Delco Seeking To Block Regional Water Authority's Privatization

DELAWARE COUNTY, PA — The Delaware County Council is taking legal action to block the formation of an illegal trust that was set up to Delaware County Regional Water Authority and privatize its operations.

County officials filed a complaint with the state Supreme Court, alleging the former Republican-majority county council worked to sell the waiter authority to Aqua Pennsylvania, which would make the public utility a private utility.

The complaint alleges the water authority's board — which appointed by the former Republican-controlled council — violated the Municipal Authorities Act, 53 Pa.C.S. §5601 et seq., by creating a governmental entity when it had no power to do so.

Also, the complaint claims the authority's board devised a scheme in which the authority would continue to exist and hold and distribute public monies, even though it would no longer exist after selling the sewer system to Aqua. Officials say adopting that funding scheme in the trust is contrary to, and violates, the authority's Articles of Incorporation

And, the complaint is seeking the court to stop the authority from transferring any of its assets into the trust pending review of the legitimacy of the trust, the authority's power to create a governmental entity, and the authority's ability to transfer public monies to an entity which has no public accountability or oversight.

The entire complaint is available here.

"In 2019, the Board of DELCORA, appointed by the former Republican majority on the Delaware County Council entered into an agreement - using a no-bid process and allowing no meaningful public input - with Aqua Pennsylvania to sell DELCORA and privatize its operations," the county said in announcing the legal action. "Additionally, in the final days of their terms, the former Republican majority illegally created a trust to distribute assets from the sale directly back to Aqua Pennsylvania, and not to ratepayers."

The new Delaware County Council vowed to make county government more transparent and to protect taxpayers.

"From the beginning, I’ve said this deal stunk and the fix was in," said Brian Zidek, County Council Chair. "It was nothing more than a give-away to a political contributor and the hardworking taxpayers of Delaware County deserve better. With the action we took today, we are advancing our goal of transparency and putting people over politics."