Bucks Commissioners To Authority: End Sewer Sale Talks With Aqua

DOYLESTOWN, PA — Bucks County Commissioners Bob Harvie and Diane Ellis Marseglia are asking the Bucks County Water & Sewer Authority to end consideration of a proposed sale of its sewer conveyance system to Aqua, Inc.

The two majority commissioners made their feelings known in two separate statements released to the public Tuesday morning.

"While I see much potential in adding an estimated billion dollars to the county treasury, I cannot say that I feel comfortable with this transaction," said Harvie, the chairman of the three member board of county commissioners.

"I did speak with the chair of the authority to ask that he and the rest of the board stop any negotiations and not sell any of the BCWSA operations," he continued. "As a Bucks County Commissioner, I don’t have a direct vote on whether or not a sale should happen, but I and the other commissioners do have the power to change the charter of the Bucks County Water and Sewer Authority.

"Following my conversation with the chairman of the authority I believe the board of the BCWSA will do what is necessary to end discussions with Aqua, Inc.," he said in his statement.

The Bucks County Water and Sewer Authority announced in July that it had entered into exclusive negotiations with privately-held Aqua, Pa. for the potential sale of its sewer system for $1.1 billion. Since that announcement, municipal officials and residents have responded with a resounding "no," fearing future ballooning rate increases and a loss of local control.

"For the past several months, there have been many questions and much concern about the possibility that part of the Bucks County Water and Sewer Authority will be sold to a private company," said Harvie. "We have heard those concerns from our residents and from elected officials throughout the county, and we thank them for being advocates for our county."

With that being said, Harvie said that there are some advantages private companies have over public utilities, just as there are areas where public utilities have advantages over private companies.

"The authority’s board members have been exploring the possibility of a sale because they take seriously their responsibility to do what is in the best interests of their customers," said Harvie. "The authority has been acting as they should, asking questions, exploring options, weighing the benefits and costs. I respect their professionalism and their efforts to be transparent through this process.

"The purchase of public utilities by private companies has accelerated in recent years and while we don’t yet know what the long-term effects of these purchases will be, we do know that they have led to increased costs for customers," said Harvie. "Because neither the commissioners nor our staff have been part of the negotiations, the county had many questions we needed answered. We sent about 50 questions to the BCWSA and posted them publicly. The authority promptly answered those questions for us, and their answers were also made public. Speaking for myself, the answers we received did give me more clarity on this issue, but also raised some additional questions."

Marseglia said after carefully reviewing all the information available regarding the sale, "I cannot recommend that the BCWSA continue to entertain Aqua, Inc.’s proposal

"I greatly appreciate the diligent work of the BCWSA, its board and staff in vetting this proposal and maintaining transparency with the public by holding town halls, public meetings, and responding promptly to the commissioners’ concerns and questions.

"When $1.1 billion was offered, BCWSA, whose systems may face over $250 million in upcoming repairs, had a fiduciary responsibility to thoroughly research the proposal and listen to feedback from the public, weighing pros and cons," said Marseglia in her statement. "While the financial aspect of this deal is a reasonable alternative given the expensive infrastructure work ahead, what we heard from the public was clear, nonpartisan, and near-universal: do not sell off the publicly-run BCWSA sewer system to a private entity.

"Fear of ballooning rates, as evidenced by similar takeovers around the country, and loss of a well-managed, highly-regarded public utility topped the feedback I have received," Marseglia continues. "Granted, the commissioners do not have the power to approve or deny any such sale – that responsibility rests with the independent BCWSA – we can only advocate a position on behalf of Bucks County residents. That said, the commissioners do appoint the BCWSA board and reserve the power to dissolve the authority entirely, and I trust that the members of the BCWSA will do what’s in the best interest of the ratepayers.

"To be clear, this doesn’t get us out of the woods," says Marseglia. "Harsh realities do await in the form of the aforementioned system repairs, an issue that will eventually face ratepayers. But I believe we can find solutions to those issues without involving the sale of one of our public institutions to a private corporation, under which we’d no longer have any oversight."

State Senator Santarsiero joins call to end consideration of sewer sale

State Senator Steve Santarsiero joined Commissioners Harvie and Ellis-Marseglia in calling upon the BCWSA to end further negotiations with Aqua regarding the sale of its sewer system. He issued the following letter to the authority:

"As a public authority, the BCWSA is not beholden to shareholders or investors, only to the public, and the communities it serves. For this reason, I believe that the BCWSA is in the best position moving forward to provide sewer services at stable rates that allow for both investment in the system, economic growth in the service area and predictability for rate payers.

"Moreover, the opinion of the county commissioners should carry significant weight with the Board of the BCWSA. As you know, the county originally established the BCWSA as a public entity to operate a public asset. Any proposed sale of that asset to a private entity such as Aqua would be inconsistent with that aim.

"For these reasons, I urge you to send any further consideration of the proposed sale."