Judge OKs DELCORA Sale to Aqua PA Despite County Effort to Block It

By

Aqua America workers rebuilt a water main in Upper Darby. Image via Jose F. Moreno, The Philadelphia Inquirer.

A sale that would put Delaware County’s public sewer system, DELCORA, into the private hands of Aqua Pennsylvania was allowed to go forward despite an attempt by the current county council to block it, writes Christian Hetrick for The Philadelphia Inquirer.

The previous Republican-controlled county council reached an agreement with Aqua PA to sell DELCORA for $276.5 million.

Common Pleas Judge Barry C. Dozer ruled Dec. 28 the agreement of sale between the former county council and Aqua was “fully binding and enforceable”.

Dozer rejected a May attempt from the current Democratically-controlled county council to halt the sale.

 “Contracts, binding agreements, and various legally public actions are not to be extinguished or interfered with merely because of a reorganization of county council or partisan differences,” Dozor wrote.

DELCORA serves 165,000 customers in 42 towns in Delaware and Chester Counties.

The sale is Pennsylvania’s largest privatization of a public water or wastewater system.

Approval by the state Public Utility Commission is pending.

The county is fighting the sale before the PUC as it decides whether to appeal Dozer’s decision, according to county solicitor William F. Martin.

Read more about the Common Pleas Court decision regarding the sale of DELCORA at The Philadelphia Inquirer.

Join Our Community

Never miss a Delaware County story!

"*" indicates required fields

Hidden
DT Yes
This field is for validation purposes and should be left unchanged.
Advertisement