Chapter 6121 | Water Development Authority

Section 6121.01 | Water development authority definitions.

• Effective: October 20, 1999
• Latest Legislation: Senate Bill 43 - 123rd General Assembly

As used in this chapter:

(A) "Beneficial use" means a use of water, including the method of diversion, storage, transportation, treatment, and application, that is reasonable and consistent with the public interest in the proper utilization of water resources, including, without limitation, domestic, agricultural, industrial, power, municipal, navigational, fish and wildlife, and recreational uses.

(B) "Governmental agencies" means departments, divisions, or other units of state government, watershed districts, soil and water conservation districts, municipal corporations, counties, townships, and other political subdivisions, special water districts, including county and regional sewer and water districts, conservancy districts, sanitary districts, sewer districts, or any other public corporation or agency having the authority to acquire, construct, or operate waste water or water management facilities, the United States or any agency thereof, and any agency, commission, or authority established pursuant to an interstate compact or agreement.

(C) "Person" means any individual, firm, partnership, association, or corporation, or two or more or any combination thereof.

(D) "Waters of the state" means all streams, lakes, ponds, marshes, watercourses, waterways, wells, springs, irrigation systems, drainage systems, and other bodies or accumulations of water, surface and underground, natural or artificial, that are situated wholly or partly within, or border upon, this state or are within its jurisdiction, except those private waters that do not combine or effect a junction with natural surface or underground waters.

(E) "Water resources" means all waters of the state occurring on the surface in natural or artificial channels, lakes, reservoirs, or impoundments, and underground in subsurface aquifers, that are available or may be made available to agricultural, industrial, commercial, recreational, public, and domestic users.

(F) "Project" or "water development project" means either of the following:

(1) Any waste water facility or water management facility, including undivided or other interests therein, acquired or constructed or to be acquired or constructed by the Ohio water development authority under this chapter, or acquired or constructed or to be acquired or constructed by a governmental agency or person with all or a portion of the cost thereof being paid from a loan or grant from the authority under this chapter, including all buildings and facilities that the authority considers necessary for the operation of the project, together with all property, rights, easements, and interest that may be required for the operation of the project;

(2) Any project or activity qualifying for financial assistance under section 6109.22, 6111.036, or 6111.037 of the Revised Code.

(G) "Pollution" means the placing of any noxious or deleterious substances in any waters of the state or otherwise affecting the waters or properties of any waters of the state, including the temperature or radioactivity thereof, in a manner that is or renders the waters harmful or inimical to the public health, to animal or aquatic life, or to the use of the waters for domestic water supply, industrial, or agricultural purposes or recreation.

(H) "Sewage" means any substance that contains any of the waste products or excrementitious or other discharge from the bodies of human beings or animals and that pollutes the waters of the state or that in the absence of a waste water facility would pollute or cause greater pollution of the waters of the state.

(I) "Industrial waste" means any liquid, gaseous, or solid waste substance, heat, radioactivity, or radiation, resulting from any process of industry, manufacture, trade, or business, or from the development, processing, or recovery of any natural resource, together with such sewage as is present, that pollutes the waters of the state or that in the absence of a waste water facility would pollute or cause greater pollution of the waters of the state.

(J) "Waste water" means any water containing sewage or industrial waste or other pollutants or contaminants derived from the prior use of the water.

(K) "Waste water facilities" means facilities, property, or the modification or replacement of property for the purpose of treating, neutralizing, disposing of, stabilizing, dispersing, cooling, segregating, or holding waste water, or for the removal, reduction, containment, alteration, storage, or disposal of sewage or industrial waste or substances containing sewage or industrial waste, or for the prevention or reduction, or reduction of the concentration, of pollution of the waters of the state, including, without limitation, facilities for the withdrawal of waters of the state, facilities for the treatment and disposal of sewage or industrial waste and the residue thereof, facilities for the temporary or permanent impoundment of waste water, both surface and underground, and sanitary sewers and other systems, whether on the surface or underground, designed to transport waste water together with the equipment and furnishings thereof and their appurtenances and systems, whether on the surface or underground, including force mains and pumping facilities therefor when necessary, and facilities or expenditures that qualify as water pollution control facilities under Section 103(C)(4)(F) of the Internal Revenue Code of 1954, as amended, and regulations adopted thereunder, and also includes any property or system to be used in whole or in part for any of the foregoing purposes, whether or not another purpose also is served, and any property or system incidental to or that has to do with or the end purpose of which is any of the foregoing. Waste water facilities as defined in this division for industry, commerce, distribution, or research, including public utility companies, are hereby determined to be those that qualify as facilities for the control of water pollution and thermal pollution related to water under Section 13 of Article VIII, Ohio Constitution.

(L) "Water management facilities" means facilities for the development, use, and protection of water resources, including, without limitation, facilities for water supply, facilities for stream flow improvement, dams, reservoirs, and other impoundments, water transmission lines, water wells and well fields, pumping stations and works for underground water recharge, facilities for the management and treatment of storm water, stream monitoring systems, facilities for the stabilization of stream and river banks and coastal erosion areas, as defined in section 1506.01 of the Revised Code, and facilities for the treatment of streams and rivers, including, without limitation, facilities for the removal of oil, debris, and other solid waste from the waters of the state and stream and river aeration facilities.

(M) "Cost" as applied to a water development project means the cost of acquisition and construction, the cost of acquisition of all land, rights-of-way, property rights, easements, franchise rights, and interests required for that acquisition and construction, the cost of demolishing or removing any buildings or structures on land so acquired, including the cost of acquiring any lands to which the buildings or structures may be moved, the cost of acquiring or constructing and equipping a principal office and sub-offices of the authority, the cost of diverting highways, interchange of highways, or access roads to private property, including the cost of land or easements therefor, the cost of all machinery, furnishings, and equipment, financing charges, interest prior to and during construction and for no more than eighteen months after completion of construction, engineering costs, expenses of research and development with respect to waste water or water management facilities, legal expenses, the cost of plans, specifications, and surveys, estimates of cost and revenues, working capital, other expenses necessary or incident to determining the feasibility or practicability of acquiring or constructing any such project, administrative expense, and other expense that may be necessary or incident to the acquisition or construction of the project, the financing of the acquisition or construction including the amount authorized in the resolution of the authority providing for the issuance of water development revenue bonds to be paid into any special funds from the proceeds of the bonds, and the financing of the placing of any such project in operation. Any obligation, cost, or expense incurred by any governmental agency or person for surveys, borings, preparation of plans and specifications, and other engineering services, or any other costs described above, in connection with the acquisition or construction of a project may be regarded as a part of the cost of the project and may be reimbursed out of the proceeds of water development revenue bonds as authorized by this chapter.

(N) "Owner" includes all individuals, copartnerships, associations, corporations, or governmental agencies having any title or interest in any property rights, easements, and interests authorized to be acquired by this chapter.

(O) "Revenues" means all rentals and other charges for the use or services of any water development project, any gift or grant received with respect thereto, including, without limitation, any moneys received by the authority pursuant to an agreement entered into under section 6109.22, 6111.036, or 6111.037 of the Revised Code, any moneys received with respect to the lease, sublease, sale, including installment sale or conditional sale, or other disposition of a project, moneys received in repayment of and for interest on any loan made by the authority to a person or governmental agency, whether from the United States or a department, administration, or agency thereof, or otherwise, proceeds of bonds to the extent that use thereof for payment of principal of, premium if any, or interest on the bonds is authorized by the authority, proceeds from any insurance, condemnation, or guaranty pertaining to a project or property mortgaged to secure bonds or pertaining to the financing of the project, and income and profit from the investment of the proceeds of water development revenue bonds or of any revenues.

(P) "Public roads" includes all public highways, roads, and streets in the state whether maintained by the state or a county, municipal corporation, township, or other political subdivision.

