Regulatory
Imperial Beach Shoreline Closure Lifted After Water Tests
IMPERIAL BEACH, Calif. (AP) — San Diego County authorities have lifted a closure of the Imperial Beach shoreline that was impacted by sewage-contaminated flows from the Tijuana River entering the United States. The Department of Environmental Health announced the action Sunday afternoon following t..
Rural Areas at Risk as Water Levels Drop in Massive Aquifer
DENVER (AP) — The draining of a massive aquifer that underlies portions of eight states in the central U.S. is drying up streams, causing fish to disappear and threatening the livelihood of farmers who rely on it for their crops. Water levels in the Ogallala aquifer have been dropping for decades a..
West Virginia Town, City Share $27M for Water, Sewer Projects
CHARLESTON (AP) — West Virginia’s U.S. senators say two municipalities are sharing almost $27 million in loans and grants from the Department of Agriculture for improving their water and wastewater systems. According to Sens. Shelley Moore Capito and Joe Manchin, the town of Moorefield will g..
Election Could Lead to Long-Term Water Deal for Flint
FLINT, Mich. (AP) — The election of new City Council members might break an impasse and lead to a long-term deal over drinking water in Flint, Michigan. The state has been asking a federal judge to allow Flint’s mayor to bypass the council and approve a 30-year agreement with the Great Lakes Water ..
Dirty Water at Airport Prompts Testing of Neighborhood Wells
FAIRBANKS, Alaska (AP) — Contaminated water has been found at the Fairbanks International Airport, prompting officials to plan tests at private wells in nearby neighborhoods. The Fairbanks Daily News-Miner reports that neighborhood wells will begin to be tested on Monday to see if they are also con..
Wisconsin Assembly to Pass Bill Allowing Lead Pipe Replacement Loans
MADISON, Wis. (AP) — The Wisconsin Assembly is set to send a bill designed to help homeowners pay for replacing lead pipes to Gov. Scott Walker. The bill up for a final vote Thursday allows public water utilities and local governments to provide grants, loans or both to property owners to help them..
Appeals Court Rejects Atlantic Sunrise Pipeline Construction Stay
Williams Partners L.P. today announced that the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia has rejected an emergency motion to stay the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission’s authorization of the company’s Atlantic Sunrise pipeline project, allowing construction to immediately resume. “We a..
Federal Judge Sides with New Mexico Ranchers in Water Case
ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. (AP) — A U.S. court has sided with a New Mexico ranching family in a decades-long battle over access to water on national forest land, providing more certainty that state law allows for the protection of water rights dating back more than a century. The case of the Goss family h..
What A U.S. Electric Grid Attack Looks Like
Modern life has a woven-in thread of vulnerability that is peculiar to our times: electricity. It’s the cardiovascular and nervous system of life across the world, more so in the Internet Age than even 30 years ago. If the nation lost electricity, it would cause an instant and lethal paralysis that..
Michigan Senators Seek Federal Investigation of Pipelines
ST. IGNACE, Mich. (AP) — Michigan’s U.S. senators want federal regulators to determine whether the company operating twin oil pipelines in a crucial Great Lakes waterway has violated safety requirements. Democratic Sens. Debbie Stabenow and Gary Peters asked the Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Saf..
Official: Puerto Rico Needs 'Unprecedented' Federal Help
WASHINGTON (AP) — Puerto Rico has suffered such extensive devastation from Hurricane Maria that its recovery will fail unless the island gets more help from the Trump administration and Congress, the head of a federal control board that oversees Puerto Rico’s finances said Tuesday. Natalie Ja..
Williams Partners Takes Legal Action over Pipeline Construction Stoppage
Williams Partners L.P. today filed a Motion for Clarification of an administrative stay issued yesterday by the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit of the Federal Energy Regulatory Commissions’ authorization of the company’s Atlantic Sunrise natural gas pipeline project. The p..
Foes of Obama Oil and Gas Rule Ask Court to Reconsider Ruling
DENVER (AP) — Opponents of Obama-era oil and gas regulations say a decision by a federal appeals court in Denver could allow those rules to go into effect temporarily, even though the Trump administration plans to revoke them. Four states, two industry groups and a Native American tribe filed docum..
Court Orders Pause in Atlantic Sunrise Pipeline Construction
COLUMBIA, Pa. (AP) — A federal appeals court has temporarily halted construction of a natural gas pipeline in Pennsylvania. LNP reports the U.S. Court of Appeals in Washington, D.C., stopped work on the Atlantic Sunrise pipeline. Environmental groups are asking for a comprehensive environmental re..
Michigan Environmental Agency Gives Deadline for Plume Model
ROCKFORD, Mich. (AP) — The Michigan Department of Environmental Quality has given a shoe manufacturer until later this month to handle the scope of a toxic chemical plume leaking through the groundwater from the company’s landfill. The department sent a letter to Wolverine World Wide on Friday rega..
EPA Head Names Oil and Gas, Utility Executives to Science Advisory Boards
WASHINGTON (AP) — The head of the Environmental Protection Agency has named a slate of new members to federal science advisory boards, including several who work for chemical and fossil-fuel interests. EPA Administrator Scott Pruitt announced his appointments Friday, after saying he would block sci..
