MORGANTOWN – An administrative law judge engaged by the state Public Service Commission has ruled that West Preston School must disconnect its water service from Preston County Public Service District 1 for the old section of the school and resume service from Arthurdale Water Association – although the school wanted to retain PSD1 as its provider.
The ALJ ordered that PSD1 must remove its tie-in to Arthurdale’s line, which it was using to serve the old section of the school, and coordinate its efforts to do so with the least disruption to the school. The judge accordingly denied the Preston Board of Education’s request to switch providers at the school.
The judge, Darren Olofson, referred to the case as convoluted in his 16-page recommended decision.
The case began on March 24, when the BOE filed a complaint with the PSC against the two utilities – a move PSC staff noted as rather odd since the board and the PSD were united against Arthurdale – to have the PSC vacate an order in a separate but related case for the PSD’s connection to be valved off and Arthurdale become the sole provider. In May, the PSC partially vacated the order, allowing the PSD connection to remain while Olofson reviewed the matter.
Arthurdale was the school’s sole water provider until 2016, when the school built an addition for which it was unable to supply sufficient pressure to serve the addition’s sprinkler system. So, the school arranged for the PSD to build a metered line into the new section to supply the sprinklers. Then, in 2021, following an Arthurdale boil water advisory stemming from lack of a certified operator to monitor Arthurdale’s system, the school arranged with the PSD to provide general water service.
The service to the old section of the school was provided through the tie-in, which was intended to be temporary and was made without the PSC’s knowledge or permission, Olofson noted. However, Arthurdale never protested the move in any way.
PSC staff, supporting Arthurdale, argued that the PSD connection was made illegally and must be severed.
The school board argued that it wants that its schools to receive reliable utility service so the schools can focus on educating students. It also argued that it sits in a gray or overlapping service area and has the right to choose its provider.
Olofson agreed that the school sits in a gray area – situated only 200 feet from a PSD line that it could have been used to serve the school, instead of the unauthorized tie-in to Arthurdale’s line.
However, he disagreed on other points. “Clearly, the needs of the children attending the West Preston School to have a reliable source of clean water, both for drinking and meal preparation, are of the highest order. But the totality of the evidence still does not support the board’s contention. There is no question that the district, being a substantially larger utility, has greater resources to address the inevitable issues that arise as a provider of water. However, the preponderance of evidence supports the conclusion that the board’s arguments are either exaggerated, out of date, or simply incorrect.”
Under its new chief operator, he said, Arthurdale has made improvements to its system. And Arthurdale would suffer if the switch were permitted. It has fewer than 200 customers and the school is its single largest, providing 17.5% of its total cash requirement. PSD1, on the other hand, has 1,504 customers and the school’s payment make up only 0.65% of its revenues.
Given the inequities between the two providers, he said, legal precedent does not support allowing the switch. “The harm to Arthurdale and its other customers if the board was allowed to switch utilities outweighs the interests in the board in switching. … The board has not proven that Arthurdale cannot, going forward, continue to provide safe and reliable water service to the old section of the school.”
Olofson also noted that eliminating the tie-in simply reverts the school to the status quo of 2016-21, with PSD1 supplying drinking water for the new section and fire suppression for the whole school.
And PSD1’s tie-in violated several PSC rules he said: it was not properly engineered or approved by the PSC; it doesn’t allow Arthurdale to have control and jurisdiction of its entire system; and it connects to a dedicated fire line.
Olofson also commented on the BOE’s concerns about an E. Coli violation by Arthurdale. As pointed out in testimony, he said, it was simply a monitoring violation because a sample was taken late due to an absent homeowner. PSD1 has had similar violations. “The District is at least as likely to have water quality issues as Arthurdale.”
Olofson gave all parties 15 days from the date of his order, Dec. 1, to file exceptions. If none are filed, his order becomes the PSC order five days after the 15-day period expires.
The Dominion Post was unable to reach Preston Schools Superintendent Bradley Martin for comment.
Email: dbeard@dominionpost.com
