Jefferson County Foundation (JCF) is proud to support Jefferson County Vision (JCV), who has filed its final brief before the West Virginia Supreme Court of Appeals in its case against the Public Service Commission (PSC) challenging the PSC granting the Jefferson Utilities, Inc., (JUI), an emergency construction permit in 2018 allowing them to proceed with construction without the need for a hearing or public intervention. Despite the fact that the PSC staff recommended a public hearing, the PSC refused to grant one citing that the Jefferson County Development Authority (JCDA) funding for the water line fell through in response to significant public outcry.
Rockwool argues that the case is moot because the water line is already built. However, the JUI-Rockwool deal is not a “done deal.” Ownership of the line does not transfer from Rockwool to JUI until after, but “no later than 90 days after completion of Phase 2” – or at least the end of April 2020. The brief states:
“[t]his Court should not concede the case is moot based simply on the fact that the water line is built. If this is acceptable, any private company, with the blessing of the Commission, can seek approvals of a project despite not following the proper process…By the time complainants can raise issues before this Court, the project is built and either the Commission or the company can claim the issues are moot. This would be dangerous precedent.”
In short, we have asked the Supreme Court to consider whether the PSC should have allowed JUI to proceed when there was so much unknown and unknowable at the time the alleged emergency grant of the certificate was provided:
“There is something inherently wrong with a situation where the certificated project has morphed into a situation where the utility is no longer building the project, the customer is; the quantified state funding no longer exists; the estimated costs of the project have significantly increased; the utility agrees to reimburse the customer its costs whatever they turn out to be; the water demand of the only identified customer has gone down; and the utility will own the facility with the obligation to make all future maintenance, repairs, replacement and extensions where there may be insufficient revenue; the utility provided no notice to the Commission of these significant changes; and, then whether it was brought to its attention, the Commission refused to reopen the certificate case and address the merits of the complaint.”
As JCF President Dr. Christine Wimer states, “if JUI/Rockwool’s argument is allowed to stand and the case is dismissed because the project is now built, this sets a dangerous precedent that strips the public of their ability to stand up for their critical role in the process and will lead to further abuse of the system by such companies who don’t wish to hear the public’s input.”