Water Woes Bubble Below the Surface in Flint Recall Election
DETROIT (AP) — Karen Weaver was elected mayor of Flint two years ago arguing that her predecessor had bungled the response to the city’s lead-contaminated water crisis. Seventeen other people now believe they can do a better job and are seeking to oust her Tuesday in a recall election. The ballot ..
Key Court Hearing for State Official in Flint Water Scandal
FLINT, Mich. (AP) — Michigan’s chief medical executive is facing the start of an important court hearing tied to a Legionnaires’ disease outbreak during the Flint water crisis. Prosecutors will try to persuade a judge to send Dr. Eden Wells to trial on charges of involuntary manslaughter, obstructi..
White Mountain Apache Ask for Tweak to Allow Water Project
WASHINGTON (AP) — A White Mountain Apache leader told House members Thursday that the tribe desperately needs to “replace the failing and terminal groundwater well system,” but that current Interior Department regulations are preventing the tribe from moving forward on the project. Tribe Vice Cha..
As Election Looms, Michigan Wants Flint Water Deal Soon
FLINT, Mich. (AP) — Michigan officials want the mayor of Flint to quickly sign a 30-year deal with a regional water agency after the City Council failed to come up with a long-term solution following the city’s lead-tainted water crisis. The state asked a judge on Friday to grant the signing power ..
Ohio Sues Gas Pipeline Developer over Pollution Violations
TOLEDO, Ohio (AP) — Ohio is suing the company building a $4.2 billion natural gas pipeline from West Virginia to Michigan over what it says are numerous water pollution violations during construction. The lawsuit filed Friday says work on the Rover Pipeline flooded a protected wetland with drilling..
Gas Pipeline Developers Suing Hundreds of Landowners
CHARLESTON, W.Va. (AP) — Developers of a proposed natural gas pipeline are suing hundreds of landowners in two states to gain rights of way granted by federal regulations. Mountain Valley Pipeline lawyers filed federal court complaints in Charleston, West Virginia and Roanoke, Virginia to obtain ea..
New York City DEP Completes Sewer Line Expansion Project
The New York City Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) has completed work on a $2.2 million sewer line extension project in the Town of Shandaken. The project will provide centralized wastewater collection and treatment to additional homes and businesses that currently rely on individual sep..
Electric Utilities Band Together to Support Power Restoration in Puerto Rico
Following Tuesday’s request for assistance from Puerto Rico Electric Power Authority (PREPA) CEO Ricardo Ramos, senior executives from the electric power industry and federal government convened a call last night to discuss next steps for this new phase in the power restoration effort. ..
New Hampshire Drinking Water Commission Approves $35M in State Projects
CONCORD, N.H. (AP) — A state advisory commission on drinking water and groundwater has approved $35 million in grants and loans for communities across New Hampshire. One of the projects approved for funding Thursday was a statewide assessment of drinking and groundwater contamination. Others involv..
Lead in Portland Water Exceeded Federal Limits at Some Homes
PORTLAND, Ore. (AP) — The Portland Water Bureau has found that lead levels at high-risk homes in the city exceeded federal limits. The Oregonian/OregonLive reported Thursday the city tested water from a sampling of 134 homes deemed at high risk for lead exposure because they contain plumbing manufa..
Senate Confirms McIntyre, Glick to FERC
The U.S. Senate has confirmed the nominations of Kevin McIntyre and Richard Glick to join the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC). McIntyre will serve as Chairman. McIntyre, co-leader of the global Energy Practice at the law firm Jones Day, will serve out the remainder of a term that ends J..
Texas Residents Sue over Water Release During Harvey
VIDOR, Texas — More than 120 Southeast Texas residents have signed on to a federal lawsuit alleging that the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers illegally took their property when it released water from a reservoir and a dam during Hurricane Harvey flooding their homes. The residents of Orange County, abo..
Dakota Access Developer, Corps Object to Tribes’ Proposal
BISMARCK, N.D. (AP) — The builder of the Dakota Access oil pipeline and the federal agency that permitted the project are objecting to an effort by American Indian tribes to bolster protections for their water supply. Lawyers for Texas-based Energy Transfer Partners and the Army Corps of Engineers ..
Clash Emerges over Puerto Rico Power Restoration Time
SAN JUAN, Puerto Rico (AP) — Officials in the U.S. and Puerto Rico are clashing over when power will be fully restored to the U.S. territory after Hurricane Maria. Puerto Rico officials say Thursday that the state-owned utility is generating 37 percent of its regular output and aims for 95 percent ..
- 27 pipeline safety violations tied to deadly Pa. chocolate factory explosion
- Contractor gas line strike triggers home explosion in Missouri
- FiberLight to build 1,400-mile West Texas dark fiber network in $350 million expansion
- Fatal trench collapse in Mass. leads to $4.6 million OSHA penalty, dozens of violations
- OSHA investigates fatal trench collapse at Conroe construction site
- T-Mobile to expand fiber broadband infrastructure footprint with $4.9 billion Metronet acquisition
- Cityside launches $100 million fiber build in Corona, Calif.
- FiberLight to build 1,400-mile West Texas dark fiber network in $350 million expansion
- Alaska fiber buildout to expand broadband in rural communities
- 11-mile Texas pipeline replacement upgrades 72-in. PCCP to 102-in. steel