A group in Pennsylvania has stopped the privatisation of its public water and sewer system, scuppering a company takeover that residents feared would have led to greater payments.
A $1.1bn bid by Aqua for the Bucks County Water and Sewer Authority (BCWSA) system would have been the most important sewer privatisation deal in American historical past. The corporate’s bid for the water service has already failed, however now the county commissioners have shut the door fully after siding with residents who opposed privatisation.
It’s a serious victory for native and nationwide campaigners against the predatory takeover of public providers like water and sewerage, as a rising quantity – like in Jackson, Mississippi – are buckling beneath local weather shocks after years of neglect, institutional racism and underinvestment.
“Following years of lobbying, company pursuits have handed state legal guidelines that grease the wheels on privatisation – on the expense of households and native companies who decide up the tab of their greed,” mentioned Mary Grant, the correct to water marketing campaign director at Meals and Water Watch (FWW), who referred to as the Bucks victory a “rallying cry”.
“Company pursuits now search to use the devastation in Black and brown communities like Baltimore and Jackson. [But] privatisation would exacerbate the hurt by extracting assets and driving up water payments for communities already in an affordability disaster,” Grant mentioned.
Native circumstances differ, however the privatisation playbook is commonly the identical.
Aqua Pennsylvania submitted an unsolicited proposal for BCWSA in late 2020 and has since been attending closed board conferences. In July, the board introduced an “exclusivity” take care of the corporate, regardless of the utility being financially sturdy and widespread group opposition.
Native residents and group teams accused the board of conducting backroom offers, and referred to as on the county commissioners to cease the sale – which they did on Tuesday. Shortly after, the board introduced that the proposal was off the desk.
Aqua, now a subsidiary of Important Utilities, is the second largest publicly traded US water and wastewater company, presently valued at $12.86bn. The corporate offers consuming water and wastewater to greater than 3 million folks (1m households) in eight states, with over half in Pennsylvania, the place the corporate is headquartered and has shut ties to the state authorities.
In an announcement Christopher Franklin, Important chair and CEO, mentioned he was “stunned and upset by the sudden flip of occasions” however dedicated to working with communities to “sort out growing environmental laws and vital system enhancements … As we watch the dire scenario unfold in Jackson, Mississippi, we're reminded of the significance of, and the necessity for, proactive and ongoing funding in water and wastewater infrastructure to maintain and shield communities and the setting.”
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