Regulatory
New Pipeline Regulation Announced in Canada
The National Energy Board (NEB) in Canada has finalized an Order that requires all regulated companies to report any identified pipe or components – received, installed, or in service – that do not meet mechanical properties identified in industry standards or company specifications. This Order bui..
3M, Minnesota Settle Lawsuit, Establish Environmental Partnership
3M and the State of Minnesota today announced they have reached a resolution concerning the state’s lawsuit against the company related to certain PFCs present in the environment. Under the terms of the settlement, 3M and the state will partner to invest in the environment and community. 3M will pr..
Design Contract Awarded for Project to Minimize Flood Risk in Connecticut Town
WSP, Arcadis, Waggonner & Ball, and the Yale Urban Design Workshop have been awarded a contract to design resilience measures to minimize flood risk and account for sea level rise affecting Bridgeport, Connecticut’s South End businesses and residents. The project, one of 13 awarded by the U.S. Depar..
$42 Million Sewer Upgrade Completed to Keep Trash and Debris out of New York City Creek
New York City Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) Commissioner Vincent Sapienza today announced the completion of a $42 million project to build four subsurface litter capture devices that will improve the health and aesthetics of Newtown Creek. The in-sewer control devices include fixed ba..
Colorado’s Top Oil, Gas Regulator Joining Energy Consultancy
DENVER (AP) — Colorado’s top oil and gas regulator is stepping down to take a job with an energy consulting company. The Oil and Gas Conservation Commission said Tuesday Director Matt Lepore is resigning on March 4 after more than five years in the job. He’ll become legal counsel and strategic adv..
$5 Billion Case over 3M Chemicals Halted in Minnesota
MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — A judge halted jury selection Tuesday in the trial of Minnesota’s $5 billion lawsuit against manufacturer 3M Co., and both sides planned an afternoon announcement signaling a possible settlement. The lawsuit, filed in 2010, focuses on the company’s disposal of chemicals once used..
Judge Stops Village from Cutting Water to Mobile Home Park
MALVERN, Ohio (AP) — A judge has issued a temporary restraining order to stop an Ohio village from cutting off water to residents of a mobile home park. The Canton Repository reports the village of Malvern was about to stop water service at Sandy Creek Estates Mobile Home Park because those respons..
Navy to Hold Public Meeting in North Carolina Concerning Water Testing Plans
ATLANTIC, N.C. (AP) — The Navy is holding a public meeting this week on its cautionary water testing procedure in a town where two contaminated drinking wells have been discovered. The Daily News of Jacksonville reports the meeting will be held Wednesday at Atlantic Elementary School, where the Nav..
Judge Refuses to Delay Hearing on Pipeline Land Acquisition
HARRISONBURG, Va. (AP) — A federal judge has refused to postpone a hearing in a lawsuit brought by developers seeking possession of land in several Virginia counties for a controversial pipeline project. Atlantic Coast Pipeline is seeking possession of several properties in Augusta, Bath, Buckingha..
$50M Massachusetts Sewer Project to Benefit Connecticut River
SPRINGFIELD, Mass. (AP) — The Springfield Water and Sewer Commission has qualified for a $50 million low-interest loan that could help the Connecticut River run cleaner. The money, in the form of loans at 2 percent interest, will be used to upgrade sewer facilities and dramatically reduce occasiona..
West Virginia Jury Sides with Contractor in Sewer Dispute
CHARLESTON, W.Va. (AP) — A West Virginia jury has ruled that the Charleston Sanitary Board must pay an Upshur County contractor more than $1 million for breaching its contract with the firm. The Charleston Gazette-Mail reports the jury recently awarded J.F. Allen Corporation $1.3 million in damages..
Installation of New Transmission Cables Beneath Lake Champlain Completed
New York Governor Andrew M. Cuomo today announced the completion and energization of a $68.7 million major power system infrastructure project involving the placement of new underwater transmission cables, spanning 1.7 miles, across Lake Champlain. The new power cables, laid as much as 195 feet belo..
Nexus Gas Transmission HDD Activities Get Green Light
FERC has approved Enbridge’s request to move forward with construction at the following eleven horizontal directional drill (HDD) locations associated with the Nexus Gas Transmission Project: • Wetland (milepost 7.84 – 8.40) • Nimisila Reservoir (milepost 40.87 – 41.20) • East Branch Black River ..
Florida Utility Wants to Buy South Carolina-Owned Utility
COLUMBIA, S.C. (AP) — A Florida power company is suggesting it might buy a South Carolina state-owned utility for nearly $16 billion. Media outlets reported that NextEra Energy is one of several groups interested in buying Santee Cooper after the state-owned utility and South Carolina Electric & Ga..
Water Use Climbs in California Enclaves as Drought Returns
TUSTIN, Calif. (AP) — Overall water use is climbing in Southern California as that part of the state plunges back into drought, driving state and regional water managers as they consider permanently reinstating some watering bans and conservation programs. Gov. Jerry Brown lifted California’s droug..
HDD Activities Can Resume at One Mariner East 2 Site
The Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) today announced that Energy Transfer Partners (ETP) has satisfied requirements under the July 24, 2017 Consent Order and Agreement (COA), which suspended horizontal direction drilling at Shoen Road Drill 360 (Shoen Road drill) as part of ..
