20211027Comments.pdf

JAYME B. SULLIVAN BOISE CITY ATTORNEY
MARY R. GRANT (ISB No. 8744)
SCOTT B. MUIR (ISB No. 4229)
Deputy City Attorney CITY OF BOISE OFFICE OF THE CITY ATTORNEY P.O. Box 500
Boise, ID 83701-0500
Telephone: [phone] Email: [e-mail]
Attorneys for City of Boise
BEFORE THE IDAHO PUBLIC UTILITIES COMMISSION
IN THE MATTER OF THE JOINT
APPLICATION OF SUEZ WATER IDAHO,
INC., TO ACQUIRE EAGLE WATER COMPANY
EAG-W-18-01
CITY OF BOISE CITY’S FORMAL COMMENTS
The city of Boise City (“Boise City”) submits these formal comments on the joint
applications pursuant to Rule 202 of the Rules of Procedure of the Idaho Public Utilities
Commission (“Commission”) IDAPA 31.01.01.202, and pursuant to the Notice of Proposed
Settlement, Notice of Amended Schedule, Order No. 35198, issued by the Commission on October
15, 2021.
1.Boise City has a direct and substantial interest in this matter as Suez Water Idaho, Inc.
(“SUEZ”) is Boise City’s franchised potable water service provider. As SUEZ is Boise City’s
water service provider, Boise City desire to ensure its residents are not financially impacted by
CITY OF BOISE CITY’S FORMAL COMMENTS - 1
RECEIVED
2021 OCT 27 PM 5:00
IDAHO PUBLIC
UTILITIES COMMISSION
this sale and acquisition and an interest in ensuring the level of service to Boise citizens will not
be affected.
2. Boise City is strongly committed to the sustainability and resiliency of our regional
water systems, as well as the open and transparent planning and operation of the water services
provided to its community. Knowing that water supplies are facing increasing pressure from
growth and climate change, Boise City continues to press for a coordinated approach to water
supply protection and development. It is also clear from our citizens and from other Intervenors’
Petitions that SUEZ customers expect open and transparent processes. While Boise City
understands the individual roles of the Commission, the Idaho Department of Environmental
Quality (“IDEQ”) and the Idaho Department of Water Resources (“IDWR”), as well as SUEZ’s
accountability to these agencies, the City also asserts that understanding water supply and its use
within SUEZ’s system is absolutely necessary to evaluating benefits and risks of that water supply,
both as to the affect other water users in the region and, ultimately, how the effects will be borne
into costs to ratepayers, which is within the jurisdiction of the Commission.
3. It should be noted that Boise City generally supports the terms of the proposed
Stipulation and Settlement (“Settlement”), filed on October 8, 2021. Specifically, Boise City
supports the surcharge account refund, the longer seven-year phased rate increase, and the reduced
Acquisition Adjustment Amount of $10.475 million.
4. The Settlement, however, fails to address all issues at play in this matter.
5. SUEZ asserts the benefit of this acquisition to existing SUEZ customers is primarily in
the form of avoided costs that approach or exceed $11,000,000. A SUEZ press release indicated
existing SUEZ customers would benefit from nearly 13 million gallons a day of additional water
CITY OF BOISE CITY’S FORMAL COMMENTS - 2
supply from Eagle Water Company (“EWC”) water rights, which would increase reliability
through redundant water supplies. In testimony provided by SUEZ to the Commission in support
of this purchase, it appears this purchase is primarily intended to facilitate the expansion of the
SUEZ customer base into the City of Eagle and unincorporated Ada County.
6. Further SUEZ testimony provides that the EWC water system does not currently meet
IDEQ requirements for redundant fire pumping capacity and emergency operation, for redundant
non-fire pumping capacity, and, under a power-outage scenario, the EWC system would not be
able to meet average day plus fire flow demands or peak hour flow requirements. Further, SUEZ
indicates that EWC’s current portfolio of municipal water rights does not include sufficient
authorized flow rate to meet the system’s peak hour demands. While there is indication that
existing SUEZ infrastructure may address the deficiencies in system requirements, the testimony
and information fails to address the water supply concerns.
a. Apart from knowing flow rates are inadequate, there is little to no support to show
that the acquired water supply portfolio is adequate to service the existing Company
customer demand in peaks.
b. If and to the extent there is redundant or excess water supply with the Company’s
rights to be acquired, SUEZ indicates the water supply will likely be used to serve the
northwest portion of SUEZ’s service area. If the acquired Company water supply is
insufficient to meet the capacity and flow requirements in the acquired Company system
and any redundancy in the northwest service area, what does that do to existing SUEZ
systems and reliability of supply?
CITY OF BOISE CITY’S FORMAL COMMENTS - 3
7. The claim of $11,000,000 in cost avoidance is based on acquiring additional sources of
supply at a lower cost, rather than having to obtain those sources elsewhere. However, the
testimony does not squarely address the EWC’s system deficiencies (as noted above with flow)
and significant improvements needed, as it relates to acquisition of supply overall in making those
claims of cost avoidance.
8. Further, Boise City remains concerned that SUEZ expansion continues to delay
addressing current system deficiencies. Boise City has continued to closely monitor the water
quality issues experienced by Boise residents in an area referred to the as the “Bench.” Boise Bench
customers are experiencing discolored water in their homes. SUEZ has outlined potential causes
of the discolored water and noted that the long-term solutions are all expensive and may include
main replacement and alternative treatment processes. SUEZ states the projects will be factored
into the overall capital planning process and will be prioritized against projects for other high
priority areas within SUEZ’s entire system. With adding new capital projects to the SUEZ system,
which need significant improvements over approximately three years after acquisition per SUEZ
testimony, it is unclear how the Boise Bench issues will be prioritized and fully addressed.
9. Finally, Boise City is concerned about how and whether the purchase of SUEZ SA by
Veolia Environmental SA is going to affect Idaho customers. Even updated testimony is wholly
silent on whether and how the international asset purchase will affect the capital improvements
projects, the costs of the SUEZ system in Idaho and future rates, the customer service in this area,
as well as other matters.
10. Boise City respectfully requests the Commission direct SUEZ to report with more
detailed explanation on how the reliability of water supply for current customers will not be
CITY OF BOISE CITY’S FORMAL COMMENTS - 4
affected by this acquisition and how SUEZ will provide capital improvements and system
adequacy in the existing service area.
a. Boise City requests that SUEZ be required to provide a forward-looking planning
approach that includes consideration of future risks to supply and infrastructure, such as
weather events and droughts.
b. SUEZ should be required to implement a public outreach process to discuss
anticipated projects, operation and maintenance cost increases, regulatory changes,
proposed water system expansions, cost of service studies and other issues that will likely
impact rates and be included in future cases before the Commission.
c. SUEZ should provide an annual report to the Commission documenting SUEZ’s
groundwater and surface water diversions and point of deliveries. For future certificated
service area expansions or acquisitions, SUEZ should have to demonstrate how new areas
will be served and by what supply, whether through existing water rights or by newly
acquired supply.

