2023 New York Laws › PBS - Public Service › Article 4-B - Provisions Relating to Water › 89-B - Safe and Adequate Service; Just and Reasonable Charges; Unjust Discrimination; Unreasonable Preference; Protection of Privacy.

§ 89-b. Safe and adequate service; just and reasonable charges; unjust
discrimination; unreasonable preference; protection of privacy. 1. Every
water-works   corporation   shall  furnish  and  provide  such  service,
instrumentalities and facilities as shall be safe and  adequate  and  in
all  respects  just  and reasonable. All charges made or demanded by any
such water-works corporation for water, or for  equipment  furnished  or
for  any service rendered or to be rendered shall be just and reasonable
and not more than allowed by law or by order of  the  commission.  Every
unjust  or  unreasonable  charge  made  or  demanded  for  water  or for
equipment furnished or for any such service, or in connection therewith,
or in excess of that allowed by law or by the order of the commission is
prohibited.
2. No water-works corporation shall directly  or  indirectly,  by  any
special  rate,  rebate,  drawback  or  other  device  or method, charge,
demand, collect or receive from any person or corporation a  greater  or
less  compensation  for  water,  or  for  equipment  or  for any service
rendered or to  be  rendered  or  in  connection  therewith,  except  as
authorized  in  this  article,  than  it  charges,  demands, collects or
receives from any other person or  corporation  for  doing  a  like  and
contemporaneous   service   with  respect  thereto  under  the  same  or
substantially similar circumstances or conditions.
3. No water-works  corporation  shall  make  or  grant  any  undue  or
unreasonable  preference  or  advantage  to  any  person, corporation or
locality, or to any particular description of  service  in  any  respect
whatsoever, or subject any particular person, corporation or locality or
any  particular  description  of  service  to  any undue or unreasonable
prejudice or disadvantage in any respect whatsoever.
3-a. No water-works corporation shall discontinue  or  disconnect  the
supply of water for non-payment of water rents, rates or charges, unless
such  water-works  corporation  shall  have  first  given  fifteen days'
written notice of its intention so to do to the owner  of  the  premises
thereby affected, or in lieu thereof, to the person, firm or corporation
to whom or which the last preceding bill has been rendered and from whom
or  which the water-works corporation has received payment therefor, and
to the superintendent or other person  in  charge  of  the  building  or
premises  thereby  affected, if it can be readily ascertained that there
is such superintendent or other person in charge. Such notice  in  every
case   shall  be  served  either  personally  on  the  person,  firm  or
corporation to which it is  directed,  or  by  mailing  the  same  in  a
postpaid wrapper to the address of such person, firm or corporation.
3-b.  (a)  No water-works corporation can effect the discontinuance of
residential service for nonpayment of bills rendered for  water  service
on Friday after twelve noon, Saturday, Sunday, public holiday, or day on
which  the  main  business  office  of  the  corporation is not open for
business.
(b) Discontinuance for nonpayment of bills rendered for water  service
of  residential services can only take place between Monday and Thursday
between the hours of eight a.m. and six p.m., and Fridays before  twelve
noon.
(c) The term public holiday refers to those holidays enumerated in the
general construction law.
3-c.   It  shall  be  unlawful  for  any  water-works  corporation  to
discontinue the supply of water to any person or entity receiving public
assistance, for nonpayment of bills rendered for service, if the payment
for such service is to be paid directly by the office of  temporary  and
disability assistance or the social services official in such locality.
4.  Nothing  in  this chapter shall be taken to prohibit a water-works
corporation from establishing a sliding scale for a fixed period for the

automatic adjustment of charges for water, or any service rendered or to
be rendered and the  dividends  to  be  paid  to  stockholders  of  such
corporation, provided the sliding scale shall first have been filed with
and  approved  by  the commission; but nothing in this subdivision shall
operate to prevent the commission after the  expiration  of  such  fixed
period  from  fixing proper, just and reasonable rates and charges to be
made for service as authorized in this article.
5. Nothing in this chapter shall be taken to  prohibit  a  water-works
corporation  from establishing classifications of service based upon the
quantity of water  used,  times  when  used,  purpose  for  which  used,
duration  of  use,  or  upon  any  other  reasonable  consideration, and
providing schedules of just and reasonable  graduated  rates  applicable
thereto.  No  such  classification,  schedule,  rate  or charge shall be
lawful unless it shall be filed with and approved by the commission, and
every such classification, rate or charge shall be  subject  to  change,
alteration and modification by the commission.
6. No water works corporation shall sell or offer for sale any list of
names of its customers. However, upon request by a municipality, a water
works  corporation shall provide water usage data by property address to
such municipality where: (a) such municipality  is  within  the  service
territory  of  such water works corporation; (b) such data shall only be
used for municipal purposes related to the financing of clean, storm  or
drinking   water  infrastructure  projects  and  service;  and  (c)  the
provision of such data shall be pursuant to a written agreement  between
the  water  works  corporation  and  the  municipality  which adequately
provides  for  customer  privacy  safeguards  and  is  approved  by  the
commission. The water works corporation may provide for reimbursement of
any  nominal  administrative  costs  which result from this provision of
data in the written agreement. Property water usage data shall  be  used
solely  for  the  calculation  of  assessments  or  bills  for municipal
services for which water usage is a relevant indicator of  the  cost  of
such  municipal  services and such data information shall not be sold or
shared with any other person or corporation. If a private vendor is used
by the municipality in association with  such  municipal  purposes,  the
restrictions related to municipalities on sale or sharing of water usage
data shall apply to such private vendor. Upon request by a municipality,
the  commission  may  commence  a proceeding to: (a) establish a written
agreement between the municipality and a water works corporation; or (b)
review any written agreement entered into between the municipality and a
water works corporation, and make any modifications to such agreement as
would be in the public interest. Any agency, as  defined  under  section
eighty-six of the public officers law, shall not disclose any personally
identifiable  information  contained within such water usage data to the
public. For purposes of  this  subdivision,  "municipality"  shall  only
include  the  cities  of New Rochelle and Rye; the towns of Eastchester,
Greenburgh, and Mount Pleasant; and the villages of Ardsley, Bronxville,
Dobbs Ferry, Hastings-on-Hudson, Pelham, Pelham Manor, Port Chester, Rye
Brook, and Tuckahoe.
7. Every water-works corporation providing service to the residents of
a county with a population of one million two hundred fifty thousand  or
more  which is not wholly contained within a city shall meter service to
its  customers  within  two  years  of  the  effective  date   of   this
subdivision.
12.  (a)  Every water-works corporation shall provide customers with a
convenient option to request that the water-works corporation use  their
preferred  name  and/or  preferred  pronouns  in  all  written  or  oral
communications between the water-works corporation and the customer,  as
well  as  all statements or documentation relating to a customer's water

service, regardless of whether such customer's  preferred  name  differs
from their current legal name.
(b)  If  a  customer's preferred name differs from their current legal
name, a water-works corporation may require  such  customer  to  provide
reasonable  proof of identity using their legal name, provided that such
information shall be used solely to verify the  customer's  identity  or
for other purposes required by law.
(c) No water-works corporation shall:
(i)  willfully  and repeatedly fail to use a customer's preferred name
and/or preferred pronouns after being clearly informed of the  preferred
name  and/or  preferred  pronouns  pursuant  to  paragraph  (a)  of this
subdivision; or
(ii) require a customer to specify their sexual orientation or  gender
identity  or  expression  in  order  to  use their preferred name and/or
preferred pronouns.