(Q) "Public utility facilities" includes tracks, pipes, mains, conduits, cables, wires, towers, poles, and other equipment and appliances of any public utility.

(R) "Construction," unless the context indicates a different meaning or intent, includes reconstruction, enlargement, improvement, or providing furnishings or equipment.

(S) "Water development revenue bonds," unless the context indicates a different meaning or intent, includes water development revenue notes, water development revenue renewal notes, and water development revenue refunding bonds, except that notes issued in anticipation of the issuance of bonds shall have a maximum maturity of five years as provided in section 6121.06 of the Revised Code and notes or renewal notes issued as the definitive obligation may be issued maturing at the time or times that the authority determines with a maximum maturity of forty years from the date of issuance of the original note.

Section 6121.02 | Creation and organization of Ohio water development authority.

• Effective: October 3, 2023
• Latest Legislation: House Bill 33 - 135th General Assembly

There is hereby created the Ohio water development authority. Such authority is a body both corporate and politic in this state, and the carrying out of its purposes and the exercise by it of the powers conferred by this chapter shall be held to be, and are hereby determined to be, essential governmental functions and public purposes of the state, but the authority is not immune from liability by reason thereof. The authority is subject to all provisions of law generally applicable to state agencies that do not conflict with this chapter.

The authority shall consist of eight members as follows: five members appointed by the governor, with the advice and consent of the senate, no more than three of whom shall be members of the same political party, and the directors of natural resources, environmental protection, and development, who shall be members ex officio without compensation. The director of development may designate a person in the unclassified civil service to serve in the director's place as a member of the authority notwithstanding section 121.05 of the Revised Code. The appointive members shall be residents of the state, and shall have been qualified electors therein for a period of at least five years next preceding their appointment. Appointed members' terms of office shall be for eight years, commencing on the second day of July and ending on the first day of July. Each member shall hold office from the date of appointment until the end of the term for which the member was appointed. Any member appointed to fill a vacancy occurring prior to the expiration of the term for which the member's predecessor was appointed shall hold office for the remainder of such term. Any appointed member shall continue in office subsequent to the expiration date of the member's term until the member's successor takes office, or until a period of sixty days has elapsed, whichever occurs first. A member of the authority is eligible for reappointment. Each appointed member of the authority, before entering upon the performance of the duties of the office, shall take an oath as provided by Section 7 of Article XV, Ohio Constitution. The governor may at any time remove any member of the authority for misfeasance, nonfeasance, or malfeasance in office.

The authority shall elect one of its appointed members as chairperson and another as vice-chairperson, and shall appoint a secretary-treasurer who need not be a member of the authority. Four members of the authority shall constitute a quorum, and the affirmative vote of four members shall be necessary for any action taken by vote of the authority. No vacancy in the membership of the authority shall impair the rights of a quorum by such vote to exercise all the rights and perform all the duties of the authority.

Before the issuance of any water development revenue bonds under this chapter, each appointed member of the authority shall give a surety bond to the state in the penal sum of twenty-five thousand dollars and the secretary-treasurer shall give such a bond in the penal sum of fifty thousand dollars, each such surety bond to be conditioned upon the faithful performance of the duties of the office, to be executed by a surety company authorized to transact business in this state, and to be approved by the governor and filed in the office of the secretary of state. Each appointed member of the authority shall receive an annual salary of seven thousand five hundred dollars, payable in monthly installments, and is entitled to health care benefits comparable to those generally available to state officers and employees under section 124.82 of the Revised Code. If Section 20 of Article II, Ohio Constitution, prohibits the Ohio water development authority from paying all or a part of the cost of health care benefits on behalf of a member of the authority for the remainder of an existing term, the member may receive these benefits by paying their total cost from the member's own financial resources, including paying by means of deductions from the member's salary. Each member shall be reimbursed for actual expenses necessarily incurred in the performance of official duties. All expenses incurred in carrying out this chapter shall be payable solely from funds provided under this chapter, or appropriated for such purpose by the general assembly and no liability or obligation shall be incurred by the authority beyond the extent to which moneys have been provided under this chapter or such appropriations.

Last updated August 8, 2023 at 10:55 AM

Section 6121.03 | Public policy of the state.

• Effective: January 9, 2021
• Latest Legislation: House Bill 264 - 133rd General Assembly

(A) It is hereby declared to be the public policy of the state through the operations of the Ohio water development authority under this chapter to contribute toward one or more of the following:

(1) To preserve, protect, upgrade, conserve, develop, utilize, and manage the water resources of the state;

(2) To prevent or abate the pollution of water resources;

(3) To promote the beneficial use of waters of the state for the protection and preservation of the public health, safety, convenience, and welfare;

(4) To assist in the financing of waste water facilities and water management facilities for industry, commerce, distribution, and research, including public utility companies;

(5) To create or preserve jobs and employment opportunities or improve the economic welfare of the people of the state, or to assist and cooperate with governmental agencies in achieving such purposes.

(B) In furtherance of such public policy, the Ohio water development authority may do all of the following:

(1) Initiate, acquire, construct, maintain, repair, and operate water development projects or cause the same to be operated pursuant to a lease, sublease, or agreement with any person or governmental agency;

(2) Make loans and grants to governmental agencies for the acquisition, construction, or refinancing of waste water or water management facilities by such governmental agencies and provide for the financing and refinancing of such loans;

(3) Make loans to persons for the acquisition, construction, or refinancing of waste water facilities or water management facilities by such persons;

(4) Issue water development revenue bonds of this state payable solely from revenues, to pay the cost of or refinance such projects, provided that, except for facilities for pollution control or solid waste disposal, no such financing assistance shall be made for facilities to be constructed for the purpose of providing electric or gas utility service to the public.

(C) Any water development project shall be determined by the authority to be consistent with any applicable comprehensive plan of water management approved by the director of environmental protection or in the process of preparation by such director and to be not inconsistent with the standards set for the waters of the state affected thereby by the director of environmental protection. Any resolution of the authority providing for acquiring or constructing such projects or for making a loan or grant for such projects shall include a finding by the authority that such determinations have been made. Determinations by resolution of the authority that a project is a waste water facility or a water management facility under this chapter and is consistent with the purposes of Section 13 of Article VIII, Ohio Constitution, and this chapter shall be conclusive as to the validity and enforceability of the water development revenue bonds issued to finance or refinance such project and of the resolutions, trust agreements or indentures, leases, subleases, sale agreements, loan agreements and other agreements made in connection therewith, all in accordance with their terms.

Section 6121.04 | Powers of Ohio water development authority.

• Effective: January 9, 2021
• Latest Legislation: House Bill 264 - 133rd General Assembly

The Ohio water development authority may do any or all of the following:

(A) Adopt bylaws for the regulation of its affairs and the conduct of its business;

(B) Adopt an official seal;

(C) Maintain a principal office and suboffices at places within the state that it designates;

(D) Sue and plead in its own name and be sued and impleaded in its own name with respect to its contracts or torts of its members, employees, or agents acting within the scope of their employment, or to enforce its obligations and covenants made under sections 6121.06, 6121.08, and 6121.13 of the Revised Code. Any such actions against the authority shall be brought in the court of common pleas of the county in which the principal office of the authority is located or in the court of common pleas of the county in which the cause of action arose, provided that the county is located within this state, and all summonses, exceptions, and notices of every kind shall be served on the authority by leaving a copy thereof at the principal office with the person in charge thereof or with the secretary-treasurer of the authority.

