Paden City PSC Hearing Moved To Jan. 29
Shelley Hanson Trending
The West Virginia Public Service Commission's hearings in Paden City over its water system, originally scheduled for Thursday, have been moved to Jan. 29.
The move was made, according to documents on the PSC website, because the commission ruled that Paden City's government had not given its residents adequate notice about the meetings, nor did it comply with state law in its public notification about the hearings.
An evidentiary hearing originally was scheduled for 10 a.m. Thursday, with a public comment hearing scheduled for 5:30 p.m. Thursday. According to PSC documents, the notice printed in Paden City water customer's last bill stated, in full, ""PUBLIC HEARING WITH THE PSC JANUARY 11, 2024, AT CITY BUILDING AT 10:30am.. ."
"The notice provided by the City's billing statement is insufficient and does not comply with the Act or the December 14, 2023 Commission Order," the PSC decided. "The City provided the wrong time for the public comment hearing, did not provide any information regarding the evidentiary hearing, and failed to inform customers of the subject matter of the hearings. The City's notice does not reflect the Notice of Hearing attached to the December 14, 2023 Commission Order."
The new times for the Jan. 29 hearings are 1:30 p.m. for the evidentiary hearing and 5:30 p.m. for the public comment hearing. Both will take place at the Paden City Municipal Building, 208 W. Main St. in Paden City.
Meanwhile, both the City of Sistersville and Tyler County Public Service District joined the City of New Martinsville in sending letters to the PSC saying they would be unable to take over the water services for Paden City. In an earlier document, the PSC mentioned the three as options.
Both Tyler PSD and Sistersville officials echoed New Martinsville in saying their organizations did not have the manpower to take over Paden City's water system.
The PSC is investigating Paden City's management of the water system after the chemical tetrachloroethylene, aka PCE, entered the water system last August. A power outage caused the system's air stripper to stop working, which eventually led to the chemical entering and tainting the system. Residents were told not to consume or use the water for about three weeks until the chemical could be flushed from the water distribution system.