PENNICHUCK EAST UTILITY, INC. AND MANCHESTER WATER WORKS
ORDER No. 25, 988
DW 17-003
New Hampshire Public Utilities Commission
February 8, 2017
Joint
Petition to Modify Franchise Boundaries - Litchfield, NH
Order
Nisi Granting Petition
MARTIN
P.HONIGBERG CHAIRMAN
In this
order, the Commission grants Pennichuck East Utility, Inc.,
and Manchester Water Works, authority pursuant to RSA 374:26
and 374:30 to modify the boundary between their franchise
areas to allow Manchester Water Works to serve three
residential lots in Litchfield, New Hampshire.
I.
BACKGROUND
Pennichuck
East Utility, Inc. (PEU), provides water service to
approximately 7, 000 customers in 19 New Hampshire towns,
including Litchfield. Manchester Water Works (MWW) provides
water to customers within the City of Manchester and portions
of surrounding towns. MWW was exempted from Commission
regulation in 2003, Manchester Water Works, Order
No. 24, 138, 88 NH PUC 111 (2003). Notwithstanding this
exemption, MWW must obtain Commission approval to acquire any
additional franchise area outside its municipal boundaries.
RSA 362:4, III-a (a) (1). On January 5, 2017, PEU and MWW
filed a joint petition for authority to transfer three
single-family home lots with compromised groundwater from
PEU's franchise area in the Town of Litchfield to MWW.
The lots are identified on Litchfield Tax Map 23 as Lots 33,
34, and 35. The petition and subsequent docket filings, other
than any information for which confidential treatment is
requested of or granted by the Commission, are posted to the
Commission's website at
http://www.puc.nh.gov/Regulatory/Docketbk/2017/17-003.html
The New
Hampshire Department of Environmental Services (NHDES) has
requested PEU and MWW's assistance in expanding public
water supply in the Town of Litchfield due to the presence of
perfluorooctanoic acid ("PFOA") in the groundwater.
The three residential lots at issue are on the
Litchfield/Manchester line. They have been identified by
NHDES as having compromised groundwater and are in need of a
public water supply. While the three lots are within...
