Gov. Jim Justice has signed into a law a bill to authorize the West Virginia Public Service Commission to establish rules for the testing and maintenance of fire hydrants owned by water utilities.
Justice on Wednesday signed off on House Bill 5617, which allows utilities to increase rates to comply with the new standards to be set by the PSC.
The law is a response to what PSC staff members found was a widespread failure among water utilities throughout the state to inspect, test and maintain fire hydrants.
“[I]t is an unacceptable situation which must be corrected,†warned a PSC staff memorandum filed with the agency in January.
PSC recommended a state-funded hydrant replacement program for nonprofit water utilities, predicting that smaller utilities couldn’t afford hydrant replacement costs without significant rate hikes. The staff suggested $70 million to support the program.
But PSC Chairman Charlotte Lane told the House of Delegates Transportation and Infrastructure Committee that unidentified opposition to the PSC staff’s hydrant replacement grant proposal caused the PSC to take its pro-rate recovery stance. The PSC did not respond to a request to identify that opposition.
Transportation and Infrastructure Committee Chairman Daniel Linville, R-Cabell, HB 5617’s lead sponsor, had argued that utilities already should have been factoring hydrant testing and maintenance into their rates. As advanced by his committee, HB 5617 would have prohibited utilities from increasing rates to meet HB 5617-enabled standards.
But the House Judiciary Committee removed that provision after Lane objected to it. Lane called it unconstitutional and said it would keep small public service districts from absorbing the costs of fire hydrant upkeep.
HB 5617 allows the PSC to issue rules on the inspection and testing of hydrants per National Fire Protection Association and American Water Works Association standards.
Lane said in a statement after the Legislature passed the bill that the PSC would seek input from “all groups and individuals interested in the safety of fire hydrants†and begin meetings to determine what rules and regulations should be proposed.
The PSC staff had recommended amending state code to address hydrant inspection and testing, finding that state rules and regulations don’t require annual inspection or periodic flow testing in accordance with national standards.
The staff’s fire hydrant investigation followed ÂÒÂ×ÄÚÉä firefighters reporting insufficient flow at three West Virginia American Water hydrants on the city’s West Side during a May house fire that left a family’s dog dead.
Based on responses from 256 water utilities, the PSC staff found that only two-thirds of hydrants are inspected every year and stressed that all hydrants should be inspected annually. PSC staff members reported 11% of hydrants statewide are older than 50 years, the age at which the staff determined hydrants should be replaced.
Just 68% of utilities regularly flow test hydrants, something staff members said should be performed on all hydrants.
Mike Tony covers energy and the environment. He can be reached at 304-348-1236 or mtony@hdmediallc
