Regulatory

Administrative Action Requested on Cadiz Water Infrastructure Project

Blueprint 2025 today announced it has joined the North American Building Trades Unions in a written request to the Secretaries of the U.S. Departments of the Interior and Transportation seeking action in support of the Cadiz Valley Water Conservation, Recovery & Storage Project (Cadiz Water Project)..

Governor Grateful for Help on Pipeline Costs

BISMARCK, N.D. (AP) — North Dakota Gov. Doug Burgum says he’s grateful that the company that built the Dakota Access pipeline has given the state $15 million to cover the costs of policing months of sometimes violent protests. Burgum says the state will use the money to pay down debt it took on dur..

North Dakota Gets $15 Million from Pipeline Developer for Protests

BISMARCK, N.D. (AP) — The company that built the Dakota Access Pipeline is giving North Dakota $15 million to help cover the costs of policing extensive protests of the pipeline. A spokesman for Gov. Doug Burgum told The Associated Press on Thursday that Texas-based Energy Transfer Partners has wir..

Colorado Regulators: 430 Pipelines Failed Leak Test

DENVER (AP) — Colorado regulators say about 430 oil or gas pipelines near occupied buildings failed a leak-detection test that the state ordered after a fatal explosion blamed on a gas line. The results were posted on the Colorado Oil and Gas Conservation Commission website Wednesday. It wasn’t im..

Tiny Holes, Faulty Parts to Blame for Failed Pipeline Inspections

DENVER (AP) — Colorado regulators say tiny holes or faulty parts could be the reason that about 430 oil or gas pipelines failed a leak-detection test after a fatal explosion blamed on gas seeping from a severed line. The Colorado Oil and Gas Conservation Commission said Thursday the number of pipel..

New Draft SEIS Issued for Southeast Market Pipelines Project

The staff of the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission has issued a draft supplemental environmental impact statement (SEIS) for the Southeast Market Pipelines Project to address the August 22, 2017 Opinion issued by the United States Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia regarding the Commis..

Ohio Village Receives $1 Million for Sewer Project

The Ohio EPA has awarded an $1.16 million low-interest loan to the village of Manchester to improve water quality in the Ohio River by updating sewers and a pump station. As part of the project, the village plans to rehabilitate sanitary sewers and replace a pump station to reduce sewer overflows t..

Utility Seeks Higher Natural Gas Price For Montana Customers

BILLINGS, Mont. (AP) — A utility company is asking Montana regulators to allow it to increase prices for natural gas for more than 84,000 customers in the state. Montana-Dakota Utilities said Tuesday that the requested rate hike would increase a average residential customer’s bill by about $30 annu..

Enbridge Fails Pipeline Inspection in Canada

Canada’s National Energy Board (NEB) has issued three Inspection Officer Orders to Enbridge for failure to adhere to worker safety, pipe handling and environmental protection requirements during construction activity on the High Pine Expansion Project near Chetwynd, British Columbia. The NEB orders ..

Canadian Regulators Conduct Emergency Response Exercise for Pipeline Project

On Sept. 20, 2017, Canada’s National Energy Board (NEB) conducted a full scale emergency response exercise at Kinder Morgan’s Burnaby Terminal and at the Incident Command Post in Coquitlam, as a condition for approval of the Trans Mountain Expansion Project. As part of its Onshore Pipeline Regulati..

Commission Awards $8.6M Contract for Bonito Lake Restoration

ALAMOGORDO, N.M. (AP) — Alamogordo City Commissioners approved a contract with Smithco Construction to complete the Bonito Lake restoration project. The Alamogordo Daily News reports (http://bit.ly/2yvZHm2 ) the city approved an $8.6 million deal on Tuesday. Bonito Lake, which is used for drinking..

Maine Turns to Canada to Increase Natural Gas Supply

FALMOUTH, Maine (AP) — Maine Gov. Paul LePage says he’s exploring the idea of expanding the state’s natural gas supply with a pipeline from Canada because of stalled pipeline efforts to the south. LePage is frustrated by a lack of progress in bringing more natural gas into Maine after a Massachuset..

Maine Governor Taps Paper Mill Manager As Utility Regulator

AUGUSTA, Maine (AP) – Maine Gov. Paul LePage says he’s tapping a paper mill manager as the state’s latest utility regulator. LePage, a Republican, said Wednesday he’s nominating Sappi mill manager Randall Davis as a commissioner of the state’s Public Utilities Commission. Davis will replace Carlisl..

Energy Transfer Partners Cited for More Rover Pipeline Violations in Ohio

The Ohio EPA has cited Energy Transfer Partners for spilling soap wastewater and soil/sediment into a tributary of Irish Creek, Loudon Township, Carroll County. The Notice of Violation comes less than a week after the company was granted permission by the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission to resu..

Michigan, Flint Ordered Into Talks on Long-Term Water Supply

DETROIT (AP) — A federal judge has ordered Michigan and Flint officials to meet again with a mediator to discuss the long-term future of the city’s water supply. Gov. Rick Snyder’s administration is suing Flint to force the City Council to approve a 30-year deal with the Great Lakes Water Authority..

