V. Position of Stonybrook Corporation

Stonybrook asserts that the act of deliberately engaging in the business of producing and selling water to residents in Keene and Woodford constitutes a dedication of the Keene Water System for public use, and thereby subjects the system to the jurisdiction of this Commission.

Stonybrook also claims a dedication has occurred because the operation of the Keene Water System has been for the "sole and exclusive" benefit of the communities of Keene and Woodford. Further, a dedication has occurred because Union Pacific drilled new wells to provide water to the community of Keene and not to support any railroad operation. Specifically, Stonybrook asserts that by the abandonment of the Tehachapi pipeline in 1994 and the development of a new water system and sources so as to continue to supply water to Keene and Woodford customers, Union Pacific showed its intent to act as a public water utility regardless of its contractual relationships, and in fact dedicated its system for the public's benefit.

Stonybrook also asserts that Union Pacific's predecessor, SP, dedicated the Keene Water System facilities for public use when it submitted an application dated November 22, 1996, to the Kern County Board of Supervisors for a non-exclusive road franchise agreement to construct a new delivery line for the Keene Water System, on a Kern County roadway. In its franchise application, SP represented to the Board of Supervisors that the new pipeline would be used to "furnish water for railroad use and for community use."