(E) Make loans and grants to governmental agencies for the acquisition, construction, or refinancing of water development projects by any such governmental agency and adopt rules and procedures for making such loans and grants, including rules governing the financing and refinancing of such loans;

(F) Acquire, construct, reconstruct, enlarge, improve, furnish, equip, maintain, repair, operate, or lease or rent to, or contract for operation by, a governmental agency or person, water development projects, and establish rules for the use of those projects;

(G) Make available the use or services of any water development project to one or more persons, one or more governmental agencies, or any combination thereof;

(H) Issue water development revenue bonds and notes and water development revenue refunding bonds of the state, payable solely from revenues as provided in section 6121.06 of the Revised Code, unless the bonds are refunded by refunding bonds, for the purpose of paying any part of the cost of or refinancing one or more water development projects or parts thereof;

(I) Acquire by gift or purchase, hold, and dispose of real and personal property in the exercise of its powers and the performance of its duties under this chapter;

(J) Acquire, in the name of the state, by purchase or otherwise, on terms and in the manner that it considers proper, or by the exercise of the right of condemnation in the manner provided by section 6121.18 of the Revised Code, public or private lands, including public parks, playgrounds, or reservations, or parts thereof or rights therein, rights-of-way, property, rights, easements, and interests that it considers necessary for carrying out this chapter, but excluding the acquisition by the exercise of the right of condemnation of any waste water facility or water management facility owned by any person or governmental agency, and compensation shall be paid for public or private lands so taken, except that a government-owned waste water facility may be appropriated in accordance with section 6121.041 of the Revised Code;

(K) Adopt rules to protect augmented flow in waters of the state, to the extent augmented by a water development project, from depletion so it will be available for beneficial use, and to provide standards for the withdrawal from waters of the state of the augmented flow created by a water development project that is not returned to the waters of the state so augmented and to establish reasonable charges therefor if considered necessary by the authority;

(L) Make and enter into all contracts and agreements and execute all instruments necessary or incidental to the performance of its duties and the execution of its powers under this chapter in accordance with the following requirements:

(1) When the cost under any such contract or agreement, other than compensation for personal services, involves an expenditure of more than fifty thousand dollars, the authority shall make a written contract with the lowest responsive and responsible bidder, in accordance with section 9.312 of the Revised Code, after advertisement for not less than two consecutive weeks in a newspaper of general circulation in Franklin county, and in other publications that the authority determines, which shall state the general character of the work and the general character of the materials to be furnished, the place where plans and specifications therefor may be examined, and the time and place of receiving bids, provided that a contract or lease for the operation of a water development project constructed and owned by the authority or an agreement for cooperation in the acquisition or construction of a water development project pursuant to section 6121.13 of the Revised Code or any contract for the construction of a water development project that is to be leased by the authority to, and operated by, persons who are not governmental agencies and the cost of the project is to be amortized exclusively from rentals or other charges paid to the authority by persons who are not governmental agencies is not subject to the foregoing requirements and the authority may enter into such a contract or lease or such an agreement pursuant to negotiation and upon terms and conditions and for the period that it finds to be reasonable and proper in the circumstances and in the best interests of proper operation or of efficient acquisition or construction of the project.

(2) Each bid for a contract for the construction, demolition, alteration, repair, or reconstruction of an improvement shall contain the full name of every person interested in it and shall meet the requirements of section 153.54 of the Revised Code.

(3) Each bid for a contract except as provided in division (L)(2) of this section shall contain the full name of every person or company interested in it and shall be accompanied by a sufficient bond or certified check on a solvent bank that if the bid is accepted, a contract will be entered into and the performance thereof secured.

(4) The authority may reject any and all bids.

(5) A bond with good and sufficient surety, approved by the authority, shall be required of every contractor awarded a contract except as provided in division (L)(2) of this section, in an amount equal to at least fifty per cent of the contract price, conditioned upon the faithful performance of the contract.

(M) Employ managers, superintendents, and other employees and retain or contract with consulting engineers, financial consultants, accounting experts, architects, attorneys, and other consultants and independent contractors that are necessary in its judgment to carry out this chapter, and fix the compensation thereof. All expenses thereof shall be payable solely from the proceeds of water development revenue bonds or notes issued under this chapter, from revenues, or from funds appropriated for that purpose by the general assembly.

(N) Receive and accept from any federal agency, subject to the approval of the governor, grants for or in aid of the construction of any water development project or for research and development with respect to waste water or water management facilities, and receive and accept aid or contributions from any source of money, property, labor, or other things of value, to be held, used, and applied only for the purposes for which the grants and contributions are made;

(O) Engage in research and development with respect to waste water or water management facilities;

(P) Purchase fire and extended coverage and liability insurance for any water development project and for the principal office and suboffices of the authority, insurance protecting the authority and its officers and employees against liability for damage to property or injury to or death of persons arising from its operations, and any other insurance the authority may agree to provide under any resolution authorizing its water development revenue bonds or in any trust agreement securing the same;

(Q) Charge, alter, and collect rentals and other charges for the use or services of any water development project as provided in section 6121.13 of the Revised Code;

(R) Provide coverage for its employees under Chapters 145., 4123., and 4141. of the Revised Code;

(S) Assist in the implementation and administration of the drinking water assistance fund and program created in section 6109.22 of the Revised Code and the water pollution control loan fund and program created in section 6111.036 of the Revised Code, including, without limitation, performing or providing fiscal management for the funds and investing and disbursing moneys in the funds, and enter into all necessary and appropriate agreements with the director of environmental protection for those purposes;

(T) Issue water development revenue bonds and notes of the state in principal amounts that are necessary for the purpose of raising moneys for the sole benefit of the water pollution control loan fund created in section 6111.036 of the Revised Code, including moneys to meet the requirement for providing matching moneys under division (D) of that section. The bonds and notes may be secured by appropriate trust agreements and repaid from moneys credited to the fund from payments of principal and interest on loans made from the fund, as provided in division (F) of section 6111.036 of the Revised Code.

(U) Issue water development revenue bonds and notes of the state in principal amounts that are necessary for the purpose of raising moneys for the sole benefit of the drinking water assistance fund created in section 6109.22 of the Revised Code, including moneys to meet the requirement for providing matching moneys under divisions (B) and (F) of that section. The bonds and notes may be secured by appropriate trust agreements and repaid from moneys credited to the fund from payments of principal and interest on loans made from the fund, as provided in division (F) of section 6109.22 of the Revised Code.

(V) Make loans to and enter into agreements with boards of county commissioners for the purposes of section 1506.44 of the Revised Code and adopt rules establishing requirements and procedures for making the loans and entering into the agreements;

(W) Do all acts necessary or proper to carry out the powers expressly granted in this chapter.

Any instrument by which real property is acquired pursuant to this section shall identify the agency of the state that has the use and benefit of the real property as specified in section 5301.012 of the Revised Code.

Section 6121.041 | Waste water facilities service area.

• Effective: October 23, 1972
• Latest Legislation: Senate Bill 397 - 109th General Assembly

If the director of environmental protection refuses to renew or extend the period of a permit to a governmental agency or person operating a disposal system which receives sewage from a residential area, for the reason that the permit holder has failed to comply with an order of the director and has been in default for a period of at least one hundred eighty days, and the director finds that the former permit holder is creating a public nuisance under section 6111.04 of the Revised Code which adversely affects residents of a political subdivision, other than the one served by the disposal system which is in default, by affecting the properties of waters of the state in a manner which renders such waters harmful or inimical to the public health, animal or aquatic life, or the use of such waters for domestic water supply, industrial or agricultural purposes, or for recreation, the director may request the Ohio water development authority to establish a waste water facilities service area for the purpose of eliminating such nuisance. Upon receipt of the request the authority may issue orders designating a waste water facilities service area. The area shall include the waste water facilities of one or more former permit holders who are in default and the waste water facilities of all persons or governmental agencies served by such facilities, and may include any contiguous territory not served by waste water facilities that the authority determines to be desirable to include in the area in order to achieve the most efficient and economical waste disposal and treatment in the area, and any other governmental agency or person that enters an agreement with the authority to join. The order may not include facilities or territory served by waste water facilities which are in compliance with the orders of the board and the terms and conditions of a permit unless agreed to by the person or governmental agency holding the permit. In determining the areas to be served and designing facilities therefor, the authority shall consider technical feasibility and economic reasonableness in order to conserve water resources, maximize the economies of scale of regional or combined treatment facilities, and attain applicable water quality standards at reasonable cost. The authority may modify or revoke its orders in order to achieve the purposes of this section.

