Regulatory
Spending Bill Rejects Trump Effort to Gut Water Cleanups
TRAVERSE CITY, Mich. (AP) — President Donald Trump has gotten nowhere in his push to kill federal support for cleaning up some of the nation’s most prized waterways, as the U.S. House decided Thursday to keep funding at current levels — and in some cases, boost it. A $1.3 trillion spending package ..
UN Chief: Global Water Crisis has Widespread Impact
UNITED NATIONS (AP) — Secretary-General Antonio Guterres said on World Water Day that over 2 billion people lack access to safe water. The U.N. chief told diplomats and activists at Thursday’s launch of the International Decade for Action on Water for Sustainable Development that “water is a ..
Algae Leads to 'Impaired' Designation for Western Lake Erie
TOLEDO, Ohio (AP) — Ohio for the first time is designating the entire western end of Lake Erie as an impaired waterway because of the toxic algae that has fouled drinking water and closed beaches in recent years, officials said Thursday. The shallowest of the Great Lakes has seen its largest ..
IEEE Publishes 25 Gb/s Ethernet Standard for Enhanced Enterprise and Metro Network Applications Over Fiber
IEEE today announced it has published IEEE 802.3cc-2017—Standard for Ethernet Amendment: Physical Layer and Management Parameters for Serial 25 Gb/s Ethernet Operation Over Single-Mode Fiber. The new amendment to IEEE 802.3™ represents the first available industry standard developed specifically to ..
Residents near Harvey-Damaged Chemical Plant Wary of Water
CROSBY, Texas (AP) — The skeleton crew at Arkema’s chemical plant knew it was time to go by the morning of Aug. 29. Flooding from Hurricane Harvey had knocked out power. Thousands of gallons of chemical-laden water had spilled into the floodwaters. Soon, the company’s stores of volatile organic per..
Future Uncertain for Kentucky Broadband Network
FRANKFORT, Ky. (AP) — Frustrated with repeated delays costing taxpayers millions of dollars, the Kentucky Senate has voted to effectively end a project that would bring high-speed internet capability to one of the poorest states in the country. But officials in Republican Gov. Matt Bevin’s administ..
$32 Million Awarded for Texas Sewer, Water Projects
The Texas Water Development Board (TWDB) today approved more than $32 million in financial assistance from the Drinking Water State Revolving Fund and the Clean Water State Revolving Fund for the following pipeline construction projects: $17.03 million from the Clean Water State Revolving Fund to..
Georgia Public Service Commission OK's Dominion Energy, SCANA Merger
The Georgia Public Service Commission has unanimously approved the merger of Dominion Energy, Inc. and SCANA Corporation, becoming the first state regulatory agency to act on the proposed merger. “We greatly appreciate the prompt action by Chairman McDonald and the other commissioners i..
Judge Lifts Restraining Order Against Pipeline Protesters
UNION, W.Va. (AP) — A judge has lifted the restraining order against natural gas pipeline protesters sitting in trees in West Virginia. News outlets report Judge Robert Irons denied the injunction, reversing course less than two weeks after granting Mountain Valley Pipeline a 10-day restraining ord..
Leading California Business Associations Back Cadiz Water Project
Cadiz Inc. today announced a diverse group of leading business associations in California, including the Valley Industry Commerce Association (VICA), League of United Latin American Citizens (LULAC) California, Greater Los Angeles African American Chamber of Commerce, Greater Riverside Hispanic Cham..
Water Quality, Policy Meeting to be Held in Pennsylvania
On Tuesday, March 27, 2018, the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) and Pennsylvania Sea Grant will host a meeting of the PA Lake Erie Environmental Forum. The meeting will be held at the Erie County Conservation District office from 1:00 PM until 4:00 PM. At the meeting, Vict..
Report: North Carolina Cities Need Powers to Aid Broadband
RALEIGH, N.C. (AP) — The association representing North Carolina’s cities and towns says new legislation is needed to develop partnerships between local governments and private broadband providers so areas still lacking high-speed internet are covered. The North Carolina League of Municipalities re..
Chemical Company Agrees to Provide Safe Drinking Water
CONCORD, N.H. (AP) — A plastics company believed to be the source of tainted groundwater in several New Hampshire communities has agreed to provide more than 300 homes with safe drinking water. The New Hampshire Department of Environmental Services and Saint-Gobain Performance Plastics reached an a..
Indiana House Member Picked for State Utility Commission
INDIANAPOLIS (AP) — The Indiana House utility committee chairman will be leaving the Legislature for a seat on the Indiana Utility Regulatory Commission that oversees most of the state’s electricity and natural gas companies. Republican Gov. Eric Holcomb picked GOP Rep. David Ober of Albion as his ..
NASSCO Names Joy Executive Director
After an extensive, nationwide search, the Executive Board of the National Association of Sewer Service Companies (NASSCO) today announced the appointment of Sheila Joy as Executive Director, effective April 2, 2018. Joy will report to NASSCO’s Board of Directors and lead NASSCO in its ongoing missi..
