§ 417-5. Powers

The District shall be a body politic and corporate with the powers incident to a municipal corporation under the laws of the State of Vermont consistent with the purpose of the District and in addition 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, recycling centers, intermediate processing facilities, composting facilities, or resource recovery facilities, or any combination thereof, and to determine and make proper charges for the cost of such services.

(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.

(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.

(6) To contract with architects, engineers, financial and legal consultants, and other experts for services.

(7) To contract with individuals, corporations, associations, authorities, and agencies for services.

(8) To provide solid waste disposal services for the member municipalities, the inhabitants thereof, and the businesses therein, and for such others as its facilities and obligations may allow.

(9) To contract with the State of Vermont, the United States of America, or any subdivision or agency thereof for services.

(10) To contract with any member municipality for the services of any officers or employees of that municipality useful to it.

(11) To promote cooperative arrangements and coordinated action among its member municipalities.

(12) 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.

(13) To exercise any other powers which are necessary or desirable for dealing with solid waste problems of mutual concern and which are exercised or are capable of exercise by any of its member municipalities.

(14) To exercise the power of eminent domain within the District or within any municipality which has withdrawn from the District, provided such property or site to be taken by eminent domain must have been considered, by official action of the Board of Supervisors, as a potential site or sites for a solid waste management facility during the 12-month period immediately preceding the date of withdrawal.

(15) To borrow money and issue evidence of indebtedness as provided by 24 V.S.A. chapters 53 and 119 or other provisions of law authorizing general obligations or revenue debt, including 10 V.S.A. chapter 12.

(16) To establish a budget and assess member municipalities in accordance therewith.

(17) To appropriate and expend monies.

(18) To establish sinking funds for the retirement of bonded or other indebtedness.

(19) To establish capital reserve funds for improvements in furtherance of its purpose.

(20) To regulate by rule, regulation, or ordinance the collection, transportation, processing, 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 therein shall be disposed of only in and upon facilities owned by the District.

(21) To enact and enforce any and all necessary or desirable regulations for the orderly conduct of governance and for carrying out the purpose of the District.

(22) To accept and administer gifts, grants, and bequests in trust or otherwise for the purpose of the District.

(23) To exercise all powers incident to a public corporation.

(24) To require that solid waste from commercial, agricultural, or industrial activities be tested by an entity specified by the District, and to require that the costs of testing be borne by the generator of the solid waste.

(25) To enter into contract services with individual nonmember municipalities or other entities to provide services otherwise in the scope of the District's powers and purposes.

(26) To appoint law enforcement officers or other agents for the enforcement of ordinances, rules, and regulations of the District.

(27) To enter into siting agreements with municipalities within which a District facility is to be located, which agreements may specify the terms, conditions, and provisions under which a District facility shall be constructed, operated, and maintained. In the event it is impractical or impossible to determine whether damage to the environment is caused by the District facility or from an adjacent property, the District may indemnify and hold harmless the municipality from any such damage, costs, and liabilities.

(28) To enter into cooperative or interlocal agreements with other municipalities or persons, within or outside the District, providing for the management of solid waste, recyclable materials, organic material, or a combination of solid waste, recyclable materials, and organic material.

(29) To enact policies defining and regulating conflicts of interest of members of the Board of Supervisors, and employees and officers of the District.

(30) To enact policies and regulations with respect to procurement of goods and services. (Amended 2011, No. M-11 (Adj. Sess.), § 2, eff. July 12, 2012.)