Before issuing, modifying, or revoking any such order, the authority shall hold a public hearing within the area and give at least twenty-one days notice of the hearing and a copy of the proposed order or changes thereto to the chief executive and fiscal officer of each governmental agency and each other person subject to a proposed rate, rental, or charge. The order may fix and impose rates, rentals, or charges upon the users of, or the persons or property served by, a waste water facility or project, or upon any governmental agency or person in the area for the provision of waste water facilities services to the governmental agency or person by the authority. Such rates, rentals, or charges shall be sufficient to cover all costs, including the recovery of the capital costs and debt service expenses of the authority for waste water facility services in the area, and any debt service on obligations in effect at the time of the order. No portion of the cost of acquisition of a waste water facility by appropriation may be charged against the governmental agency from which the facility was acquired. The authority may recover a portion of such acquisition cost from the users served and property benefited by the facility at the time of acquisition. The authority shall determine the portion of such cost to be recovered from users served and property benefited at the time of acquisition on the basis of the volume and degree of treatment of sewage, industrial wastes, and other wastes from such users and property, in relation to the volume and degree of treatment of sewage, industrial waste, and other wastes from other parts of the waste water facilities service area. The order may impose any terms and conditions in the area that the authority deems necessary for the provision of such services. The authority shall mail a copy of any order or change thereto made under this section to the chief executive and fiscal officer of each governmental agency and each other person served or affected.

Each governmental agency or person subject to a rate, rental, or charge shall pay the charges when due in accordance with the order. Every officer responsible for the administration or operation of a waste water facility subject to such order and every employee thereof shall carry out the order.

The authority may appropriate property within a waste water facilities service area, including government owned waste water facilities, in accordance with Chapter 163. of the Revised Code, if the authority considers such appropriation necessary for carrying out the purposes of this section. No person shall interfere with an officer or employee of the Ohio water development authority in the care and operation of a waste water facility appropriated by the authority.

The consideration received by a governmental agency for its property which is appropriated under this section shall be placed in a separate fund which may be used by its legislative authority or governing body only for one or more of the following purposes:

(A) Credits against rates, rentals, or other charges imposed by the authority upon the agency, the users served, and property benefited by the facility, or against rates, rentals, and other charges imposed by the agency against the users served and property benefited by the facility;

(B) Construction or improvement of waste water facilities by the agency or the authority.

Section 6121.042 | Rates or charges imposed upon the owners or occupants of lands within waste water facilities service area.

• Effective: December 3, 1971
• Latest Legislation: Senate Bill 105 - 109th General Assembly

For the purpose of paying rates, rentals, or charges imposed pursuant to an order issued under section 6121.041 of the Revised Code, a governmental agency may raise money by any method or combination of methods authorized by law, as if the governmental agency itself were proposing to construct, were constructing, or had constructed waste water facilities. For such purpose the legislative authority of a municipal corporation or the board of county commissioners of a county may by resolution define an area, within their respective jurisdictions, that will derive a benefit from the waste water facilities service provided under an order, and may fix and impose rates or charges upon the owners or occupants of lands within such area.

Section 6121.043 | Collection of charges for waste water facilities service area.

• Effective: June 13, 1975
• Latest Legislation: House Bill 1 - 111th General Assembly

If a governmental agency fails to pay any charge imposed pursuant to an order issued under section 6121.041 of the Revised Code within sixty days of the date due, such charge shall be deducted from the amount of the undivided local government fund to which the agency is entitled pursuant to section 5747.51 or 5747.53 of the Revised Code, and shall be paid directly to the Ohio water development authority. If a person fails to pay a charge within sixty days of the date due, the authority shall certify such charge to the county auditor, who shall place the charge on the real property tax list and duplicate against the property served. Such charge becomes a lien on such property from the date it is certified by the authority, and shall be collected in the manner that taxes are ordinarily collected and forwarded to the authority.

Any revenues or other moneys pledged against obligations which are collected by the authority in the operation of a single or regional system of waste water facilities shall first be applied to the payment of debt service on such obligations. No action of the authority relieves a governmental agency of any duty which it may have to pay such obligations.

Section 6121.044 | Financing project - exemption from tax or assessments.

• Effective: July 8, 1993
• Latest Legislation: Senate Bill 105 - 120th General Assembly

(A) With respect to projects which are waste water facilities or water management facilities, and the financing thereof, for industry, commerce, distribution, or research, including public utility companies, under agreements whereby the person to whom the project is to be leased, sub-leased, or sold or to whom a loan is to be made for the project is to make payments sufficient to pay all of the principal of, premium, if any, and interest on the water development revenue bonds issued for the project, the authority may, in addition to other powers under this chapter:

(1) Make loans for the acquisition or construction of the project to such person upon such terms as the authority may determine or authorize, including secured or unsecured loans, and, in connection therewith, enter into loan agreements, accept notes and other forms of obligation to evidence such indebtedness and mortgages, liens, pledges, assignments, or other security interests to secure such indebtedness, which may be prior or subordinate to or on a parity with other indebtedness, obligations, mortgages, pledges, assignments, other security interests, or liens or encumbrances; and take such actions as may be considered by it appropriate to protect such security and safeguard against losses, including, without limitation thereto, foreclosure and the bidding upon the purchase of property upon foreclosure or other sale;

(2) Sell such project under such terms as it may determine, including, without limitation thereto, sale by conditional sale or installment sale, under which title may pass prior to or after completion of the project or payment or provisions for payment of all principal of, premium, if any, and interest on such bonds, or at any other time provided in such agreement pertaining to such sale, and including sale under an option to purchase at a price which may be a nominal amount or less than true value at the time of purchase;

(3) Grant a mortgage, lien or other encumbrance on, or pledge or assignment of, or with respect to, all or any part of the project, revenues, reserve funds or other funds established in connection with such bonds, or on, of, or with respect to any lease, sub-lease, sale, conditional sale or installment sale agreement, loan agreement, or other agreement pertaining to the lease, sub-lease, sale, or other disposition of a project or pertaining to a loan made for a project, or any guaranty or insurance agreement made with respect thereto, or any interest of the authority therein, or any other interest granted, assigned, or released to secure payments of the principal of, premium, if any, or interest on the bonds or to secure any other payments to be made by the authority, which mortgage, lien, encumbrance, pledge, assignment or such other security interest may be prior or subordinate to or on a parity with any other mortgage, pledge, assignment, other security interest, or lien or encumbrance;

(4) Provide that the interest on such bonds may be at a variable rate or rates changing from time to time in accordance with a base or formula as authorized by the authority;

(5) Contract for the acquisition or construction of such project or any part thereof and for the leasing, sub-leasing, sale, or other disposition of such project in a manner determined by the authority in its sole discretion, without necessity for competitive bidding, provided that controlling board approval of a waiver of competitive bidding is obtained when required under section 127.16 of the Revised Code, or performance bonds.

(B) Except as otherwise provided in this paragraph, property comprising a project is not subject to taxes or assessments so long as the bonds or notes issued to finance the costs of such project are outstanding. Any waste water facility or water management facility is subject to all taxes and assessments levied upon the facility if the facility is not owned by the authority or a governmental agency; is owned by the authority and operated pursuant to a lease or sublease by a person that is not a governmental agency; is the subject of an agreement whereby the facility is or will be sold to a person that is not a governmental agency and that person operates the facility pursuant to that agreement; or is the subject of an agreement whereby a loan is made by the authority to a person that is not a governmental agency. The person operating the facility pursuant to the lease, sublease, or agreement is liable for payment of all such taxes and assessments.

