obligations at public or private sale, and upon such terms and conditions as it shall approve;
(e) Make such provision for the redemption of any obligations issued by it prior to their stated maturity, with or without premium, and on such terms and conditions as the Authority shall approve;
(f) Covenant and agree that any cushion fund established to further secure the payment of the principal and interest of any obligations shall be in a fixed amount;
(g) Limit or prohibit free service to any person, firm, corporation, municipal corporation, or any subdivision or division of the State;
(h) Prescribe the procedure, if any, by which the terms of the contract with the holders of its obligations may be amended, the number of obligations whose holders must consent thereto, and the manner in which such consent shall be given;
(i) Prescribe the events of default and the terms and conditions upon which all or any obligations shall become or may be declared due before maturity, and the terms and conditions upon which such declaration and its consequences may be waived.
(26) To do all other acts and things necessary or convenient to carry out any function or power committed or granted to the Authority.
(27) To build, acquire, construct, operate and maintain such sewage facilities as shall, in the opinion of the Authority, be necessary for the district and economically practicable.
(28) To build, acquire, construct, operate and maintain a sewage treatment plant and sewage collection system.
(29) To build, acquire, construct, maintain, enlarge and improve sewer lines and facilities for the treatment and disposal of sewage and other waste.
(30) To acquire existing water systems and sewer systems upon such terms and conditions as the Authority shall agree upon, including any such systems under construction.
HISTORY: 1967 Act No. 571, Section 6, eff July 12, 1967; 1970 Act No. 1192, Sections 3, 4, eff May 1, 1970; 1971 Act No. 593, Section 1, eff July 7, 1971.
Code Commissioner's Note
This section was codified at the direction of the Code Commissioner in 2012.
Effect of Amendment
The 1970 amendment rewrote item (15), and added items (28), (29), and (30).
The 1971 amendment added item (13A).