CHARLESTON, WV (WOAY) – Significant progress seems to have been made in the Fayette County Commission’s purchase agreement that would sell several county PSDs to American water – a deal that has been plagued by allegations of uncovered debt and legal issues since the process began well over a year ago.
A Joint Stipulation and Agreement for Settlement was reached between the various parties involved in the agreement, with the purchase price still set at 13 million, and an evidentiary hearing scheduled for Monday, August 24th, originally scheduled to be held in March, was again cancelled.
The stipulating parties requested the Public Service Commission approve the joint stipulation and authorize American Water’s acquisition of the Kanawha Falls, Page-Kincaid, and Armstrong Creek public service districts as the parties have endeavored to address or eliminate all issues with comprehensive solutions.
Regarding full repayment of grants made by the West Virginia Water Development Authority and the WV Department of Environmental Protection, the joint stipulation states, “Any still-required funding repayment amounts for the public sector grants identified in appendix A to the amended agreement be paid in full at closing.”
The districts, with the assistance of the Fayette County Commission, are still required to submit waiver requests to the public funding agencies seeking an amount less than full repayment.
The stipulation also addresses the issues facing the Clean Water Act violations from the damaged sewer lines resulting from the 2022 flood. American Water and Kanawha Falls PSD will enter into an operations and maintenance agreement under which “The company will begin planning and design efforts on a project intended to address the issues experienced by Kanawha Falls customers at Cannelton Hollow and Scrabble Creek such that the investment and completion of that project can be commenced as soon as reasonably possible after closing and finished in a timely fashion.”
The Joint Stipulation addresses the Smithers Sanitary Board and WVA Manufacturing’s resale rate issues as well.
Smithers will continue to pay the wastewater resale rate identified in the Kanawha Falls existing wastewater tariff until that rate is modified by an American Water base rate case or PSC approved agreement between the company and Smithers.
WVA Manufacturing will be limited to 50 percent of the company’s rate phase in plan, which will take three years to reach 100 precent of then-company rates.
Regarding the potential civil liability of Kanawha Falls PSD, which the WV DEP filed in Fayette Circuit Court and are now currently seeking a default judgement which potentially includes fines to Kanawha Falls PSD of $25,000 per day going back as far as 2023.
The joint stipulation states “The company acknowledges that it will need to work with WVDEP to develop a plan to address non-compliance issues at Kanawha Falls.
The Public Service Commission still needs to approve the Joint Stipulation and agreement for settlement.
E.L. Robinson Engineering, who has a case pending against Kanawha Falls PSD in Fayette Circuit Court regarding debt owed them by the district they allege is not included in the purchase agreement has withdrawn their intervention in this case before the PSC as they believe the Circuit Court of Fayette County is better served to adjudicate these contractual issues.
On Friday, E.L. Robinson also filed for a default judgment in the Circuit Court of Fayette County for their claimed debt owed by Kanawha Falls, as the district has not responded or presented a defense for more than thirty days since the suit was filed.