The transfer of title to or possession of such property to the person to whom a loan or installment sale or conditional sale with respect to such project is made is not subject to the taxes levied pursuant to Chapters 5739. and 5741. of the Revised Code.

The authority shall certify property comprising a project that is exempt from taxes and assessments pursuant to this section, and shall send, by certified mail, copies of such certification to the owner of the exempt property, to the tax commissioner, and to the county auditor of the county or counties in which any the exempt property is located.

Each county auditor shall maintain a separate list of all property exempted pursuant to this section and sections 3706.041 and 6123.041 of the Revised Code, in addition to the list of exempt property required to be maintained pursuant to section 5713.07 of the Revised Code.

(C) The authority, in the lease, sale, or loan agreement with respect to a project referred to in division (A) of this section, shall make appropriate provision for adequate maintenance of the project.

(D) With respect to the projects referred to in this section, the authority granted by this section is cumulative and supplementary to all other authority granted in this chapter. The authority granted by this section does not alter or impair any similar authority granted elsewhere in this chapter with respect to other projects.

Section 6121.045 | Fees and fines may not exceed loan principal.

• Effective: September 23, 2008
• Latest Legislation: House Bill 562 - 127th General Assembly

With respect to a loan made under this chapter, the Ohio water development authority shall not charge any fees or fines that, in the aggregate, exceed an amount equal to the principal amount of the loan.

Section 6121.05 | Studies of proposed water development projects.

• Effective: October 23, 1972
• Latest Legislation: Senate Bill 397 - 109th General Assembly

With the approval and the consent of the controlling board, the director of natural resources shall expend, out of any funds available for the purpose, such moneys as are necessary for the study of any proposed water development project, and may use its engineering and other forces, including consulting engineers and sanitary engineers, for the purpose of effecting such study. All such expenses incurred by such directors prior to the issuance of water development revenue bonds or notes under Chapter 6121. of the Revised Code, shall be paid by the respective directors incurring such expenses and charged to the appropriate water development project, and the respective directors shall keep proper records and accounts, showing the amounts so charged. Upon the sale of water development revenue bonds or notes for a water development project, the funds so expended by the respective directors, with the approval of the Ohio water development authority, in connection with such project, shall be reimbursed to the respective departments from the proceeds of such bonds or notes.

Section 6121.06 | Water development revenue bonds and notes.

• Effective: November 26, 1997
• Latest Legislation: House Bill 321 - 122nd General Assembly

(A) The Ohio water development authority, from time to time, may issue water development revenue bonds and notes of the state in such principal amount as, in the opinion of the authority, are necessary for the purpose of paying any part of the cost of one or more water development projects or parts thereof. The authority, from time to time, may issue renewal notes, issue bonds to pay those notes, and whenever it considers refunding, including funding and retirement, expedient, refund any bonds by the issuance of water development revenue refunding bonds of the state, whether the bonds to be refunded have or have not matured, and issue bonds partly to refund bonds then outstanding, and partly for any other authorized purpose. The refunding bonds may be issued in amounts sufficient for payment of the principal amount of the bonds to be so refunded, any redemption premiums thereon, principal maturities of any bonds maturing prior to the redemption of the bonds to be so refunded, interest accrued or to accrue to the maturity dates or dates of redemption of the bonds, and any expenses incurred or to be incurred in connection with the refunding, funding, and retirement and issuance of the bonds.

Except as may otherwise be expressly provided by the authority, every issue of its bonds or notes shall be general obligations of the authority payable out of the revenues of the authority, which are pledged for that payment, without preference or priority of the first bonds issued, subject only to any agreements with the holders of particular bonds or notes pledging any particular revenues. The pledge shall be valid and binding from the time the pledge is made, and the revenues so pledged and thereafter received by the authority immediately shall be subject to the lien of that pledge without any physical delivery thereof or further act, and the lien of any such pledge is valid and binding as against all parties having claims of any kind in tort, contract, or otherwise against the authority, irrespective of whether the parties have notice thereof. Neither the resolution nor any trust agreement by which a pledge is created need be filed or recorded except in the records of the authority.

Whether or not the bonds or notes are of such form and character as to be negotiable instruments, the bonds or notes shall have all the qualities and incidents of negotiable instruments, subject only to the provisions of the bonds or notes for registration.

The bonds and notes shall be authorized by resolution of the authority, shall bear such date or dates, and shall mature at such time or times, in the case of any such note or any renewals thereof not exceeding five years from the date of issue of the original note, and in the case of any such bond not exceeding forty years from the date of issue, as the resolution or resolutions may provide. The bonds and notes shall bear interest at such rate or rates, be in such denominations, be in such form, either coupon or registered, carry such registration privileges, be payable in such medium of payment, at such place or places, and be subject to such terms of redemption as the authority may authorize. The bonds and notes of the authority may be sold by the authority, at public or private sale, at or not less than such price or prices as the authority determines.

The bonds and notes shall be executed by the chairperson and vice-chairperson of the authority, either or both of whom may use a facsimile signature, the official seal of the authority or a facsimile thereof shall be affixed thereto or printed thereon and attested, manually or by facsimile signature, by the secretary-treasurer of the authority, and any coupons attached thereto shall bear the signature or facsimile signature of the chairperson of the authority. If any officer whose signature, or a facsimile of whose signature, appears on any bonds, notes, or coupons ceases to be such an officer before delivery of the bonds or notes, the officer's signature or facsimile is nevertheless sufficient for all purposes the same as if the officer had remained in office until the delivery, and if the seal of the authority has been changed after a facsimile has been imprinted on any bonds or notes, the facsimile seal continues to be sufficient for all purposes.

Any resolution or resolutions authorizing any bonds or notes or any issue thereof may contain provisions, subject to such agreements with bondholders or noteholders as may exist then, which provisions shall be a part of the contract with the holders thereof, as to: pledging all or any part of the revenues of the authority to secure the payment of the bonds or notes or of any issue thereof; the use and disposition of revenues of the authority; a covenant to fix, alter, and collect rentals and other charges so that pledged revenues will be sufficient to pay costs of operation, maintenance, and repairs, pay principal of and interest on bonds or notes secured by the pledge of the revenues, and provide such reserves as may be required by the applicable resolution or trust agreement; the setting aside of reserve funds, sinking funds, or replacement and improvement funds and the regulation and disposition thereof; the crediting of the proceeds of the sale of bonds or notes to and among the funds referred to or provided for in the resolution authorizing the issuance of the bonds or notes; the use, lease, sale, or other disposition of any water development project or any other assets of the authority; limitations on the purpose to which the proceeds of sale of bonds or notes may be applied and pledging the proceeds to secure the payment of the bonds or notes or of any issue thereof; with regard to notes issued in anticipation of the issuance of bonds, the agreement of the authority to do all things necessary for the authorization, issuance, and sale of the bonds in such amounts as may be necessary for the timely retirement of the notes; limitations on the issuance of additional bonds or notes; the terms upon which additional bonds or notes may be issued and secured; the refunding of outstanding bonds or notes; the procedure, if any, by which the terms of any contract with bondholders or noteholders may be amended or abrogated, the amount of bonds or notes the holders of which must consent thereto, and the manner in which that consent may be given; limitations on the amount of moneys to be expended by the authority for operating, administrative, or other expenses of the authority; securing any bonds or notes by a trust agreement in accordance with section 6121.11 of the Revised Code; and any other matters, of like or different character, that in any way affect the security or protection of the bonds or notes.

(B) An action taken under this division does not limit the generality of division (A) of this section.

