Pipelines
Pipeline Opportunities Conference Focuses On Moving Forward
If the attendance and tone of the speakers at the 12th annual Pipeline Opportunities Conference, held March 22, serves as a harbinger of what lies ahead for the energy business, things are starting to look up. About 350 participants filled the J.W. Marriott Hotel in Houston’s Galleria District to h..
Pipeline Work Begins in Iowa, Protesters Vow Nonviolent Acts
DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) — Work has begun in Iowa on an oil pipeline despite repeated attempts by landowners and environmental groups to stop it, a spokeswoman for the Texas company building the pipeline said Thursday. The Iowa Utilities Board signed a final order Wednesday allowing construction on th..
Senate to Hold Hearing to Examine Oil and Gas Pipeline Infrastructure
The Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee will hold a hearing on June 14 to analyze oil and gas pipeline infrastructure and the economic, safety, environmental, permitting, construction, and maintenance considerations associated with it. The hearing will be webcast live on the committee’s w..
Suit Seeks to Have Philadelphia Replace Lead Service Pipes
Philadelphia (AP) — A Philadelphia woman filed a lawsuit on Thursday seeking to have the city replace all lead service pipes running into homes from water mains and pay for a lead medical monitoring program. The lawsuit, filed by Eleni Delopoulos, alleged the city put her family and thousands of Ph..
National Energy Board says Mackenzie Gas Project Still in Public Interest
The National Energy Board will vary the sunset clauses for the Mackenzie Gas Project’s Mackenzie Valley Pipeline and Mackenzie Gathering System to December 31, 2022. The extension to the sunset clause for the Mackenzie Valley Pipeline does not come into effect until it is approved by the Federal gov..
Aegion Awarded $8 Million Municipal Contract from the City of Montgomery, Alabama
Aegion Corporation has received an $8 million contract from the City of Montgomery, Alabama for its Infrastructure Solutions platform. This project is the second and final phase of a wastewater pipeline rehabilitation project located in the Econchate Basin, a collection system that drains into the E..
PG&E fined $24.3M for Poor Record Keeping on Gas Pipelines
SAN FRANCISCO (AP) — State regulators are seeking $24.3 million in penalties from California’s largest utility for failing to maintain accurate records of its natural gas distribution system. The California Public Utilities Commission said Wednesday that it has already fined Pacific Gas and Electri..
Iowa Board Votes to Allow Pipeline Work to Begin in State
DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) — A Texas company may begin construction on an oil pipeline in areas for which the company has approval but is not under federal jurisdiction, the Iowa Utilities Board said Monday despite opposition from environmental and citizen action organizations and landowners who are suin..
Iowa Board Moves Toward Allowing Pipeline Project to Begin
DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) — The Iowa Utilities Board moved closer Wednesday to allowing a Texas oil pipeline company to begin construction in Iowa in areas for which it has landowner approval and permits, though construction still will have to wait in zones that are under federal jurisdiction. Th..
Baltimore Gas and Electric Accelerates Natural Gas Infrastructure Replacement
Baltimore Gas and Electric (BGE) continues to modernize the natural gas system serving customers in central Maryland, replacing more than 52 miles of gas mains in the first two full years under the company’s Strategic Infrastructure Development and Enhancement (STRIDE) plan. Another 45 miles of gas..
Manufacturers Highlight Importance of Our Nation’s Infrastructure
The National Association of Manufacturers (NAM) is joining other businesses, labor organizations and elected officials across the United States to tell policymakers and citizens to promote the need for more investment. Strong, resilient infrastructure is critical to our country’s economic growth and..
Cradle Boring Makes A Comeback
Installing pipeline across the United States, once a booming business in the 1960s, slowed in the late 80s and 90s. Today, thanks to the discovery of shale oil and gas, it’s back – and so is the cradle boring machine. In fact, there has been a dramatic increase in pipeline projects worldwide in rec..
Uniform Soil Groups For Pipe Installation
By Amster Howard, P.E. The language in pipe installation specifications should be as clear, concise and consistent as possible. The engineer often relies on American Water Works Association (AWWA) and American Standards of Testing and Measurement (ASTM) standards and manuals to prepare the project ..
Pad Your Trench or Haul Material with Ozzie's Mini-padder
With Ozzie’s Mini-padder, you can pad and backfill your trench or haul and/or handle material with a loader bucket, all with one machine. This mini-padding machine features a quick-connect padding head system that allows it to be quickly converted from a padding machine to a track-powered loader. O..
New Pipeline Safety Proposal Contains Multiple New Requirements
Pipeline industry executives are pouring over the 500-plus page pipeline safety proposal from the Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration (PHMSA), an effort that will take some time before informed comments can be made. The initial comment deadline is at the end of May. “The typical 6..
