Regulatory
Omaha Utility Says Water, Gas Rates Likely to Rise in 2018
OMAHA, Neb. (AP) — An Omaha-area utility says work to replace aging infrastructure will see natural gas and water bills in the area rise again next year. Metropolitan Utilities District is planning increases similar to those approved for 2017, the Omaha World-Herald reported . The board ..
Another Official Facing Manslaughter Charge Over Flint Water Crisis
FLINT, Mich. (AP) — A special prosecutor said Monday the he will add a charge of involuntary manslaughter against Michigan’s chief medical executive in a criminal investigation of the tainted water crisis in Flint and an extraordinary outbreak of Legionnaires’ disease. Dr. Eden Wells was in court f..
Another Wastewater Release Darkens Water near Niagara Falls
NIAGARA FALLS, N.Y. (AP) — More wastewater has been discharged into the Niagara River in the latest in a series of overflows since a discharge blackened water near Niagara Falls in view of summer tourists. The Niagara Falls Water Board says heavy and prolonged rain is to blame for Monday morning’s ..
NC Gives Qualified No to 3-State Natural Gas Pipeline
RALEIGH, N.C. (AP) — North Carolina has said “no” to an interstate pipeline to carry natural gas, marking the first decision of any state or federal agency on the project. The News & Observer of Raleigh reports the N.C. Department of Environmental Quality issued a letter of disapproval last m..
Snyder Appointee Contradicts Him on Legionnaires' Outbreak
FLINT, Mich. (AP) — A Michigan official testified Friday that he told Gov. Rick Snyder about a deadly Legionnaires’ disease outbreak in the Flint area late in 2015, contradicting the governor who has repeatedly insisted that he didn’t learn about it until some weeks later in 2016. Harvey Hollins, w..
18 Vermont Communities Get $6M for Stormwater Projects
MONTPELIER, Vt. (AP) — The Vermont Transportation Agency says 18 Vermont communities are going to be getting nearly $6 million in state and federal grants to help those communities control stormwater runoff. Republican Gov. Phil Scott says the money from the Municipal Highway and Stormwater M..
West Virginia Top Court Blocks Order for Replacement Water
CHARLESTON (AP) — West Virginia’s highest court has blocked a judge’s order requiring a mining company provide replacement drinking water to residents who said its wastewater impoundment contaminated their wells. Supreme Court Chief Justice Allen Loughry writes that the judge lacked the authority t..
Dakota Access Pipeline Review to Last Until Spring
BISMARCK, N.D. (AP) — The Army Corps of Engineers says it likely will take until April to finish court-ordered additional environmental study of the Dakota Access pipeline. The agency had anticipated completing the task this year. But attorneys say in court documents filed Friday that it will take ..
Audit Delivers Another Hit to California Tunnels Project
SACRAMENTO, Calif. (AP) — California’s water managers appear to have violated state law when they hired a consultant to help plan Gov. Jerry Brown’s $16 billion project to build two massive water tunnels, state auditors said Thursday. The audit also faulted the state Department of Water Resources f..
Federal Judge Reinstates Obama-Era Rule on Methane Emissions
WASHINGTON (AP) — Rebuffing the Trump administration, a federal judge on Wednesday ordered the Interior Department to reinstate an Obama-era regulation aimed at restricting harmful methane emissions from oil and gas production on federal lands. The order by a judge in San Francisco came as the Inte..
Pipeline Gets Federal ok to Carry Natural Gas Liquids
LEXINGTON, Ky. (AP) — A 70-year-old natural gas pipeline that passes through several Kentucky counties has received federal authorization for a proposed conversion despite some concerns from opponents. The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission said in a recently released decision that converting the..
California Launches First-Ever Water Professionals Appreciation Week
California today announced it will celebrate its first-ever Water Professionals Appreciation Week from October 7 through October 15 as part of a new annual designation intended to highlight the important role of water industry professionals and local public water agencies in ensuring safe and reliab..
Niagara Falls Board Cited for Second Excess Sewer Discharge
NIAGARA FALLS, N.Y. (AP) — Officials in upstate New York say excess sewer water again made its way into the Niagara River after a high-profile discharge of black-colored water last summer. The Niagara Falls Water Board says it reported to the state Department of Environmental Conservation that exce..
