Regulatory
Pipeline Construction Project Gets Favorable Ruling
CLEVELAND (AP) — A federal magistrate in Akron has dealt a significant blow to efforts by some Ohio property owners to stop a high-pressure natural gas pipeline from being built. U.S. Magistrate Kathleen Burke in a written recommendation filed Monday said the U.S. District Court in northern Ohio la..
Flushable Wipes Class Action Lawsuit Dropped
INDA, the Association of Nonwoven Fabrics Industry, today announced the settlement of the class action lawsuit brought by the City of Perry, Iowa, in which the city alleged damages from flushable wipes manufactured by a number of flushable wipes producers. In dropping the lawsuit, Perry admitted tha..
Quorum Officially Established at FERC
The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) has sworn in Robert F. Powelson and Neil Chatterjee as commissioners, officially establishing a quorum. Powelson was sworn in today, Aug. 10, while Chatterjee was sworn in on Aug. 8. Both Powelson and Chatterjee were nominated by President Donald J. ..
Vermont Senator, Governor to Announce New Border Grants
MONTPELIER, Vt. (AP) – Vermont’s Democratic U.S. Sen. Patrick Leahy and Republican Gov. Phil Scott plan to announce $2.25 million in development grants through the Northern Border Regional Commission. Leahy and Scott will announce the grants for 10 projects Thursday in Hardwick. ..
Florida Sinkhole Might Force Condemnation of More Homes
LAND O’LAKES, Fla. (AP) — Ralph Terry, a 73-year-old retiree who lives in a sleepy neighborhood in Florida’s suburbs, seems particularly sanguine about living just a few doors down from a gaping, literal, void in the earth. “I don’t see no cracks in my blocks in my house,” he said on Tuesday, peeri..
West Virginia Regulators Stop Construction Halt on Rover Pipeline Segments
MORGANTOWN, W.Va. (AP) – State environmental authorities lifted their order halting Rover Pipeline construction on two segments where it found permit violations damaging streams in northern West Virginia. Inspectors in April, May, June and July found erosion-control failures that left sediment depo..
Sunoco Reaches Settlement on Natural Gas Pipeline
HARRISBURG, Pa. (AP) — State officials, environmental groups and the owners of a natural gas pipeline in Pennsylvania have reached an agreement to allow drilling to continue while providing protections to the public. In the settlement released Tuesday, Sunoco has agreed to re-evaluate high-risk sit..
Keystone XL Foes Question Proposed Route Through Nebraska
LINCOLN, Neb. (AP) — Opponents of the Keystone XL pipeline questioned its proposed pathway through Nebraska on Tuesday in hopes that state regulators will reject or reroute it, a decision that would create more delays for the 9-year-old project. But pipeline builder TransCanada defended its proposa..
Attorney Grills Company Officials in Keystone XL Hearing
LINCOLN, Neb. (AP) — The developer of the Keystone XL pipeline and its allies faced a litany of tough questions Monday in front of a Nebraska commission that will decide whether to approve the project’s final leg through the state. The Nebraska Public Service Commission hearing is the last major re..
Water Official Airs Concerns over Gold Butte Springs
ST. GEORGE, Utah (AP) — A water official in the Nevada community of Mesquite says he expressed concerns to U.S. Interior Secretary Ryan Zinke about municipal springs now within the boundaries of Gold Butte National Monument. Virgin Valley Water District Kevin Brown told The Spectrum of St. George, ..
Fired Engineer Sues Utility
JACKSON, Miss. (AP) — A fired engineer at a now-aborted Mississippi Power Co. plant sued the utility’s parent company Tuesday, saying an order to reinstate him is being ignored. Brett Wingo of Homewood, Alabama, filed the whistleblower retaliation case in federal court in Birmingham, Alabama. Wingo..
New Water Rule Will Provide Clarity, EPA Chief Says
DES MOINES (AP) — Farmers, builders and landowners soon will have more clarity regarding what small water bodies can be monitored for pollution by the federal government. That’s the goal of Scott Pruitt, administrator of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, that is in the midst of changing a f..
Tribes Want Dakota Pipeline Shut Down, But Offer Fallback Plan
BISMARCK, N.D. (AP) — American Indian tribes fighting the Dakota Access oil pipeline are asking a judge to shut down the line while more environmental review is conducted, but they’ve also presented a fallback plan should the judge disagree. The “alternative relief” that Standing Rock Sioux attorne..
Virginia Citizens Can Weigh in on Pipeline Water Quality Conditions
HARRISONBURG, Va. (AP) – Virginia environmental officials are hearing from residents this week about steps the state is taking to protect water quality along the routes of two proposed natural gas pipelines. The Department of Environmental Quality is considering whether to issue what’s called a “40..
Atlantic Sunrise Pipeline Gets Favorable Ruling
CONESTOGA, Pa. (AP) – A federal judge in Pennsylvania says authorities can condemn and seize property in order to make way for the Atlantic Sunrise pipeline. U.S. Eastern District Court Judge Jeffrey Schmehl has issued an order that gave Transcontinental Gas Pipe Line Company the right to condemn a..
