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On June 16, 2016, Pennichuck East Utility, Inc. completed a financing transaction with CoBank,
ACB in the amount of $2,200,000 for a term of 25 years at an interest rate of 4.2% to be used for
non-SRF funded capitai improvement projects being completed in 2016, and early 2017. Of this
amount, $1.25 million was drawn down at closing, while the remaining $950,000 was drawn
down in the fourth quarter of 2016.
Other Events
Operations Facility
On June 30, 2016, the Will Street Operations facility was sold for $1.01 million. The Company
continued to occupy this facility until December 2016 as a $0 triple-net tenant, pending the
completion and occupancy of the new Operations building on DW Highway in Merrimack,
immediately adjacent to the Pennichuck Water Works Water Treatment Plant. A net gain of
$529,000 from this transaction was recognized in other income, after recognition of the payment
of direct selling expenses and the write-off of net book value carrying costs for the property. The
net cash proceeds from this sale were used in the payment of certain costs related to the
completion of the new Operations building, which was occupied on December 19, 2016.
PFOA Contamination Issues
During 2016, the Company was significantly involved in assisting the New Hampshire
Department of Environmental Services (“NHDES”) in assessing and bringing remediation
solutions to bear, in light of the PFOA contamination issues discovered in the towns surrounding
the Saint Gobain Performance Plastics (“SGPP”) site in north Merrimack. This included self-
instituting comprehensive and regular testing of the Company’s water supplies and water
systems, not only in the area adjacent to this site, but taking and processing at least one set of
tests at all water sources that the Company owns throughout the State. This was done in order to
detect if any levels of contamination existed in the water sources, to aid the NHDES in
completing their statewide assessment, and to allow the Company to respond with certainty to
any of its customers as to any detectable levels. With regards to the water supply systems
directly adjacent to or connected to the Merrimack Village District, the Company has been
taking weekly or monthly samples since this contamination site was disclosed in March of 2016.
The results of these tests were that none of the Company’s water sources had detectable levels
exceeding EPA lifetime advisory levels, or the State’s emergency and now permanent standard
detection levels.
Additionally, at the request of the NHDES, the Company was asked to enter into a contract with
SGPP for the design of the expansion of public water to residents in the northern portion of
Litchfield, where private wells had been contaminated, in some cases well above acceptable
levels. Based upon the results of that design work, the Company was then contracted by SGPP
to expand the public water system owned by the Company in Litchfield to approximately 400
property owners, including nearly 10 miles of new water mains and nearly 10 miles of new
service lines. The cost of the design work and the expansion of the water system has and is
being paid totally by SGPP, and will be contributed to the Company as Contributions in Aid of
Construction (CIAC), as assets to be owned by the Company, the Town, or the residents (in the
