PUBLIC SERVICE COMMISSION OF WEST VIRGINIA CHARLESTON
CASE NO. 23-0791-PSD-CN-42A
WARM SPRINGS PUBLIC SERVICE DISTRICT,
Application for a non-project related rate increase and Application for a certificate of convenience and necessity to undertake a project to upgrade a portion of its wastewater treatment system in Morgan County, West Virginia.
AMENDED NOTICE OF FILING
On January 2, 2024, the Warm Springs Public Service District amended its pending Application, originally filed October 2, 2023, for a non-project related rate increase and an Application for a certificate of convenience and necessity to undertake a project to upgrade a portion of its wastewater treatment system in Morgan County, West Virginia.
The improvements associated with the project aim to reduce inflows and infiltrations into the District’s sanitary sewer collection systems and wastewater treatment plants by relining or removing and replacing existing sewer lines and branch lines and installing certain upgrades to the District’s Berkeley Springs wastewater treatment plant.
The Application is on file with and available for public inspection at the Public Service Commission, 201 Brooks Street, Charleston, West Virginia 25301.
The Project will be funded on the basis of an initial Rural Development loan in the amount of $2,900,000, an initial Rural Development grant in the amount of $1,349,000, and a subsequent Rural Development grant in the amount of $580,000.
The District anticipates charging the following increased Non-Project rates and charges for its customers:
RULES AND REGULATIONS
I. Rules and Regulations for the Government of Sewerage Utilities, adopted by the Public Service Commission of West Virginia, and now in effect, and all amendments thereto and modifications thereof hereafter made by said Commission.
II.Uninhabitable Property Policy:
The Warm Springs Public District Board finds that an uninhabitable property is one that must have been condemned for human occupation or otherwise found to be unsafe, unsanitary, dangerous or detrimental to the public safety or welfare by the Morgan County Health Department or other appropriate governmental authority. The Board does not have the statutory authority to determine habitability of a dwelling. Until a property has been determined to be uninhabitable by the Morgan County Health Department or other appropriate governmental authority, the District will bill the owners and/or tenants of the property for sewer services under the Rules and Regulations of the Public Service Commission and the statutes of the State of West Virginia.
(N) Ill. Compliance with Sewer Use Ordinance Required
All customers are required to comply with the District’s Sewer Use Ordinance, as approved by the West Virginia Department of Environmental Protection. Failure to comply with the District’s Sewer Use Ordinance after reasonable notice constitutes a basis for the District to request discontinuance of a customer’s water service or to terminate sewer service.
(N) IV. Grease Traps Required
Consistent with the District’s Sewer Use Ordinance, grease traps or other oil interceptors shall be installed by the customer at the customer’s expense when in the opinion of the District’s General Manager, such facilities are necessary for the proper handling of liquid wastes containing floatable grease in excessive amounts, or any flammable wastes, sand, or other harmful ingredients; except that such interceptors shall not be required for private living quarters or dwelling units. The District’s General Manager shall notify customers that require grease traps of the requirement by certified mail. A customer receiving such notice has 90 days from the date of mailing of such notice to install a grease trap acceptable to the District. All interceptors shall be of a type and capacity approved by the General Manager, and shall be located as to be readily and easily accessible for cleaning and inspection. In the maintaining of these interceptors the owner(s) shall be responsible for the proper removal and disposal by appropriate means of the captured material and shall maintain records of the dates, and means of disposal, which are subject to review by the District’s General Manager. Any removal and hauling of the collected materials not performed by owner(s) personnel must be performed by currently licensed waste disposal firms.
APPLICABILITY OF STEP 1 RATES
Applicable within the entire territory served until substantial completion of the District’s 2023 Inflow and Infiltration Correction Project.
AVAILABILITY
Available for general domestic, commercial, industrial and for resale sewer service.
(I,C) STEP 1 RATES – (customers with metered water supply or flow meter)
First 3,000 gallons used per month $14.78 per 1,000 gallons
Next 4,000 gallons used per month $13.84 per 1,000 gallons
Next 5,000 gallons used per month $12.38 per 1,000 gallons
Next 8,000 gallons used per month $10.73 per 1,000 gallons
All over 20,000 gallons used per month $ 9.59 per 1,000 gallons
(I) MINIMUM CHARGE
No bill will be rendered for less than $44.34 per month.
