Pipeline Construction
FERC Sets Precedent For Overriding State Blockage Of New Pipelines
The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC), under new Chairman Neil Chatterjee, wasted no time making clear that it would use the exemption authority given to it recently by a U.S. Court of Appeals in the District of Columbia in order to approve pipeline construction where states balk at issuin..
With The Stroke Of A Pen, Smiles Return to Pipeline Contractors, Engineers, Owners
By Robert Carpenter, Editor-in-Chief For the energy pipeline construction industry, 2015 and 2016 were, to say the least, disappointing in many ways for both contractors and energy companies. Obviously, with the price of oil and natural gas remaining largely depressed in recent years, many pipelin..
Utility Fined for Gas Pipeline Safety Violations
MERRILLVILLE, Ind. (AP) — Northern Indiana Public Service Co. is paying a $900,000 fine after state regulators found that the utility failed to keep accurate maps and records of its underground natural gas lines. The settlement approved Wednesday by the Indiana Utility Regulatory Commission instruc..
Parked Car Falls into Hole Formed When Old Water Pipe Breaks
MANCHESTER, N.H. (AP) — A major water main break has opened up several holes on a New Hampshire street, and a parked car has fallen into one of them. WMUR-TV reports the empty car was lifted out of the hole in Manchester just before 9 a.m. Wednesday. Officials say the water pipe broke just after 5 ..
Texas Cities Partner in $225M Water Pipeline Project
SAN MARCOS, Texas (AP) — A coalition of rapidly growing cities in Central and South Texas is proceeding with a more than $225 million deal to create a long-term water supply. The Alliance Regional Water Authority has obtained permits and financing is underway to start construction next year on a ..
New Commissioner Sworn in at FERC
On Nov. 29, 2017, The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) swore in Richard Glick as Commissioner. Glick was nominated by President Donald J. Trump in August 2017 and confirmed by the U.S. Senate on Nov. 2, 2017. Before to joining the commission, Glick was general counsel for the Democrats o..
Michigan Wants All Lead Pipes Replaced Within 20 Years
LANSING, Mich. (AP) — Gov. Rick Snyder’s administration is planning to require the replacement of every underground lead service pipe in Michigan within 20 years while delaying by four years a deadline to implement the nation’s toughest lead limit for drinking water, in the wake of the Flint lead cr..
Lawsuit Seeks to Block California Desert Water Project
LOS ANGELES (AP) — Environmental activists sued Tuesday to halt a plan to pump water from under the Mojave Desert and sell it to Southern California cities and counties. The lawsuit takes aim at the U.S. Bureau of Land Management for allowing Cadiz Inc. to build a 43-mile pipeline to transfer the w..
LAN Honored for Work on Texas Water Pipeline Project
The American Council of Engineering Companies (ACEC) Texas has awarded civil engineering firm Lockwood, Andrews & Newnam, Inc. (LAN) a gold medal for its work on the Layne water pipeline and infrastructure project. The award, given under the water and wastewater services category, will be presented ..
Nearly $83 Million Awarded for Water Quality Projects in Iowa
The Iowa Finance Authority and the Iowa Department of Natural Resources have awarded low-interest water quality loans totaling more than $82.8 million to 26 communities through the State Revolving Fund. State Revolving Fund Construction Loans are a low-cost construction financing option avail..
$20 Million Awarded to Replace Lead Service Lines Across New York
New York Governor Andrew M. Cuomo today announced that $20 million dollars will be awarded to replace residential drinking water lead service lines across the state’s Regional Economic Development Councils (REDC) as part of New York’s Clean Water Infrastructure Act of 2017. The funding is provided ..
Flint-Area Worker Trapped Under Water in Trench Dies
BURTON, Mich. (AP) — Police say a 33-year-old Flint-area man has died after being trapped underwater for about 20 minutes when a water main burst during construction work. Burton Police Detective Don Schreiber tells The Flint Journal that 33-year-old Curtis Duane Hollingshead of Davisson died..
Town's Water May be Safe to Drink by Mardi Gras
ST. JOSEPH, La. (AP) – By Mardi Gras, a Louisiana town of 1,000 may have a huge reason to celebrate: drinkable tapwater, for the first time in more than a year. New wells, pipes and other equipment have been installed in St. Joseph, and should be hooked up by Christmas, The Advocate reports . But t..
Work Wrapping up on Site of Massive Michigan Sinkhole
FRASER, Mich. (AP) — Officials say repair work prompted by a sewer line that collapsed and caused a football field-sized sinkhole north of Detroit is expected to finish a couple days before the one-year anniversary of the massive mishap. The Macomb Daily reported Wednesday crews have just a f..
Rover Pipeline HDD Activities Halted by Ohio Regulators
CANTON, Ohio (AP) — The Ohio Environmental Protection Agency has told the company building the massive Rover natural gas pipeline project to stop horizontal drilling after another spill of clay-based slurry. The Repository reports EPA Director Craig Butler on Wednesday asked Energy Transfer Partn..
