LOWELL | In stinging reports, the state's consumer advocate has told state regulators they should squash Apple Valley Utilities' request for a sewer rate hike and drastically reduce the requested water rate hike.
In one report, the Indiana Office of Utility Consumer Counselor found the utility's wastewater treatment plant and collection system to be in "severely deteriorated condition" and said a number of improvements should be met before any rate change is considered.
The Utility Consumer Counselor report noted Apple Valley water customers pay a flat fee that is not tied to usage. That means Apple Valley Mobile Home Park residents pay the same for water as some commercial customers such as Dayton Freight and the Indiana State Police post.
Apple Valley's sewer utility customer base also includes a number of commercial customers, eight of which are east of Interstate 65 and receive sewer services only.
Some commercial customers pay the same flat monthly sewer fee as homeowners, while others pay according to volume, according to the Office of Utility Consumer Counselor.
The Office of Utility Consumer Counselor report noted commercial sewer customers discharge a majority of the pollutant load overall, but pay far less for sewer services overall from Apple Valley Utilities.
Apple Valley had requested a 35 percent jump in the flat monthly water rate to $28.37 per month from its current $21.02 per month. The Office of Utility Consumer Counselor recommended state regulators reduce the increase to just $4.70 per month.
Currently, residential and some commercial customers pay a flat $48.58 a month for sewer service. The utility is seeking a 45 percent hike in that fee to $70.30 per month.
The Indiana Office of Utility Consumer Counselor made its recommendations following a March 4 public hearing in Lowell. The Indiana Utility Regulatory Commission must now consider those recommendations before it grants any rate increase to Apple Valley Utilities.
During the March 4 public hearing, residents of Apple Valley Mobile Home Park repeatedly said, as senior citizens, their limited incomes could not handle any increase in sewer rates.
Located in unincorporated Lake County along Ind. 2 about four miles east of Lowell, the Apple Valley Mobile Home Park residents make up the bulk of the customer base, numerically, for both sewer and water. The utility also serves the residents in Tucson subdivision off Mississippi Street.
The Office of Utility Consumer Counselor reports cited a number of technological, managerial and financial deficiencies by Apple Valley Utilities.
The Office of Utility Consumer Counselor wants the Indiana Utility Regulatory Commission to require rate and cost of service studies be completed by Apple Valley Utilities within 180 days of the commission's final order.
At the same time, a number of capital improvements and operational priorities related to the utilities were recommended.
One matter deemed "problematic" by the Office of Utility Consumer Counselor was the discovery that sludge from the sewer treatment plant, which does not meet U.S. Environmental Protection Agency standards, has been applied to land at an unspecified location.