§ 401-5. Powers

Except as otherwise provided or limited in this chapter, the District shall have the following powers:

(1) to operate, cause to be operated, contract for, and otherwise provide for the collection and transportation of solid waste, and for the operation and maintenance of solid waste facilities, programs, and services of every kind, including sanitary landfills, incinerators, recycling centers, intermediate processing facilities, composting plants or resource recovery facilities, information and education programs, waste reduction services, or any combination thereof, and to determine and make proper charges for the cost of such facilities, programs, and services by rule, regulation, or ordinance; such costs for facilities, programs, and services may be recovered, in whole or in part, by requiring the owners and operators of facilities accepting solid waste generated from within the District, including facilities within and without the District, not owned or controlled by the District, to charge persons delivering solid waste to such facilities and to remit such charges to the District;

(2) to purchase, sell, lease, own, acquire, convey, mortgage, improve, and use real and personal property in connection with the purpose of the District, and to construct, develop, and maintain solid waste facilities in accordance with federal and State law; District-owned and leased real property shall not be exempt from municipal property taxation, except that a municipality by its voters and the District by its Board of Supervisors may agree to exempt District-owned or leased property from taxation and to provide for payments to the municipality in such amounts as are agreeable to the respective parties;

(3) to hire and fix the compensation of employees;

(4) to sue and be sued;

(5) to enter into contracts for any term or duration; including contracts with consultants and other experts for services, contracts with the State of Vermont or the federal government or any agency or department thereof, for services, and contracts with any participating municipality for the services of any officers or employees of the municipality useful to it;

(6) to provide solid waste disposal services for the member municipalities, the inhabitants thereof, and their businesses, and for such others as its facilities and obligations may allow;

(7) to contract with a nonmember municipality or a private entity for the disposal of solid waste generated outside the boundaries of the District, provided the contract will not increase the cost of solid waste disposal to the member municipalities or the inhabitants thereof;

(8) to contract to pay for solid waste disposal services on the basis of guaranteed amounts, whether delivered for disposal and accepted for disposal or not, of solid waste, with payments based on such guaranteed amounts, whether actually disposed of or not, which payments may be variable and may be determined by formulae expressed in such contracts;

(9) to the extent that quantities of regulated and unregulated hazardous wastes are found as part of the solid waste stream, to require the separation of, and otherwise plan for and manage such wastes, consistent with applicable State and federal laws and regulations;

(10) to make recommendations for review and action to its member municipalities and other public agencies which perform functions within the region in which its member municipalities are located;

(11) to acquire by the exercise of the power of eminent domain any real property which the District may deem necessary for its purposes, after the adoption of a resolution by the Board of Supervisors declaring that the acquisition of the real property described therein is necessary for such purposes. The District may exercise the power of eminent domain following the procedures provided for the condemnation of land or rights therein as set forth in 24 V.S.A. § 3211(a)-(e) and 3212(a)-(c), (e) and (f) (or following any other procedure allowed by law) and to that end, it shall have the power to survey and test, and to apply for orders of the court to do so as set forth in 24 V.S.A. § 3209(3). Property already devoted to a public use may be acquired, provided no real property belonging to a member municipality, the county, the State, or any political subdivision thereof may be acquired without its consent;

(12) to borrow money and issue evidence of indebtedness as provided by 24 V.S.A. chapter 53.

(13) to establish a budget and assess member municipalities in accordance therewith;

(14) to appropriate and expend monies;

(15) to establish capital reserve funds for public improvements in furtherance of its purpose;

(16) to regulate the collection, transportation, resource recovery, recycling, and disposal of solid waste within the District and to require that acceptable solid wastes generated within the District and any member municipality shall be disposed of only in and upon facilities operated by or on behalf of the District; or in a facility or manner that is part of an approved District plan;

(17) to issue local franchises and to enact, amend, or repeal any and all rules, regulations, and ordinances necessary to manage the collection, transportation, storage, processing, recovery, recycling, and disposal of solid waste, or otherwise necessary or desirable for the orderly conduct of the affairs of the District, and for carrying out the purposes of the District, and to impose penalties for the violation thereof not exceeding $500.00, and to provide, upon petition of the District to the Superior Court, in addition to such injunctive and other relief as may be available, for civil penalties for the violation thereof not exceeding $500.00. Any such rule, regulation, or ordinance may further provide that each day a violation continues shall constitute an additional, separate, and distinct offense;

(18) to require each member municipality, either directly or through independent parties, to provide one or more collection sites for the solid waste generated within such member municipality and for the transportation of such solid waste to the District facility, together with all costs incident thereto, and to assess any costs resulting to the District as a result of a failure of any member municipality to comply with the District's requirements to such member municipality;

(19) to accept and administer gifts, grants, and bequests in trust or otherwise for the purpose of the District;

(20) to exercise all powers incident to a public corporation;

(21) to exercise any other powers which are exercised or are capable of exercise by any of the District's participating municipalities, and necessary or desirable for dealing with problems of mutual concern.