Maryland Official Weighs Special Conditions on Natural Gas Pipeline
ANNAPOLIS, Md. (AP) — A Maryland official says special conditions may be justified for a proposed natural gas pipeline, as opponents to the project are set to rally at the governor’s residence. Ben Grumbles, head of the Maryland Department of the Environment, sent a letter Thursday to the U.S. Army..
Nearly $500 Million Awarded for North Texas Water Reservoir
The Texas Water Development Board (TWDB) today approved more than $499 million in financial assistance from the State Water Implementation Fund for Texas (SWIFT) program to the North Texas Municipal Water District (Collin, Dallas, Denton, Ellis, Fannin, Hunt, Kaufman, Rains, and Rockwall counties). ..
More than $13 Million Awarded for Texas Water, Sewer Projects
The Texas Water Development Board (TWDB) today approved more than $13 million in financial assistance from the Drinking Water State Revolving Fund and the Clean Water State Revolving Fund for the following pipeline construction projects: $5.46 million to the city of Arlington. The city will use t..
$75 Million Approved to Replace Septic Systems Across New York
New York Governor Andrew M. Cuomo today announced a comprehensive $75 million program to improve water quality through the targeted replacement of aging septic systems in communities across New York. Through a collaboration between the State Departments of Environmental Conservation (DEC) and Health..
NSF International and National Science Foundation to Host Groundbreaking Water Contamination Conference
NSF International, a global public health and safety organization, today announced it will host the Legionella Conference 2018 – Managing Legionella and Other Pathogens in Building Water Systems on May 9-11, 2018, in Baltimore, Maryland. The three-day conference is sponsored by the National Scie..
Blackeagle Energy Services Receives DCA Safety Award for 2nd Consecutive Year
Blackeagle Energy Services (Blackeagle) has been awarded the Distribution Contractors Association (DCA) Arthur T. Everham Safety Award for the second year in a row. DCA established the award in 1986 to recognize contractors with exceptional safety programs. In 2017, among companies that worked 6..
Water Tunnel Project Moves Forward in New York
The New York City Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) today announced an eight-week shutdown of the tunnel that carries water from Schoharie Reservoir to the Esopus Creek and Ashokan Reservoir. The shutdown, which is scheduled to last from March 1 – April 30, will allow divers to safely ent..
Colorado Petroleum Council Backs New Pipeline Regulations
The Colorado Petroleum Council released a statement supporting the Colorado Oil and Gas Conservation Commission (COGCC) rulemaking that will strengthen flowline regulations and update the 811 “one-call” safety program. The 811 program gives property owners one number to call to notify all utilities ..
North Carolina Republicans Seek Answers About $58M Pipeline Fund
RALEIGH, N.C. (AP) — Former Gov. Pat McCrory and other North Carolina Republicans want more answers about an agreement between Democratic successor Roy Cooper and Atlantic Coast Pipeline builders over a $58 million fund. McCrory has criticized the mitigation fund negotiated between utilities creati..
Virginia House Changes Utility Rewrite Bill to Prevent Double Dipping
RICHMOND, Va. (AP) — Virginia House Democrats and a handful of Republicans have forced a change in a proposed utility-backed rewrite of the state’s electric regulation laws that could save customers billions. The House voted Monday to amend the legislation over the objections of allies of Dominion ..
West Virginia Sewer Project Paused Until EPA Releases Contamination Report
MINDEN, W.Va. (AP) — West Virginia Gov. Jim Justice has paused the construction of a sewer line in the Minden area until a contamination report by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency is released. A statement said Justice made the decision after a meeting Monday between representatives of his a..
Colorado OKs New Rules for Oil, Gas Pipelines After Fatal Blast
DENVER (AP) — Colorado regulators approved new rules for thousands of oil and gas pipelines Tuesday, 10 months after investigators blamed a leaking pipeline for a fatal gas explosion. The regulations set requirements for installing, testing and shutting down flow lines, which carry oil and gas from..
Agencies Praise Trump’s Infrastructure Plan
The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) and the Ductile Iron Pipe Research Association (DIPRA) today issued their support of the Trump administration’s Infrastructure Initiative designed to address the needs of the nation’s aging water infrastructure. According to the USACE, the traditional civil ..
NV5 Global Awarded Stormwater Assessment Contract in New Jersey
NV5 Global, Inc. today announced that it has been awarded a contract with the New Jersey Department of Transportation (NJDOT) to provide identification, assessment and analysis of all NJDOT stormwater basins and roadway drainage outfalls within Region North, an area encompassing eight of New Jersey’..
- PHMSA warns of heat risks in aging plastic gas distribution pipelines following deadly Pennsylvania explosion
- OSHA seeks $1.2 million fine after fatal trench collapse in Connecticut
- Phase 1 Alaska LNG pipeline advances with construction awards, pipe supply agreements
- OSHA issues 16 citations following fatal sewer confined space incident
- Gateway Tunnel construction faces shutdown next week as Trump withholds federal funding
- T-Mobile to expand fiber broadband infrastructure footprint with $4.9 billion Metronet acquisition
- First tunnel boring machines complete testing for Hudson Tunnel Project
- NWPX grows water infrastructure portfolio with Colorado precast facility
- Cityside launches $100 million fiber build in Corona, Calif.
- FiberLight to build 1,400-mile West Texas dark fiber network in $350 million expansion