Artesian Water Company Announces Credit to Delaware Customers With Proceeds from Settlement Agreement
25 October 2022 - 1:58AM
Artesian Resources Corporation (Nasdaq: ARTNA), a leading provider
of water and wastewater services, and related services, on the
Delmarva Peninsula, today announced that its principal operating
subsidiary, Artesian Water Company, Inc. (Artesian Water), received
approval from the Delaware Public Service Commission (DE PSC) to
return to its customers proceeds from a settlement agreement with
the Delaware Sand & Gravel Trust (the Trust), which is
responsible for remediation of releases from a former landfill
operation designated as a Superfund site by the U.S. Environmental
Protection Agency. The proceeds, to be paid in four annual
installments, are reimbursement for investments made by Artesian
Water in water treatment systems at its northern New Castle County,
Delaware Llangollen well field to ensure its water continues to
meet all state and federal drinking water standards. As a strong
environmental steward and responsible water utility, Artesian
proactively monitors groundwater for potential regulated and
unregulated contaminants, treating the water as necessary.
Active customers as of September 30, 2022 will
receive a credit of approximately $27.00 issued no later than
October 31, 2022 with the credit appearing on their subsequent
water bill. Active customers as of July 31, 2023, 2024 and 2025
will receive a similar level of credit.
Since 2013, Artesian invested $8.7 million in
treatment technologies and incurred $1.3 million in related
operating costs at its Llangollen well field, which the Trust has
agreed to reimburse, all of which will be returned to customers.
The Llangollen well field, which can provide 2.2 million gallons
per day of supply on average and as much as 3.6 million gallons per
day during summer peak periods, is a critical component of meeting
water demands in New Castle County, Delaware.
“We are extremely gratified that the Trust has
accepted responsibility for the needed water treatment and agreed
to make Artesian customers whole by reimbursing the associated
costs. The completion of this monumental task, a nearly 20 year
initiative, led by Artesian’s Executive Vice President, Joseph A.
DiNunzio, will now rightfully return to our customers the costs
previously incurred by Artesian and now reimbursed by the Trust,”
said Dian C. Taylor, CEO and President of Artesian Resources
Corporation. Artesian has also worked closely with the DE PSC and
Delaware Office of the Public Advocate to ensure our customers see
the financial benefit of the reimbursed costs obtained by the
settlement with the Trust.
“Without the need for costly litigation, the
Trust accepted responsibility for not only the costs already
incurred, but for any that will be incurred as a result of
activities at the site, ensuring that Artesian’s customers will not
bear that burden in their water bills,” said Nicholle R. Taylor,
President of Artesian Water Company.
Delaware Sand & Gravel operated as a gravel
quarry until 1968 and then as a landfill from 1968 to 1976 on a
site north of Llangollen (and Grantham Lane), between Routes 13 and
9, in northern New Castle County, Delaware. Releases from the
former landfill impacted groundwater quality in the area, resulting
in its designation by the EPA as a Superfund site, as well as
Artesian Water’s need to install various forms of treatment,
including granular activated carbon, ultra violet advanced
oxidation and filtering systems, to ensure that water it provides
to customers meets all state and federal drinking water
standards.
In accordance with the Consent Decree with the
EPA, the Trust will continue its remediation of the Superfund site
associated with the past landfill, including operation of
interceptor wells intended to prevent further migration of
contaminants from the landfill to Artesian’s Llangollen well field.
The Trust will also reimburse Artesian for all future operational
costs associated with operation of the treatment systems at the
Llangollen well field and for any future capital costs associated
with treatment of any contaminants originating from the Trust’s
site.
About Artesian
ResourcesArtesian Resources Corporation operates as a
holding company of wholly-owned subsidiaries offering water and
wastewater services, and a number of other related core business
services, on the Delmarva Peninsula. Artesian Water Company, the
principal subsidiary, is the oldest and largest regulated water
utility on the Delmarva Peninsula and has been providing water
service since 1905. Artesian supplies 8.4 billion gallons of water
per year through 1,398 miles of main to over a third of
Delawareans.
Forward Looking StatementsThis
release contains forward looking statements within the meaning of
the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995 regarding,
among other things, the amount and timing of customer credits,
compliance with water quality standards, water supply capacity, and
recovery of future operational and capital costs. These statements
involve risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to
differ materially from those expressed or implied by such
forward-looking statements including: changes in weather, changes
in our contractual obligations, changes in government policies, the
timing and results of our rate requests, failure to receive
regulatory approval, changes in economic and market conditions
generally and other matters discussed in our filings with the
Securities and Exchange Commission. While the Company may elect to
update forward-looking statements, we specifically disclaim any
obligation to do so and you should not rely on any forward-looking
statement as representation of the Company’s views as of any date
subsequent to the date of this release.
Contact:Virginia
EisenbreyCommunications(302)
453-6900veisenbrey@artesianwater.com
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