LOUISVILLE, Ky. (WDRB) – A group of Charlestown, Ind., residents is asking state regulators to temporarily halt a company’s approved purchase of the city water system and investigate the deal.
The Charlestown City Council voted this week to sell the water infrastructure to Indiana-American Water Co. for $13.4 million, but the sale still needs state approval.
The residents – part of a group called No Outsourcing Water, or NOW — filed the complaint Friday with the Indiana Utility Regulatory Commission.
It was submitted by attorney J. David Agnew of New Albany.
Michael Gillenwater, Charlestown’s city attorney, did not immediately respond to a message left at his office Friday afternoon.
Without the sale, he said rates would have climbed to $53 per month.
But the Charlestown residents allege those rates are “exceedingly low.” They note, by comparison, that another Indiana town is asking for state approval of rates of $1.44 per 1,000 gallons.
The residents say the terms of the lease agreement were not provided to the public prior to the meeting at which the sale was approved.
Reach reporter Marcus Green at 502-585-0825, mgreen@wdrb.com, on Twitter or on Facebook.
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