New York Laws
Title 8-D - Rensselaer County Water and Sewer Authority
1199-D - Powers of the Authority.

§ 1199-d. Powers of the authority. The authority shall have the power:

1. To sue and be sued;

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

3. To borrow money and issue bonds or other obligations and to provide
for the rights of the holders thereof;

4. To enter into contracts and to 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. To 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 any real or personal property or any interest
therein, 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 of the state
unless such municipality shall consent thereto;

6. To purchase, in the name of the authority, any water facility or
sewerage facility, 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, supply
facility or transmission facility or any part thereof situated wholly or
partly without the territorial limits of the district, provided the 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, and 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. To construct, improve, maintain, develop, expand or rehabilitate
water facilities or sewerage facilities;

8. To operate and manage and to contract for the operation and
management of properties of the authority;

9. To 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. To enter into contracts with municipalities for the collection,
treatment and disposal of sewage;

11. To 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, and to accept, in
its discretion, such licenses, permits or approvals as may be tendered
to it by such agencies and officials;

12. To appoint such officers and employees as are required for the
performance of its duties, to fix and determine their qualifications,

duties and compensation, and to retain or employ counsel, auditors,
engineers and private consultants on a contract basis or otherwise for
rendering professional or technical services and advice;

13. To 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. To 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;

15. To 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;

16. To supply and sell water for domestic, commercial and public
purposes at retail to individual consumers within the district and to
collect, treat and discharge sewage produced for such purposes by such
generators;

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

18. To produce, develop, distribute and sell water or sewerage
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 and
sewerage services 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 or sewerage
services in any area which is served by a water system or sewerage
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 or
sewerage services, as the case may be, in such served areas;

19. To make by-laws for the management and regulation of its affairs
and subject to agreements with bondholders, rules for the sale of water
or collection of sewage 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 county clerk of the county. In addition, the county
legislature by local law shall have power to prescribe that violation of
specific by-laws of the authority, published once in a newspaper having
a general circulation in the county, shall be punishable by fine, not
exceeding fifty dollars, or by imprisonment for not longer than thirty
days, or both;

20. 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 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 maintenance, contingencies and all
other obligations and indebtedness of the authority;

21. To enter into cooperative agreements with other 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 or
sewerage system by the authority for any municipality having power to
construct and develop a water or sewerage 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;

22. To provide for the discontinuance or disconnection of water or
sewerage service, or both, as the case may be, for non-payment of fees,
rates, rents or other charges therefor imposed by the authority,
provided such discontinuance or disconnection of any water or sewerage
service, or both, as the case may be, 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;

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

24. To do all things necessary, convenient or desirable to carry out
its purposes and for the exercise of the powers granted in this title.