Signed by Governor Jim Justice, Jr.

Vote Smart's Synopsis:

Vote to amend and pass a bill that authorizes the Public Service Commission (PSC) to protect consumers of distressed and failing water and wastewater utilities.

Highlights:

• Requires the Public Service Commission, whenever finding any regulations, measurements, practices, acts, or service to be unjust, unreasonable, insufficient, or unjustly discriminatory, or otherwise in violation of this chapter, or finds that any service is inadequate, or that any service which is demanded cannot be reasonably obtained, to determine and declare, and by order fix reasonable measurement, regulations, acts, practices, or services, to be furnished, imposed, observed, and followed in place of those found (Chap. 24, Article 2).

• Requires the commission to resolve both formal and informal complaints from customers of water and sewer utilities operated by a political subdivision of the state, within 180 days of the filing of the complaints (Chap. 24, Article 2).

• Defines a “distressed utility” as a water or wastewater utility, that for financial, operational, or managerial reasons (Article 2H):

• Is in continual violation of statutory or regulatory standards of the Bureau for Public Health, the Department of Environmental Protection, or the commission, which affect the water quality, safety, adequacy, efficiency, or reasonableness of the service provided by the water or wastewater utility and fails to comply within a reasonable period of time with any final, nonappealable order of the Department of Environmental Protection, Bureau for Public Health, or the commission concerning the safety, adequacy, efficiency, or reasonableness of service;

• Is no longer able to provide adequate, efficient, safe, and reasonable utility services; or

• Fails to timely pay some or all of its financial obligations, fails to maintain its debt service reserve, or fails to submit an audit as required by its bond or loan documents or state law.

• Defines a “failing water or wastewater utility” as a public entity that (Article 2H):

• Meets the definition of a distressed water or wastewater utility; and

• Either has not, after a reasonable time period, been stabilized and improved by corrective measures, or has had the requirements suspended for good cause shown by an order of the commission.

• Requires the commission to contact each utility it finds to be financially unstable and provide advice and assistance in resolving any financial instability or managerial or operational issues that are contributing to the utility’s financial instability (Article 2H).

• Requires the commission to hold an evidentiary and public hearing in the area of an alleged distressed or failing utility for the purpose of receiving evidence and determining if the utility is a distressed or failing utility and whether a capable proximate utility should acquire the utility (Article 2H).

• Authorizes a nonprofit acquiring public utility to seek out grant funding from the Distressed Utilities Account to repair, maintain, and replace the distressed water and wastewater utilities facilities as needed (Article 2H).

• Authorizes the commission to approve an appropriate and reasonable cost recovery mechanism to allow the capable proximate utility to recover its acquisition costs and projected cost of service of operating, maintaining, and improving the facilities of the failing water or wastewater utility or its net costs incurred for operating, maintaining, and improving the distressed utility under an operating agreement (Article 2H).

• Establishes a separate restricted account within the West Virginia Infrastructure Fund, called the Distressed Utilities Account, to be expended for the repair and improvement of failing water and wastewater systems by nonprofit public utilities as recommended by the council and supported by recommendations from the Public Service Commision (Article Chapter 31, Article 15A).

Full Bill Text