Receivership expansion for public water systems fails in subcommittee vote

A proposal to expand the Commonwealth's receivership authority to include public and municipal waterworks failed to report out of the House behavioral‑health subcommittee after a 3‑4 vote.

Delegate Scott presented the line amendment removing the word "private" from the existing receivership language so the Commissioner of Health could petition a court to appoint a receiver for public waterworks when operations endanger public health. "Receivership is an enforcement option in dire situations where the owner of the water system is not meeting critical needs to properly protect public health," Delegate Scott said, and described the change as aligning public and private systems under a single enforcement standard.

Duane Roadcap of the VDH Office of Drinking Water said the tool has been used only twice in more than 20 years and is intended as a last‑resort remedy when enforcement and compliance options have been exhausted. He said receivership typically follows abandoned ownership, failure to provide adequate water pressure or quality, or failure to comply with emergency orders.

After discussion about how the expanded authority would interact with existing VDH enforcement and concerns about rates and local control, the committee voted; the motion to report with amendment failed on the board, 3 to 4, and the bill did not advance from subcommittee.