Arizona Supreme Court OKs wastewater districts consolidation

PHOENIX (AP) — The Arizona Supreme Court has upheld utility regulators’ decision to allow consolidation of several communities into a single wastewater service district with rate increases or decreases in different areas to make them uniform. The ruling Friday said rates approved by the Arizona Corporation Commission for the consolidated district don’t violate a state constitutional provision barring discrimination in rates paid by customers and locations in similar circumstances. The case involved districts in Maricopa and Mohave counties that EPCOR Water Arizona Inc. consolidated into one district. A Sun City homeowners group and a state consumer advocacy agency had pushed to keep separate rates for the service areas.