Regulatory
Flint Council Approves Short-Term Deal for Drinking Water
FLINT, Mich. (AP) — The City Council in Flint, Michigan has voted to extend a short-term contract for drinking water after requesting more time to comply with a federal judge’s order to choose a long-term water source. The council voted Monday night to approve a two-year contract with the Great Lak..
$22 Million Awarded for Water, Sewer Projects in New York's Finger Lakes Region
New York Governor Andrew M. Cuomo has announced over $22 million in grants to support 21 essential drinking water and wastewater infrastructure projects in the Finger Lakes region, including upgrades and replacements for drinking water systems, filtration plants and water mains, and the constructi..
Pennsylvania DEP Fines Ohio Lab for Water Testing Violations
The Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) collected a $220,000 penalty from Summit Labs in Cuyahoga Falls, Ohio, for violations related to testing drinking water samples and failure to notify DEP and public water suppliers in cases of MCL exceedances, among others. “We rely on a..
Flint City Council Seeks More Time to Choose Water Source
FLINT, Mich. (AP) — The City Council in Flint, Michigan, is asking a federal judge for more time to choose a long-term source of drinking water in the wake of the city’s lead-tainted water crisis. The request was made in a Sunday court filing. Gov. Rick Snyder’s administration sued Flint to force t..
PSC No Longer Copied on Boil Water Advisories in Kentucky
FRANKFORT, Ky. (AP) — Utility regulators in Kentucky say water utilities are no longer required to send copies of “boil water” advisories to the state Public Service Commission. The PSC says it will now be informed of such advisories through a daily report from the Kentucky Division of Water...
More Rover Pipeline HDD Activities Can Resume
FERC has approved Energy Transfer Partners request to resume horizontal directional drilling (HDD) activities at the following locations along the Rover Pipeline Project: Black Fork Mohican, between mileposts 95.59 and 95.97 Highway 42, between milepost 94.43 and 94.68 According to FERC’s J. ..
Rhode Island Community With Chemicals in Drinking Water to Get Update
BURRILLVILLE, R.I. (AP) — Rhode Island officials will be holding another community meeting in Burrillville, after chemicals were detected in the drinking water. The Health Department and Department of Environmental Management are set to hold a meeting Monday evening at Burrillville Middle Sch..
Arizona Supreme Court Rejects Bid to Reverse Electric Hike
PHOENIX (AP) — The Arizona Supreme Court rejected a bid by a utility regulator to reverse a monthly electric rate hike for customers of the Arizona Public Service Co. The Arizona Republic reports that the court on Monday declined to accept jurisdiction for the matter, and it did not provide reasoni..
Oklahoma Audit Says $1.7 Million in Utility Revenue Never Deposited
OKLAHOMA CITY (AP) — Oklahoma’s top auditor says the FBI and the Oklahoma Attorney General’s Office are interested in a critical audit that indicates more than $1.7 million in utility revenue collected by a small southeastern Oklahoma city was never deposited. State Auditor & Inspector Gary J..
Michigan to Test Water Near Combat Center for Contamination
ALPENA, Mich. (AP) — The Michigan Department of Environmental Quality will soon begin testing about 150 residential water wells near a combat training center for possible contamination. The department and the Michigan National Guard released information at a public meeting Wednesday on the newly di..
Protesters Shut Down Pipeline Construction Project Hearing
DULUTH, Minn. (AP) — Protesters cut short a hearing in Duluth on Enbridge Energy’s proposal to replace its aging Line 3 crude oil pipeline across northern Minnesota. Wednesday’s hearing was one of several for the public to comment on whether the state Public Utilities Commission should approve the ..
Newest Member of Arizona Utility Regulator Takes Office Monday
PHOENIX (AP) — The newest member of the state commission that regulates utilities takes office Monday. A swearing-in ceremony for former state Rep. Justin Olson is scheduled before the commission holds a regular monthly meeting in its offices in Phoenix. Gov. Doug Ducey appointed Olsen to fill the..
Utah Group Seeks State Audit of Water Pipeline Project
SALT LAKE CITY (AP) — A water advocacy group has asked Utah State Auditor John Dougall to look into possible discrepancies in water-use data sent to state and federal regulators by backers of the proposal to build the Lake Powell Pipeline. The Salt Lake Tribune reports the Utah Rivers Council sent ..
District OKs Smaller Version of California Water Tunnel Plan
SAN JOSE, Calif. (AP) — A Northern California water agency has voted for a stripped down, less costly version of Gov. Jerry Brown’s $16 billion project to build two massive water tunnels under the Sacramento-San Joaquin River Delta. The Santa Clara Valley Water District’s board voted 7-0 Tuesday to..
Pipeline Protest Charges Dismissed Against Journalist
BISMARCK, N.D. (AP) — Obstruction and disorderly conduct charges have been dismissed against a photo journalist covering the Dakota Access Pipeline protest last year. Sara Lafleur-Vetter was working for The Guardian, a London-based news outlet, when she was arrested Oct. 22 with 140 other peo..
