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The Derrick: Hearing Dates Set On Rhodes Estates Water Companies; PUC Judge Urges Parties To ‘Seriously Explore’ Settlements [Venango Water Co. Impacted By Conventional Oil Well Wastewater Spill]

The article first appeared in The Derrick on March 17, 2025--

The question of who will own and operate the Venango Water Company and the six other Rhodes Estates water companies may not be answered until September.

State Public Utility Commission Administrative Law Judge Mark A. Hoyer Thursday, issued a briefing and hearing schedule in its proceeding to determine if the Commission will issue an order directing the sale of all seven of the companies to another firm.

In addition to the Venango Water Company, the other companies include--

-- Sugarcreek Water Company, Sugarcreek Boro, Venango County

-- West Hickory Water Company, Harmony Twp., Forest County

-- Plumer Water Company, Cornplanter Twp., Venango County

-- Fryburg Water Company, Pinegrove Twp., Venango County; Washington Twp., Clarion County

-- Cooperstown Water Company, Cooperstown Boro & Jackson Twp., Venango County

-- Blaine E. Rhodes Sewer Company, Sugarcreek Boro, Venango County.

Judge Hoyer reminded all the parties to the case the Commission’s policy is to encourage settlements among those involved and “strongly urged to seriously explore this possibility.”

Those parties include Kevin and Randall Rhodes, the Blaine E. Rhodes Estate, the Office of Consumer Advocate, Aqua Pennsylvania, the PUC Bureau of Investigation and Enforcement, Pennsylvania American Water Co., the state Department of Environmental Protection, the Office of Small Business Advocate, Veolia Water Pennsylvania, Franklin Water Department, Rouseville Borough, Clintonville Borough Sewer and Water Authority, the City of Oil City, Cornplanter township and Jessica Struthers.

The schedule includes three private settlement conferences among the parties on May 27, June 25 and July 16.

Following these meetings is a briefing schedule involving the lawyers for the parties that leads to a formal evidentiary hearing on August 5 and 6.

As part of the schedule, Judge Hoyer directed the parties to submit a “fully executed joint settlement petition” with all parties’ statements in support of the settlement to his office by no later than September 11, 2025.

The PUC began this involvement with the Venango Water Company in August 2023 when it ordered Aqua Pennsylvania to take over temporary operation of the company after a conventional oil well wastewater spill contaminated Bellows Spring used as a water source and left the Village of Reno without clean water.

The PUC action to determine a new owner/operator for all the Rhodes Estate water companies came after Randall and Kevin Rhodes announced they would stop being the certified operators of the companies on December 31, 2023.

On October 17, 2024, Judge Hoyer issued an order to Aqua Pennsylvania to take over temporary operation of the six other Rhodes Estates water companies until a permanent owner could be found.

As The Derrick reported on February 22, Aqua Pennsylvania has spent $1,103,000 to operate, purchase replacement water and repair for just the Venango Water Company since it took over operations as a Receiver under the PUC’s emergency order, which is over $900,000 more than customers paid on their water bills.

Aqua is also evaluating the financial and operating condition of the other six companies.

Documents related to the Public Utility Commission proceeding on the Venango Water Company and six other Rhodes Estates water utilities can be found at PUC Docket No. M-2023-3042180 and I-2023-3042312.

Visit the Aqua Pennsylvania Rhodes Utilities webpage for more information on the Rhodes Utilities Receivership.

Visit DEP’s Venango Water Company/Petro Erie, Inc. webpage to learn more about the actions taken by DEP.

Documents related to the appeal of DEP’s cleanup order to Petro Erie, Inc. to clean up the conventional oil well wastewater spill affecting the Venango Water Company spring are in Environmental Hearing Board Docket No. 2023075.

(Photos: Row 1- Conventional oil well wastewater spill area; Row 2- Aqua PA bulk water hauling to keep water flowing to customers; DEP sampling drinking water.)

NewsClip:

-- The Derrick: Hearing Dates Set On Rhodes Estates Companies; PUC Judge Urges Parties To ‘Seriously Explore’ Settlements [PDF of article]

Resource Links:

-- The Derrick: State Attorney General Launches Criminal Investigation Into Conventional Oil Well Wastewater Spill That Contaminated Venango Water Company Spring [PaEN]

-- The Derrick: Aqua PA Spells Out Venango Water Co. Expenses Since Its PUC-Ordered Emergency Role [Conventional Oil Well Wastewater Spill Cost Water Customers $900,000, So Far, In Venango County] [PaEN]

PA Oil & Gas Industry Compliance/Notice Dashboard:

-- PA Oil & Gas Weekly Compliance Dashboard - March 15 to 21: 42 More Conventional, 7 More Shale Gas Abandoned Wells; Mine Subsidence Under Compressor Station; Conventional Gas Well Explosion; 2 Shale Gas Companies Fail To Report Shale Gas Waste Generation, Production In 12 Counties [PaEN]

-- Mine Subsidence Found Under Olympus Energy/Hyperion Natural Gas Compressor Station Construction Site In Penn Twp., Westmoreland County [PaEN]

-- Volunteer Firefighters, DEP Respond To Conventional Gas Well Explosion, Fire In Westmoreland County [PaEN]

-- DEP Issues One Conventional Well Owner 36 Violations For Abandoning Their Conventional Wells; 7 More Violations Issued To Shale Gas Drillers For Abandoning Wells [PaEN]

-- DEP Issued Violations To Range Resources, LPR Energy For Not Filing Shale Gas Production And Waste Generation Reports In 12 Counties [PaEN]

-- PA Oil & Gas Industrial Facilities: Permit Notices, Opportunities To Comment - March 22 [PaEN]