Regulatory
Tribes Say Dakota Access Shutdown Impact Overstated
BISMARCK, N.D. (AP) – American Indian tribes hoping to persuade a federal judge to turn off the Dakota Access oil pipeline maintain in last-minute court filings that the project’s developer has overstated the potential impacts of a shutdown. Standing Rock Sioux attorney Jan Hasselman also argues th..
Clean Energy Petition Targets Pollution in New Mexico
ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. (AP) — The New Mexico Attorney General’s Office and consumer advocates are petitioning state regulators to consider a new energy standard they say would protect utility customers and shareholders from the costs and risks associated with future environmental regulations. The propos..
FERC OK's Construction of Major Gas Pipeline
The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) has approved construction of the 255-mile NEXUS Transmission Pipeline Project, which will transport 1.5 Bcf/d of clean-burning natural gas from receipt points in eastern Ohio to existing pipeline system interconnects in southeastern Michigan. FERC issu..
Nearly $6 Million Awarded for Sewer, Water Projects in Ohio
The Ohio EPA has awarded more than $5.8 million in funding for water and sewer construction infrastructure upgrades. The projects receiving funding include: $1.66 million to the village of Montpelier to continue separating wastewater and storm sewers, a continuing project that will eliminate com..
Texas Town Receives $455,000 for Water Pipeline Replacement Project
The Texas Water Development Board (TWDB) has approved financial assistance in the amount of $455,000 from the Drinking Water State Revolving Fund to the city of Booker. The city will use the assistance to finance the planning, design, and construction costs associated with water system improvements..
New York City Completes Largest Ever Expansion of the Bluebelt System on Staten Island
On Aug. 16, 2017, New York City Department of Environmental Protection Acting Commissioner Vincent Sapienza and Department of Design and Construction Acting Commissioner Ana Barrio announced the completion of the largest ever expansion of the Staten Island Bluebelt system. Previously, very few stre..
Pennsylvania DEP Implements Plan to Improve Drinking Water Quality Inspections
The Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) has announced plans to expedite the filling of vacancies and the training of new staff to bolster program resources for the Safe Drinking Water (SDW) program. “Ensuring that Pennsylvania’s drinking water is clean and safe to drink is one..
Pipeline Company Response to Settlement Offer Not Disclosed
BISMARCK, N.D. (AP) — The company that built the Dakota Access pipeline has responded to an offer by North Dakota regulators to settle state allegations that it improperly reported the discovery of American Indian artifacts during construction. But the response from Energy Transfer Partners isn’t b..
Board Blames Niagara Falls Sewer Spill on Heavy Rain, Aging Infrastructure
ALBANY, N.Y. (AP) — A public agency under scrutiny for a discharge that turned water below Niagara Falls black says heavy rain and outdated infrastructure is to blame for another spill that prompted a violation notice from the state Department of Environmental Conservation. The board said Friday th..
NASSCO: Purdue's CIPP Report Flawed
The National Association of Sewer Service Companies (NASSCO) has released its response to the Purdue University study, Worksite Chemical Air Emissions and Worker Exposure during Sanitary Sewer and Stormwater Pipe Rehabilitation Using Cured-in-Place-Pipe (CIPP), published July 26, 2017 in the Environ..
OSHA Cites South Dakota Company After Worker Buried in Trench Collapse
The U.S. Department of Labor’s Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) has cited First Dakota Enterprises Inc., for failing to protect its workers from trench collapse hazards. The Fort Pierre-based company faces proposed penalties of $95,064. On May 23, 2017, a 34-year-old worker was ..
Judge Sends Vegas Water Pipeline Plan Back to Feds for a Fix
LAS VEGAS (AP) — A federal judge tapped the brakes but didn’t stop a proposal for a massive and expensive water pipeline to draw underground water from rural valleys in eastern Nevada to supply the growing Las Vegas metropolitan area. U.S. District Judge Andrew Gordon on Thursday ordered the federa..
Judge Grants Pipeline Easements on Holdout Properties
COLUMBIA, Pa. (AP) — A federal judge in Pennsylvania says a gas pipeline company can seize easements it needs from five final holdout property owners including land owned by nuns on which activists built an outdoor chapel to protest the project. Wednesday’s ruling means Transcontinental Pipe Line C..
Nebraska Town Lifts Restrictions on Drinking Water
SEWARD, Neb. (AP) — Seward has lifted restrictions on drinking water, now that health officials have determined the water is safe. The city made the announcement Wednesday afternoon. The water system lost pressure and integrity after a water main broke under an area flooded by the Big Bl..
Water Agencies Testify Against Bill to Establish California’s First-Ever Water Tax
Yesterday, in the Assembly Appropriations Committee, water agencies from throughout California joined with the Association of California Water Agencies to publicly voice their opposition to a bill that would establish the state’s first-ever tax on drinking water and to pledge their commitment to ens..
Federal Utility OKs $10.4B Budget, 1.5 Percent Rate Increase
KNOXVILLE, Tenn. (AP) – A federal utility says it has included a 1.5 percent rate increase in its budget that takes effect in October. The Tennessee Valley Authority says its board approved a $10.4 billion budget and the rate increase Wednesday. The budget keeps operating and maintenance spending f..