(I, C) FLAT RATE CHARGE – (customers with non-metered water supply)
Residential Customers: Equivalent of 4,500 gallons of water usage, $65.09 per month.
Berkeley Springs State Park — $1,323.52
The District anticipates charging the following increased Project rates and charges for its customers:
APPLICABILITY OF STEP 2 RATES
Applicable within the entire territory served upon substantial completion of the District’s 2023 Inflow and Infiltration Correction Project.
AVAILABILITY
Available for general domestic, commercial, industrial and for resale sewer service.
(I) STEP 2 RATES – (customers with metered water supply or flow meter)
First 3,000 gallons used per month $16.26 per 1,000 gallons
Next 4,000 gallons used per month $15.22 per 1,000 gallons
Next 5,000 gallons used per month $13.62 per 1,000 gallons
Next 8,000 gallons used per month $11.80 per 1,000 gallons
All over 20,000 gallons used per month $10.55 per 1,000 gallons
(I) MINIMUM CHARGE
No bill will be rendered for less than $48.78 per month.
(I, C) FLAT RATE CHARGE – (customers with non-metered water supply)
Residential Customers: Equivalent of 4,500 gallons of water usage, $71.60 per month.
Berkeley Springs State Park – $1,455.87
APPLICABLE DURING STEP 1 AND STEP 2:
(N) VEHICLES RATES
Commodity Charge — Each hauler shall pay a commodity charge of $90.00 per 1,000 gallons per load. Load will be the actual capacity of the truck or other transport method delivering wastewater and leachate.
(N) GREASE TRAP CHARGE
In addition to all other charges contained herein, all customers who are required by the District to install a grease trap shall pay an annual charge of $450.00, payable on July 1 of each year.
(C) TAP FEE
The following charges are to be made whenever the utility installs a new tap to serve an applicant.
A tap fee of $350.00 will be charged to all customers who apply for service outside of a certificate proceeding before the Commission for each new tap to the system.
A tap fee of $100.00 will be charged to customers applying for service before construction is completed adjacent to the customer’s premises in connection with a certificate proceeding before the Commission. This pre-construction tap fee will be invalid after the completion of construction adjacent to the applicant’s premises that is associated with a certificate proceeding.
DELAYED PAYMENT PENALTY
The above tariff is net. On all accounts not paid in full when due, ten percent will be added to the net current amount unpaid. This delayed payment penalty is not interest and is to be collected only once for each bill where it is appropriate.
TYPES OF DISCHARGE PROHIBITED
There shall be no connection of roof downspouts, foundation drains, area way drains, or other sources of surface run-off or ground water to a building drain or building sewer which in turn is connected directly or indirectly to the sanitary sewerage system. There shall be no radioactive wastes, oils, flammable or explosive substances, or any other material discharged directly or indirectly into the system which may have a harmful effect on the wastewater treatment facilities.
(I) DISCONNECT/RECONNECTION/ADMINISTRATIVE FEE
Whenever water service has been disconnected for non-payment of sewer bills in conjunction with a water service termination agreement with the Town of Bath, a disconnection fee of $35.00 shall be charged: or in the event the delinquent sewer bill is collected by the water company, an administrative fee of $35.00 shall be charged.
Whenever water service, which has been previously disconnected or otherwise withheld for nonpayment of a sewer bill in conjunction with a water service termination agreement with the Town of Bath, is reconnected, a reconnection fee of $35.00 shall be charged.
SECURITY DEPOSIT
Not to exceed two-twelfths (2/12) of the average annual usage of the applicant’s specific customer class, or fifty dollars ($50.00), whichever is greater. This fee may be changed by applicable statutory provisions.
RETURNED CHECK CHARGE
A service charge equal to the actual bank fee assessed to the sewer utility up to a maximum of $25.00 will be imposed upon any customer whose check for payment of charges is returned by the bank due to insufficient funds.
(N) EFT, CREDIT CARD AND DROP BOX PAYMENTS
A service charge will be imposed on EFT, Credit Card or Drop Box payments. The amount shall be equal to the actual charges to the utility from the financial institution for processing payment. No additional charge or fee shall be collected by the District for accepting these forms of payment.
