(a) Notwithstanding any law to the contrary, the Tennessee board of utility regulation has the authority to review utility systems under its jurisdiction and may include the assistance of the department of environment and conservation, the comptroller of the treasury, the Tennessee Association of Utility Districts, or any other governmental entity or entity approved by the board. The board may review utility systems:

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Terms Used In Tennessee Code 7-82-706

  • Jurisdiction: (1) The legal authority of a court to hear and decide a case. Concurrent jurisdiction exists when two courts have simultaneous responsibility for the same case. (2) The geographic area over which the court has authority to decide cases.
  • utility system: includes :
    (1) The water, wastewater, or natural gas systems of a county, metropolitan government, or incorporated town or city. See Tennessee Code 7-82-701
(1) To determine the financial, technical, and managerial capacity of a utility system to comply with the requirements of applicable federal and state law; or
(2) To determine the financial, technical, and managerial capacities of a utility system to efficiently manage its system, including reasonable and just user rates, debt structures, and water loss.
(b)

(1) The board may require a utility system to take appropriate remedial action to correct a deficiency identified by the board. A remedial action may include:

(A) Changes in ownership, management, accounting practices, or user rates;
(B) Adoption or change to maintenance practices, software, or hardware, or development of alternative supplies of resources, means of distribution of resources, or methods of water and wastewater management;
(C) Merger or consolidation of a utility system with another system, as described under § 7-82-704; or
(D) Development of rules and policies by the utility system as necessary for effective and responsible management of a utility system.
(2) The board may only require remedial action under subdivision (b)(1) when the review was initiated pursuant to a referral from the comptroller of the treasury or at the recommendation of board staff.
(c) In addition to the authority granted under subsections (a) and (b), the board has the authority to review a utility system whose water loss as reported in the utility system’s annual water loss report submitted pursuant to § 7-82-707 is excessive, as established by parameters determined by the board. If a utility system fails to take the appropriate actions required by the board to reduce water loss to an acceptable level, then the board may petition the chancery court in a jurisdiction in which the utility system is operating to require the utility system to take the appropriate actions.
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