N.Y.
Public Authorities Law Section 2710
Special powers with regard to water facilities
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; and7.
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; and8.
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.
Source:
Section 2710 — Special powers with regard to water facilities, https://www.nysenate.gov/legislation/laws/PBA/2710 (updated Sep. 22, 2014; accessed Apr. 27, 2024).
