Credit: (musiking from Pixabay)Water companies that remove dangerous contaminants from drinking water could recover their costs from customers more quickly under legislation that moved closer to winning final approval.
The bill (A-4791/S-3184) is backed by water utilities, which face higher compliance costs to provide safe drinking water as a result of tough new federal standards to eliminate so-called forever chemicals from their supplies.
Modeled after similar laws in other states, the bill easily cleared the Assembly Environment and Solid Waste Committee on Thursday despite concerns from Brian Lipman, the director of the Division of Rate Counsel, that it would leave ratepayers exposed to significant increases in water bills.
But water utility executives and lobbyists argued the bill allows purveyors to more quickly install the technology to remove those toxic contaminants from supplies and protect public health.
The contaminants, known as PFAS and commonly referred to as “forever chemicals,” are in water throughout New Jersey and the rest of the nation, leading state and federal officials to adopt new regulations to limit public exposure to the chemicals.
Christina Farrell, vice president of the New Jersey Utilities Authority, said the new mechanism will help companies to remove contaminants and more quickly restore the wells or supplies for public use.
“It creates a timely mechanism to comply with public health and safety standards,’’ said Sakema Jones, government affairs manager for New Jersey American Water.
Current rules
Under current law, utilities may impose limited recovery costs for infrastructure costs on their customers without going through a formal rate case in certain circumstances, including investments involving underground assets.
The cost of the equipment to remove PFAS from water supplies could run into hundreds of millions of dollars, according to Don Shields, a vice president of New Jersey American Water.
But Lipman, who submitted written testimony to the committee, questioned whether the bill is even needed.
Wastewater and water utilities have an obligation to their customers to ensure the reliability, health and safety of the water they provide and wastewater they process, Lipman said. “There is no need to give utilities a special clause to do what they are obligated to do,’’ he wrote.
The bill leaves ratepayers exposed to significant rate increases outside of the normal rate case process, Lipman added. “New Jersey’s residents are financially hurting, and this bill will unnecessarily increase their burden without providing any actual benefit or protection,” he said.
Forever chemicals have been widely used since the 1940s in consumer products, including nonstick cookware and flame-retardant fabrics. They are now widespread in the environment because they do not degrade, and persist long after they are no longer made or used.
