Despite objection, Aqua gets protective order to shield ‘confidential’ information from public
SHENANDOAH – Aqua Pennsylvania was granted its petition for a protection order Wednesday which will keep certain information out of public hands.
Administrative Law Judge Jeffrey A. Watson signed off on the protective order filed last week by the water company, which is seeking to purchase the Municipal Authority of the Borough of Shenandoah for $12 Million.
The petition was filed Thursday by Aqua’s counsel Courtney L. Schultz, of the Philadelphia law firm Saul Ewing, for information they consider “confidential” or “proprietary.”
“Materials which Aqua has furnished in this proceeding and materials which Aqua and other parties will be furnishing pursuant to Commission rules and regulations, formal and informal discovery procedures, testimony or oral examination or as a courtesy to parties contain information and will contain information that the producing party considers confidential or proprietary,” the filing states. “The issuance of a protective order…would serve administrative economy and efficiency by obviating the need for parties to address confidential/proprietary concerns on a piecemeal basis every time confidential/proprietary information is requested.”
In Wednesday’s order, Watson noted that, in a prehearing conference held Monday, Donna Gawrylik, who has filed a protest in the case, objected to Aqua’s petition. No other party to the case objected to the order.
The order would allow documents produced in the case “believed by the producing party to be of a proprietary or confidential nature” to be marked as “confidential” or “highly confidential,” and subject to certain rules as to who can view and use such information, and how they can use it.
Confidential information is defined in the proposed order as “those materials which customarily are treated by that party as sensitive or proprietary, which are not available to the public, and which, if disclosed freely, would subject that party or its clients to risk of competitive disadvantage or other business injury.”
Highly confidential is defined as “those materials that are of such a commercially sensitive nature among the parties or of such a private, personal nature that the producing party is able to justify a heightened level of confidential protection with respect to those materials.”
Such information would be made available to the lawyers for each party to be used or disclosed “only for purposes of preparing or presenting evidence, cross examination, argument, or settlement in this proceeding.”
Confidential information would be made available to attorneys for a statutory advocate; their employees; an expert or their employee retained by a party for the purpose of advising, preparing for, or testifying; Employees or other representatives of a party “with significant responsibility for this docket, including but not limited to support staff.”
Such persons would need to sign a non-disclosure agreement.
The protective order would restrict information from being reviewed by a “restricted person,” someone who is involved in or connected to a competitive company, and, to a certain extent, advisors for such persons.
“Any public reference to Proprietary Information by a Party or its Reviewing Representatives shall be to the title or exhibit reference in sufficient detail to permit persons with access to the Proprietary Information to understand fully the reference and not more,” the proposed order states. “The Proprietary Information shall remain a part of the record, to the extent admitted, for all purposes of administrative or judicial review.”
“Part of any record of this proceeding containing Proprietary Information, including but not limited to all exhibits, writings, testimony, cross examination, argument, and responses to discovery, and including reference thereto as mentioned above, shall be sealed for all purposes, including administrative and judicial review, unless such Proprietary Information is released from the restrictions of this Protective Order, either through the agreement of the parties to this proceeding or pursuant to an order of the Commission,” the proposed order adds.
The order would also require parties with such information to return or destroy all documents and materials within 30 days of the PUC’s final order.
In Nov. 2020, Shenandoah Borough approved selling the Municipal Authority of the Borough of Shenandoah (MABS) to Aqua Pennsylvania, one of the largest private water companies in the nation, for $12 Million, following two public hearings. Shenandoah would receive around half the sale price, after paying off MABS debt.
Through its Roaring Creek Division, Aqua provides water service to Girardville, Mount Carmel, Aristes, and Shamokin with reservoirs and a water treatment plant near Elysburg. Statewide, Aqua serves about 448,000 customers across 32 counties.
MABS serves Shenandoah borough and the northern half of West Mahanoy Township, as well as the Butler Township villages of Connerton and Rappahannock, and a small portion of Girardville.
The Shenandoah Sentinel has been the only local news source providing full, in-depth coverage of the proposed MABS Sale. If the coverage of this and other important news items in Shenandoah and all of northern Schuylkill County is important to you, please consider donating a few dollars a month through Patreon.
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