Effective on July 1, 1954, and by virtue of the adoption of this Plan by vote of the people of the City of St. Louis and St. Louis County, the existing sanitary and storm water sewer systems and facilities of any and all municipalities, sewer districts, and other public agencies situated within the boundaries of the District, together with all contracts, rights, privileges, interests, easements, books, maps, plans, papers, and records, of whatever description pertaining to or relating to the design, construction, maintenance, operation, or affairs of such existing sanitary and storm water sewer systems and facilities, and title to the same, shall be transferred and dedicated to the use of and be in the possession and under the jurisdiction, control, and supervision of the District under this Plan created, and the District is empowered to take title thereto for its use and possession. The District hereunder created shall thereafter have complete title, jurisdiction, control, possession, and supervision of such existing sanitary and storm water sewer systems and of all facilities of such municipalities, sewer districts, and other public agencies for the collection and disposal of sanitary sewage and storm water. Provided, however, that the District shall not assume or agree to pay or be liable for any bonded indebtedness of any such municipality, sewer district, or other public agency. Provided, further, that any transfer of title to automobiles, trucks, or other movable equipment used for purposes of construction, maintenance, or operation of such existing sanitary and storm water sewer systems and facilities, title to land or buildings used exclusively for administering the affairs of such systems and facilities, or title to the furnishings and equipment in such buildings, shall be made by an agreement or agreements between the District and any such municipality, sewer district, or other public agency. Provided, further, that in order to assure continuity of operation and maintenance any such municipality, sewer district, or other public agency shall continue to maintain and operate its existing sanitary and storm water sewer systems and facilities until the Board shall by resolution set a date on which the District shall undertake the maintenance and operation of said systems and facilities, and on and after such date the District shall exclusively operate, maintain, and control said systems and facilities.

The District established under the provisions of this Plan shall have power:

1. To have jurisdiction, control, possession, and supervision of such sewer and drainage systems and facilities as are placed under its jurisdiction by the provisions of this Plan, or may hereafter be placed under its jurisdiction in the manner herein provided; to maintain, operate, reconstruct, and improve the same as a comprehensive sewer and drainage system, and to make additions, betterments, and extensions thereto; to protect the public health and welfare by preventing or abating the pollution of water; and to have all the rights, privileges, and jurisdiction necessary or proper for carrying such powers into execution. No enumeration of powers in this Plan shall operate to restrict the meaning of this general grant of power or to exclude other powers comprehended within this general grant.
    

2. To prepare or cause to be prepared and to revise and adopt plans, designs, and estimates of costs, of a system or systems of outfall sewers, trunks, mains, submains, interceptors, lateral sewers, outlets for sewerage, storm water drains, pumping and ventilating stations, disposal and treatment plants and works, and any and all other structures, systems, works, and things which, in the judgment of the Board, will provide an effective and advantageous means for insuring the area within such District of adequate sanitary and storm water drainage and of adequate sanitary disposal and treatment of the sewage thereof, or such sections or parts of such system or systems as the Board may from time to time deem necessary or proper to construct, consistent with the purposes of this Plan, and to take any and all such steps as the Board may deem necessary and proper to effect the purposes hereof.
    

3. To construct any additions, improvements, or extensions to the facilities of the District, by contract or contracts, or under, through, or by means of its own officers, agents, and employees, and to construct any such additions, improvements, or extensions across, through, over, or under any public highway, railroad, right-of- way, tract, grade, fill or cut, and any other right-of-way or easement in the District; and to remove any fence, building, or other improvement in the District where necessary or proper for the construction of such additions, improvements, or extensions.
    

4. To establish, own, acquire, construct, lease, operate, and maintain, as a part of the sewer and drainage system or systems of the District, sewage treatment and disposal plants and systems and all the appurtenances and appliances thereunto belonging, and to sell any product or by-product manufactured in the course of sewage treatment.
    

5. To own, acquire, and hold such personal property as the Board may deem necessary and proper for carrying out the corporate purposes of the District, and to dispose of personal property when the District has no further need therefor.
    

6. To own, hold, control, and acquire by donation, purchase, contract, lease, or by the exercise of the power of eminent domain any and all rights of property, either public or private, of every kind and character necessary for the purposes of the District. In exercising the right of eminent domain, the District shall follow the procedure that is now provided by Article XXI of the Charter of the City of St. Louis, or the procedure prescribed by Chapter 88, Revised Statutes of Missouri, 1949. The District may sell and convey any property no longer necessary or useful in its operations.
    

7. To contract with municipalities, districts, other public agencies, individuals, or private corporations, or any of them whether within or without the District, for the construction, use, or maintenance of common or joint sewers, drains, outlets, and disposal plants, or for the performance of any service required by the District.
    

8. To contract with, and thereunder to permit municipalities, districts, other public agencies, individuals, or private corporations, or any of them whether within or without the District, to connect with and use the facilities of the District. The rates for such service and connections shall be such as may be agreed upon between the contracting parties.
    

