§ 2-19. Office of Customer Advocacy . . . – Request for assistance.

(a) Request for assistance.

A customer may seek Office assistance by submitting a written or oral request to the Department or to the Office within 90 calendar days of any disputed Water-for-All Discount Program determination or other Department action or decision related to water and wastewater billing, service cut-offs, or lack of notice of billing-related issues.

(b) Right to dispute determinations.

The right to dispute a determination by the Department before the Department, the Office, or the ECB may not be limited, except as otherwise stated in this article. Thus, a customers may not be required by the Department, the Office, or the ECB to do any of the following as a prerequisite to having the customer's appeal heard:

(1) pay money to any party, including a plumber;

(2) prove that DPW equipment is faulty; or

(3) pay bills that are being challenged by the customer.

(c) Publishing rules and regulations for public comment.

All proposed new or modified rules and regulations that govern or affect the operations of the Office or ECB or that delimit rights granted customers by this article shall be published for public comment and shall be posted online in both draft and final form.