DATED this 27th day of October 2021.
Mary R. Grant
Deputy City Attorney

CITY OF BOISE CITY’S FORMAL COMMENTS - 5
CERTIFICATE OF SERVICE
I hereby certify that I have on this 27th day of October 2021, served the foregoing
documents on all parties of counsel as follows:
Commission Secretary
Idaho Public Utilities Commission
11331 West Chinden Boulevard Building 8, Suite 201-A PO Box 83720 Boise, ID 83720
[e-mail]

 Personal Delivery
 Facsimile
 Electronic Means w/ Consent
 Other: __________________
Suez Water Management & Services 461 From Road, Suite 400 Paramus, NJ 07052 [e-mail]
 U.S. Mail
 Personal Delivery
 Facsimile
 Electronic Means w/ Consent
 Other: __________________
Preston N. Carter GIVENS PURSLEY LLP Attorneys at Law 601 West Bannock Street
Boise, ID 83702 [e-mail] [e-mail] Attorneys for Suez Water Idaho, Inc.

 Personal Delivery
 Facsimile
 Electronic Means w/ Consent
 Other: __________________
Deputy Attorney General Idaho Public Utilities Commission 11331 West Chinden Boulevard Building 8, Suite 201-A PO Box 83720
Boise, ID 83720
 U.S. Mail
 Personal Delivery
 Facsimile
 Electronic Means w/ Consent
 Other: __________________
John Cortabitarte
Ada County Prosecuting Attorney’s Office
Civil Division 200 W. Front Street, Room 3191 Boise, ID 83702 [e-mail]
Attorneys for Ada County
 U.S. Mail
 Personal Delivery
 Facsimile
 Electronic Means w/ Consent
 Other: __________________
CITY OF BOISE CITY’S FORMAL COMMENTS - 6
Norman M. Semanko PARSONS BEHLE & LATIMER
800 West Main Street Suite 1300
Boise, ID 83702 [e-mail] [e-mail] for the SUEZ Water Customer Group

 U.S. Mail
 Personal Delivery
 Facsimile
 Electronic Means w/ Consent
 Other: __________________
PIOTROWSKI DURAND PLLC 1020 Main Street Suite 440 PO Box 2864
Boise, ID 83701
[e-mail]
for citizen Intervenors, Gannon, Montero,
 U.S. Mail
 Personal Delivery
 Facsimile
 Electronic Means w/ Consent
 Other: __________________
Attorney at Law
2019 North 17th Street Boise, ID 83702 [e-mail] for Community Action Partnership
 U.S. Mail
 Personal Delivery
 Facsimile
 Electronic Means w/ Consent
 Other: __________________
Attorney at Law PO Box 164 Lewiston, ID 83501
[e-mail]
for the Intermountain Fair Housing
 U.S. Mail
 Personal Delivery
 Facsimile
 Electronic Means w/ Consent
 Other: __________________

Thorvald A. Nelson
HOLLAND & HART LLP
555 17th Street Suite 3200 Denver, CO 80202 [e-mail] [e-mail]
for Micron Technology, Inc.

 Personal Delivery
 Facsimile
 Electronic Means w/ Consent
 Other: __________________

Mary R. Grant Deputy City Attorney
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