USA, PA: Pittsburgh Brewing Co. said Monday, November 16, it paid $900,000 to the Pittsburgh Water & Sewer Authority to cover delinquent water bills dating back several years. The Lawrenceville brewer of Iron City and I.C. Light beers thus expects to avoid a threatened shutoff of its water supply for another six months, while it tries to settle a dispute with the Allegheny County Sanitary Authority, Alcosan, over about $2.4 million more in past-due bills for sewage service, Pittsburgh Tribune Review posted on November 16, 2004.

"We have paid the balance due on our water bill, and the matter has been resolved," said Joseph Piccirilli, co-chairman of Pittsburgh Brewing, in a statement issued yesterday. "As for the sewage bill, we are hopeful we can settle that issue in the near future as well." Clifford Levine, solicitor for the city authority, confirmed that the water bill had been paid early in November. Once the two sides sign a formal agreement, he said Pittsburgh Brewing will have until May 1 to work out its differences with Alcosan over the larger, sewer portion of its delinquent bills.

Pittsburgh Brewing and the water and sewer authority have been working on a new deal since a previous court-supervised agreement, which had given the company one year to pay all its past due charges, expired Sept. 30.

The company was required to make a lump sum payment of $3.5 million by that date, but had only paid about $200,000 toward its $1.1 million water bill until the additional $900,000 was paid, Levine said. As previously reported, the city authority has been willing to grant one last payment extension in an effort to preserve the jobs of the company's 220 employees. "They have paid enough so we can wait to get things in order with the sewer authority," Levine said.

The water and sewer authority, which collects bills on behalf of Alcosan, already has paid the county authority for Pittsburgh Brewing's delinquent sewage charges, which are based on water volume usage. It is seeking reimbursement from Pittsburgh Brewing, which thinks its charges for sewage service should be less because a majority of the water it uses goes to make beer rather than being discharged into the sewage system.

E-malt.com, the global information source for the brewing and malting industry professionals. The bi-weekly E-malt.com Newsletters feature latest industry news, statistics in graphs and tables, world barley and malt prices, and other relevant information. Click here to get full access to E-malt.com. If you are a Castle Malting client, you can get free access to E-malt.com website and publications. Contact us for more information at marketing@castlemalting.com .