Berkshire County — The Department of Public Utilities (DPU) held a brief public hearing on Thursday, January 8, to deliberate a request from Housatonic Water Works (HWW) to approve two loans that the company states are necessary to finance the completion of a manganese filtration plant.
While the public hearing has been advertised since November, only two members of the public spoke during the session, which was held virtually via Zoom. The hearing itself lasted for just 15 minutes.
On September 12, HWW Treasurer James Mercer wrote to the Massachusetts Department of Environmental Protection (MassDEP) that the company was anticipating delays in the construction of a manganese treatment plant.
The plant was required by the DPU as part of the approval of a rate-increase request that allowed the company to increase its customer rates by over 90 percent over a span of five years.
On September 30, HWW filed an application with the DPU requesting the approval for two loans that the company deems necessary to fund the completion of the plant.
The first loan, $155,089 at 3.75 percent interest, was already obtained in 2020 under the Small Business Administration’s (SBA’s) COVID-19 Economic Injury Disaster program.
The company filed a financing petition with the DPU indicating that it intends to amend prior annual returns to reflect the reclassification of the SBA loan. However, in a letter on October 9, DPU Hearing Officer Jennifer Cargill ordered the company not to do so “unless and until directed to do so by the department.”
Additionally, the company is seeking to obtain a second commercial loan for $1 million at an interest rate not to exceed eight percent from CoBank ACB out of Denver, Colo., a cooperative bank and member of the Farm Credit System.
In pre-filed testimony submitted to the DPU on November 6, company Treasurer Mercer writes that while construction at the site of the project is underway, HWW “will need the financing in place in the very near term to be able to submit an order to its vendors to schedule delivery of the Project’s equipment in time to complete the Project in a timely manner.”
At the January 8 public hearing, Jed Nosal, of Boston law firm Womble Bond Dickinson LLP, spoke briefly on behalf of the company. Nosal said approval of the two loans is necessary for the company to complete the manganese treatment plant. “Since approval of the [rate increase], and even before the filing of the finance petition, the company has been working to bring the project online,” he said. “This includes initial site utility work, the new treatment building, procurement of the specialized filtration system equipment, which does require a long lead time. The company is in the process of finalizing the contracts [for the construction of] the treatment building, installation, and the rest of the work that needs to happen. The financing is the linchpin for completion of the project so we can ensure that it gets into service as at the earliest possible date.”
Nosal did not specify when the treatment plant would be completed. However, in the company’s December report to MassDEP, the company stated the plant would be completed by summer 2026. The facility was originally scheduled to be completed and operational by March 1, 2026.
Public officials including Assistant Attorney General William Rose and Stockbridge Town Counsel Bryan Bertram of Harrington Heep attended the hearing but did not comment on the company’s proposal.
Great Barrington Town Counsel David Doneski from KP Law, P.C. briefly stated that the town supports the approval of the loans.
The first member of the public who spoke at the hearing was Glenn Heller. “Since there are public monies that are going to be involved in this, I want to verify that the project will be going out to bid under the laws of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts in a proper fashion,” he said. “And I also want to make sure that other laws of the Commonwealth are complied with, with regard to paying prevailing wages to the workmen who are doing the work.”
The second member of the public who spoke at the hearing, Anni Crofut, asked if it was possible to submit comments to the DPU after the public hearing.
DPU representatives did not indicate when they would decide on HWW’s request after the 15-minute hearing ended.
