PURA staff, utilities review proposed PFAS recovery forms; companies urge added data fields, sampling and audit flexibility

Commissioner Jan Beecher convened a technical meeting of the Public Utilities Regulatory Authority to review proposed Water Quality and Treatment Adjustment (WQTA) filing forms designed to let water companies recover costs tied to new drinking-water regulations, including PFAS, outside general rate cases.

PURA staff lead Mark Benedetti told participants the forms are intended to create "a consistent and transparent regulatory process for WQTA recovery" and situate filings under what he cited as "public act 25 1 42." He summarized the filing flow: an initial filing to establish project eligibility and present monitoring results and costs; an Authority assessment (the WQTA decision); and annual filings and reconciliations that determine the WQTA surcharge. Staff noted statutory limits on the surcharge—no more than 15% of a company's approved annual retail water revenues and no more than 7.5% of those revenues for any 12‑month period.

Company representatives recommended changes to the forms to improve clarity and traceability. Troy Dickson said much of the data is already assembled in his company’s current filing and recommended adding columns adjacent to the sampling columns so the spreadsheet separates "initial monitoring" from "ongoing compliance," and adding two right-hand columns that flag an eligibility determination and the date it was made. That approach, he said, would preserve visibility if a project’s eligibility changes in future filings.

A water-company representative who was identified in the meeting as "Bergman" said the firms planned media change-outs rather than regenerating ion-exchange (IX) resins: "We do not plan to regenerate IX. We plan to work with IX vendors to switch out media," though vendors have indicated regeneration may be technically possible and companies are continuing to evaluate options. Other participants pressed staff and companies on how treatment types are listed in the form and whether the form should say "the two most common types" or allow a broader list.

Stakeholders also raised reporting mechanics for PFAS sampling. Participants urged the forms to show both raw sample values and regulatory running averages so reviewers can see volatility at parts‑per‑trillion levels while also capturing compliance calculations that, under EPA practice, can treat very low results as zeros. Dan Lawrence and others argued for two columns to avoid confusion between raw data and regulatory averages.

Staff proposed that annual filings include documentation tying reported costs to general-ledger entries and invoices to enable more efficient review in the WQTA 60‑day proceeding. Utilities urged a pragmatic approach: one company said its most recent filing documented roughly $7 million in costs and warned future filings could be substantially larger, so parties suggested a stratified sampling approach or invoice thresholds to limit the immediate paperwork burden while preserving auditability. Several participants supported targeted on‑site or virtual audits and the idea of making bulk electronic files available to parties.

PURA staff also reviewed reconciliation schedules that compare surcharge revenues collected to authorized amounts and produce refunds or recovery adjustments. Staff proposed a flexible supplemental complaint form to capture WQTA‑related customer complaints, with participants recommending fields for complaint handling or status and any related litigation or regulatory referrals.

Benedetti said the docket will close March 31 and invited written comments, proposing roughly a two‑week window for parties to submit follow-up suggestions and sample tables. Commissioner Beecher closed the technical meeting and thanked participants.

The Authority said it will consider the parties’ suggestions—additional monitoring and compliance columns, eligibility flags and dates, definitions for rolling averages, specifications about cost documentation and sampling thresholds—and will publish revised materials for further comment before finalizing the forms.