Home > Uncategorized > Christie Administration Dodges Water Infrastructure Deficits, Blames Regulatory Oversight

Christie Administration Dodges Water Infrastructure Deficits, Blames Regulatory Oversight

wastewater treatment plant - over 30 year old technology in need of upgrades

wastewater treatment plant - over 30 year old technology in need of upgrades

Higher Water Rates – Bigger Profits – Dirty Water – Less Accountability on The Horizon

Tom Johnson at NJ Spotlight writes today about a Christie Administration proposal to reduce Board of Public Utilities (BPU) regulatory oversight of how private water companies and public authorities recover the costs of investments in infrastructure upgrades (see:

Water Utilities May See Faster ROI for Infrastructure Upgrades -State agency’s proposal would mean speedier recovery of costs and less regulatory oversight

The proposal grew out of the Christie Administration’s infrastructure asset management and financing” initiative discussed at last October’s Clean Water Council annual public hearing at DEP.  BPU President Lee Solomon spoke at that hearing – see:

Clean Water Council Considering Privatization

At that time, the Gorilla in the Room shining a bright light on NJ’s aging infrastructure was not a huge hurricane and severe flooding, but the emergence from another serious statewide drought (see:

The Christie proposal amounts to another incremental (and stealth) step down the road of privatization and deregulation.

Again, the Christie Administration misdiagnoses public policy problems and diverts the focus, thus frustrating real reform.

This misdiagnosis is the result of pervasive themes in the Christie Administration, including:

  • a deep hostility to government, regulation, and independent local public authorities
  • a fact free faith in private sector and markets
  • ideological opposition to raising public sector revenues (AKA “starve the beast”)

The basic problem is underinvestment, not regulatory oversight.

Slogans like cutting “Red Tape” will not close NJ’s $28 billion water infrastructure deficit.

Drinking water infrastructure deficits exceed $8 billion and waste-water exceeds $20 billion.

So, if, as Tom Johnson reports, the private water companies and the Administration are seeking a “regulatory mechanism” to “minimize impacts on customers”, then I say retain the current traditional rate base rate of return regulatory oversight mechanism.

But, if what they really seek are higher profits while dodging public accountability and avoiding raising the money to finance needed investments, then by all means proceed with the Christie proposal.

That will produce higher profits for private corporations, while consumers will pay higher bills for the status quo.

The policy discussion must include DEP mandates for utilities to conduct infrastructure assessments and then make necessary upgrades.

There must be DEP enforcement driven mandates for investment in infrastructure.

If not, our huge infrastructure deficits will continue to go unaddressed, as the private sector will not make these investments and public authorities will not take on the fight due to local political pressure to control user rates.

But, of course these views were not considered, as I’ve been blackballed from participation in any Christie hand picked “Stakeholder group”.

Categories: Uncategorized Tags:
  1. No comments yet.
  1. October 18th, 2011 at 10:54 | #1
  2. November 28th, 2011 at 18:07 | #2
  3. November 30th, 2011 at 17:13 | #3
  4. January 10th, 2012 at 12:48 | #4
  5. January 15th, 2012 at 14:08 | #5
  6. March 26th, 2012 at 17:46 | #6
  7. June 30th, 2012 at 13:01 | #7
  8. May 21st, 2015 at 13:31 | #8
  9. June 8th, 2015 at 11:01 | #9
  10. June 10th, 2015 at 06:06 | #10
  11. June 26th, 2015 at 10:34 | #11
  12. June 27th, 2015 at 01:18 | #12
  13. June 27th, 2015 at 02:33 | #13
  14. June 27th, 2015 at 17:59 | #14
  15. June 28th, 2015 at 20:51 | #15
  16. June 30th, 2015 at 09:24 | #16
  17. July 2nd, 2015 at 14:42 | #17
  18. July 3rd, 2015 at 12:40 | #18
  19. July 4th, 2015 at 07:32 | #19
  20. July 4th, 2015 at 23:47 | #20
  21. July 5th, 2015 at 04:06 | #21
  22. July 5th, 2015 at 15:35 | #22
  23. July 5th, 2015 at 22:20 | #23
  24. July 5th, 2015 at 22:45 | #24
  25. July 5th, 2015 at 23:20 | #25
  26. July 6th, 2015 at 21:02 | #26
  27. July 6th, 2015 at 21:38 | #27
  28. July 7th, 2015 at 03:14 | #28
  29. July 7th, 2015 at 13:05 | #29
  30. July 7th, 2015 at 20:09 | #30
  31. July 7th, 2015 at 21:29 | #31
  32. July 8th, 2015 at 19:55 | #32
  33. July 8th, 2015 at 23:16 | #33
  34. July 9th, 2015 at 17:04 | #34
  35. July 10th, 2015 at 13:13 | #35
  36. July 10th, 2015 at 18:15 | #36
  37. July 11th, 2015 at 06:19 | #37
  38. July 11th, 2015 at 09:11 | #38
  39. July 11th, 2015 at 09:29 | #39
  40. July 11th, 2015 at 09:51 | #40
  41. July 12th, 2015 at 02:26 | #41
  42. July 12th, 2015 at 12:40 | #42
  43. July 13th, 2015 at 01:01 | #43
  44. July 13th, 2015 at 11:50 | #44
  45. August 24th, 2015 at 13:45 | #45
  46. December 3rd, 2015 at 15:25 | #46
You must be logged in to post a comment.