CFPUA announces proposed system development charges, board appropriates lawsuit settlements funds

WILMINGTON, NC (WWAY) — CFPUA has announced its proposed water and sewer system development charges for the fiscal year beginning on July 1.

The system development charge (SDC) is the fee that newly connecting customers pay to “buy in” to the water and sewer system. The proposal includes an increase in the water SDC from $1,920 to $2,120 and an increase in the sewer SDC from $2,070 to $2,180.

You can provide public comments from now until March 31. A public hearing on the proposed SDCs will be held at the CFPUA Board’s April 14 meeting.

The CFPUA Board also Wednesday appropriated settlement funds that CFPUA received in a class-action lawsuit to pay down debt on a loan from the North Carolina Department of Environmental Quality’s Clean Water State Revolving Fund. Money from the settlement falls under CFPUA’s one-time revenue policy, which precludes it from being used to cover a recurring expense.

CFPUA recently received a settlement of $1,980,016 from an antitrust class-action lawsuit related to liquid aluminum sulfate. CFPUA and other water utilities use aluminum sulfate, or alum, as part of the treatment process for raw surface water.

In the lawsuit, plaintiffs claimed several companies hurt competition and violated antitrust, consumer protection, and other laws by fixing the price of alum, thereby causing purchasers to pay too much.

Using the funding to retire outstanding debt on CFPUA’s loan will save ratepayers an estimated $300,000 in interest.