Court Stops NEXUS Pipeline Construction in Ohio
CLEVELAND (AP) — A city facing long odds of stopping section of a $2 billion natural gas pipeline from being built there was handed a victory this week when a federal appellate court issued an emergency order that temporarily halts the start of construction. The 6th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in..
Council Narrowly Approves Long-Term Flint Water Deal
FLINT, Mich. (AP) — The Flint City Council has narrowly approved a 30-year agreement to get drinking water from a regional agency, bringing to end one battle among many in the Michigan city still recovering from a lead-tainted water crisis. The deal was approved Tuesday night by a 5-4 vote after ho..
Baltimore Begs People Not to Dump Grease Down Drain
BALTIMORE (AP) — Are you the sort of person who dumps greasy globs of congealed fat and oil down the drain when washing up? If so, Baltimore’s public works department wants you to knock it off this Thanksgiving. The agency is asking residents to refrain from pouring cooking fats, oils and grease “..
Pennsylvania Regulators Cite Sunoco for Pipeline Construction Leaks
PHILADELPHIA (AP) — Pennsylvania regulators are citing Sunoco for a three recent leaks during its construction of the Mariner East 2 pipeline project.The Department of Environmental Protection last week issued violation notices for two leaks of drilling fluid on Nov. 11, in Chester and Berks countie..
Ohio Village Receives Nearly $2 Million for Water Project
The village of New Waterford has received a $1.78 million interest-free loan from the Ohio EPA to improve the village’s drinking water treatment and distribution system. The project consists of the following: Upgrading the village’s water treatment plant by replacing chemical feed equipment, pre..
Busted Water Pipe Causes Gaping Sinkhole in New York
NEW YORK (AP) — Authorities in New York City say a broken water pipe caused a large sinkhole to form in Manhattan. The 20-foot long sinkhole opened up on the Upper West Side Monday morning. According to the city Department of Environmental Protection, a private water pipe caused the sinkhole. Work..
Lawsuit Accuses Utilities of Jacking up Natural Gas Prices
BOSTON (AP) — A class-action lawsuit has accused two utilities of conspiring to drive up energy costs in New England in a multi-year scheme that affected millions of customers. The lawsuit filed this week in Boston federal court alleges Eversource Energy and Avangrid Inc. used their market po..
Flint Water Breakthrough After Court-Ordered Talks
DETROIT (AP) — The Flint City Council is expected to support a 30-year agreement to get drinking water from a regional agency after an afternoon of court-ordered negotiations. The deal means the Great Lakes Water Authority would continue to serve Flint. It has been providing water since fall 2015 w..
TransCanada to Test Water in Drainage Ditch Near Pipeline Spill
AMHERST, S.D. (AP) — A South Dakota official says TransCanada Corp. plans to test water from a drainage ditch near the site of a 210,000-gallon oil spill from the Keystone pipeline to determine if it is polluted. Brian Walsh, a manager at the South Dakota Department of Environment and Natural Resou..
More than $84 Million Awarded for Sewer, Water Projects in Florida
The Florida Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) recently provided more than $84 million toward the completion of four water quality improvement projects in Central and South Florida. The funding was awarded through DEP’s Division of Water Restoration Assistance’s various funding resources a..
Grid Operator Discusses New England’s Constrained Gas Pipelines
CRANSTON, R.I. (AP) — The independent corporation overseeing the operation of New England’s power system says natural gas pipelines feeding the region are so constrained that electricity prices are driven higher during cold winters. ISO New England President Gordon van Welie (WHEE’-lee) says region..
Pipeline Upgrades Included in PG&E's Proposed Gas Transmission and Storage Plan
Pacific Gas and Electric Company (PG&E) today submitted a comprehensive proposal as part of its 2019-2021 Gas Transmission and Storage (GT&S) rate request to California regulators. The request outlines how the company will continue to achieve increased levels of gas safety by strengthening and moder..
Pennsylvania Utility's Settlement Could Spur $1.8 Million Investment in Lead Line Replacement
The Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) and the Pittsburgh Water and Sewer Authority (PWSA) have entered into a Consent Order and Agreement (COA), including a $2.4 million civil penalty assessment for violations related to lead level exceedances, partial lead service line repla..
Ohio Town Awarded Funding to Build Emergency Water Line
The city of Campbell has received a $454,000 low-interest loan from the Ohio EPA to establish an emergency drinking water connection with Youngstown. The project will build a water transmission line connecting to Youngstown to provide redundancy within the water distribution system. This will ensur..
ASTM International Standard Aims to Reduce Contamination and Costs in Plastic Pipe Production
ASTM International announced its committee on plastic piping systems is developing a new standard that aims to use best practices to prevent contamination in manufacturing polyethylene pipe and fittings. According to ASTM International member Eugene Palermo, manufacturers could use the standard to ..
- OSHA cites Florida contractors for trench safety violations at sewer and excavation sites
- Biden-Harris administration invests $849 million in aging water infrastructure, drought resilience
- Cadiz to reuse steel from terminated Keystone XL pipeline for California groundwater project
- Texas contractor penalized by OSHA for repeated trench safety violations
- West Virginia approves $67 million for water, sewer projects