Purpose of the Bill

The bill aims to enhance transparency and accountability of water utilities in Minnesota by mandating annual reports on water access policies. These reports will inform regulators and the public about how water services are provided and managed, including customer service policies and financial operations.

Main Provisions

• Annual Reporting Requirement: Every public water supply and publicly owned treatment works must submit a comprehensive water access report to the relevant state agency by March 1 each year.

• Report Contents:

  • Policies related to late payments, service termination, payment plans, alternative rate structures, and financial assistance.
  • Detailed statistics on the number of residential, commercial, and industrial accounts affected by service terminations or suspensions for nonpayment, broken down by month.
  • Financial documents such as a balance sheet, income statement, and cash flow statement for the preceding fiscal year.
  • Contact information for customer support related to billing and service termination issues.
  • Explanations for any missing required information.

• Public Access: The appropriate state agency is required to post these reports on its website, making the information accessible to the public.

• Information Sharing: Individuals or entities that possess necessary data for these reports must provide it to the water utility upon request.

Significant Changes to Existing Law

This bill introduces a new requirement for water utilities to report annually on their policies and operations, which were not previously mandated. It obliges both water supply systems and treatment works to be transparent about their operations, customer interaction policies, and financial conditions.

Relevant Terms

• Public water supply
• Publicly owned treatment works
• Water access report
• Service termination
• Financial assistance
• Customer support
• Transparency