A resolution authorizing the issuance of bonds or notes by the authority to provide all or a portion of the state's match for federal capitalization grants under Title VI of the "Clean Water Act of 1977," 91 Stat. 1566, 33 U.S.C.A. 1251, as amended, to the water pollution control loan fund created in section 6111.036 of the Revised Code, or for federal capitalization grants under Title I of the "Safe Drinking Water Act Amendments of 1996," 110 Stat. 1613, 42 U.S.C.A. 300(F), as amended, to the drinking water assistance fund created in section 6109.22 of the Revised Code, and establishing a reserve fund in either case for the payment of the principal of and interest on the bonds or notes may include, in the event that the revenues primarily pledged and required to be used for such payments are insufficient to make any the payment in full when due, a covenant of the director of environmental protection that if the principal of or interest on any such bonds or notes is paid with moneys drawn from such a reserve fund, the director shall so notify the governor and shall determine to what extent, if any, the moneys so drawn may be restored to the reserve fund from available moneys previously appropriated to the environmental protection agency. The covenant also shall provide that if the moneys so drawn are not immediately and fully restored to the reserve fund from such available moneys, the director shall promptly submit to the governor and to the director of budget and management a written request for either or both of the following:

(1) That the next biennial budget submitted by the governor to the general assembly include an amount to be appropriated to the environmental protection agency sufficient for the full replenishment of the reserve fund;

(2) That the general assembly be requested to increase appropriations for the environmental protection agency in the current biennium sufficient for the full replenishment of the reserve fund.

The director shall include with such requests a recommendation that the replenishment of the reserve fund be made in the interest of maximizing the state's entitlements to federal funds under Title VI of the "Clean Water Act of 1977," 91 Stat. 1566, 33 U.S.C.A. 1251, as amended, or under Title I of the "Safe Drinking Water Act Amendments of 1996," 110 Stat. 1613, 42 U.S.C.A. 300(f), as amended, as applicable, thereby also maximizing the benefits of the water pollution control loan fund or the drinking water assistance fund, as applicable, to the political subdivisions that pay the cost of wastewater treatment projects or drinking water projects with low-cost loans from those funds. Any such covenant shall not obligate or purport to obligate the state to pay the principal of or interest on the bonds or notes or to deposit moneys in a reserve fund established for those payments other than from moneys lawfully appropriated for that purpose during the then-current biennium.

(C) Neither the members of the authority nor any person executing bonds or notes under this section is liable personally on the bonds or notes or is subject to any personal liability or accountability by reason of the issuance thereof.

Section 6121.061 | Prevailing rates of wages of laborers and mechanics for class of work called for by project.

• Effective: October 20, 1999
• Latest Legislation: Senate Bill 43 - 123rd General Assembly

The Ohio water development authority shall not issue any bonds or otherwise participate in any project authorized by this chapter or Chapter 6123. of the Revised Code unless the contract, resolution, or other written document setting forth the board's participation specifies that all wages paid to laborers and mechanics employed on the projects shall be paid at the prevailing rates of wages of laborers and mechanics for the class of work called for by the project, which wages shall be determined in accordance with the requirements of Chapter 4115. of the Revised Code for determination of prevailing wage rates, provided that the requirements of this section do not apply to loans made to boards of county commissioners under division (V) of section 6121.04 of the Revised Code or where the federal government or any of its agencies furnishes by loan or grant all or any part of the funds used in connection with the project and prescribes predetermined minimum wages to be paid to the laborers and mechanics, and provided that if a non-public user beneficiary of the project undertakes, as part of the project, construction to be performed by its regular bargaining unit employees who are covered under a collective bargaining agreement that was in existence prior to the date of the commitment instrument setting forth the board's participation, the rate of pay provided under the collective bargaining agreement may be paid to those employees.

Section 6121.07 | Bond issuance need not comply with state requirements.

• Effective: March 7, 1968
• Latest Legislation: House Bill 998 - 107th General Assembly

The issuance of water development revenue bonds and notes or water development revenue refunding bonds under Chapter 6121. of the Revised Code need not comply with any other law applicable to the issuance of bonds or notes.

Section 6121.08 | Securing bonds or notes by trust agreement.

• Effective: March 7, 1968
• Latest Legislation: House Bill 998 - 107th General Assembly

In the discretion of the Ohio water development authority any water development revenue bonds or notes or water development revenue refunding bonds issued under Chapter 6121. of the Revised Code, may be secured by a trust agreement between the authority and a corporate trustee, which trustee may be any trust company or bank having the powers of a trust company within or without the state.

Any such trust agreement may pledge or assign revenues of the authority to be received, but shall not convey or mortgage any water development project or any part thereof. Any such trust agreement or any resolution providing for the issuance of such bonds or notes may contain such provisions for protecting and enforcing the rights and remedies of the bondholders or noteholders as are reasonable and proper and not in violation of law, including covenants setting forth the duties of the authority in relation to the acquisition of property, the construction, improvement, maintenance, repair, operation, and insurance of the water development project or projects in connection with which such bonds or notes are authorized, the rentals or other charges to be imposed for the use or services of any water development project, the custody, safeguarding, and application of all moneys, and provisions for the employment of consulting engineers in connection with the construction or operation of such water development project or projects. Any bank or trust company incorporated under the laws of this state which may act as depository of the proceeds of bonds or notes or of revenues may furnish such indemnifying bonds or may pledge such securities as are required by the authority. Any such trust agreement may set forth the rights and remedies of the bondholders and noteholders and of the trustee, and may restrict the individual right of action by bondholders and noteholders as is customary in trust agreements or trust indentures securing similar bonds. Such trust agreement may contain such other provisions as the authority deems reasonable and proper for the security of the bondholders or noteholders. All expenses incurred in carrying out the provisions of any such trust agreement may be treated as a part of the cost of the operation of the water development project or projects. Any such trust agreement or resolution authorizing the issuance of water development revenue bonds may provide the method whereby the general administrative overhead expenses of the authority shall be allocated among the several projects acquired or constructed by it as a factor of the operation expense of each such project.

Section 6121.09 | Protection and enforcement of rights of bondholder and trustees.

• Effective: March 7, 1968
• Latest Legislation: House Bill 998 - 107th General Assembly

Any holder of water development revenue bonds issued under Chapter 6121. of the Revised Code, or any of the coupons appertaining thereto, and the trustee under any trust agreement, except to the extent the rights given by such sections may be restricted by the applicable resolution or such trust agreement, may by suit, action, mandamus, or other proceedings, protect and enforce any rights under the laws of the state or granted under such sections, trust agreement, or the resolution authorizing the issuance of such bonds, and may enforce and compel the performance of all duties required by such sections, or by the trust agreement or resolution, to be performed by the Ohio water development authority or any officer thereof, including the fixing, charging, and collecting of rentals or other charges.

Section 6121.10 | Water development revenue bonds and notes not a debt of state.

• Effective: March 7, 1968
• Latest Legislation: House Bill 998 - 107th General Assembly

Water development revenue bonds and notes and water development revenue refunding bonds issued under sections 6121.01 to 6121.22, inclusive, of the Revised Code, do not constitute a debt, or a pledge of the faith and credit, of the state or of any political subdivision thereof, and the holders or owners thereof have no right to have taxes levied by the general assembly or taxing authority of any political subdivision of the state for the payment of the principal thereof or interest thereon, but such bonds and notes are payable solely from the revenues and funds pledged for their payment as authorized by such sections, unless the notes are issued in anticipation of the issuance of bonds or the bonds are refunded by refunding bonds issued under Chapter 6121. of the Revised Code, which bonds or refunding bonds shall be payable solely from revenues and funds pledged for their payment as authorized by such sections. All such bonds and notes shall contain on the face thereof a statement to the effect that the bonds or notes, as to both principal and interest, are not debts of the state or any political subdivision thereof, but are payable solely from revenues and funds pledged for their payment.

