2013 South Carolina Code of Laws
Title 6 - Local Government - Provisions Applicable to Special Purpose Districts and Other Political Subdivisions
CHAPTER 25 - JOINT AUTHORITY WATER AND SEWER SYSTEMS ACT
SECTION 6-25-100. Powers of joint system.

A joint system shall have all the rights and powers of a public body politic and corporate of this State, necessary or convenient to carry out the provisions of this chapter, including, without limitation, the power or right to:

(1) have perpetual succession;

(2) sue and be sued;

(3) adopt, use, and alter a corporate seal;

(4) maintain a principal office;

(5) make bylaws for the management and regulation of its affairs;

(6) receive, administer, and comply with the conditions and requirements respecting any gift, grant, or donation of any property or money;

(7) purchase, build, construct, maintain, rent, lease, and operate ditches, tunnels, culverts, equipment, flumes, conduits, mains, pipes, dykes, dams, reservoirs, water treatment facilities, and any facilities to impound, treat, produce, transmit, distribute, operate, service, or sell water or to collect and treat wastewater in connection with the project;

(8) acquire and operate machines, appliances, or appurtenances necessary or useful to construct, operate, or maintain the system;

(9) enter contracts to purchase or sell water or provide sewer service;

(10) prescribe rates or regulations under which water is sold;

(11) make contracts and execute instruments or documents necessary or convenient to carry on the business of the joint system;

(12) sell, lease, exchange, transfer, or otherwise dispose of or to grant an option concerning an interest in property in conformity with state law;

(13) acquire by purchase, lease, gift, or otherwise, or to obtain an option for the acquisition of property, real or personal, improved or unimproved, including an interest in land less than the fee in conformity with state law;

(14) borrow money and issue revenue bonds or notes of the joint system, to loan the proceeds of any borrowing to any member of the joint system to be paid solely from revenues of the system, the loan repayments of members, and such other funds as may be available therefor with a favorable vote of two-thirds of the commissioners. A bond or note may not be issued, the payment for which depends upon a contract or agreement with a member except with the approval of the governing body of such member, by resolution of the governing body of the member. The requirements of this item are satisfied and no further action is required with respect to a bond or note issued to finance a project that has been approved by the governing body of the member as provided in Section 6-25-110. The approval of a note or bond under this chapter shall include an issuance in one or more series and any refunding or refinancing of them so that only the original issuance of the debt must be approved. The members of a joint system may prescribe additional procedures and requirements as they determine appropriate to issue a note or bond in the bylaws of a joint system;

(15) pledge or assign money, rents, charges, or other revenue and proceeds derived by the joint system from the sale of property, insurance, or a condemnation award;

(16) authorize the construction, operation, or maintenance of a project by a person, firm, or corporation, including a political subdivision and agency of a state of the United States;

(17) apply to the appropriate agencies of the State, the United States or another state, and to another proper agency to obtain a permit, license, certificate, or approval as necessary; and to construct, maintain, and operate the project in accordance with such a license, permit, certificate, or approval;

(18) 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;

(19) employ engineers, architects, attorneys, appraisers, financial advisors, or other consultants or employees required, and to fix and pay their compensation from funds available to the joint system;

(20) 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;

(21) exercise the power of eminent domain as provided by the laws of this State;

(22) before, and in connection with the acquisition of a project, study, plan, finance, own, operate, and maintain the project, and after the acquisition, to study, plan, finance, acquire, construct, reconstruct, improve, enlarge, extend, own, operate, and maintain an additional project;

(23) acquire by negotiated purchase or lease an existing project, a project under construction, or other property, either individually or jointly, with another authority in this State or another state owning a water or sewer facility or with a political division or agency of another state, or another joint system created pursuant to this chapter;

(24) dispose of by negotiated sale or lease, an existing project, a project under construction, or other property, either individually or jointly, with one or more authority in this State or another state owning a water or sewer facility or with a political subdivision or agency of another state or with another joint system created pursuant to this chapter;

(25) fix, charge, and collect rents, rates, fees, and charges for water or sewage services, and commodities sold, furnished, or supplied through a project; and

(26) acquire and operate a water treatment system, water distribution system, or sewer system, including the system of a member if its consent is first obtained and referendum approval is obtained in those instances where required by law.

Provided, that the provisions of (7), (8), (9), (11), (17), (18), (21), (22), (23), (24), (25), and (26) do not apply to a joint system organized solely for the purpose of creating a financing pool.

HISTORY: 1983 Act No. 82, Section 2; 1986 Act No. 456, Section 5; 1995 Act No. 145, Part II, Section 91B; 1997 Act No. 74, Section 3; 1999 Act No. 113, Sections 12, 13; 2007 Act No. 59, Section 1, eff June 6, 2007.