New York Laws
Title 7 - Onondaga County Water Authority
1154 - Powers of the Authority.

§ 1154. Powers of the authority. The authority shall have power:

1. To sue and be sued;

2. To have a seal and alter the same at pleasure;

3. To acquire, in the name of the authority, lease, hold and dispose
of real estate and personal property or any interest therein for its
corporate purposes, including the power to purchase prospective or
tentative awards in connection with the exercise of the power of
condemnation hereinafter granted;

4. To purchase, in the name of the authority, any 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, or any other property incidental to and
included in such system or part thereof, and any improvements,
extensions and betterments, situated wholly within the county, 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; 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, and in the case of a sale or
other transfer of properties of a public utility corporation pursuant to
this provision, it shall be lawful to dissolve such corporation;

5. To supply and sell water for domestic, commercial and public
purposes at retail to individual consumers within the county of Onondaga
or at wholesale in the manner provided by subdivision eight of this
section as a means of so acquiring for such purposes, and the authority
may purchase all of the stock of any existing privately owned water
corporation or company, and thereafter, within a reasonable time, such
water corporation or company shall be dissolved;

6. To condemn in the name of the authority, within the territorial
limits of the county, any 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 or any other property incidental to and included
in such system or part thereof, and any improvements, extensions and
betterments for the purpose of supplying water for domestic, commercial
and public purposes at retail to individual consumers within the county
of Onondaga or at wholesale in the manner provided by subdivision eight
of this section. The authority shall exercise the power of condemnation
hereby granted in the manner provided by the condemnation law and title
to the properties described in the condemnation proceedings shall become
and be vested in the authority in accordance with the provisions of the
condemnation law. In the exercise of such power of condemnation, the
property being condemned shall be deemed, when so determined by the
authority, to be for a public use superior to the public use in the
hands of any other person, association, or corporation, provided,

however, that the authority shall have no power to condemn property the
legal title to which is vested in a municipality or a political
subdivision of the state, unless such municipality or political
subdivision shall consent thereto.

7. To construct and develop any water supply system, water
distribution system including plants, works, instrumentalities, or parts
thereof, and appurtenances thereto, dams, reservoirs, water mains, pipe
lines, pumping stations and equipment, or any other property incidental
to or included in such system or part thereof within the county of
Onondaga, and to acquire, by condemnation in the manner provided by this
title, or by purchase, lands, easements, rights in land, and water
rights and rights-of-way in connection therewith within such county; 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;

8. To sell water by volume to any or all municipalities, duly
established water districts or privately owned public water supply and
distribution systems in such county. The fact that any municipality has
procured or is about to procure an independent source of water supply
shall not prevent such municipality from purchasing water from the
authority. To sell any water not needed in such county to any duly
established water district, municipality or privately owned public water
supply and distribution system outside of the county in which created.
Not only may the authority sell any surplus water it may have developed,
but it may develop and provide a sufficient amount of water so as to
supply water outside of the county to any municipality, duly established
water district or privately owned public water supply and distribution
system;

9. To purchase water in bulk from any person, private corporation or
municipality when necessary or convenient for the operation of such
water supply and distribution system;

10. To acquire, hold, use, lease, sell, transfer and dispose of any
property, real, personal or mixed, or interest therein, for its
corporate purposes, including the right to sell, lease, convey or
otherwise dispose of any distribution system or improvements thereto
which the authority may acquire or construct to any municipal
corporation or town water district, town water supply district, or to
the county;

11. To produce, develop, distribute and sell water or water services
within or without the territorial limits of the district; and to
purchase water from any municipal corporation, town water district,
person, association or corporation; provided, however, that water may be
sold at retail to individual consumers only within the county of
Onondaga 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 board of such municipality or
district shall adopt a resolution requesting the authority to sell water
in such served area; and the authority shall not interfere with any
water supply or water system of any municipality unless requested by
such municipality after such municipality has held a referendum on such
question and approval given thereon;

12. To make by-laws for the management and regulation of its affairs
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
and by-laws, and all amendments thereto, duly certified by the secretary

of the authority shall be filed in the office of the clerk of the county
and thereafter published once in two newspapers having a general
circulation in the county. Violation of such rules shall be punishable
by fine, not exceeding fifty dollars, or by imprisonment for not longer
than thirty days, or both. Exclusive jurisdiction is hereby conferred
upon the local criminal courts of the county, outside the city of
Syracuse, which have trial jurisdiction, to hear and determine, subject
to the provisions of the criminal procedure law, any violation of this
title;

13. To use the officers, employees, facilities and equipment of the
county with the consent of the county, paying a proper portion of the
compensation or cost;

14. To make contracts and to execute all necessary or convenient
instruments, including evidences of indebtedness, negotiable or
non-negotiable;

15. To enter on any lands, waterways and premises for the purpose of
making surveys, soundings and examinations;

16. To borrow money and to issue negotiable bonds or notes or other
obligations and to fund or refund the same, and to provide for the
rights of the holders of its obligations;

17. To 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, notes 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 reserves for depreciation, maintenance
and contingencies and all other obligations and indebtedness of the
authority;

18. To enter into cooperative agreements with other water authorities,
municipalities, counties, 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, and
within the territorial limits of the district to enter into a contract
for the construction and 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;

19. To accept grants, loans or contributions from the United States,
the state of New York, or any agency or instrumentality of either of
them, or the county, or an individual, by bequest or otherwise, and to
expend the proceeds for any purposes of the authority;

20. To do all things necessary or convenient to carry out the powers
expressly given in this title.

21. To contract with the board of supervisors of the county of
Onondaga for the acquisition, construction and development of a water
supply and distribution system, or any part or parts thereof, on behalf
of a county water district or districts, and to contract for the
operation and management of any such district or districts, in
accordance in each case with the provisions of article five-A of the
county law.

22. To act as a county water agency in accordance with the provisions
of article five-A of the county law.

23. To contract for the purposes of subdivision twenty-four of section
ten of article two of the highway law.

24. Notwithstanding any other provision of this section, to purchase,
construct, lease and operate water systems and properties in the towns
of Sullivan, Lenox, Lincoln, Volney, Verona, Vienna, Hannibal, Hastings,
Minetto, Schroeppel, Scriba, Oswego, West Monroe, Annsville, Granby,
Constantia, Parish and Sterling to enter into any contract authorized by
this section with any municipality within the territorial limits of said
towns, and to supply and sell any water not needed in the county of
Onondaga at retail or at wholesale to individual consumers within the
territorial limits of said towns.