All expenses incurred in carrying out Chapter 6121. of the Revised Code are payable solely from funds provided under such sections. Such sections do not authorize the Ohio water development authority to incur indebtedness or liability on behalf of or payable by the state or any political subdivision thereof.

Section 6121.11 | Use of funds and property of water development authority.

• Effective: March 26, 1971
• Latest Legislation: House Bill 1 - 109th General Assembly

All moneys, funds, properties, and assets acquired by the Ohio water development authority under Chapter 6121. of the Revised Code, whether as proceeds from the sale of water development revenue bonds or as revenues, or otherwise, shall be held by it in trust for the purposes of carrying out its powers and duties, shall be used and reused as provided in such sections, and shall at no time be part of other public funds. Such funds, except as otherwise provided in any resolution authorizing its water development revenue bonds or in any trust agreement securing the same, or except when invested pursuant to section 6121.12 of the Revised Code, shall be kept in depositories as selected by the authority in the manner provided in sections 135.01 to 135.21, inclusive, of the Revised Code, in so far as such sections are applicable, and the deposits shall be secured as provided in sections 135.01 to 135.21, inclusive, of the Revised Code. The resolution authorizing the issuance of such bonds of any issue or the trust agreement securing such bonds shall provide that any officer to whom, or any bank or trust company to which, such moneys are paid shall act as trustees of such moneys and hold and apply them for the purposes hereof, subject to such conditions as Chapter 6121. of the Revised Code, and such resolution or trust agreement provide.

Section 6121.12 | Investment of funds of water development authority.

• Effective: May 26, 1989
• Latest Legislation: House Bill 267 - 118th General Assembly

Moneys in the funds of the Ohio water development authority, except as otherwise provided in any resolution authorizing the issuance of its water development revenue bonds, in any trust agreement securing its water development revenue bonds, or in any other resolution authorizing the investment of the funds of the authority, in excess of current needs, may be invested in notes, bonds, or other obligations of the United States, or of any agency or instrumentality thereof, or in obligations of this state or any political subdivision thereof. Income from all such investments of moneys in any fund shall be credited to such funds as the authority determines, subject to the provisions of any such resolution or trust agreement, and such investments may be sold at such times as the authority determines.

Section 6121.13 | Charge, alter, and collect rentals or other charges for use or services of water development project.

• Effective: September 21, 1982
• Latest Legislation: House Bill 379 - 114th General Assembly

The Ohio water development authority may charge, alter, and collect rentals or other charges for the use or services of any water development project and contract in the manner provided by this section with one or more persons, one or more governmental agencies, or any combination thereof, desiring the use or services thereof, and fix the terms, conditions, rentals, or other charges for such use or services. Such rentals or other charges shall not be subject to supervision or regulation by any other authority, commission, board, bureau, or agency of the state and such contract may provide for acquisition by such person or governmental agency of all or any part of such water development project for such consideration payable over the period of the contract or otherwise as the authority in its sole discretion determines to be appropriate, but subject to the provisions of any resolution authorizing the issuance of water development revenue bonds or notes or water development revenue refunding bonds of the authority or any trust agreement securing the same. Any governmental agency which has power to construct, operate, and maintain waste water facilities or water management facilities may enter into a contract or lease with the authority whereby the use or services of any water development project of the authority will be made available to such governmental agency and pay for such use or services such rentals or other charges as may be agreed to by the authority and such government agency.

Any governmental agency or combination thereof may cooperate with the authority in the acquisition or construction of a water development project and shall enter into such agreements with the authority as are necessary, with a view to effective cooperative action and safeguarding of the respective interests of the parties thereto, which agreements shall provide for such contributions by the parties thereto in such proportion as may be agreed upon and such other terms as may be mutually satisfactory to the parties including without limitation the authorization of the construction of the project by one of the parties acting as agent for all of the parties and the ownership and control of the project by the authority to the extent necessary or appropriate for purposes of the issuance of water development revenue bonds by the authority. Any governmental agency may provide the funds for the payment of such contribution as is required under such agreements by the levy of taxes, assessments, or rentals and other charges for the use of the utility system of which the water development project is a part or to which it is connected, if otherwise authorized by the laws governing such governmental agency in the construction of the type of water development project provided for in the agreements, and may pay the proceeds from the collection of such taxes, assessments, utility rentals, or other charges to the authority pursuant to such agreements; or the governmental agency may issue bonds or notes, if authorized by such laws, in anticipation of the collection of such taxes, assessments, utility rentals or other charges and may pay the proceeds of such bonds or notes to the authority pursuant to such agreements. In addition any governmental agency may provide the funds for the payment of such contribution by the appropriation of money or, if otherwise authorized by law, by the issuance of bonds or notes and may pay such appropriated money or the proceeds of such bonds or notes to the authority pursuant to such agreements. The agreement by the governmental agency to provide such contribution, whether from appropriated money or from the proceeds of such taxes, assessments, utility rentals, or other charges, or such bond or notes, or any combination thereof, is not subject to Chapter 133. of the Revised Code or any regulations or limitations contained therein. The proceeds from the collection of such taxes or assessments, and any interest earned thereon, shall be paid into a special fund immediately upon the collection thereof by the governmental agency for the purpose of providing such contribution at the times required under such agreements.

When the contribution of any governmental agency is to be made over a period of time from the proceeds of the collection of special assessments, the interest accrued and to accrue before the first installment of such assessments is collected, which is payable by such governmental agency on such contribution under the terms and provisions of such agreements, shall be treated as part of the cost of the improvement for which such assessments are levied, and that portion of such assessments as are collected in installments shall bear interest at the same rate as such governmental agency is obligated to pay on such contribution under the terms and provisions of such agreements and for the same period of time as the contribution is to be made under such agreements. If the assessment or any installment thereof is not paid when due, it shall bear interest until the payment thereof at the same rate as such contribution and the county auditor shall annually place on the tax list and duplicate the interest applicable to such assessment and the penalty and any additional interest thereon as otherwise authorized by law.

Any governmental agency, pursuant to a favorable vote of the electors in an election held before or after March 7, 1968, for the purpose of issuing bonds to provide funds to acquire, construct, or equip, or provide real estate and interests in real estate for, a waste water facility or a water management facility, whether or not the governmental agency, at the time of such election, had the authority to pay the proceeds from such bonds or notes issued in anticipation thereof to the authority as provided in this section, may issue such bonds or notes in anticipation of the issuance thereof and pay the proceeds thereof to the authority in accordance with its agreement with the authority; provided, that the legislative authority of the governmental agency finds and determines that the water development project to be acquired or constructed by the authority in cooperation with such governmental agency will serve the same public purpose and meet substantially the same public need as the facility otherwise proposed to be acquired or constructed by the governmental agency with the proceeds of such bonds or notes.

Section 6121.14 | Maintain, repair, operate water development authority project.

• Effective: May 26, 1989
• Latest Legislation: House Bill 267 - 118th General Assembly

Each water development project, when constructed and placed in operation, shall be maintained and kept in good condition and repair by the Ohio water development authority or the authority shall cause the same to be maintained and kept in good condition and repair. Each such project shall be operated by such operating employees as the authority employs or pursuant to a contract or lease with a governmental agency or person. All public or private property damaged or destroyed in carrying out the powers granted by sections 6121.01 to 6121.22 of the Revised Code, shall be restored or repaired and placed in its original condition, as nearly as practicable, or adequate compensation made therefor out of funds provided under such sections.

On or before the first day of April in each year, the authority shall make an annual report of its activities for the preceding calendar year to the governor and the general assembly. Each such report shall set forth a complete operating and financial statement covering the authority's operations during the year. The authority shall cause an audit of its books and accounts to be made at least once each year by certified public accountants and the cost thereof may be treated as a part of the cost of construction or of operations of its projects.