(I,C) LEAK ADJUSTMENT
Where a bill shows water usage in excess of 200% of the customer’s average monthly usage for the preceding twelve months (or actual period of service if less than 12 months) that is attributable to leakage on the customer’s side of the meter, a leak adjustment rate of $8.00 per 1,000 gallon is to be applied to the portion of the bill which exceeds 200% of historical average monthly usage.
SCHEDULE NO. 2
SURCHARGE FORMULA TO BE APPLIED IN CASES WHERE ROOF DRAINS ARE CONNECTED TO THE DISTRICT’S SANITARY SEWER SYSTEM
APPLICABILITY
Wherever the District has discovered that a customer’s roof drain, downspout, storm sewer or similar facilities conducting surface water-have -been connected to the District’s sewer system, and such customer has failed to take appropriate action, within thirty (30) days of receipt of a demand by the District in accordance with the Rule and Regulations of the Public Service Commission, to eliminate such connection, a surcharge will be imposed upon the customer calculated on the basis of the following formula:
S=A x R x .0006233 x C
S The surcharge in dollars
A The area under roof and/or the area of any other water collection surface connected to the sanitary sewer, in square feet
R The measured monthly rainfall, in inches
.0006233 A conversion factor to change inches of rain x square feet of surface to thousands of gallons of water
C The District’s approved rate per thousand gallons of wastewater treated
The District shall not impose the surcharge unless, and until, the customer has been notified by certified mail, return receipt requested, or by hand delivery, that it has been established by smoke testing, dye testing, or on-site inspection that rain or other surface water is being introduced into the sanitary sewer system at the customer’s location, and that the customer has not acted within thirty (30) days from receipt of such notice to divert the water from the sanitary sewer system.
Said surcharge shall be calculated and imposed for each month that said condition continues to exist. Failure to pay the surcharge and/or correct the situation shall give rise to the possible termination of water service in accordance with the Rules and Regulations of the Public Service Commission of West Virginia.
IMPACT OF RATE PROPOSAL
Step 1 Rates represent the following Non-Project related increases that will become effective prior to substantial completion of the project, unless otherwise ordered:
($) INCREASE INCREASE (%)
Flat Rate (4,500 gallons/mo.) $ 8.98 16.0%
Metered Residential (3,000 gallons/mo.) $ 6.12 16.01%
Metered Commercial (12,700 gallons/mo.) $ 23.28 16.0%
Metered Public Authority (8,000 gallons/mo.)$ 15.44 16.0%
Flat Rate Berkeley Springs State Park $182.55 16.0%
Step 2 Rates represent the following Project related increases that will become effective upon substantial completion of the project, unless otherwise ordered:
($) INCREASE INCREASE (%)
Flat Rate (4,500 gallons/mo.) $ 6.51 10.0%
Metered Residential (3,000 gallons/mo.) $ 4.44 10.0%
Metered Commercial (12,700 gallons/mo.) $ 16.88 10.0%
Metered Public Authority (8,000 gallons/mo.)$ 11.20 10.0%
Flat Rate Berkeley Springs State Park $132.35 10.0%
The District has no resale customers.
The proposed Step 1 rates and charges not related to the project will produce approximately $173,997 annually in additional revenue, an increase of 13.0%. The increases shown are based on averages of all customers in the indicated class. Individual customers may receive increases that are greater or less than average.
The proposed Step 2 rates and charges related to the project will produce approximately $126,183 annually in additional revenue, an increase of 8.3% over Step 1 revenue. The increases shown are based on averages of all customers in the indicated class. Individual customers may receive increases that are greater or less than average.
Anyone desiring to protest or intervene should file a written protest or notice of intervention within 30 days following the date of this publication unless otherwise modified by Commission order. Failure to timely protest or intervene can affect your right to protest aspects of this certificate case, including any associated rate increases, or to participate in future proceedings. All protests or requests to intervene should briefly state the reason for the protest or intervention. Requests to intervene must comply with the Commission’s rules on intervention set forth in the Commission’s Rules of Practice and Procedure, West Virginia Code of State Rules § 150-1-1, et seq. All protests and interventions should be addressed to Karen Buckley, Executive Secretary, 201 Brooks Street, Post Office Box 812, Charleston, West Virginia, 25323.
In the absence of substantial protest received within thirty (30) days of this publication, the Commission may waive formal hearing and grant the application based on the evidence submitted with said application and its review thereof.