26 Del. Admin. Code § 2001-3.0
No individual, corporation, firm, partnership, association, company, cooperative, joint stock company or association, or any other form of business enterprise shall commence any construction of a water system for public use without having been granted a Certificate of Public Convenience and Necessity, and such other permits as may by required by law. System expansion, even within the certificated area, shall not commence without approval of the plans by the State Board of Health.
The utility's water plant shall be constructed, installed, maintained, and operated in accordance with current engineering practices in the water industry, to assure, as far as reasonably possible, continuity of service, uniformity in the quality of service furnished, and the safety of persons and property. The entire water plant systems shall be free from sanitary defects. Distribution systems must be designed and operated for a continuous positive pressure.
*Safe Distance - under the most adverse conditions no contamination or pollution would occur.
When storage is involved, maintenance must be performed at regularly scheduled intervals to protect against contamination, corrosion, or other deterioration.
The design and construction of the system and the components thereof shall conform to the requirements of the State Health Department and the AWWA standards.
When crossing, or where in close proximity, water lines shall be placed higher than sewer or nonpotable water lines or measures taken to protect the water supply from possible contamination.
The utility shall furnish, install, and maintain the service line and appurtenances thereto, up to the point where the water enters facilities or pipes owned and maintained by the customer.
The customer shall be responsible for furnishing, installing, and maintaining the service line from the pipe owned and maintained by the utility to the place of consumption on his premises.
There should also be a suitable valve installed in the customer's system to permit full draining thereof.
A utility shall require CIAC for Facilities Extensions to the extent provided in §§ 3.8.1 and 3.8.2 herein below. Nothing contained herein shall prevent a utility from requiring CIAC, or Advances, or neither, for the provision of New Services. Nothing herein shall prevent any utility from paying for, and including in its rate base, the costs of New Services.
A utility shall require a CIAC when the request for a Facilities Extension will require the installation of pipe and/or associated utility plant. All charges henceforth to contractors, builders, developers, municipalities, homeowners, or other project sponsors, seeking the construction of water Facilities from a water utility company shall be in the form of a CIAC to be paid to the water utility as Category 1A, 1B and Category 2 costs, as computed under §§ 3.8.2 and 3.8.6, subject to true-up under § 3.8.8.
Category 1A Costs.
All on-site Facilities costs that are directly assignable to a specific project are Category 1A costs and shall be designated by the utility and paid for by the contractor, builder, developer, municipality, homeowner, or other project sponsor, as CIAC, with no refunds. These costs include such items as Mains, hydrants, treatment plants, wells, pump stations, storage facilities, and shall include any other items that are necessary for the provision of utility water service. The cost of a Facilities Extension from the furthest point of the project site up to a point 100 feet beyond the boundary of the project (in the direction of the utility's existing Main) shall be considered a Category 1A Cost.
Category 1B Costs.
All off-site Facilities costs that are directly assignable to a specific project from such point 100 feet beyond the boundary of the project and continuing to the utility's existing Main are Category 1B Costs and shall be designated by the utility and funded by the contractor, builder, developer, municipality, homeowner, or other project sponsor, as a CIAC not subject to refund. These costs include such items as Mains, hydrants, treatment plants, wells, pump stations, storage facilities, and shall include any other items that are necessary for the provision of utility water service. Notwithstanding the foregoing, Category 1B Costs shall not include, and the utility shall be entitled to pay for and include in its rate base, any additional Facilities costs elected to be incurred by the utility in connection with the Facilities Extension for company betterment. In determining whether Category 1B Costs are directly assignable to a project, or elected as company betterment, the CIAC shall be calculated based on the cost of installing Mains using a minimum of 8 inch diameter pipe, provided, however, that where Mains of a larger diameter are required by applicable laws, building or fire codes, or engineering standards to provide water service to the project on a stand-alone basis, the CIAC shall be calculated based on the cost of installing Mains using such larger diameter pipe.
Category 2 Costs.
Category 2 Costs refer to transmission, supply, treatment and/or other utility, plant costs that are not directly assignable to a specific project or where the Category 1 costs have not included sufficient direct costs for transmission, supply, treatment, and/or other utility plant costs to supply water to the project. The contractor, builder, developer, municipality, homeowner or other project sponsor shall pay $1,500 per single family residential water meter service for their portion of transmission, supply, treatment and/or other utility plant costs made available by the water utility. These costs will be contributed by the contractor, builder, developer, municipality, homeowner, or other project sponsor, as CIAC, with no refunds. Within one hundred and twenty (120) days following the effective date of these regulations, each water utility shall file with the Commission proposed tariff pages containing the charges it will impose for Category 2 costs for single family residential and other types of metered water service. Such charges shall be determined based on meter size or another objective factor. The utility may account for such amounts by applying such amounts to pay for or offset any capital costs, including new and/or replacement plant, whether incurred in connection with the project or otherwise. The utility shall be entitled to hold amounts received as Category 2 Costs, and defer accounting for them as CIAC, until such amounts are actually used to fund capital improvements, at which time the utility shall be entitled to account for the Category 2 Costs as CIAC to the extent it is able to make offsetting entries to the utility's plant accounts.
An Advance may consist of the following components:
By April 30th of each year, the utility will refund a portion of the Advance representing each additional customer connected during the previous calendar year based on a standard formula developed by the utility (the "net refund amount") plus the tax savings, if any, which the utility receives from deducting the Advance refund payment (the sum of which is referred to as the "gross refund amount"). In no event shall the total amount refunded by a utility (the sum of the gross refund amounts) exceed the amount received by such utility as an Advance (as finally determined by the utility after compliance with Rule 3.8.8) . At the end of the negotiated refund period, no further refunds or payments will be made. If, at the end of such refund period, an Advance has not been fully refunded, the remaining un-refunded Advance will be considered a CIAC and will be treated for accounting and ratemaking purposes as a CIAC. The utility and the person(s) making the Advance shall determine the period in which the refund of the Advance may occur, but such period shall not exceed five (5) years.
An Advance will be considered as a non-taxable transaction for ratemaking purposes since the income taxes, if required, will be provided by the person(s) making the Advance.
A CIAC will consist of an amount equal to the entire estimated cost, including the utility's standard overhead costs, of constructing the Facilities Extension. If any portion of property contributed by the contractor, builder, developer, municipality, homeowner, or other project sponsor is deemed taxable income to the utility, the utility shall be permitted to gross up the amount of the CIAC to include such tax liability.
The Federal and State income taxes, if required, associated with the CIAC and paid by the utility receiving the CIAC, may be added to rate base, at which time the utility will have an opportunity to earn a fair return on this amount.
Where the estimated amount of the CIAC or Advance exceeds the finally determined cost of the Facilities Extension or New Services, that excess amount shall be returned to the person making the CIAC or Advance.
Where the estimated amount of the CIAC or Advance falls short of the finally determined cost of the Facilities Extension or New Services, that shortage amount shall be paid to the utility by the person making the CIAC or Advance.
When temporary service is requested, the utility may require that the customer bear all the cost of installation and removal of the service in excess of any salvage to be realized. Any such agreement shall be documented.
The utility shall furnish, install, and maintain all metering devices used for recording or billing purposes. The applicant shall furnish, install, and maintain the required piping, valves, etc., for the meter setting.
Where feasible, all measuring devices used for billing purposes shall be installed to permit readings exterior to the premises to which service is supplied as per Title 26 Del.C. § 211 (d).
26 Del. Admin. Code § 2001-3.0