The Pennsylvania Supreme Court has blocked the proposed sale of the cash-strapped Chester Water Authority, which provides water service to 200,000 residents in Chester and Delaware counties, to a for-profit company, writes Peter Hall for the Pennsylvania Capital-Star.
The justices’ decision means that the city’s financial guardian cannot unilaterally force the transfer of the water authority’s assets to the city government and makes clear that any such move would require joint action by all three of the authority’s governing municipalities.
“The decision draws a clear line between public ownership and privatization,” said CWA Board Chairperson Noël Brandon. “The court sided with everyday residents who drink CWA water and affirmed that the authority belongs to its customers – not to a receiver, politicians, or private interests.”
Justice Christine Donohue wrote in the majority opinion that the lower Commonwealth Court erred in approving the city’s seizure of the assets by relying on its own prior case law instead of a 1957 state Supreme Court decision that found any transfer would require approval by the CWA board.
The board consists of members appointed by Chester City and Delaware and Chester counties.
Read more about the Chester Water Authority sale being blocked and its future in the Pennsylvania Capital-Star.
______
