Water company delay request in takeover case denied
The Public Service Commission has rejected a request from a beleaguered water company that serves several Ulster municipalities to delay proceedings involving the possibility of an ordered takeover.
According to the Public Service Commission, the request by the Hudson Valley Water Company to put off the deadline to answer a PSC order to show cause by March 1 was denied.
The company serves several Ulster County communities, including Mount Marion, High Falls, Pine Lane-Hurley, West Hurley and Boiceville.
State Sen. Michelle Hinchey, D-Saugerties, hailed the PSC denial in connection with its review that includes the order demanding the company answer why the PSC should not agree to install a new owner.
“The PSC made the right decision to deny Hudson Valley Water Company an extension to Show Cause,” Hinchey said in a statement. “It’s indefensible for a water utility to consistently fail to provide our residents with safe and reliable water service. It’s also clear that the existing framework for small water companies in New York State is fragmented, allowing many, like HVWC, to evade their responsibilities.”
Hinchey said she has sponsored two bills, the Small Water Utility Transparency Act and the New York Small Water Authority, that would “provide the tools to solve these issues faster, establish more comprehensive oversight of small water utilities, and better uphold the Constitutional right of New Yorkers to clean water.”
In a letter dated Wednesday, Feb. 28, Hudson Valley Water Company President Jeffrey Fuller lambasted the decision.
“With regard to your denial of an extension to reply in the below matters, we believe that this is entirely unreasonable, unjust and does not allow us any time to properly respond to these issues,” Fuller wrote in the letter. “These cases require a complex detailed response to present the true facts, as opposed to ‘allegations.’”
“We demand an extension, due to the seriousness of the matters and as we were out of the country, we did not have this adequate amount of time.”
Ulster County Executive Jen Metzger blasted the response.
“I applaud the Commission’s decision to deny the request for
an extension, which Mr. Fuller made for reasons that were absurd, at best,” Metzger said in a prepared statement. “Fuller’s rationale that he has been out of the country is an excuse akin to ‘the dog ate my homework,’ and is particularly galling in this moment, with System #5 in Boiceville currently under a Boil Water Notice due to a power outage—a situation that could have been entirely prevented had the company followed an earlier directive from the Commission to install a back-up generator.”
On Feb. 15, the PSC issued an “order to show cause” to the company.
The Public Service Commission made its unanimous decision that required the company to answer why it thinks the takeover should not occur.
The Feb. 15 session was the start-up of the commission’s consideration to replace the operation of the Hudson Valley Water Company with a new operator.
The company has faced years worth of complaints from customers over service and water quality.
The Department of Public Service staff contends, after an initial investigation showing apparent instances “of inconsistent operational and managerial actions, as well as inconsistent and ineffective improvements, that the company has not shown it has the capability to consistently operate its five small water systems in Ulster County,” the PSC said in a statement.
In a letter to Fuller denying his request for a delay, the PSC said it did not agree with his reasoning.
“Your reasons for requesting an extension are not persuasive, particularly, where, as here, the Order outlines a lengthy timeline of complaints and an extended history of alleged water quality and water service issues,” the letter said. “Moreover, as noted in the Order … the Companies will have an opportunity to respond to allegations in Case 24-W-0105, including, if necessary, a hearing pursuant to Public Service Law Section 119-a.”
“For these reasons, among others, your request for an extension is denied,” the letter said.