Pipelines
Water Pipeline Project Receives Financing
Cadiz Inc. has entered into a strategic transaction with Apollo Global Management, LLC to initiate financial arrangements for the construction and implementation of the Cadiz Water Project. Under the terms of the transaction, Cadiz’s senior secured mortgage debt will be replaced and refinanced and $..
Leaky Gas Pipeline Blamed in Fatal Colorado Blast
FIRESTONE, Colo. (AP) — A red-orange fireball that killed two people and destroyed a Colorado home prompted the governor to order sweeping inspections of natural gas lines and is certain to worsen tensions in state already divided over how to regulate the industry. Fire investigators said Tuesday t..
Heavy Rains Cause Sewer Overflow in North Carolina
ASHEVILLE, N.C. (AP) — April’s heavy rains caused a sewer line running through Asheville’s Biltmore Estate to overflow into the French Broad River. The Asheville Citizen-Times reports (http://avlne.ws/2qxmqeE) a public announcement mandated by state law says the public line expelled 25,130 gallons ..
Michigan City to Remove Hundreds of Lead Water Pipes
KALAMAZOO, Mich. (AP) — More than 200 lead water pipes will be removed from a southwest Michigan city this summer. MLive (http://bit.ly/2oU9UII ) reports the Kalamazoo City Commission approved a nearly $850,000 construction contract on Monday with Rieth-Riley Construction Co. to replace the lines. ..
Broken Pipe to Blame for Saltwater Spill in Oklahoma County
TULSA, Okla. (AP) — Environmental tests on an Oklahoma creek have led to the discovery of a saltwater spill into the main source of freshwater for Tallgrass Prairie Preserve. The Tulsa World (http://bit.ly/2oQconk ) reports that an Environmental Protection Agency inspector working on Bird Cre..
PHMSA Raises Fines for Violations of Pipeline Safety Regulations
PHMSA has issued a Final Rule to alter its regulations and raise the maximum civil penalty amount for violations of federal pipeline safety law. According to the Final Rule, the maximum civil penalty for a single violation is now $209,002 for each day the violation persists, or $2,090,022 for a rel..
Lawmakers Don't Want Illinois' Water to Hit Rock Bottom
SPRINGFIELD (AP) – Lawmakers and environmentalists from parts of Illinois that rely on groundwater want tougher monitoring of porous rock quarries that are being “reclaimed” by filling them with construction waste, saying they want to regulate them to make sure drinking water doesn’t become contamin..
Plastics Firm to Pay for Water Design Work in Vermont Town
BENNINGTON, Vt. (AP) — A plastics company that once used a chemical that has been found in local private water systems is going to repay the state of Vermont about $760,000 for engineering studies of extending municipal waterlines to affected homes in Bennington and North Bennington. The chemical P..
Sewer Leak in New York Town Stopped
GLOVERSVILLE, N.Y. (AP) – State environmental officials say a mainline sewage leak in a Mohawk Valley city has been stopped with temporary repairs and no drinking water supplies have been affected. Department of Environmental Conservation Commissioner Basil Seggos says Friday the sewage leak in Glo..
FERC Member Won't Pursue Another Term
WASHINGTON (AP) — One of the two remaining members of the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission says she will not seek a second term, a move that could leave the five-member panel with a single commissioner and further hobble its ability to make decisions. Democrat Colette Honorable said Friday ..
$80 Million Infrastructure Bill Fails in Montana
HELENA, Mont. (AP) — Montana lawmakers adjourned the 2017 legislative session Friday just like they did two years ago — failing to authorize bonds to pay for state infrastructure projects after negotiations collapsed and threats failed to sway intransigent legislators. The Montana House tried twice..
California American Water to Acquire Fruitridge Vista Water Company
California American Water has entered into an agreement to acquire the operating assets of the Fruitridge Vista Water Company for $20.75 million. Fruitridge Vista is a family owned Class B Water Utility in south Sacramento County and is regulated by the California Public Utilities Commission. Fruit..
Montana House Again Rejects Infrastructure Bonding Bill
HELENA, Mont. (AP) — The Montana House has voted down an $80 million infrastructure bonding bill after rejecting similar bills three times this session. However, representatives then voted Thursday to try another vote on the issue later. The House needed a supermajority of 67 votes to ap..
Last Chance for Infrastructure Bill in Montana
HELENA, Mont. (AP) — The Montana House will get one last shot at passing an $80 million infrastructure package Friday, with the Senate promising to adjourn the legislative session that afternoon with or without a bill. Gov. Steve Bullock, lawmakers and lobbyists have been scrambling to secure..
Patients Evacuated From Texas Hospital Following Water Leak
FRISCO, Texas (AP) — A suburban Dallas hospital was evacuated and dozens of patients moved to other facilities after a pipe burst and caused water to rain on the floors below. Officials in Frisco said in a statement that 78 patients at Baylor Scott & White — Centennial Hospital were moved els..
