Regulatory
Officials Delay Hearings on Thornton Water Pipeline Project
FORT COLLINS, Colo. (AP) — County officials have delayed public hearings after requesting additional information on a pipeline project that would transport water from a northern Colorado river to a Denver suburb. The Fort Collins Coloradoan reports Larimer County officials requested additional mate..
FERC Approves PennEast Pipeline
The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) today issued an Order under section 7(c) of the Natural Gas Act approving the construction of the PennEast Pipeline. The approval comes two weeks after a severe regional cold spell that forced natural gas prices in New Jersey to skyrocket 31 times abo..
Virginia Lawmakers Propose Major Electric Rate Regulation Overhaul
RICHMOND, Va. (AP) — New utility-backed legislation in Virginia would mean lower monthly bills in the short term but would still allow electric monopolies to charge rates that currently produce excessive yearly profits of hundreds of millions of dollars. A bipartisan group of lawmakers introduced a..
Environmental Groups Challenge Key Approval for the Atlantic Coast Pipeline
RICHMOND, Va. (AP) — A coalition of community and environmental groups has filed a legal challenge to Virginia regulators’ decision to grant a conditional water quality permit for the proposed Atlantic Coast Pipeline. The groups filed a petition Thursday with the 4th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals i..
Vermont Officials Urge Residents to Check Well Water After Floods
BURLINGTON, Vt. (AP) — Vermont health officials are warning residents about possible water contamination following flooding in the region. The state health department tells WCAX-TV residents using private wells should monitor their water quality. Health officials say standing water from flood..
Water Quality Initiative Announced for Minnesota Watershed
ST. PAUL, Minn. (AP) — The Minnesota Department of Agriculture has announced a public-private partnership to help improve water quality and fight flooding in the Cedar River watershed in southern Minnesota. It’s a collaboration among the department and CFS Cooperative, Land O’Lakes, Hormel Foods, t..
South Carolina Regulators Reviewing Farms Water Use
LEXINGTON, S.C. (AP) – Environmental officials in South Carolina are worried about how much water large farms are using. The State newspaper reported the Department of Health and Environmental Control is looking to limit the amount of water that is removed from groundwater tables in Lexington and s..
Legislative Deal Reached in Washington Water Dispute that Stalled New Construction
SEATTLE (AP) — Top state lawmakers have reached a deal on a rural water dispute that has held up approval of more than $4 billion in new school and other construction projects for months, officials said Thursday. Rep. Larry Springer, a Kirkland Democrat, said that top Republican and Democratic lead..
Milwaukee Ends Contracts with Sewer Contractor After Racist Displays
MILWAUKEE (AP) — Milwaukee officials are terminating two contracts with a construction company whose employees were photographed displaying a Ku Klux Klan sticker and openly brandishing firearms in a majority black neighborhood. The Milwaukee Common Council passed a resolution Wednesday that ends t..
Navy to Pay for Water-Filter System for Washington Town
COUPEVILLE, Wash. (AP) — The U.S. Navy will pay for a filter system to protect a Washington town’s water supply from chemicals found in firefighting foam used at a nearby airstrip. The Seattle Times reports the initiative is part of a broader Defense Department nationwide effort to track pollution ..
US Withholds Hurricane Emergency Loan Sought by Puerto Rico
SAN JUAN, Puerto Rico (AP) — A billion-dollar emergency loan approved by Congress to help Puerto Rico deal with the effects of Hurricane Maria has been temporarily withheld by federal officials who say the U.S. territory is not facing a cash shortage like it has repeatedly warned about in recent mon..
$3.7 Million Awarded for Sewer, Water Projects in Ohio
The Ohio EPA has awarded approximately $3.7 million in low-interest loans to improve sewer and water systems across the state. The projects receiving funding include: $2.37 million to the City of Marion to reduce combined sewer overflows and improve water quality in the Little Scioto River. The ..
Pennsylvania Water Treatment Operator Agrees to Surrender Certifications
The Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) announced today it has entered into a consent order and agreement with J. Robert DeSandis of Clarks Summit, Lackawanna County to surrender his operator certifications as a Water and Wastewater Systems Operator. DeSandis has admitted to su..
FERC Approves Avista, Hydro One Merger
Hydro One Limited and Avista Corporation have received approval from the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) on the companies’ merger application filed on Sept. 14, 2017. “This marks another important milestone in bringing together Hydro One and Avista,” said Mayo Schmidt, President and CEO..
California Governor Proposes One-Tunnel Water Plan
SAN FRANCISCO (AP) — Gov. Jerry Brown’s administration is scaling back his troubled plans to redo California’s water system, releasing a new proposal that would build only one tunnel to ship water from Northern California instead of two, and put Southern and central California water agencies directl..