Florida Parcels Out $50 Million To Help Restore Springs
TALLAHASSEE, Fla. (AP) — Florida has picked 40 projects from across the state that will get a share of $50 million aimed at restoring some of the state’s springs including Silver Springs. The administration of Gov. Rick Scott announced the list of state-funded projects on Monday. The list includes..
Florida Sinkhole Forces Condemnation of 7th Home
LAND O’LAKES, Fla. (AP) — Florida officials have condemned a seventh home due to a massive sinkhole. Authorities in Pasco County, a suburban area north of Tampa, said in a news release Monday that the additional home was being condemned. This follows two on Sunday and two on Friday, and two other h..
Oklahoma Cites Several Counties for Water Systems Violations
OKLAHOMA CITY (AP) — In the last two years, Oklahoma has cited several counties for health violations at 36 water systems. The Oklahoman reports the violators in Cleveland, Canadian and Oklahoma counties range from those who operate single-well systems serving a handful of public users to municipal..
Nebraska Commission Begins Hearing on Keystone XL Pipeline
LINCOLN, Neb. (AP) — A state commission that will decide whether to approve or deny the Keystone XL pipeline in Nebraska has kicked off the first day of legal hearings on the project. The Nebraska Public Service Commission is scheduled to hear testimony in a series of hearings that could run from M..
2 More Homes Condemned Due to Florida Sinkhole
LAND O’LAKES, Fla. (AP) — Florida officials have condemned two more homes due to a Florida sinkhole, bringing the total to six homes that are now unlivable. Authorities in Pasco County, a suburban area north of Tampa, said in a news release Sunday that the two additional homes were being condemned...
Better Broadband Coming to 7 Vermont Towns Thanks to Grants
MONTPELIER, Vt. (AP) — People in seven rural Vermont communities will be getting better broadband internet service thanks to a series of grants through Connectivity Initiative distributed by the Department of Public Service. The Connectivity Initiative works to expand high-speed broadband service s..
Key Eastern New Mexico Water Plan Set to be Released
CLOVIS, N.M. (AP) — A key task force in eastern New Mexico is set to unveil its plan to conserve water from a massive groundwater supply that underlies parts of New Mexico, Texas and several other states. The Eastern New Mexico News reports (https://goo.gl/y7LmqU) the Water Policy Advisory Committe..
Feds Back in 'Gasland' Town to Test Water, Air
(AP) — The federal government has returned to a Pennsylvania village that became a flashpoint in the national debate over fracking to investigate ongoing complaints about the quality of the drinking water. Government scientists are collecting water and air samples this week from about 25 homes in D..
School Blast Investigators Probing Gas Meter Work
MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — Workers may have been moving a gas meter when an explosion tore through a Minneapolis school building this week, killing two people and injuring at least nine others, according to federal investigators. A team from the National Transportation Safety Board arrived in Minneapolis T..
Senate Approves FERC Nominees, Restores Voting Quorum
WASHINGTON (AP) — The Senate has approved two Republicans nominated by President Donald Trump to serve on the federal commission that oversees the nation’s power grid and natural gas pipelines. Senators’ unanimous votes Thursday approving Senate aide Neil Chatterjee and Pennsylvania utility regulat..
Black Water Near Niagara Falls Leads to Call for Resignations
BUFFALO, N.Y. (AP) — Several lawmakers want the board that runs Niagara Falls’ wastewater treatment plant to resign after a foul-smelling discharge darkened the water near the base of the falls during a busy tourist weekend. Members of the Niagara County Legislature’s Republican majority said Thurs..
West Texas Water Pipeline to Oilfield Gets Approval
VAN HORN, Texas (AP) — A 60-mile (96.56-million kilometer) pipeline intended to carry 5.4 million gallons (20.44 million liters) of water daily from a West Texas desert aquifer to the Permian Basin oilfield has won approval despite objections of ranchers, farmers and environmentalists. The Culberso..
NTSB Investigates Explosion that Killed 2 at Minnesota School
MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — Investigators from the National Transportation Safety Board were sent to a Minneapolis school Thursday to look into an apparent natural gas explosion and partial building collapse that killed two people and injured at least nine, including one critically. The explosion at Minneha..
Small New Mexico Communities Struggle to Deliver Clean Water
SANTA CRUZ, N.M. (AP) — Eloy Jacquez lives in the house his parents built on Los Lujans Road in 1948. There was no water in Santa Cruz then. The family waited several more years before the first well was drilled just up the street, next to land used as an informal waste dump. Old cars were left to..
Niagara Falls Board, State Regulators Discuss Black Water
NIAGARA FALLS, N.Y. (AP) — Operators of a wastewater treatment plant that discharged a plume of stinky, black water near the base of Niagara Falls say they’re cooperating with investigators. The Niagara Falls Water Board has said little publicly about the discharge that turned the water near the fa..
- OSHA cites Florida contractors for trench safety violations at sewer and excavation sites
- Biden-Harris administration invests $849 million in aging water infrastructure, drought resilience
- Cadiz to reuse steel from terminated Keystone XL pipeline for California groundwater project
- Texas contractor penalized by OSHA for repeated trench safety violations
- West Virginia approves $67 million for water, sewer projects