The authority, by November of each year preceding the year in which the state's biennial budget is considered by the general assembly, shall estimate the total amount of funds necessary to pay all the authority's expenses with respect to on-going or new projects of the authority and any other activities of the authority for the next biennial period, including the amounts necessary to pay the principal of and interest on all bonds or notes outstanding or to be issued to fund such projects and activities, the amounts necessary to cover all charges and expenses in connection with the preparation, issuance, and servicing of such bonds or notes, and the amounts necessary to pay the costs of operation and maintenance of any facilities constructed or to be constructed. The sources of all funds projected to be expended in the next biennial period shall be clearly delineated.

These amounts shall be reported in detail to the office of budget and management and the legislative budget office of the legislative service commission at the same time budget requests of other state agencies are required to be submitted to the office of budget and management.

Section 6121.15 | Water development authority bonds are lawful investments.

• Effective: November 2, 1999
• Latest Legislation: House Bill 222 - 123rd General Assembly

All water development revenue bonds issued under this chapter are lawful investments of banks, societies for savings, savings and loan associations, deposit guarantee associations, trust companies, trustees, fiduciaries, insurance companies, including domestic for life and domestic not for life, trustees or other officers having charge of sinking and bond retirement or other special funds of political subdivisions and taxing districts of this state, the commissioners of the sinking fund of the state, the administrator of workers' compensation, the state teachers retirement system, the public employees retirement system, the school employees retirement system, and the Ohio police and fire pension fund, and are acceptable as security for the deposit of public moneys.

Section 6121.16 | Exemption from taxes and assessments granted to Ohio water development authority.

• Effective: July 8, 1993
• Latest Legislation: Senate Bill 105 - 120th General Assembly

The exercise of the powers granted by Chapter 6121. of the Revised Code, will be in all respects for the benefit of the people of the state, for the improvement of their health, safety, convenience, and welfare, and for the enhancement of their residential, agricultural, recreational, economic, commercial, and industrial opportunities and is a public purpose. As the operation and maintenance of water development projects will constitute the performance of essential governmental functions, the Ohio water development authority shall not be required to pay any taxes or assessments upon any water development project, or upon any property acquired or used by the authority under Chapter 6121. of the Revised Code, or upon the income therefrom. The exemption from taxes and assessments granted to the Ohio water development authority by this section does not relieve from liability for such taxes and assessments those persons that are specifically liable, under division (B) of section 6121.044 of the Revised Code, for payment of taxes and assessments levied upon waste water facilities and water management facilities. The transfer to or from the Ohio water development authority of title or possession of any water development project, part thereof, or item included or to be included in any such project, is not subject to the taxes levied pursuant to Chapters 5739. and 5741. of the Revised Code, and the bonds and notes issued under this Chapter, their transfer, and the income therefrom, including any profit made on the sale thereof, shall at all times be free from taxation within the state.

Section 6121.17 | Purchase of land - conveyance by other governmental agencies.

• Effective: March 7, 1968
• Latest Legislation: House Bill 998 - 107th General Assembly

The Ohio water development authority may acquire by purchase, whenever it deems such purchase expedient, any land, property, rights, rights-of-way, franchises, easements, and other interests in lands as it deems are necessary or convenient for the construction and operation of any water development project, upon such terms and at such price as it considers reasonable and can be agreed upon between the authority and the owner thereof, and take title thereto in the name of the state.

All governmental agencies, notwithstanding any contrary provision of law, may lease, lend, grant, or convey to the authority, at its request, upon such terms as the proper authorities of such governmental agencies deem reasonable and fair and without the necessity for an advertisement, auction, order of court, or other action or formality, other than the regular and formal action of the governmental agency concerned, any real property or interests therein including improvements thereto or personal property which is necessary or convenient to the effectuation of the authorized purposes of the authority, including public roads and other real property or interests therein including improvements thereto or personal property already devoted to public use.

Section 6121.18 | Appropriation of land by eminent domain.

• Effective: March 7, 1968
• Latest Legislation: House Bill 998 - 107th General Assembly

The Ohio water development authority may acquire by appropriation pursuant to division (J) of section 6121.04 of the Revised Code any land, rights, rights-of-way, franchises, easements, or other property necessary or proper for the construction or the efficient operation of any water development project. In any proceedings for appropriation under this section, the procedure to be followed shall be in accordance with sections 163.01 to 163.22, inclusive, of the Revised Code.

This section does not authorize the authority to take or disturb property or facilities belonging to any public utility or to a common carrier engaged in interstate commerce, which property or facilities are required for the proper and convenient operation of such public utility or common carrier, unless provision is made for the restoration, relocation, or duplication of such property or facilities elsewhere at the sole cost of the authority.

Section 6121.19 | Change location of public road, state highway, railroad, or public utility facility in connection with water development project.

• Effective: September 28, 1973
• Latest Legislation: House Bill 200 - 110th General Assembly

When the Ohio water development authority finds it necessary to change the location of any portion of any public road, state highway, railroad, or public utility facility in connection with the construction of a water development project, it shall cause the same to be reconstructed at such location as the division of government having jurisdiction over such road, highway, railroad, or public utility facility deems most favorable. Such construction shall be of substantially the same type and in as good condition as the original road, highway, railroad, or public utility facility. The cost of such reconstruction, relocation, or removal and any damage incurred in changing the location of any such road, highway, railroad, or public utility facility shall be paid by the authority as a part of the cost of such water development project.

When the authority finds it necessary that any public highway or portion thereof be vacated by reason of the acquisition or construction of a water development project, the authority may request the director of transportation, in writing, to vacate such highway or portion thereof in accordance with section 5511.07 of the Revised Code if the highway or portion thereof to be vacated is on the state highway system, or, if the highway or portion thereof to be vacated is under the jurisdiction of the county commissioners, the authority shall request the director, in writing, to petition the county commissioners, in the manner provided in section 5553.041 of the Revised Code, to vacate such highway or portion thereof. The authority shall pay to the director or to the county, as the case may be, as a part of the cost of such water development project, any amounts required to be deposited with any court in connection with proceedings for the determination of compensation and damages and all amounts of compensation and damages finally determined to be payable as a result of such vacation.

The authority may make reasonable regulations for the installation, construction, maintenance, repair, renewal, relocation, and removal of railroad or public utility facilities in, on, over, or under any water development project. Whenever the authority determines that it is necessary that any such facilities installed or constructed in, on, over, or under property of the authority pursuant to such regulations be relocated, the public utility owning or operating such facilities shall relocate or remove them in accordance with the order of the authority. The cost and expenses of such relocation or removal, including the cost of installing such facilities in a new location, the cost of any lands, or any rights or interests in lands, and any other rights, acquired to accomplish such relocation or removal, may be paid by the authority as a part of the cost of such water development project. In case of any such relocation or removal of facilities, the railroad or public utility owning or operating them, its successors, or assigns may maintain and operate such facilities, with the necessary appurtenances, in the new location in, on, over, or under the property of the authority for as long a period and upon the same terms as it had the right to maintain and operate such facilities in their former location.

Section 6121.21 | Public meetings and records - confidentiality.

• Effective: March 7, 1968
• Latest Legislation: House Bill 998 - 107th General Assembly

All meetings of the Ohio water development authority shall be public and the records of the authority shall be open to public inspection at all reasonable times, except as otherwise provided in this section. All final actions of the authority shall be journalized and such journal shall also be open to the inspection of the public at all reasonable times. Any records or information relating to secret processes or secret methods of manufacture or production which may be obtained by the authority or other persons acting under Chapter 6121. of the Revised Code are confidential and shall not be disclosed.

Section 6121.22 | Liberal construction of chapter.

• Effective: March 7, 1968
• Latest Legislation: House Bill 998 - 107th General Assembly

Sections 6121.01 to 6121.22, inclusive, of the Revised Code being necessary for the welfare of the state and its inhabitants shall be liberally construed to effect the purposes thereof.