10 Massachusetts Communities Share Water Grants
BOSTON (AP) — Ten Massachusetts communities are sharing nearly $400,000 in state grants to improve drinking water or improve wastewater treatment facilities. The grants administered by the Massachusetts Department of Environmental Protection were announced last week. Department Commissioner Martin..
Future Floods to be in Mind as California Town Rebuilds
MONTECITO, Calif. (AP) — After power and drinking water return, and cleanup crews haul away the last of the boulders and muck that splintered homes like a battering ram, the wealthy seaside hideaway of Montecito, California, will start rebuilding with the possibility of another catastrophic flood in..
Pennsylvania DEP to Take Over Allegheny County Drinking Water Inspections
The Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) and Allegheny County Health Department (ACHD) announced that effective Feb. 1, 2018, DEP’s safe drinking water program will resume inspection responsibilities for the 66 public drinking water systems in Allegheny County. Since the mid-19..
Federal Regulators Deny Constitution Pipeline Water Permit Petition
On Jan. 11, 2018, the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) denied Constitution Pipeline Co. LLC’s petition to overturn New York’s denial of a water quality certification for the Constitution Pipeline, an approximately 125-mile natural gas pipeline that will connect Susquehanna County, Pennsyl..
Residents with Tainted Water Supplies Plan Statehouse Rally
ALBANY, N.Y. (AP) — Residents of an upstate New York village whose water supply has been contaminated plan to hold a demonstration in Albany to call for a new source of clean drinking water. Organizers say many Hoosick Falls residents will be joined by union members and environmental protection adv..
Ohio Water Projects Receive $2.2 Million
The Ohio EPA has awarded approximately $2.2 million in low-interest loans to improve two water systems across the state. The projects receiving funding include: $20,170 to the City of Toronto to develop an asset management plan for the city’s public drinking water system. Once completed, the ass..
$22 Million Awarded for Sewer, Water Projects Across Texas
The Texas Water Development Board (TWDB) today approved more than $22 million from the Drinking Water State Revolving Fund and Clean Water State Revolving Fund for the following construction projects: $16.71 million to the city of Princeton, which includes installing 1,000 linear feet of pipeline..
Indiana Water Well Field Proposed as EPA Cleanup Priority
ANDERSON, Ind. (AP) — Federal officials are considering adding a well field in central Indiana to the national Superfund list for cleanup. The Indiana Department of Environmental Management referred the Wheeler well field in Anderson to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency for long-term cleanup..
New York Village Votes to Sue over Tainted Drinking Water
HOOSICK FALLS, N.Y. (AP) — Officials in an upstate New York village have voted to sue two companies for costs related to tainted drinking water. An attorney for Hoosick Falls says the village voted Tuesday to sue Saint-Gobain Performance Plastics and Honeywell International after failed negotiation..
$4.5 Million Awarded for Ohio Water Projects
The Ohio EPA has awarded $4.5 million in low-interest loans to improve two water systems across the state. The projects receiving funding include: $1.86 million to the Greater Cincinnati Water Works to replace the Beech Avenue water main. The project includes replacing more than 9,000 feet of 6-..
Michigan Sues Company over Chemical Contaminants in Water
LANSING, Mich. (AP) — Michigan environmental regulators on Wednesday sued footwear company Wolverine World Wide over widely used industrial chemical contaminants that were dumped into the ground decades ago and have seeped into drinking water, saying the lawsuit is necessary to lock into place respo..
Funding for Sewer, Water Projects Hangs in Balance of Washington State Budget
OLYMPIA (AP)— About $4 billion in new school construction and other projects throughout the state remain on hold six months after a water-related dispute stalled passage of the state’s two-year construction budget. Lawmakers have been working on a compromise. But top Republican and Democratic leade..
Contractor Charged With Felony for Death in Trench Collapse
SEATTLE (AP) — A Seattle contractor has been charged with second-degree manslaughter in the death of an employee who was killed when a sewer trench collapsed in 2016. The Seattle Times reports Philip Numrich allegedly violated and ignored safety regulations, leading to the collapse of the trench at..
Michigan Sets Standard for Chemical Contaminant in Water
LANSING, Mich. (AP) — Michigan regulators on Tuesday set a state threshold for chemicals that were once widely used and are being found in drinking water, a move they said will let them issue violation notices and take legal action if needed. The announcement is the latest as Republican Gov. Rick S..
President Trump Signs Orders to Improve Rural Broadband
President Donald J. Trump has signed an executive order and presidential memorandum designed to enhance internet speeds in rural communities across America. According to the executive order, agencies must remove barriers to capital investment and providing broadband services to those in rural commu..
- 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