Report Touts the Benefits of PVC Pipe for Sewer, Water Projects
Sustainable Solutions Corporation has released the Life Cycle Assessment of PVC Water and Sewer Pipe and Comparative Sustainability Analysis of Pipe Materials, the first comprehensive environmental review of underground piping systems in North America. Based on a 100-year life cycle assessment metho..
Pennsylvania School District To Close Wells, Use City Water After Lead Issue
BUTLER, Pa. (AP) – A western Pennsylvania school district is scrapping water wells and opting for city-treated water so it can reopen an elementary school shuttered after high levels of lead were found in its water. The Butler School District closed Summit Elementary School in February and moved pu..
Michigan County to Get $3 Million to Fix Sinkhole
LANSING, Mich. (AP) – The state of Michigan will give Macomb County $3 million to deal with a sinkhole in suburban Detroit. The agreement struck Tuesday among legislative leaders and Gov. Rick Snyder’s administration resolves a fight between the House and Senate over whether the aid should be a loa..
Report: Pipeline Incidents Drop 10% in 2016-17 Period
API, along with the Association of Oil Pipe Lines (AOPL), released the pipeline industry’s 2017-2019 Pipeline Safety Excellence Strategic Plan and 2016 Performance Report summarizing the industry’s track record on pipeline safety and highlighting the steps pipeline operators are taking to advance sa..
Texas County Receives Funding for Water Pipeline
The Texas Water Development Board (TWDB) has approved $900,000 in financial assistance, consisting of a $70,000 note and $830,000 in loan forgiveness from the Drinking Water State Revolving Fund, to Nueces County on behalf of the Cyndie Park 2 Water Supply Corporation. The financial assistance will..
Washington City to Place Water Pipeline in Service
The City of Everett, Washington will place the $64 million Tulalip Water Pipeline Project into service on April 28. The 7.5-mile-long pipeline, which will provide a 100-year water supply to Tulalip and Smith Island, runs from the city’s water transmission pipelines near the US Highway 2 bridge on t..
Maine Town to Get $5M from USDA to Make Wastewater Upgrades
NORRIDGEWOCK, Maine (AP) — The U.S. Department of Agriculture is giving the town of Norridgewock $5 million in grants and loans to make improvements to wastewater infrastructure. The money will come in the form of a loan of $2.8 million and a grant of $2.2 million. The USDA says the sewer system se..
Indiana Town Awards Sewer Contract
The City of Bloomington Utilities Service Board has awarded a $6.9 million project to Greeley & Hansen for improvements to the aging infrastructure of the South Central Interceptor Sewer, located along South Walnut Street from Davis Street to Gordon Pike. As part of the project, 12,000 feet of new s..
Indiana Town Approves Sewer Contract
FORT WAYNE, Ind. (AP) — A $187.7 million construction contract has been approved to build the Three Rivers Overflow Reduction and Protection Tunnel in northeastern Indiana. The project is part of a long-term plan to reduce the average number of combined sewer overflows in Fort Wayne from 76 to four..
Northeastern U.S. Needs Pipelines, Report Says
The lack of pipeline infrastructure in the northeast has caused some of the highest electricity rates in the nation for families and business—and it will only get worse, according to a new report by the U.S. Chamber’s Institute for 21st Century Energy. The latest installment in the Energy Institute..
Report: Wisconsin Must Spend Billions on Water, Wastewater Infrastructure
MADISON, Wis. (AP) — A new report from the American Society of Civil Engineers says Wisconsin will have $7 billion in drinking water and wastewater infrastructure needs in the next 20 years. Wisconsin Public Radio (http://bit.ly/2pZe3qZ) reported the state is already facing water problems, such as ..
Virginia Governor Signs Bill Requiring Quicker Alexandria Sewer Fix
RICHMOND, Va. (AP) – Gov. Terry McAuliffe has signed a bill that forces Alexandria to move more quickly to fix an infrastructure issue that sends millions of gallons of untreated sewage into the Potomac River. The legislation signed Friday requires the city to bring its four combined sewer overflow..
Utility to Put Sewer Biogas in Pipeline
NW Natural has agreed to work with the City of Portland to put renewable natural gas converted from the city’s largest wastewater treatment plant on its pipeline and into vehicles. In a vote yesterday, the Portland City Council authorized the construction of a RNG production facility at the Columbi..
Aqua Pennsylvania to Spend $300 Million on Infrastructure Upgrades
Aqua Pennsylvania today announced the company will make $292 million in infrastructure improvements in the state throughout 2017, after completing $234 million of similar projects in 2016. Multiple projects will take place in several areas across the state to improve customers’ water and wastewater ..
Minnesota Town Receives Funding to Fix Aging Sewer Collection System
The Minnesota Public Facilities Authority has awarded a $577,000 grant that will help the city of Cuyuna rehabilitate its sewer collection system. Cuyuna, a city of about 340 people in Crow Wing County, received the grant from the PFA’s Wastewater Infrastructure Fund. Other financial support for th..
- 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