Regulatory

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..

Federal Regulators Approve Atlantic Coast, Mountain Valley Pipelines

RICHMOND, Va. (AP) — A divided panel of federal regulators granted approvals Friday evening for the Atlantic Coast and Mountain Valley natural gas pipelines, major East Coast projects. The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission’s authorization had been widely expected by both supporters and opponents..

Oklahoma City Gets Water Permit

OKLAHOMA CITY (AP) — The Oklahoma Water Resources Board has approved a permit for 115,000 acre feet of water per year from the Kiamichi basin to Oklahoma City. The Oklahoman reports that the board voted 6-1 Tuesday to follow the recommendation of a hearing examiner, who concluded in August that the..

Nevada Regulators Fine Southwest Gas $300000 for 2 Gas Leaks in Las Vegas

CARSON CITY, Nev. (AP) — State regulators have fined Southwest Gas Corp. $300,000 for a pair of natural gas leaks it was responsible for in Las Vegas last year. Nevada Public Utilities Commission Chairman Joe Reynolds told the Las Vegas Review-Journal that the fine approved Wednesday for violation ..

North Dakota Landowners’ Lawsuit Against Pipeline Dismissed

BISMARCK, N.D. (AP) — A federal judge has dismissed a lawsuit filed by nearly two dozen North Dakota landowners who alleged the developer of the Dakota Access oil pipeline and a consultant used deceit and fraud to acquire private land easements for the project. But a court case in Iowa involving th..

Route Hearings Set for Canadian Pipeline Construction Project Segment

The National Energy Board (NEB) has announced that detailed route hearings for the Burnaby, B.C. segment (Segment 7) of the Trans Mountain Expansion Project will commence in January 2018. This follows a previous announcement for detailed route hearings in segments one and two (of seven) located in A..

Xcel Energy may Split Subsidiary for Minnesota, North Dakota

MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — Xcel Energy has proposed splitting its utility operations in North Dakota and Minnesota, telling regulators that widening policy differences between the two states over clean energy have caused stresses that might best be resolved through a breakup. But a consultant for the North..

Judge Allows Dakota Access Pipeline to Keep Running During Review

BISMARCK, N.D. (AP) — A federal judge ruled Wednesday that the Dakota Access oil pipeline can continue operating while a study is completed to assess its environmental impact on an American Indian tribe. U.S. District Judge James Boasberg’s decision will come as a blow to the Standing Rock Sioux, w..

NEXUS Pipeline Construction Can Begin

FERC has approved Enbridge’s request to commence construction of the NEXUS Gas Transmission Project, except for the following locations: North Country National Scenic Trail at milepost 3.5 and Iron Horse Trail at milepost 17.0 From milepost 130.5 to milepost 133.0 and milepost 151.5 to milepost ..

HDD Activities Can Resume on Rover Pipeline in Michigan

The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) has authorized Energy Transfer Partners request to resume horizontal directional drilling (HDD) activities at the following locations along the Rover Pipeline Project: East Austin Road, between mileposts 62.62 and 63.14 Interstate 71, between milep..

$23 Million Awarded for Water, Sewer Projects in New York's Southern Tier

New York Governor Andrew M. Cuomo has approved $23 million in grants to support 12 essential drinking water and wastewater infrastructure projects throughout the state’s Southern Tier, including upgrades and replacements for drinking water systems, filtration plants and water mains, as well as the..

New York Grants Nearly $30 Million for Mohawk Valley Water Projects

ALBANY, N.Y. (AP) — New York is granting nearly $30 million for water infrastructure projects in the Mohawk Valley. The $29,661,723 in grant money will be used to support 21 drinking water and wastewater projects in the central New York region. It’s part of $255 million that’s available statewide f..

Big Water Tunnels Project OK'd by Southern California Agency

LOS ANGELES (AP) — The powerful Metropolitan Water District voted Tuesday to pay its share of the $16 billion project to build two massive tunnels to pipe water from Northern California to Southern California cities. The 28-6 vote gives Gov. Jerry Brown’s ambitious project an important boost of sup..