By Mike Tony, Charleston Gazette-Mail
CHARLESTON, W.Va. — Gov. Jim Justice has signed into a law a bill to authorize the West Virginia Public Service Commission to establish rules for the testing and maintenance of fire hydrants owned by water utilities.
Justice on Wednesday signed off on House Bill 5617, which allows utilities to increase rates to comply with the new standards to be set by the PSC.
The law is a response to what PSC staff members found was a widespread failure among water utilities throughout the state to inspect, test and maintain fire hydrants.
“[I]t is an unacceptable situation which must be corrected,” warned a PSC staff memorandum filed with the agency in January.
PSC recommended a state-funded hydrant replacement program for nonprofit water utilities, predicting that smaller utilities couldn’t afford hydrant replacement costs without significant rate hikes. The staff suggested $70 million to support the program.
But PSC Chairman Charlotte Lane told the House of Delegates Transportation and Infrastructure Committee that unidentified opposition to the PSC staff’s hydrant replacement grant proposal caused the PSC to take its pro-rate recovery stance. The PSC did not respond to a request to identify that opposition.
