The authority may acquire by purchase, construction, lease, gift, condemnation, or otherwise, property of any kind, real, personal, or mixed, or any interest therein, that the board deems necessary or convenient to the exercise of its powers or functions; provided, that acquisition by condemnation shall be limited to lands, rights in land, including leaseholds and easements, and water rights in the Tom Bevill Reservoir Management Area that the board determines to be necessary to the control and optimum development of the Tom Bevill Reservoir Management Area, including such lands adjacent to or in the immediate vicinity of water control reservoirs as the board determines to be necessary to assure full development and optimum use of such reservoirs for the purposes of, water conservation and supply, flood control, irrigation, navigation, industrial development, public recreation, and related purposes. The amount and character of the interest in land, rights in land, and water rights to be acquired in such area shall be determined by the board of directors, and its determination shall be conclusive. The authority’s power of eminent domain may be exercised under Title 18, or pursuant to any other general statutory provisions hereafter enacted for the exercise of the power of eminent domain. The authority is expressly authorized to acquire by condemnation or otherwise and hold for resale or lease to private or other industrial organizations land or interests in land within the Tom Bevill Reservoir Management Area that it determines to be suitable for industrial or recreational uses, or both, and such acquisition is hereby declared to be for the public purpose of the state’s industrial or recreational development, or both, and for the increase of industrial employment opportunities. Nothing herein shall be construed to authorize the acquisition by eminent domain of any real property or rights owned or controlled by railroads or utilities, both public or private.
Last modified: May 3, 2021