9. To enter into and perform contracts, whether long-term or short-term, with any establishment, whether within or without the District, for the provision and operation by the District of sewerage facilities to abate or reduce the pollution of waters caused by discharges of wastes by such establishment, and the payment periodically by such establishment to the District of amounts at least sufficient to compensate the District for the cost of providing (including payment of principal and interest charges, if any) and operating and maintaining the sewerage facilities serving such establishment.
    

10. To enter into negotiations with the Federal Government and the State of Missouri and other states and political subdivisions thereof, or the agencies of any of them, and apply for and obtain from any of them, any and all assistance and grants-in-aid that may be available.
     

11. To enter into such agreements as are required by law for the purpose of extending the benefits of the federal old-age and survivors insurance system to employees of the District.
     

12. To make contracts and execute all instruments necessary or proper in the premises.
     

13. To incur debts by borrowing money or otherwise, and to give any appropriate evidence thereof.
     

14. To provide for the borrowing of money in anticipation of the collection of taxes and revenues for the fiscal year. The amount of such loans shall at no time exceed ninety per cent of the estimated collectible taxes and revenues for the year yet uncollected. The Board shall determine by ordinance the amount and terms of such loans, and the Executive Director shall execute and issue warrants of the District for all money so borrowed to the lenders thereof as evidence of such loans and of the terms of the District's obligation to repay the same. Immediately before their delivery to such lenders, such warrants shall be registered in the office of the Director of Finance of the District and, upon delivery, shall also be registered in the office of the Secretary-Treasurer of the District. Such warrants so issued and registered in connection with such loans shall have preference and priority in payment from the date of their registration by the Secretary-Treasurer over all warrants subsequently issued.
     

15. To meet the cost of acquiring, constructing, improving, or extending all or any part of the sewer or drainage facilities and systems: (a) through the expenditure of any funds available for that purpose; (b) through the issuance of bonds for that purpose, payable from taxes to be levied and collected by the District; (c) through the issuance of bonds for that purpose, payable from special benefit assessments levied and collected by the District; (d) from the proceeds of special benefit assessments or bills evidencing such assessments; (e) from any other funds which may be obtained under any law of the state or of the United States for that purpose; (f) from the proceeds of revenue bonds, payable from the revenues to be derived from the operation of sewerage and drainage facilities and systems of the entire District or of a subdistrict, as the case may be, as may be set forth in propositions submitted at elections in the District or subdistrict from time to time called and held to authorize the issuance of such revenue bonds; or (g) from any combination of any or all such methods of providing funds.
     

16. To establish by ordinance a schedule or schedules of rates, rentals, and other charges, to be collected from all the real property served by the sewer facilities of the District, whether public or private, and to prescribe the manner in which and time at which such rates, rentals, and charges are to be paid, and to change such schedule or schedules from time to time as the Board may deem necessary, proper, or advisable, and to collect or enforce collection of all such charges. Such schedule or schedules may be based upon any classifications or sub-classifications which the Board may determine to be fair and reasonable, whether similar or dissimilar to those hereinafter enumerated and which are or shall be established by ordinance, including but not limited to: (a) the consumption of water on premises connected with such facilities, taking into consideration commercial, industrial, and agricultural use of water; (b) the number and kind of plumbing fixtures connected with such facilities; (c) the number of persons served by such facilities; or (d) any combination of the factors enumerated. Any such rates, rentals, or other charges against public property shall be paid out of the general treasury of the public body, agency, corporation, or authority owning such property.
     

17. To enter into an agreement or agreements with any municipality, other public agency, or private water company for the collection of rates, rentals, or other charges levied by the District for sewer services. Such municipality, other public agency, or private water company is hereby authorized to collect such rates, rentals, or other charges and to discontinue water services upon any failure to pay the same within the time prescribed by ordinance. If any municipality, other public agency, or private water company situated within the District possesses any information which will assist the District in calculating such rates, rentals, or other charges for sewer services, it shall be the duty of such municipality, other public agency, or private water company to furnish such information to the District.
     

18. To enter on any lands, waters, and premises for the purposes of making surveys, soundings, and examinations.
     

19. To approve, revise, or reject the plans and designs of all outfall sewers, trunks, mains, submains, interceptors, lateral sewers, outlets for sewerage, storm water drains, pumping and ventilating stations, and disposal and treatment plants and works proposed to be constructed, altered, or reconstructed by any other person or corporation, private or public, in the District. No such sewer or drainage facilities shall be constructed or reconstructed without the approval of the District. Any such work shall be subject to inspection and supervision of the District.
     

20. To levy, assess, and collect taxes on all taxable property within the District or a subdistrict, as the case may be; provided, that the rate of taxation for purposes of operation and maintenance shall not exceed ten cents on the hundred dollars assessed valuation.
     

21. To fix, levy, and collect special benefit assessments for the construction, improvement, or extension of sewer or drainage facilities, levied ratably by area upon such lots or parcels of ground within the District, whether public or private, as are benefited by said construction, improvement, or extension, and for such purposes to provide by ordinance for the classification and reclassification of such benefited properties into such classes or subclasses as the Board may determine to be fair and reasonable.
     

