CHAPTER 161
FORMERLY
HOUSE BILL NO. 218
AS AMENDED BY HOUSE AMENDMENT NOS. 1 AND 2
AN ACT TO AMEND TITLE 26 OF THE DELAWARE CODE RELATING TO PUBLIC UTILITIES.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF DELAWARE :
Section 1. Amend Title 26, Chapter 1, Subchapter IV, Section 403 of the Delaware Code by deleting that section in its entirety and replacing it with the following:
Ҥ 403. Expansion of facilities and services of water companies in State.
(a) No water company doing business in this State shall expand its facilities within this State in order to service new customers or subscribers in this State, nor shall any such company supply water to any new or additional customers or subscribers in this State until the company is furnishing water to its present customers or subscribers in this State in such fashion that water pressure at every house supplied is at least 25 pounds at all times at the service connection.
(b) No water company doing business in this State shall expand its facilities in order to service new customers or subscribers unless it shall furnish water to the house or separate location of each new customer or subscriber in this State at the pressure of at least 25 pounds at each such location or house at all times at the service connection while continuing also to supply each old customer or subscriber at the pressure of at least 25 pounds at each house at all times at the service connection.
(c) No water company, which either alone or together with other water company affiliates or subsidiaries under common control or ownership serves more than 5,000 customers in this State, shall, unless it has cured any material failure found pursuant to (i) or (ii) below within thirty days of any such finding, expand its facilities within this State in order to service new customers or subscribers or supply water to any new or additional customers or subscribers in this State for so long as that company:
(i) is subject to a finding by the appropriate federal or state regulatory authority that it has materially failed to comply with applicable safe drinking water or water quality standards; or
(ii) is subject to any order issued by the Commission pursuant to this title finding that the company has materially failed to provide adequate or proper safe water services to existing customers.
(d) The appropriate agency shall report any finding that a water company has failed to materially meet the water pressure standards of Sections 403(a) or 403(b) or any order issued pursuant to Section 403(c) to DNREC in accordance with DNREC’s authority to grant an expansion of a certificate of public convenience and necessity pursuant to Section 6076 of Title 7.”