14 Michigan Communities Awarded Water System Fix-Up Funds

LANSING, Mich. (AP) — Fourteen Michigan communities are getting money to improve their water and sewer systems. The Michigan Economic Development Corp. says $23.2 million in grants are being distributed under a program established last year. It’s intended to boost economic growth and help low..

New York Makes $50 Million Available to Farms for Water Projects

ALBANY, N.Y. (AP) New York has allotted $50 million in grant funding for water quality projects on livestock farms in the state. The money is part of Gov. Andrew Cuomo’s $2.5 Billion Clean Water Infrastructure Act. It’s aimed at helping large livestock farmers make sure there’s proper management an..

Pennsylvania Families Settle with Driller over Contaminated Water

DIMOCK, Pa. (AP) — Two families have settled their lawsuit alleging that one of Pennsylvania’s biggest gas drillers contaminated their well water, six months after a federal judge threw out a multimillion-dollar jury verdict in the case. A court filing dated Sept. 21 says the lawsuit pursued by pla..

U.S., Mexico Expand Pact on Managing Overused Colorado River

DENVER (AP) — The United States and Mexico have agreed to renew and expand a far-reaching conservation agreement that governs how they manage the overused Colorado River, which supplies water to millions of people and farms in both nations. The agreement to be signed Wednesday calls for the U.S. to..

Hearing Reveals Disastrous Potential for Nation's Water Infrastructure

In testimony before the U.S. House Subcommittee on Water Resources and Environment today, David St. Pierre, the Executive Director of the Chicago Metropolitan Water Reclamation District (MWRD) and Vice President of the National Association of Clean Water Agencies (NACWA), urged lawmakers to facilita..

EPA Awards $14.7M for Vermont Water Infrastructure Projects

MONTPELIER, Vt. (AP) — The state of Vermont is getting $14.7 million from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency to help finance improvements to water infrastructure projects across the state. The EPA says the funds will primarily be used to upgrade sewage plants and drinking water systems. The m..

Water Sampling Begins at Stewart International Airport

NEWBURGH, N.Y. (AP) — The process of getting rid of the toxic chemical blamed for contaminating Newburgh’s water supply has taken a step forward as Department of Defense officials have begun taking water samples in and around Stewart Air National Guard Base. Testing last year by the New York Depart..

Nebraska Utility Exec Chosen to Lead National Trade Group

COLUMBUS, Neb. (AP) — A Nebraska Public Power District executive will lead a national utility trade group for the next year. NPPD’s Chief Operating Officer Tom Kent was recently chosen at the president of RMEL. The group serves the utility industry with education and networking services. The util..

North Dakota’s Bill Rises for Oil Pipeline Protest Costs

BISMARCK, N.D. (AP)  – North Dakota’s bill for policing protests of the Dakota Access pipeline continues to rise. The North Dakota Emergency Commission is set to borrow an additional $5 million Monday to cover law enforcement costs. That will bring the total line of credit from the state-owned ..

Pacific Connector Pipeline Application Filed

Veresen Inc. has submitted applications with the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission for the Jordan Cove Energy and Pacific Connector Gas Pipeline Projects, which include the construction and operation of the 7.8 million tonne per annum LNG export terminal in Coos Bay, Oregon and a related pipeline..

Ohio Sewer District Receives $150 Million to Reduce Overflows

The Ohio EPA has awarded more than $150 million in low-interest loans to the Northeast Ohio Regional Sewer District (NEORSD) for two projects aimed at reducing combined sewer overflows (CSOs). NEORSD will use a loan of $142,320,000 to construct a four-mile-long storage tunnel on the east side of Cl..

Ohio Communities Get $19 Million for Sewer, Water Projects

The Ohio EPA has awarded more than $19 million in funding for sewer and water construction projects across the state. The projects receiving funding include: $721,026 to the city of Wellstone to update water lines and a water treatment plant and generator.  The project includes the rehabilitatio..

FCC Head: Storms Teach Lessons on Emergency Communications

WICHITA, Kan. (AP) — Ajit Pai has been to Texas and Florida in recent weeks to learn what lessons hurricanes Harvey and Irma have to offer about how to improve the nation’s emergency communication systems during natural disasters. Pai, the chairman of the Federal Communications Commission, sa..

New Drinking Water Council to Set Standards in New York

ALBANY, N.Y. (AP) — New York’s new Drinking Water Council will hold its first meeting on Long Island to consider setting maximum levels of several contaminants not regulated by the Environmental Protection Agency. Gov. Andrew Cuomo says one of the first tasks for the 12-member council will be to re..

Four Municipalities Participate in Pennsylvania Event on Stormwater Management

Stormwater management efforts by Lemoyne Borough, Lower Paxton Township, Susquehanna Township, Harrisburg’s Capital Region Water, and municipalities statewide were highlighted at a recent event in Lemoyne held by the Pennsylvania’s Department of Environmental Protection (DEP). Hundreds of municipal..