DTE Announces Plans to Invest $1.4 Billion In Natural Gas Pipeline Infrastructure
Over the next five years, DTE Gas plans to invest $1.4 billion into its Michigan natural gas pipeline infrastructure in an effort to maintain the safety and reliability of the system, while simultaneously striving to achieve affordability for its residential and business customers. The plans includ..
Natural Gas Pipeline Explodes, Burns Man at Nearby Home
A natural gas explosion at a Pennsylvania pipeline complex sent flames hundreds of feet into the air on Friday and burned a nearby home, injuring the man who lived there, officials said. The state Department of Environmental Protection said the blast was traced to a 36-inch pipeline, which exploded..
Thieves in Mexico Build Tunnel, Steal Fuel
As reported by The Associated Press, authorities in central Mexico discovered thieves constructed a tunnel and camouflaged trucks aiming to steal and transport fuel from government pipelines. Police found the tunnel in the state of Guanajuato, earlier this month. This is not a new problem; thousands..
Registration Opens For UESI/ASCE Pipelines 2016 Conference
The American Society of Civil Engineers’ newest institute, the Underground Engineering & Surveying Institute (UESI), will hold its annual Pipelines Conference in Kansas City, MO, from July 17 -20. This year’s conference is appropriately titled “Out of Sight, Out of Mind, Not Out Of Risk.” The Pipel..
Property Values Unaffected By Presence Of Pipelines, New Report Finds
The presence of an underground natural gas transmission pipeline does not affect the sales prices or value of residential properties, according to a new study, Pipeline Impact to Property Value and Property Insurability, conducted by Integra Realty Resources (IRR) on behalf of the Interstate Natural..
U.S., Canada to Require $546 Billion in Gas, Oil, and NGL Infrastructure Investment
WASHINGTON—The United States and Canada will require annual average midstream natural gas, crude oil and natural gas liquids midstream infrastructure investment of about $26 billion per year, or $546 billion (real 2015$) total over the 21-year period from 2015 to 2035, a new study finds. Th..
Flint Crisis Stirring Possible Congressional Action
The efforts in the Senate to address water infrastructure funding needs in the wake of the Flint crisis appear to have born their first fruits. At the end of February, Sen. James Inhofe (R-OK), chairman of the Environment and Public Works Committee, announced an agreement with Sen. Debbie Stabenow (..
INGAA, CEPA Boards Vote To Certify Pipeline Inspectors By 2018
The board of directors for the Interstate Natural Gas Association of American (INGAA) and INGAA Foundation, along with the Canadian Energy Pipeline Association (CEPA) and the CEPA Foundation, voted to endorse a program tailored to certify pipeline inspectors conducting work for their member companie..
Decision Time for California Governor's Big Water Project
CLARKSBURG, Calif. (AP) — Atop a dirt levee his great-grandfather built in the 1800s to hold back California’s mightiest river, Northern California farmer Russell van Loben Sels looks out over the site of a new water project, one that would be the state’s most ambitious in a half-century. Promoted ..
Iowa Regulators Approve Bakken Pipeline Permit
DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) — The last state permit needed for a pipeline that will carry a half-million barrels of crude oil daily from North Dakota to Illinois was approved Thursday by Iowa utilities regulators, who also gave the Texas-based company authority to use eminent domain for land that property..
Companies Pioneer Pipeline Safety Leadership Program Focused On Accountability, Culture
Caterpillar, in collaboration with PipeLine Machinery International, Inc. (PLM) and an assembly of industry-leading companies, announces the Pipeline Safety Leadership Program, a first-of-its-kind training course specifically targeting pipeliners. The program aims to support the industry as it shift..
Minor Pipeline Provision In House Energy Bill
Federal agencies will have less of a chance to slow down applications for pipeline construction if the Senate passes the energy bill which cleared the House in December. The North American Energy Security and Infrastructure Act of 2015 (H.R. 8) passed the House by a vote of 249-174, which means it h..
Feds Funnel More Money to Eastern New Mexico Pipeline
CLOVIS, N.M. (AP) – The federal government is funneling another $2 million toward a pipeline project aimed at bringing billions of gallons of water a year to parts of eastern New Mexico. Members of the state’s congressional delegation announced the funding from the Bureau of Reclamation on Tuesday...
Plan Could Divert Funds to Help Fund Lake Powell Pipeline
SALT LAKE CITY (AP) — A proposal in the Utah Legislature would greenlight the transfer of nearly $500 million dollars from transportation projects to water projects in a move that could funnel money to the proposed Lake Powell pipeline. The Utah Senate approved the measure on a 19-10 vote Friday, a..
Underground Construction Initiatives Highlight 2016 DC Docket
by Stephen Barlas Washington Editor Amendment Would Allow Tax-Exempt Bonds For WIFIA loans There are a couple of major underground construction initiatives circulating in Congress and regulatory agencies this year. But the prospect of an upcoming presidential election means that many bills, which ..
- 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