N.C. Politicians Probe Unregulated Chemical in Water Supply
RALEIGH (AP) — North Carolina legislators began grappling Wednesday with a growing environmental and health alarm about an unregulated and little-studied chemical compound its maker released for years into a river supplying drinking water to hundreds of thousands of people Nearly two dozen la..
Niagara Falls Board Ordered to Halt Black Water Discharges
NIAGARA FALLS, N.Y. (AP) — State officials have told a western New York public agency that it must cease the type of wastewater discharges that caused a stretch of the Niagara River below Niagara Falls to turn black and smelly. Gov. Andrew Cuomo says the Department of Environmental Conservation has..
California Senators Say Utility Regulators Must Restore Trust
SACRAMENTO, Calif. (AP) — A California Senate panel gave narrow approval Wednesday to Gov. Jerry Brown’s two recent appointees to a powerful utilities commission after imploring them to restore public trust in an agency that’s been damaged by scandals and environmental disasters, including the large..
Landmark Court Ruling Could Jeopardize this Major Pipeline
U.S. natural gas enjoyed an “eclipse rally” this week. With NYMEX prices jumping nearly 7 cents per MMBtu after the blackout impacted an estimated 12 GW of solar power across America. But elsewhere the news for natgas developers was less rosy. With U.S. courts handing down a critical decision yeste..
NTSB: Worker Urged Evacuation Before Minnesota School Blast
MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — A maintenance worker at a Minneapolis school that partially collapsed after an explosion earlier this month had smelled natural gas and used a radio to tell others to evacuate less than a minute before the blast, according to preliminary report released Monday by the National Tran..
Appointees to Powerful Utility Regulator Set to Testify
SACRAMENTO, Calif. (AP) – Gov. Jerry Brown’s two most recent nominees to a powerful commission that regulates natural gas and other utilities are before lawmakers Wednesday for confirmation hearings. Commissioners Clifford Rechtschaffen and Martha Guzman Aceves began six-year terms in January on th..
Company Behind Dakota Access Oil Pipeline Sues Greenpeace
BISMARCK, N.D. (AP) — The company that built the disputed Dakota Access oil pipeline is suing Greenpeace and other groups, alleging they disseminated false information about the project and interfered with construction. Texas-based Energy Transfer Partners alleges the groups’ actions interfered wit..
Appeals Court: FERC Missed in Pipeline Review
WASHINGTON (AP) — A Washington appeals court says federal energy regulators fell short in evaluating the environmental impact of a natural gas pipeline that’s carrying gas through Alabama, Georgia and Florida. The U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit on Tuesday agreed with the..
Colorado Won't Put Oil-Gas Pipeline Map Online
DENVER (AP) — Colorado Gov. John Hickenlooper says the state won’t offer an online map of oil and gas pipelines after a fatal house explosion that was blamed on a leaking pipe, citing security concerns. Hickenlooper said Tuesday Colorado will instead expand an existing service that allows people to..
Colorado to Tighten Pipeline Rules After Fatal Gas Explosion
DENVER (AP) — Colorado officials say they will strengthen regulations for oil and gas pipelines to reduce the chances of another home explosion like one that killed two people in April. Gov. John Hickenlooper announced the rule-tightening on Tuesday. It’s one of seven steps recommended by state reg..
Early Termination of Hart-Scott-Rodino Act Waiting Period Awarded for Oncor, Sharyland Deal
InfraREIT, Inc. today announced the United States Department of Justice and the Federal Trade Commission have granted early termination of the Hart-Scott-Rodino Act waiting period for the proposed exchange transaction between InfraREIT’s regulated subsidiary, Sharyland Distribution & Transmissio..
Iowa Town Agrees to $195k Sinkhole Suit Settlement
SIOUX CITY, Iowa (AP) — The City Council has agreed to settle a lawsuit filed by a woman over sinkholes that formed on her Sioux City property. The Sioux City Journal reports the council voted unanimously Monday for a $195,000 settlement of Joyce Downing’s lawsuit. Downing sued the city in 20..
New Chief of Staff Named at FERC
Anthony Pugliese has been named Chief of Staff at the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission. Since January 2017, Pugliese has served as Senior White House Advisor at the U.S. Department of Transportation, where he helped oversee all aspects of the department, including pipeline safety and regulatory..
Southern Nevada Water Authority to Fund Conservation Efforts in Mexico
LAS VEGAS (AP) — The Southern Nevada Water Authority is making deals with Arizona and Mexico to ensure enough H20 in the years to come for the Las Vegas area. The authority plans to spend up to $7.5 million in Mexico over the next 10 years in exchange for more Colorado River water. Authority board..
- Intrepid Fiber breaks ground on fiber optic network in Superior, Colo.
- Excavator collides with I-95 overpass in Henrico, Va., causing multi-vehicle crash
- Shrewsbury, Mass., expands sewer inspections and cleaning efforts
- Two workers rescued after hours trapped in Mich. trench collapse
- Trump calls for Keystone XL pipeline revival, but developer has moved on
- Illinois overhauls Peoples Gas pipeline program, mandates focus on high-risk pipes
- Ameren Illinois to invest $140 million in natural gas pipeline replacement program
- Charlottesville, Va., to begin work on 24-inch water line for Rivanna River crossing
- Mass. governor slams Trump for ‘dangerous delay’ of $50 million in lead pipe replacement funds