New York Laws
Title 29 - Development Authority of the North Country Act
2710 - Special Powers With Regard to Water Facilities.

§ 2710. Special powers with regard to water facilities. The authority
shall have power:

1. to acquire, construct, purchase or lease, in the name of the
authority, any water facility, 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, wells or any other property incidental to and
included in such system or part thereof, and any improvements,
extensions and betterments, situated within the participating counties
for the purpose of supplying water for domestic, commercial and public
purposes within the participating counties to any person, the state, any
public corporation or the United States; and as a means of so acquiring
for such purposes, the authority may purchase all of the assets of any
existing privately owned water corporation or company;

2. to have and take ownership, jurisdiction, control, possession and
supervision of any existing water system and to construct and develop
any water facility including any water supply system or water
distribution system, including plants, works, instrumentalities, or
parts thereof, and appurtenances thereto, dams, reservoirs, water mains,
pipe lines, pumping stations and equipment, wells, or any other property
incidental to or included in such system or part thereof within the
participating counties and to acquire, by condemnation, as provided in
this section or otherwise lands, easements, rights of land, and water
rights and rights-of-way within the participating counties; or to
purchase or lease lands, easements, rights in land, and water rights and
rights-of-way in connection therewith within the participating counties
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;

3. to establish a schedule of rates, rentals or charges, to be called
"water rents," to be collected from all real property served by its
water facilities, and to prescribe the manner in which and the time at
which such water rents are to be paid, provided that in no event shall
the authority collect rents within any city within a participating
county, and to change such schedule from time to time as may be deemed
advisable. Such water rents may be determined by the authority on any
equitable basis. Prior to the final adoption or modification of such
schedule of water rents, the authority shall adopt a proposed schedule
of such water rents and publish notice thereof once a week for three
successive weeks in each participating county served by the authority's
water facilities. The notice so published shall be dated as of the date
of first publication thereof and shall state that the proposed schedule
of water rents will remain open for inspection in the office of the
authority for thirty days from the date of such notice, and that
objections thereto may be filed during said period with the authority by
any person conceiving himself aggrieved thereby. The authority shall
hear and examine any such complaints and may modify the proposed
schedule and shall adopt a final schedule of water rents within sixty
days after the date of said notice. The schedule of water rents so
adopted shall thereafter be the water rents to be charged all real
property served by the sewer facilities of the authority. From and after
the due date thereof, such water rents shall constitute a lien upon the
real property served by the facilities. In the event that any such water
rent shall remain unpaid for a period of ninety days, the authority, or

for property within any city within a participating county, such city,
may bring and maintain an action in the supreme court for the
foreclosure of such lien;

4. to adopt regulations in accordance with law providing that the
authority shall shut off the supply of water to any premises upon which
water rents have not been paid until the water rents are paid, together
with provision for an equitable charge for restoring water service to
said premises;

5. to sell water, however acquired, by volume and at retail to
consumers including the United States within the participating counties
for domestic, commercial, industrial and public purposes, or by volume
or in bulk and at wholesale to any or all persons, public corporations,
the United States or any privately owned public water supply and
distribution systems in the participating counties. To sell any water
not needed in such participating counties by volume and at retail to
consumers without the participating counties for domestic, commercial,
industrial and public purposes, or by volume or in bulk and at wholesale
to any municipality, public corporation or privately owned public water
supply and distribution system outside of the participating counties,
provided that the authority shall not sell water in any area outside of
the participating counties unless the governing board of the
municipality wherein such area is located shall enter into an agreement
with the authority for service or sale of water by it in such area or
shall by resolution request the authority to sell water within such
area. Any agreement between a municipality outside of the participating
counties and the authority for the sale of water to or within such
municipality shall be subject to the approval of the legislative body of
the participating county or counties wherein the water facility
supplying such water is located. In addition to the powers hereinbefore
granted the authority may develop and provide a sufficient amount of
water so as to supply water outside of the participating counties to
sell such water to consumers, any person, public corporation or
privately owned public water supply and distribution system provided
however, that no such sale shall be made without the approval of the
legislative body of the county in which the water facility supplying
such water is located;

6. to purchase water in bulk or by volume from any person, private
corporation or municipality when necessary or convenient for the
operation of any water supply and distribution system developed by it,
or when necessary or convenient for resale under the authority and
provisions of subdivision three of this section; and

7. to enter into cooperative agreements with other water authorities,
municipalities, persons, or public benefit corporations, for the
interconnection of facilities, the exchange or inter-change of services
and commodities, and to enter into contracts for the construction of
water supply and distribution systems by the authority for any
municipality 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 provided, however, that any such agreement with a
municipality located in a county, shall be subject to the approval of
the legislative body of such county; and

8. to enter into a contract or contracts with the board of
supervisors or county legislatures of each participating county for the
acquisition, construction and development of a water supply and
distribution system, or any part or parts thereof and to contract for
the operation and management of such water supply and distribution
system.