American Water's Pekin Customers Better Served by Privately Owned Water Company: Illinois Commerce Commission Says.Business Editors VOORHEES, N.J.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Jan. 22, 2004 Unanimous Ruling Denies City of Pekin's Petition to Takeover the Water System Through Eminent Domain eminent domain, the right of a government to force the owner of private property sell it if it is needed for a public use. The right is based on the doctrine that a sovereign state has dominion over all lands and buildings within its borders, which has its origins in and Builds Case for Public Private Partnerships Strengthening the case for continued private ownership of the water system in Pekin Pekin (pē`kĭn), city (1990 pop. 32,254), seat of Tazewell co., central Ill., a port on the Illinois River; inc. 1839. A processing, rail, and shipping point in a grain, livestock, and dairying area, Pekin has a large food industry. , the Illinois Commerce Commission (ICC ICC See: International Chamber of Commerce ) today issued a ruling rejecting arguments of a local government seeking to take over a private water utility owned by American Water and ruled in favor of the water company. The ICC ruled that it was not in the public interest for the City of Pekin to be allowed to condemn the water system. "This ruling is consistent with our view that the private ownership of local water companies offers communities a viable opportunity to providing safe reliable water and excellent service in a cost efficient manner," said Terry Gloriod, president, Illinois American Water. "We invest millions each year in the infrastructure of our water companies to provide the reliable service that our customers depend on and to meet the latest standards by the Environmental Protection Agency Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), independent agency of the U.S. government, with headquarters in Washington, D.C. It was established in 1970 to reduce and control air and water pollution, noise pollution, and radiation and to ensure the safe handling and (EPA EPA eicosapentaenoic acid. EPA abbr. eicosapentaenoic acid EPA, n.pr See acid, eicosapentaenoic. EPA, n. ). "Illinois American Water is hopeful the City of Pekin will look forward to focusing on working together to continue to provide high quality, reliable water service to the citizens of Pekin," Gloriod said. The ruling by the ICC is in response to a petition filed in May 2002 by the City of Pekin seeking authority from the Illinois Commerce Commission to pursue eminent domain proceedings against Illinois American. The city sought authority to condemn assets of Illinois American's Pekin district in a takeover attempt Noun 1. takeover attempt - an attempt to take control of a corporation bear hug - a takeover bid so attractive that the directors of the target company must approve it or risk shareholder protest of the privately owned utility, which has served Pekin for more than 20 years. The district includes the city of Pekin as well as parts of the adjoining townships of Groveland, Pekin, Cincinnati and Oak Grove Oak grove may refer to
Oak Grove is a common name for several places in the United States of America. . About Illinois American Water Illinois American services approximately 293,000 metered customers, or more than 1 million persons, in 125 Illinois communities. The company has been providing service in Illinois for more than 100 years. About American Water, Thames Water Thames Water, known originally as the Thames Water Authority and after privatization as Thames Water Utilities Limited, is the utility responsible for water supply and waste water treatment in parts of Greater London, Surrey, Wiltshire, and the Thames Valley in the , and RWE RWE Rot-Weiss Essen (Germann football club) RWE Ralph Waldo Emerson RWE Rheinisch-Westfälische Elektrizitätswerke (German Power Supplier) RWE Read Write Execute RWE Right Wing Extremist Established over 100 years ago, American Water provides high quality water, wastewater, and other related services. As part of RWE Thames Water, American Water serves 20 million customers in 28 states, 4 Canadian provinces, Puerto Rico and Chile. Thames Water is the water division of international multi-utility RWE, which is the third largest water and wastewater services company in the world. It serves almost 70 million people in 46 countries across the globe. Additional information can be found on the Internet at www.amwater.com. American Water and RWE Thames Water, through its combined expertise, continue the tradition of providing customers with superior quality service while gaining access to new technologies, research and development, and global experience in service, customer satisfaction and security. |
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