Sec. 8. The board of directors of a district has and may exercise the following powers and duties:
(1) To manage and supervise, to the extent permitted by the laws of the state or the United States, the development of waterways and of related roads, highways, bridges, locks, and structures within the jurisdiction of the district.
(2) To assist other agencies of state and local government having jurisdiction over the waterways within the district.
(3) To enter into contracts in furtherance of the district's purposes including, without limitation, the construction and maintenance of waterway related facilities, including wastewater pre-treatment plants, pumps, wells, locks, wharves, piers, bridges, roads, highways, confined disposal facilities, and similar structures.
(4) To employ a professional staff to assist the board in carrying out its duties and to engage consultants, attorneys, accountants, and other professional personnel who are necessary to carry out the duties of the board.
(5) To prepare a budget annually, and to appropriate funds for the discharge of the district's purposes and duties; provided that the district shall neither appropriate nor expend any funds to support the construction, operation, or maintenance of any casino gaming boat, dock, or related facility.
(6) To raise funds by the imposition of user fees for waterways and public facilities in the district's jurisdiction subject to the following:
(A) The fees shall not exceed one hundred thousand dollars ($100,000) per year for the state fiscal years beginning July 1, 1994, and July 1, 1995.
(B) The fees shall not exceed two hundred thousand dollars ($200,000) per year for the state fiscal year beginning July 1, 1996.
(C) The fees shall not exceed three hundred thousand dollars ($300,000) per year for the state fiscal year beginning July 1, 1997.
(D) The fees shall not exceed four hundred thousand dollars ($400,000) per year for the state fiscal year beginning July 1, 1998.
(E) The fees shall not exceed five hundred thousand dollars ($500,000) per year thereafter.
(F) The fees shall be deposited into a nonreverting fund to be expended by the district in the discharge of its functions.
These fees shall be imposed on all owners of property adjacent to waterways and users of waterways and may not exceed seventy-five thousand dollars ($75,000) per year for any single owner or user.
(7) To act as a local sponsoring agency under contract or memorandum of understanding with any private party or any agency of the state government or the government of the United States in furtherance of the purposes, powers, and duties of the district.
(8) To accept grants, transfers, payments, or other conveyances of money or property in the capacity of a trustee or fiduciary in a special nonreverting fund under terms agreeable by the district and by the person, entity, individual, or agency providing the money or property for the purpose of:
(A) managing funds for the cleanup, environmental remediation, and closure of any real property on or adjacent to the waterway within the district; or
(B) establishing waste water pre-treatment plants, pumps, related equipment, and other structures, equipment, and fixtures required to maintain a confined disposal facility or similar structure on or near any waterway within the jurisdiction of the district.
(9) To perform studies and establish plans for the use and development of waterways within the district's jurisdiction in an environmentally responsible manner.
(10) To acquire and dispose of real or personal property by grant, gift, purchase, lease, devise, or otherwise.
(11) To hold, use, improve, maintain, operate, own, manage, or lease (as lessor or lessee) real or personal property, or any interest in that property.
(12) To act, when requested, as a coordinating agency for programs and activities of other public and private agencies that are related to its purposes.
As added by P.L.56-1994, SEC.2.
