Optimism flows at water authority The CBCWA awaits final contract language from Green Bay before contacting the PSC By Ray Barrington News-Chronicle Len Teresinski wasn't about to set deadlines, but he can see some major events coming up for the Central Brown County Water Authority. The authority is waiting for contract language from the city of Green Bay to nail down a final purchase agreement that would then go to the state Public Service Commission. "That's if the Green Bay attorneys get back to us; we're at the mercy of Green Bay," Teresinski, the authority's president, said after a meeting of the authority on Tuesday. He said he hopes to have the language settled by May 1. The authority has sent the city an initial contract and is waiting for the city's contract language before completing the agreement, Teresinski said. The basics of the agreement are set, as spelled out in a Monday letter from outgoing Mayor Paul Jadin to Teresinski. They provide two options for the authority, which represents nine Green Bay suburbs, to purchase Green Bay's treated water. The primary agreement would include aquifer storage and recovery, a technique that stores treated water in underground wells for later use. That agreement would have the authority buy water at the lowest city rate, currently $1.23 per 1,000 gallons, with the lowest city rate holding until 2024, when the Public Service Commission would start setting rates. ASR has come into question because of problems with arsenic in a well being tested by Green Bay. The well is about ready to be retested and has been lined, which might stop the problems. "The city remains confident that ASR technology will be permitted for use in the Green Bay area," Jadin wrote. If it isn't, a fallback arrangement would include funding from the authority to build a larger pipeline from Lake Michigan and pay for the construction to distribute water to the suburbs. The two sides have discussed the plan and have shaved costs off the offer. Under the plan, the authority would pay an estimated $117 million up front and make annual payments for operation and maintenance. The agreements would have to be approved by the Environmental Protection Agency and state Department of Natural Resources. The major roadblock is the requirement the PSC take a stand on the "once served, never denied" issue. It stems from a state Supreme Court ruling requiring municipalities who sell water to other municipalities to continue service even if the purchasing government voluntarily drops the agreement. The Green Bay Water Commission has argued it would not approve a larger pipeline or an agreement because of possible future costs tied to perpetual service. Teresinski said the authority, after it gets a solid agreement with Green Bay, would submit the deal to the PSC and ask for a ruling on once served, never denied. He said Jadin would support those points he had negotiated and added he doubted there would be any problems with the talks with new mayor Jim Schmitt. "I feel more comfortable we're on the right track," Teresinski said. "We want to really push it and get it done." The authority voted to let its technical committee start drawing up a request for a design of the system that will get the water through the suburbs.