API: Natural Gas Generation Key to the Reliability of America’s Electric Power System
During yesterday’s U.S. House Energy and Commerce Subcommittee on Energy’s hearing to examine reliability in a transforming electricity industry, API Executive Vice President and Chief Strategy Officer Marty Durbin highlighted the reliability and resilience of natural gas power generation. Key qu..
North Carolina Utility Head on Drinking Water: OK as far as he Knows
RALEIGH, N.C. (AP) — The head of the agency providing drinking water to more than 200,000 people in and around Wilmington said Tuesday that unregulated and little-studied chemicals in the Cape Fear River aren’t a hazard — as far as he knows. Cape Fear Public Utility Authority Executive Director J..
Louisiana Department of Health: Water System is Free from Amoeba
MONROE, La. (AP) — The Louisiana Department of Health says a water system has tested negative for the presence of a brain-eating amoeba following a prior positive testing. The News-Star of Monroe reported Tuesday that the North Monroe Water System tested negative for Naegleria fowleri after testing..
Michigan Health Chief Back in Court in Flint Water Case
FLINT, Mich. (AP) — Michigan’s former head of disease control said Wednesday that an outbreak of Legionnaires’ disease in the Flint area was a sensitive topic at the same time that Gov. Rick Snyder’s administration was being challenged over water quality in the poor city. Corinne Miller returned to..
Sewer, Water Projects Receive Funding in Virginia
WASHINGTON (AP) — Virginia’s U.S. senators say that more than $2.5 million will be granted to 10 projects for improving infrastructure and economic development in the state’s southwest region. Sens. Mark Warner and Tim Kaine announced the federal funding from the Appalachian Regional Commission in ..
Utilities Oppose Expanded Use of 6-GHz Spectrum Band
Expanded use of mid-band spectrum by new wireless broadband services could interfere with critical utility networks used for the reliable operation of the nation’s electricity grid, the Utilities Technology Council told the Federal Communications Commission Tuesday. The FCC is inquiring whether it ..
Ohio Town Awarded $700,000 to Address Wastewater Issues
The Ohio EPA has awarded Lore City with a nearly $700,000 zero interest loan to eliminate unsanitary wastewater conditions from failing on-site systems and bring the city into compliance with regulatory requirements and water quality standards. With the funding, Lore City plans to construct a septi..
Regulators Grant SoCalGas' NatGas Pipeline Infrastructure Program Extension
SoCalGas has received permission from the California Public Utilities Commission (CPUC) to extend the Mobilehome Park (MHP) Utility Upgrade Pilot Program through December 31, 2019. In addition to the 10 percent of mobile home park spaces approved for conversion under the initial pilot program that b..
Virginia Water Board to Take up Pipeline Permits in December
RICHMOND, Va. (AP) — The Virginia Department of Environmental Quality plans to make its recommendations in December about water quality permits needed for two natural gas pipeline projects to proceed. The department has been evaluating the permits required under the Clean Water Act for the ..
American States Water Company Wins 50-Year Contract to Provide Water, Wastewater Services at Fort Riley
American States Water Company’s contracted services subsidiary, American States Utility Services, Inc., has been awarded a 50-year contract by the U.S. government to operate, maintain, and provide construction management services for the water distribution, wastewater collection, and treatment facil..
Alabama Cracks Down on E. coli Bacteria in Rivers
MOBILE, Ala. (AP) — Alabama will crackdown on E. coli bacteria in rivers with revised standards. Wastewater treatment facilities in the state will face tighter limits from the new standards, which were approved by the Alabama Environmental Management Commission, Al.com reported. The existing five-y..
Canada’s Watchdog: Kinder Morgan Complied With Stop Order
Canada’s National Energy Board (NEB) has said that Kinder Morgan had complied with an order from last week to stop work that it was not yet authorized to perform along the planned route of the Trans Mountain pipeline expansion. The Trans Mountain Expansion Project envisages the twinning of the exis..
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..
- 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