A still shot taken from a City of Ansonia YouTube video.
ANSONIA – The Ansonia Board of Aldermen has scheduled a public hearing at 6:15 p.m. on Wednesday (July 24) to dissolve the city’s Water Pollution Control Authority (WPCA).
The proposal includes the repeal of a city ordinance establishing the WPCA, and the passage of a replacement ordinance which grants the Board of Aldermen all the powers and responsibilities the WPCA previously held. Click here and scroll to page 2 to view the proposal in full.
The hearing will be conducted via Zoom and can be accessed via this link (the password is listed as 746548).
The dissolution of the city’s WPCA, a 9‑person appointed board, comes after the city signed an agreement to sell its wastewater assets to utility company Aquarion in June. The Aldermen intend to act as a transitional WPCA, according to city documents, before the sale closes and Aquarion takes control in December.
Another Zoom public hearing is scheduled for 6:30 p.m. next Thursday (Aug. 1). The purpose of the hearing is “to discuss the sewer use rate,” according to an agenda posted online.
City attorney John Marini said that hearing may be moved later in the week; check the city website for updates.
At a meeting of the Aldermen on July 9, a “proposed transition plan” was shown to the Aldermen. It lays out a timeline for various actions the city and Aquarion need to take before the planned closing date of December 2. That plan, which can be viewed in full here, includes the following steps:
By July 21, Aquarion is to provide the city with a rate schedule consistent with the public approvals and the purchase and sale agreement. This date is subject to receiving updated customer data.
On July 24, the Board of Aldermen plans to amend city ordinances “to act as functioning WPCA for the purpose of completing Transition Plan.”
On July 25, the city is scheduled to meet with the Connecticut Department of Energy and Environmental Protection (DEEP). Aquarion and the city must collaborate on getting the wastewater treatment plant into compliance with DEEP regulations.
By Aug. 1, Aquarion will make offers of employment to all current employees, who will have 30 days to accept or decline those offers. Aquarion will also start recruiting to have a fully staffed operations department.
On Aug. 1, the Board of Aldermen will hold a public hearing to approve an updated rate schedule, including use of the rate stabilization fund “as set forth in public approvals, term sheet and sales agreement.” This is the final public hearing prior to the sale close.
By Aug. 21, the city will need to approve a final billing plan that funds the WPCA until the sale closing date.
The city will appoint members to a Customer Advisory Board prior to closing. According to the purchase agreement, this is a temporary board which will consist of between 3 and 7 Ansonia residents and Aquarion employees. Aquarion must meet with this board at least four times over the next five years, after which it can dissolve the board.
The city will pass a tax exemption for Aquarion per the purchase agreement, and easement issues will be resolved.
The sale agreement, which was signed by Aquarion and the city in June, includes $41 million to be paid to the city, as well as a promise to invest $15 million into the wastewater system over the next five years. It also requires Aquarion to set its sewer rates according to a schedule shown to residents in May.
The sale has been controversial among city residents, with about two dozen residents protesting the sale at a public hearing held in April. The Aldermen voted to approve the sale in May, although two members – Dan King and Chicago Rivers, who each sit on the current WPCA board – voted against.
Under the new ownership, a 34 percent rate increase will take effect gradually over the next five years. A single-family home currently paying $41.47 per month will continue paying that amount next year, increasing to $55.71 by 2029.