American Water Partners with EPA to Promote Fix a Leak Week
American Water and its subsidiaries today announced a partnership with the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to promote Fix a Leak Week, which runs from March 19-25. The national campaign, part of the EPA’s WaterSense program, helps to raise awareness about small leaks and what homeowners c..
Platte River Diversion Plan Reaches Lincoln
SMITHFIELD, Neb. (AP) — The first transfer of water from one river in Nebraska to another could be just over the horizon under a proposal that finally floated its way to Lincoln. Or this historic trans-basin diversion from the Platte River to the Republican River could join the list of similar sche..
Grand Canyon Pipeline Breaks Prompt More Steps to Save Water
GRAND CANYON NATIONAL PARK, Ariz. (AP) — Grand Canyon National Park is implementing more stringent water use restrictions and conservation measures due to a series of breaks in the pipeline that supplies the South Rim. Park officials say the park will remain in conservation mode until water in stor..
New Pipeline Regulations Approved in Virginia
Virginia Governor Ralph Northam today approved additional powers to expand the state’s ability to protect clean water during the building of pipelines. SB698 and SB699 establish processes in state law to allow the Virginia Department of Environmental Quality (DEQ) to issue a stop work order on all o..
ETP Mariner East Liquids Pipe Spills Fluid in Pennsylvania Again
(Reuters) – Pennsylvania environmental regulators on Friday issued another notice of violation to Energy Transfer Partners LP’s Sunoco Mariner East 2 natural gas liquids pipeline for releasing drilling fluids into a stream. The company told the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection (D..
Atlantic Coast Pipeline Developer Cited for Tree-Felling Violations in Virginia
The Virginia Department of Environmental Quality (DEQ) today issued a Notice of Violation (NOV) to Atlantic Coast Pipeline, LLC (ACP) for failing to maintain adequate limits of disturbance during tree felling operations in violation of Virginia’s State Water Control Law. These limits forbid work wit..
Kentucky Regulators OK Hike for Troubled Water District
FRANKFORT, Ky. (AP) — An emergency rate increase for a Kentucky water district that is on the brink of collapse has been approved by state regulators. The Kentucky Public Service Commission on Friday granted Martin County Water an annual revenue increase of about 26.5 percent. The commission said t..
Pennsylvania Regulators to Hold Water Contamination Hearing
The Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) today announced it will hold a public hearing on March 26, 2018, to solicit comments concerning the investigation into water contamination in private water wells in Lycoming County. According to the DEP, six homes were found to have wate..
Columbia Gas of Pennsylvania Files to Recover Investment in Replacing and Upgrading Aging Infrastructure
Columbia Gas of Pennsylvania, Inc., a subsidiary of NiSource Inc., filed a request today with the Pennsylvania Public Utility Commission (PUC) to adjust its base rates for distribution service so it can continue to upgrade and replace the company’s underground natural gas distribution pipelines...
Kentucky Utility Fined $395,000 for 2014 Gas Line Rupture
The Kentucky Public Service Commission (PSC) has fined Louisville Gas and Electric Co. (LG&E) $395,000 for a series of violations that led to the September 2014 rupture of a high-pressure natural gas pipeline in Goshen, Oldham County. The penalty is the largest ever assessed by the PSC in a n..
Hydro One and Avista Reach Settlement in Principle in Washington Merger Case
Hydro One Limited and Avista Corporation today announced they have filed a Notification of a settlement with the Washington Utilities and Transportation Commission (WUTC), with a settlement agreement between all parties involved to be filed no later than March 27, 2018. The settlement in principle..
Atlantic Coast Pipeline Developers Seek More Time for Tree Clearing
RICHMOND, Va. (AP) — Developers of the proposed Atlantic Coast Pipeline say they need more time to cut down trees along the project’s route and likely won’t make the initial deadline designed to protect migrating birds and endangered or threatened bats. Dominion Energy made the request to federal r..
Maryland Natural Gas Pipeline Receives Permit
ANNAPOLIS, Md. (AP) — Maryland issued a permit Friday for a proposed natural gas pipeline in western Maryland that has brought protesters to the state capital. The wetlands and waterways permit for the proposed Columbia Gas pipeline includes customized conditions specific to the project and its loc..
6 Months After Hurricane Maria, Puerto Rico Pleads for Help
COROZAL, Puerto Rico (AP) — Hurricane Maria shredded the electric poles in this plantain farming town high in the mountains of central Puerto Rico, leaving tens of thousands of people without power or running water. Desperate, residents of the town’s Barrio Mana neighborhood asked federal officials ..
Required Training for Water District Boards Revamped in Kentucky
The Kentucky Public Service Commission (PSC) today announced newly appointed water district commissioners now will be required to receive training in key areas only through courses offered directly by the commission. According to the PSC, more consistent and rigorous training for new commissioners ..
- 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