County Legislator Wolfe Requests Party Status in UWNY Surcharge Petition

(By Betsy Saetre)


New City, NY (June 25, 2013) – Vice Chairman of the Rockland County Legislature Alden H. Wolfe has submitted a request to the NYS Public Service Commission for “party status” relative to the United Water New York (UWNY) petition for a Long-Term Water Supply Surcharge (LTWSS) to recover the costs the company has incurred to date to develop the Hudson River desalination plant, formally known as the Haverstraw Water Supply Project.  UWNY hopes to obtain permission to apply a surcharge to its customers’ quarterly bills beginning August 1, 2013 as a mean to recoup the $54 million in pre-construction costs it claims to have spent to develop the project.

Party status would allow Vice Chairman Wolfe, who is also the chairman of the Legislature’s Environmental Committee, to submit comments and testimony, and to participate in evidentiary hearings, conferences and other formal events that pertain to the LTWSS petition.

UWNY states in its petition that it has acted in good faith and demonstrated best efforts to develop the project and in the preparation of the Final Environmental Impact Statement (FEIS), and claims that the NYSDEC has delayed acting on the FEIS “in the face of political machinations by special interest groups, certain elected officials, nearby municipalities, and other.”   UWNY also states that the special surcharge would ultimately save customers from $23 million of deferred carrying costs and would avoid the “shock” of applying the full cost of the project to customers’ bills once the plant is in service.

“United Water’s request for permission for its customers to ‘pay it forward’ is premature, particularly in light of the fact that the desalination plant hasn’t even been approved,” said Wolfe.

“It’s a shame that United Water views advocacy as ‘political machination.’  Party status would give me another platform to protect and advocate for the best interests of United Water ratepayers, as well as address the environmental concerns related to the project.”