(a) The charter may confer on the regional solid waste management authority any or all of the following powers:

(1) To apply for, accept, receive, and disburse funds and grants made available to it by the State or any agency thereof, the United States of America or any agency thereof, any unit of local government whether or not a member of the authority, any private or civic agency, and any persons, firms, or corporations;

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(2) To employ personnel;

(3) To contract with consultants;

(4) To contract with the United States of America or any agency or instrumentality thereof, the State or any agency, instrumentality, political subdivision, or municipality thereof, or any private corporation, partnership, association, or individual, providing for the acquisition, construction, improvement, enlargement, operation or maintenance of any solid waste management facility, or providing for any solid waste management services;

(5) To adopt bylaws for the regulation of its affairs and the conduct of its business and to prescribe rules and policies in connection with the performance of its functions and duties, not inconsistent with this Article;

(6) To adopt an official seal and alter the same;

(7) To establish and maintain suitable administrative buildings or offices at such place or places as it may determine by purchase, construction, lease, or other arrangements either by the authority alone or through appropriate cost-sharing arrangements with any unit of local government or other person;

(8) To sue and be sued in its own name, and to plead and be impleaded;

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

(10) To acquire by purchase, lease, gift, or otherwise, or to obtain options for the acquisition of any property, real or personal, improved or unimproved, including an interest in land less than the fee thereof;

(11) To sell, lease, exchange, transfer, or otherwise dispose of, or to grant options for any such purposes with respect to any real or personal property or interest therein;

(12) To pledge, assign, mortgage, or otherwise grant a security interest in any real or personal property or interest therein, including the right and power to pledge, assign, or otherwise grant a security interest in any money, rents, charges, or other revenues and any proceeds derived by an authority from any and all sources;

(13) To issue revenue bonds and special obligation bonds of the authority and enter into other financial arrangements including those permitted by this Chapter and Chapters 159 and 160A of the General Statutes to finance solid waste management activities, including but not limited to systems and facilities for waste reduction, materials recovery, recycling, resource recovery, landfilling, ash management, and disposal and for related support facilities, to refund any revenue bonds, special obligation bonds or notes issued by the authority, whether or not in advance of their maturity or earliest redemption date, or to provide funds for other corporate purposes of the authority;

(14) With the approval of any unit of local government, to use officers, employees, agents, and facilities of the unit of local government for such purposes and upon such terms as may be mutually agreeable;

(15) To develop and make data, plans, information, surveys, and studies of solid waste management facilities within the territorial jurisdiction of the members of the authority, to prepare and make recommendations in regard thereto;

(16) To study, plan, design, construct, operate, acquire, lease, and improve systems and facilities, including systems and facilities for waste reduction, materials recovery, recycling, resource recovery, landfilling, ash management, household hazardous waste management, transportation, disposal, and public education regarding solid waste management, in order to provide environmentally sound, cost-effective management of solid waste including storage, collection, transporting, separation, processing, recycling, and disposal of solid waste in order to protect the public health, safety, and welfare; to enhance the environment for the people of this State; recover resources and energy which have the potential for further use, and to promote and implement the purposes set forth in Part 2A of Article 9 of Chapter 130A of the N.C. Gen. Stat.;

(17) To locate solid waste facilities, including ancillary support facilities, as the authority may see fit;

(18) To assume any responsibility for disposal and management of solid waste imposed by law on any member unit of local government;

(19) To operate such facilities together with any person, firm, corporation, the State, any entity of the State, or any unit of local government as appropriate and otherwise permitted by its charter and the laws of this State;

(20) To set and collect such fees and charges as is reasonable to offset operating costs, debt service, and capital reserve requirements of the authority;

(21) To apply to the appropriate agencies of the State, the United States of America or any state thereof, and to any other appropriate agency for such permits, licenses, certificates, or approvals as may be necessary, and to construct, maintain, and operate projects in accordance with such permits, licenses, certificates, or approvals in the same manner as any other person or operating unit of any other person;

(22) To employ engineers, architects, attorneys, real estate counselors, appraisers, financial advisors, and such other consultants and employees as may be required in the judgment of the authority, to fix and pay their compensation from funds available to the authority therefor, to select and retain, subject to approval of the Local Government Commission, the financial consultants, underwriters, and bond attorneys to be associated with the issuance of any revenue bonds, and to pay for services rendered by financial consultants, underwriters, or bond attorneys from funds available to the authority including the proceeds of any revenue bond issue with regard to which the services were performed;

(23) To acquire property located within the territorial jurisdiction of any member unit of local government by eminent domain pursuant to authority granted to counties;

(24) To require that any and all (i) solid waste generated within the authority’s service area and (ii) recyclable materials generated within the authority’s service area and transferred to the authority be separated and delivered to specific locations and facilities provided that if a private landfill shall be substantially affected by such requirement then the regional solid waste management authority shall be required to give the operator of the affected landfill at least two years written notice prior to the effective date of the requirement; and

(25) To do all things necessary, convenient, or desirable to carry out the purposes and to exercise the powers granted to an authority under its charter.

(b) The acquisition and disposal of real and personal property by an authority created under this Article shall be governed by those provisions of the General Statutes which govern the acquisition and disposal of real and personal property by counties, except that Article 8 of Chapter 143 of the N.C. Gen. Stat. and Part 3 of Article 8 of Chapter 153A of the N.C. Gen. Stat. do not apply. No authority created pursuant to this Article shall exercise any power of eminent domain with respect to any property located outside the territorial jurisdiction of the members of such authority.

(c) Each authority’s plan shall take into consideration facilities and other resources for management of solid waste which may be available through private enterprise. This Article shall be construed to encourage the involvement and participation of private enterprise in solid waste management. An authority created pursuant to this Article shall establish goals for the procurement of goods and services from minority and historically underutilized businesses. (1989 (Reg. Sess., 1990), c. 888, s. 1; 1991, c. 580, s. 1; 2007-131, ss. 1, 2; 2020-3, s. 4.30(c).)