Legislative Changes Affecting the Tools in the North Carolina Water Finance Toolbox

<p>Water and wastewater utilities have a wide range of capital project needs. Most utilities have existing assets (treatment plants, water storage tanks, underground lines) that have reached the end of their functional life and need significant rehabilitation and replacement investment. Some utilities also have capital investment needs that are driven more by customer growth. These types of growth projects may include a new water line and storage tank to reach a new industrial park or a wastewater treatment plant expansion that provides capacity to a new residential sub-division.</p> <p>Figuring out how to pay for the costs of water and wastewater capital in general is hard, but paying for the cost of growth related projects carries its own set of unique challenges. Existing customers are often wary of paying for projects to serve newcomers, particularly when their existing system has so many capital needs. In the past, water and wastewater utilities have used a variety of upfront fees to generate revenue that to offset the costs of serving new customers. Many utilities believed authority for these different fees was far reaching and granted in the general fee setting authority all public enterprises (e.g. G.S. 160A-314 for municipal public enterprises.)</p> <p>The repercussions of a court case involving an application of an upfront fee resulted in concern throughout the state about what types of fees were authorized and how they should be calculated. Late in this legislative session, the general assembly passed a bill, S.L. 2017-138 (H436), that addressed a number of issues related to these fees that will [...]</p>