Kinder Morgan Warns About Trans Mountain Delays
Kinder Morgan has warned that its Trans Mountain oil pipeline expansion project is facing possibly months of delays because of the timing of permit issuance and other regulatory approvals. The delay could be as long as nine months, Kinder Morgan’s chief executive Steven Kean said in a recent confer..
Judge to Hear Arguments on Tribe’s Pipeline Contingency Plan
BISMARCK, N.D. (AP) — A federal judge in Washington, D.C., will accept arguments over the next month on whether the developer of the Dakota Access pipeline must stage equipment near an American Indian reservation in southern North Dakota to respond to any oil spill under the Missouri River. The ide..
Connecticut Regulators Investigating Gas Utilities for Withholding Pipeline Capacity
NEW HAVEN, Conn. (AP) — Connecticut officials have launched an investigation into allegations of market power abuse by two of the state’s largest energy providers. The Office of Consumer Counsel says the investigation began after university researchers claimed Eversource and Avangrid companies inte..
New Mexico Land Official Sued over Water Policy
LOVINGTON, N.M. (AP) — Two southeastern New Mexico companies are suing Land Commissioner Aubrey Dunn over a policy that governs how much water oil and gas producers can pump from a regional aquifer for their operations. Loco Hills Water Solutions, LLC and Steve Carter, Inc. argue that Dunn has over..
Delaware Town Loses Building Permit Fee Case to Sewer and Water Company
DOVER, Del. (AP) – A judge has ruled that a central Delaware town cannot collect $27,000 from a local water and sewer authority as a building permit fee for a million-gallon water storage tank. The judge ruled Monday that the purported building fee demanded by the town of Camden is actually a tax, ..
Arizona Governor Appoints Former Lawmaker to Utility Regulatory Panel
PHOENIX (AP) — Gov. Doug Ducey has appointed a former Republican lawmaker to an open seat on the state commission that regulates utilities. Ducey on Tuesday named Justin Olson to the seat vacated by Doug Little. Little stepped last month down to take a job with the U.S. Department of Energy. Olson..
Judge Tells Flint to Pick Water Source
DETROIT (AP) — A judge on Tuesday ordered Flint, Michigan, to choose a long-term source of drinking water by next week, saying the City Council so far is showing a “breathtaking” lack of leadership. Gov. Rick Snyder’s administration sued Flint to force the council to approve a 30-year deal with the..
Colorado Proposes New Rules for Oil-Gas Lines After Blast
DENVER (AP) — Colorado energy regulators on Monday proposed tighter rules for shutting down oil and gas pipelines after a fatal explosion blamed on natural gas leaking from a line that was thought to be out of service but was still connected to a well. The Colorado Oil and Gas Conservation Commissi..
Public Meetings Set on Montana Utility's Proposed Gas Rate Increase
BISMARCK, N.D. (AP) — North Dakota regulators have scheduled public meetings on a request by Montana Dakota Utilities to raise its natural gas rates. The proposed increase is for $5.9 million annually over current rates, or a 5.4 percent overall increase. The average residential customer would see ..
Enbridge Receives Presidential Permit for Line 67 Pipeline
The U.S. Department of State has granted a presidential permit to Enbridge Energy, L.P., authorizing the company to increase transport up to a full design capacity of approximately 890,000 barrels per day of crude oil and other hydrocarbons across a three-mile segment of the Line 67 Pipeline at the ..
Customers Against Indiana Michigan Power Rate Hike
FORT WAYNE, Ind. (AP) — Indiana residents say they can’t afford Indiana Michigan Power’s proposed 20 percent rate hike increase, which would be used to improve the utility’s electric distribution system in Indiana. Customers would see an estimated $26 monthly increase, which could go into effect ..
Cadiz Water Project Approved by Federal Regulators
The United States Bureau of Land Management (BLM) has issued a letter to Cadiz Inc., the Santa Margarita Water District and the Arizona & California Railroad (ARZC), authorizing the use of the existing ARZC right-of-way to construct a pipeline and related railroad improvements as part of the Cadiz W..
Middlesex Water Company Files Rate Request Seeking Recovery for System Upgrades
Middlesex Water Company has filed a petition with the New Jersey Board of Public Utilities (NJBPU) for a general increase in water rates for its Middlesex system in New Jersey. Middlesex filed the request seeking recovery of $92 million in investments made to its drinking water infrastructure since..
Contentious Town Sewer Plan to Be Put on Hold
COVENTRY, R.I. (AP) — Officials in a Rhode Island town are planning to put a sewer plan on hold after angry residents complained about high assessment costs. The Providence Journal reports Coventry Town Manager Graham Waters said he will ask the Town Council Friday to halt new projects while he rev..
Judge Approves $1.6 Billion Plan to Repair Baltimore Sewers
BALTIMORE (AP) — A federal judge has approved a $1.6 billion plan to repair Baltimore’s aged sewer system and stop wastewater from leaking into the Inner Harbor. The consent agreement with the Environmental Protection Agency comes after years of negotiations between the city and regulators wh..
- 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