Water and wastewater utility asset management., the official text

First Regular Session of the 124th General Assembly (2025)

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  HOUSE ENROLLED ACT No. 1459

   AN ACT to amend the Indiana Code concerning utilities.

   Be it enacted by the General Assembly of the State of Indiana:

   SECTION 1. IC 8-1-2-128 IS ADDED TO THE INDIANA CODE
AS A NEW SECTION TO READ AS FOLLOWS [EFFECTIVE JULY
1, 2025]: Sec. 128. (a) This section applies to a water or wastewater
utility regardless of whether the water or wastewater utility has
applied for or received a grant, loan, or other financial assistance
from the authority under IC 5-1.2-10.

   (b) The following definitions apply throughout this section:
      (1) "Authority" refers to the Indiana finance authority
      established by IC 5-1.2-3-1.
      (2) "Commission" refers to the Indiana utility regulatory
      commission created by IC 8-1-1-2.
      (3) "Water or wastewater utility" means:
         (A) a public utility (as defined in section 1(a) of this
         chapter);
         (B) a municipally owned utility (as defined in section 1(h)
         of this chapter);
         (C) a not-for-profit utility (as defined in section 125(a) of
         this chapter);
         (D) a cooperatively owned corporation;
         (E) a conservancy district established under IC 14-33; or
         (F) a regional water district established under IC 13-26;
      that provides water or wastewater service to the public in

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      Indiana for compensation and that is not under the
      jurisdiction of the commission for approval of rates and
      charges.
   (c) Beginning January 1, 2026, a water or wastewater utility
shall submit to the commission, on a quadrennial basis, a report
regarding the status of the water or wastewater utility's asset
management program, as defined in the guidelines of the authority
under IC 5-1.2-10. The report required under this subsection:
      (1) shall be made in compliance with, and according to a
      schedule set forth in:

         (A) the commission's general administrative order under
         subsection (h); and
         (B) any other general administrative orders of the
         commission that the commission determines to be relevant;
         and
      (2) must include information:
         (A) demonstrating the water or wastewater utility's efforts
         to implement the guidelines under IC 5-1.2-10 for asset
         management programs; and
         (B) certifying that:

            (i) the water or wastewater utility has the technical,
            managerial, legal, and financial capability to support
            those efforts; and
            (ii) in the case of a report submitted after December 31,
            2026, the governing body of the water or wastewater
            utility has completed a training or continuing education
            program described in subsection (j) at least one (1) time
            during the four (4) year period covered by the report.
Evidence that a water or wastewater utility has submitted an asset
management program to the authority in connection with an
application for a grant, loan, or other financial assistance under
IC 5-1.2 may be provided by the water or wastewater utility to
satisfy the requirement under subdivision (2)(A), as long as the
water or wastewater utility provides all other information required
under this section and under the commission's general
administrative order under subsection (h). In addition to providing
the required information concerning the water or wastewater
utility's asset management program, a water or wastewater utility
shall also include in a report required by this subsection
information regarding the status of any federal consent decree or
other federal order to which the water or wastewater utility is
subject at the time the report is submitted.

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   (d) Subject to subsection (i), the commission shall verify, on a
quadrennial basis, that the asset management program of each
water or wastewater utility is sufficient and complies with the
commission's general administrative order under subsection (h). If
the commission determines that a water or wastewater utility's
asset management program:

      (1) does not comply with the commission's general
      administrative order under subsection (h); or
      (2) is otherwise insufficient to demonstrate that the water or
      wastewater utility has the technical, managerial, legal, and
      financial capability to operate and maintain the water or
      wastewater utility's water or wastewater system;
the commission shall notify the water or wastewater utility of the
deficiency and provide a time frame in which the water or
wastewater utility must correct the deficiency. The commission
may require the water or wastewater utility to undergo an
informal rate review in the manner set forth in IC 8-1-1.9-5(e)(1).
   (e) If a water or wastewater utility receives two (2) consecutive
notices of a deficiency under subsection (d) over the course of two
(2) consecutive verifications under subsection (d):
      (1) the commission shall assert jurisdiction over the rates and
      charges of the water or wastewater utility; and
      (2) the water or wastewater utility must undergo base rate
      cases before the commission in the manner set forth in
      IC 8-1-1.9-5(e)(2).
Notwithstanding IC 8-1-2.7 or IC 8-1-1.9-5(e)(3), if, after the
required period of rate regulation prescribed by IC 8-1-1.9-5(e)(2),
the water or wastewater utility submits a report to the commission
under subsection (c), and the commission determines that the
report indicates that the water or wastewater utility's asset
management program is sufficient, the water or wastewater utility
may provide to the commission a notice withdrawing the utility
from the commission's jurisdiction.
   (f) If a water or wastewater utility receives three (3) consecutive
notices of a deficiency under subsection (d) over the course of three
(3) consecutive verifications under subsection (d), the commission
may initiate a receivership proceeding with respect to the water or
wastewater utility.
   (g) The commission may enter into an agreement with:
      (1) the department of environmental management; and
      (2) the authority;
to carry out the requirements set forth in this section.

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   (h) Before October 1, 2025, the commission shall issue a general
administrative order setting forth:

      (1) the information required to be included in a report under
      subsection (c);
      (2) the procedures for submitting a report under subsection
      (c), including a simplified alternative reporting form that:

         (A) a water or wastewater utility with less than one
         thousand (1,000) customers may elect to submit; and
         (B) enables the water or wastewater utility to:

            (i) demonstrate the water or wastewater utility's efforts
            to implement the guidelines under IC 5-1.2-10 for asset
            management programs; and
            (ii) certify that the water or wastewater utility has the
            technical, managerial, legal, and financial capability to
            support those efforts;
      (3) the quadrennial reporting schedule for submitting a report
      under subsection (c);
      (4) criteria to be used by the commission under subsection (d)
      to:
         (A) determine whether a water or wastewater utility has
         undertaken efforts to establish and implement an asset
         management plan in accordance with the guidelines under
         IC 5-1.2-10; and
         (B) identify a deficiency that would require a water or
         wastewater utility to undergo an informal rate review in
         the manner set forth in IC 8-1-1.9-5(e)(1); and
      (5) any other information the commission considers relevant
      under this section.
   (i) The commission may delegate its authority to:
      (1) review reports submitted by water or wastewater utilities
      under subsection (c); and
      (2) issue determinations and notices of deficiency under
      subsection (d);
to technical staff. A determination or notice of deficiency issued by
technical staff may be appealed to the full commission. An action
by the commission under this section is subject to review under
IC 8-1-3.
   (j) Beginning January 1, 2027, the governing body of a water or
wastewater utility must, on at least a quadrennial basis, complete
a training or continuing education program that:
      (1) includes instruction on:
         (A) best practices for establishing, implementing, and

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         maintaining an asset management program, as defined in
         the guidelines of the authority under IC 5-1.2-10;
         (B) the fiduciary duties of governing bodies of water or
         wastewater utilities;
         (C) best practices with respect to the financial
         management of water or wastewater utilities; and
         (D) complying with environmental regulations; and
      (2) is offered by one (1) of the following providers:
         (A) The commission.
         (B) The drinking water and wastewater infrastructure
         research and extension program authorized by
         IC 5-1.2-11.5-10.
         (C) A statewide not-for-profit association whose
         membership includes rural water or wastewater utilities.
      A provider listed in clause (A) or (B) must offer at least one
      (1) training or continuing education program under this
      subsection at low or no cost to governing bodies of water or
      wastewater utilities. Not later than January 1, 2027, the
      commission shall publish on the commission's website a list of
      providers offering a training or continuing education
      program described in this subsection.

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Speaker of the House of Representatives

President of the Senate

President Pro Tempore

Governor of the State of Indiana

Date:                             Time:

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