Missouri Supreme Court issues opinion on Missouri American Water fee
March 15 2017 - 8:24AM
Business Wire
The Missouri Supreme Court yesterday handed down an opinion in a
case important to Missouri American Water and other entities across
the state, dismissing an argument about a fee the company had been
issuing in St. Louis County, but leaving the state legislature to
clarify a question on population-based laws.
Missouri American Water had been issuing the Infrastructure
System Replacement Surcharge (ISRS) to customers in St. Louis
County through Feb. 2016. The fee, which averaged just more than $3
per residential customer per month, helped pay for infrastructure
investment in the county. The Supreme Court, in its opinion, ruled
the argument about the fee moot because the company had already
recouped ISRS-related costs during its most recent rate case with
the Missouri Public Service Commission (PSC).
In addition, the court left clarifying the intent of
population-based laws to the state legislature while acknowledging
that many entities across the state could be affected. Missouri
American Water leaders had hoped the court would spell out whether
a political body, such as St. Louis County, could fall out of a
population-based law when its population dropped. ISRS was allowed
in St. Louis County because of a Missouri law that stated the fee
could be charged by water companies in counties with more than 1
million residents. The 2010 U.S. census recorded the population of
St. Louis County at 998,954 residents, and a challenge to Missouri
American Water’s ISRS fee resulted in an appeals court ruling that
the fee had to cease.
“We will continue seeking a resolution to our questions about
population-based legislation and do everything we can to bring back
ISRS,” said Cheryl Norton, president of Missouri American Water.
“ISRS brings needed investment to St. Louis County’s water
infrastructure, improving system delivery, reducing cost and
generating jobs in the region.
“The state of Missouri needs to clarify the intent of its
population-based legislation, not only for the sake of ISRS but for
the sake of the dozens of other statutes related to schools, public
safety and government services that are based on population.”
The case is No. SC95713.
Missouri American Water
Missouri American Water, a subsidiary of American Water (NYSE:
AWK), is the largest investor-owned water utility in the state,
providing high-quality and reliable water and/or wastewater
services to approximately 1.5 million people.
With a history dating back to 1886, American Water is the
largest and most geographically diverse U.S. publicly-traded water
and wastewater utility company. The company employs more than 6,700
dedicated professionals who provide regulated and market-based
drinking water, wastewater and other related services to an
estimated 15 million people in 47 states and Ontario, Canada. More
information can be found by visiting www.amwater.com.
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version on businesswire.com: http://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20170315005754/en/
Missouri American WaterBrian RussellCommunications ManagerT -
314-996-2239C - 314-825-3578Brian.Russell@amwater.com
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