For more than a year, opponents of the Towamencin sewer sale have held out hope that the sale could be negated via the will of the voters. Efforts by Towamencin Neighbors Opposed to Privatization Efforts (NOPE) successfully established a Government Study Commission by ballot initiative in November 2022. And in May, township voters passed another ballot initiative to establish a Home Rule Charter that NOPE believes can retroactively prohibit the sale.
The charter took effect on July 1, and sewer sale opponents signaled victory via a public “Charter Day” celebration at Sumneytown Pike and Forty Foot Road. But nothing has changed for the board of supervisors, and the township has remained steadfast in pursuing the completion of the sale.
Now, it appears the issue will ultimately be decided by the courts.
On Wednesday evening, Towamencin residents Kofi Osei and Jenn Foster — both members of Towamencin NOPE and both of whom served on the Government Study Commission — announced they will pursue a lawsuit against the township to enforce the Home Rule Charter, while also seeking an injunction on the sale to provide time for litigation.
“While we had hoped it would not come to this, we, as residents of the township, have no choice but to take legal action,” said Osei and Foster, in a joint statement provided to North Penn Now. “Our goal is to ensure the sewer sale is terminated, as well as to uphold the legitimacy of our Home Rule Charter.”
Osei and Foster said they have spoken to several law firms and will be signing a retainer agreement within the next few days. They said they will also seek an injunction on the sale along with the Pennsylvania Office of Consumer Advocate, who are expected to formally request a stay in the regulatory proceedings once the lawsuit has been filed in court.
Foster and Osei contend the Home Rule Charter legally prohibits the sale, obligating the Towamencin Township Board of Supervisors to withdraw from the asset purchase agreement with Pennsylvania American Water (PAWC). However, the township supervisors and solicitor maintain the charter cannot retroactively dissolve the legal agreement, while adding they believed attempting to overturn the sale could lead to millions of dollars in legal fees at the cost of taxpayers.
For a full breakdown of what led up to the Home Rule Charter, click here.
Following the announcement of the planned lawsuit Wednesday night, Osei and Foster indicated they would be crowdfunding for the litigation costs and subsequently launched a GoFundMe, which has raised $1,635 of its initial goal at the time of publishing. On the township side, though, taxpayers will be on the hook for any incurred legal fees in defense of the lawsuit.
“As residents ourselves, we had hoped it wouldn't come to this,” said Foster and Osei. “However, the cost of this litigation will still be significantly less than the cost to residents if the sale were to go through.”
They also indicated they had concerns that, with American Water being the largest water utility company in the nation, they may choose to put money into fighting the lawsuit. In response to a request for comment, PAWC indicated that while they intent to continue with the purchase agreement, “parties to legal proceedings pay their own legal fees unless directed otherwise by the court.”
The rest of the statement from PAWC, provided by Kara C. Rahn, Senior Manager of Government and External Affairs, reads in full:
Pennsylvania American Water signed an agreement with Towamencin Township to purchase their sewer system, and we plan to uphold that commitment. We subsequently filed an application with the Pennsylvania Public Utility Commission for approval of the acquisition, and we plan to continue proceeding through the regulatory review and approval process. In this filing, we outlined the many public benefits of this sale to the Towamencin community that will result from our industry-leading wastewater expertise and capacity to finance necessary capital improvement projects that will benefit customers. We also have the ability to address the environmental compliance challenges of the system, including the history of exceedances and failures to meeting certain testing requirements, in addition to offering improved cybersecurity, customer service, and emergency response on evenings and weekends.
PAWC’s application for approval of the transaction is currently pending before the Public Utility Commission. The township and PAWC provided lengthy evidence in the application demonstrating why the transaction is in the public interest. The Public Utility Commission will review this filing, evaluate whether the transaction is in the public interest, and ensure that rates to Towamencin residents will be just and reasonable. Pennsylvania American Water works with customers who are experiencing financial hardship. There are a number of grant and bill discount programs available that offer financial assistance for water and wastewater customers who qualify. Our website provides information on those programs here.
None of the four supervisors who voted in favor of the sale — Chairman Chuck Wilson, Vice Chairman Richard Marino, Kristin Warner, and Laura Smith — responded to this news organization’s request for comment, sent on Wednesday evening following the announcement.
Towamencin Township Solicitor Bob Iannozzi also did not respond to questions sent Wednesday night.
The lone supervisor to vote against the sale, Joyce Snyder, provided the following statement when reached for comment:
I am glad that our neighbors continue to exercise our constitutional rights. I am sorry that my four co-supervisors have chosen not to listen to the voices of our neighbors and continue to pursue the sale. I believe the other supervisors could have stopped the sale when Next Era decided to exit the sale, and again any time after Home Rule Charter became law. The lawsuit is the direct result of the supervisors not using the available termination options.
My next steps will be to continue to try to represent all of my neighbors to the best of my ability.
Prior to the announcement of the lawsuit on Wednesday night, Towamencin Township cancelled their Board of Supervisors meeting citing a limited agenda and scheduling conflicts due to summer vacations. It would have been the first work session since the Home Rule Charter took effect, which Osei publicly took exception with.
“This is cowardice and nothing else,” said Osei, who is running against Republican incumbent Rich Marino in the November General Election.
The next Towamencin Township meeting is scheduled for July 26 at 7 p.m.
See also:
Towamencin Supervisors to Continue with Sewer Sale Despite Passage of Home Rule Charter
PA American Water to Proceed with Towamencin Sewer Purchase Despite Passage of Home Rule Charter
Towamencin Voters Pass Home Rule Charter as Fight to Overturn Sewer Sale Continues
Everything Towamencin Residents Need to Know About Tuesday’s Ballot Question on Home Rule Charter