22. To provide a retirement system for employees of the District if and when permissible under the Constitution and laws of the State of Missouri.
     

23. To require the owner or owners of any real property capable of being efficiently served by the facilities of the District to connect with and use such facilities in any case where the Board finds that the sewage or drainage from such property constitutes a public nuisance or a danger to public health or safety.
     

24. To subdivide the District into subdistricts and prescribe the boundaries thereof within which sewer or drainage facilities may be constructed, reconstructed, or improved at the expense of the subdistrict; provided, that in no case shall the boundaries of any such subdistrict extend beyond the area capable of being efficiently served or drained by the sewer or drainage facilities to be constructed, reconstructed, or improved. Any resident or residents of the District may petition the Board to establish such subdistrict, and the Board shall consider such petition as promptly as possible. No ordinance establishing such subdistrict shall become effective until three weeks after the Board shall have a public hearing on said ordinance, and a notice of such hearing shall be published in one or more newspapers of general circulation, published in the District, at least three weeks before such hearing. Such notice shall state the time, place, and purpose of such hearing. When such subdistrict has been established in the manner provided in this Plan, the Board shall possess and exercise within such subdistrict all the powers, duties, and functions which are prescribed herein for the District as a whole. The Board may appoint a committee of residents of any such subdistrict to serve in an advisory capacity. The Board may in its discretion disestablish any such subdistrict when its purposes have been fulfilled.
     

25. To provide for the functional administration of other Services common to the area within the District when authorized by amendment to this Plan proposed and adopted in the manner herein provided.

The Board is authorized, when, in its judgment, the public health or convenience or the adequate sewerage and drainage of said District shall require such action or when it shall be necessary for the construction of any bridge, sewer, culvert, highway embankment, or other public works in said District, or for the protection and security of any such public works already constructed, or when the protection of public or private property within the confines of said District from the encroachment of flood waters shall require such action: (a) to establish along and adjacent to any watercourse or stream, natural or artificial, or any part thereof, running in or through or bordering on the District, building lines or floodway reservation lines; (b) to control, as hereinafter provided, the use of private lands within such lines; (c) to establish along and adjacent to any watercourse or stream, natural or artificial, or any part thereof, running in or through or bordering on the District, bank lines or normal flow lines, grades, slopes, and cross sections and to take, occupy, and appropriate the bed of any such stream or part of a stream and any or all of the banks adjacent to such stream, and to straighten, deepen, move, lower, or otherwise alter such stream or part of a stream or the banks thereof; (d) to remove any or all walls, dams, or flumes or other obstructions to the free and healthy flow of water at any time of year, either under normal conditions or during times of flood; (e) to raise, lower, or otherwise alter any such existing structures; (f) to build and maintain other walls, dams, flumes, canals, artificial channels, revetments, slope or channel paving or protection works, or other stream control works; (g) to cover any such stream or cause it to flow through a sewer or other aqueduct built in and upon the bed of such stream or adjacent thereto, or at some other location; (h) to divert any stream or part of a stream from its natural or present channel into a new or different channel and to fill in, if it sems advisable, the old channel or any part thereof; (i) to do and perform any and all other acts necessary, beneficial, or expedient to carry into effect the above and foregoing purposes and powers.

Such building lines, when established shall become the limits of floodway reservations and no building or part of a building or appurtenance thereof or any structure shall be set up or erected within the reservation so established and, except by permission of the Board, no fill shall be made which may diminish the area of flow or otherwise obstruct in any way the free flow of flood waters in such reservation nor without such permission shall any dams, walls, or other watertight or practically watertight structures be constructed or placed within such reservation, and the Board shall fix by ordinance the method and manner of granting such permission.

Upon the completion of the layout establishing such building lines along any stream, the authorized agents of the Board shall have the right to enter upon the land enclosed thereby and to clean, police, and otherwise maintain the channel and banks of the stream or watercourse, so that the natural and healthful flow of the stream may be maintained at all times. The Board may by ordinance prohibit the depositing, dumping, or otherwise disposing within such building lines of any sewage, garbage, rubbish, industrial wastes, loose material, oils, or other soluble or insoluble solid or liquid matter, which may pollute the stream or subsequently be washed away or carried downstream or which may leave unhealthful or unsightly traces either in the bed of the stream or on the banks thereof, and may require any person or persons who shall have violated any of the provisions of such ordinance to remove any or all material they may have deposited or otherwise disposed of within such lines, and, in case of the failure of the owner of any land within such lines to remove any such material, the Board may order such material removed at the expense of such owner and, if the owner shall fail to pay the cost of such work, the District may file a lien for the amount thereof against the property with the Recorder of Deeds of the City of St. Louis or the Recorder of Deeds of St. Louis County, as the case may be, and the Board may, by ordinance, establish penalties to be imposed when any of the provisions of any ordinances authorized under this section shall have been violated.

The Board shall have the power to adopt and promulgate all ordinances, rules, regulations, by-laws, and agreements necessary, beneficial, or expedient to regulate the use, operation, and maintenance of property and facilities under its control, and to take such further action as may be necessary to carry into effect the powers granted the District by this Plan.