Press Release

PUC Schedules Public Input Hearings on Proposed Acquisition of Brentwood Borough Wastewater System in Allegheny County by Pennsylvania-American Water Company

Published on 10/19/2023

Filed under: Water and Wastewater

Telephonic Hearings set for October 26 to Gather Public Input from Brentwood Residents and Businesses along with Other Concerned Parties

HARRISBURG – The Pennsylvania Public Utility Commission (PUC) has scheduled a pair of late-October telephonic hearings to gather public input on the proposal by the Pennsylvania-American Water Company – Wastewater Division – to acquire the wastewater system owned by the Borough of Brentwood in Allegheny County.  The Brentwood system provides wastewater service to approximately 4,000 customers.

PUC Public Input Hearing

The public input hearings for the proposed acquisition are scheduled for the following:

• Thursday, Oct. 26, 2023
  • The first telephonic hearing will begin at 1 p.m.
  • The second telephonic hearing will begin at 6 p.m.

PUC Administrative Law Judge Katrina L Dunderdale will preside over the hearings.

Signing Up for the Public Input Hearings

If you wish to testify at the telephonic public input hearing, you must pre-register with the administrative law judge by 10 a.m. on Wednesday, Oct. 25, 2023. If you do not pre-register and provide the information listed below, you may not be able to testify. Individuals will testify in the order in which they pre-registered.  

To pre-register by email, please email Judge Dunderdale’s legal assistant, Nicholas Miskanic at nmiskanic@pa.gov, and provide the following:

• Your first and last name.
• The date and time of the hearing at which you wish to testify.
• The phone number you will be using to call into the public input hearing.
• If you require an interpreter to participate in the hearing, the language of the interpreter.

To pre-register by phone, please call Judge Dunderdale’s office at 412-565-3550 and leave a message providing the following:

• Your first and last name.
• The date and time of the hearing at which you wish to testify.
• The phone number you will be using to call into the public input hearing.
• A phone number where you can be reached prior to the hearing if we need to contact you.
• Your email address, if you have one.
• If you require an interpreter to participate in the hearing, the language of the interpreter.

Requests for Interpreters

If you require an interpreter, please pre-register as soon as possible.  If you register too close to the hearing date, we may not have enough time to arrange for an interpreter.  If you request an interpreter, we will make every reasonable effort to have one present. 

If you need assistance pre-registering to testify, you may have someone register for you, but they will need to provide all the information listed above.  Additionally, if more than one person in your household would like to testify, one person may pre-register for other individuals in the same household, but we will need the information for each individual.

The relay service number for persons who are deaf or hearing-impaired is 1-800-654-5988.

Hearing Exhibits

If you intend to offer any exhibits at the public input hearing, you must email your proposed exhibit(s) to Judge Dunderdale’s legal assistant, Nicholas Miskanic at nmiskanic@pa.gov by Monday, October 23, 2023. In your email you must copy all individuals listed in the “full-service list” in the parties’ list included in the hearing notice posted to the online docket. Failure to comply with these instructions may result in you not being allowed to present your proposed exhibit(s).  Proposed video evidence must be submitted in an mp4 format and cannot exceed 2MB.  Proposed video evidence that does not meet this criteria will not be permitted. 

Listening to the Hearing

If you do not wish to testify but want to listen to the public input hearing, please contact Judge Dunderdale’s office by email at nmiskanic@pa.gov or phone at 412-565-3550 and provide your name and the hearing(s) you want to listen to so we can ensure we have adequate caller capacity on the conference bridge to accommodate all callers.

Offering Testimony at a Public Input Hearing

The PUC offers tips on how to participate in a public input hearing, including:

• Prepare what you are going to say beforehand. Even though it is not required, you may want to write out your statement, which can be read.
• Any formal testimony that is offered during the hearing will become part of the record on which the PUC will issue its final decision.
• Understand that parties in the case may want to ask you a question to clarify something you said.
  
  

About the PUC

The Pennsylvania Public Utility Commission balances the needs of consumers and utilities; ensures safe and reliable utility service at reasonable rates; protects the public interest; educates consumers to make independent and informed utility choices; furthers economic development; and fosters new technologies and competitive markets in an environmentally sound manner.

Visit the PUC’s website at puc.pa.gov for recent news releases and video of select proceedings. You can also follow us on Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn, Instagram, and YouTube. Search for the “Pennsylvania Public Utility Commission” or “PA PUC” on your favorite social media channel for updates on utility issues and other helpful consumer information.

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Docket No.: A-2021-3024058

Contact:

• Nils Hagen-Frederiksen
  Press Secretary
  717-418-2701
  nhagen-fre@pa.gov