Regulatory
Group Drops Fight over Letting City Use Lake Michigan Water
WAUKESHA, Wis. (AP) — A group representing mayors and cities in the Great Lakes region has dropped its fight against letting Waukesha, Wisconsin, draw water from Lake Michigan. The Great Lakes and St. Lawrence Cities Initiative says it has reached a settlement with a council representing the regi..
North Dakota Regulators Investigating Minnesota Contractor
BISMARCK, N.D. (AP) – A Minnesota contractor that damaged a natural gas pipeline in North Dakota last week has a history of striking pipelines. The damage caused the release of 126,000 gallons of natural gas liquids and shut down a gas processing plant for three days. State regulators who recently..
Financing Planned for 8 Wastewater Projects in West Virginia
CHARLESTON, W.Va. (AP) — West Virginia officials say eight wastewater infrastructure projects across the state will share $45 million in financing from the Clean Water State Revolving Fund. The low-interest loans for construction are intended to help protect and improve water quality in rivers, l..
Cause of Home Explosion that Killed Utility Worker Still Unknown
LANCASTER, Pa. (AP) — The National Transportation Safety Board has not identified the cause of a Pennsylvania home explosion that killed a utility worker and injured three others. In a preliminary report released Tuesday, the NTSB says a tapping tee leading to the Manor Township home was leaking ga..
Santa Cruz County: Sewage No Longer Spilling from Pipeline
NOGALES, Ariz. (AP) — Santa Cruz County in southern Arizona says there is no longer any wastewater or raw sewage spilling from an international pipeline that broke last week. Repair work on the underground pipeline began after authorities found the breach on July 25 in a sparsely populated area n..
North Carolina Officials: Equipment Being Set Aside when Outage Happened
RALEIGH, N.C. (AP) — North Carolina transportation officials say workers were setting aside equipment that wasn’t in use when they caused a massive power outage that drove tourists from two islands in the Outer Banks. Transportation department spokesman Tim Hass says construction workers stuck the ..
New York Gov. Orders Probe into Niagara Falls "Black Water"
NIAGARA FALLS, N.Y. (AP) — Gov. Andrew Cuomo on Tuesday cast doubt on a city agency’s claims surrounding a foul-smelling discharge that turned the water near the base of Niagara Falls black at the height of a busy tourist weekend. A day after directing state regulators to investigate, Cuomo, a Demo..
Report: Pipeline Review Underestimated Forest Fragmentation
ROANOKE, Va. (AP) – The Virginia Department of Conservation and Recreation along with several state agencies say an analysis by the Mountain Valley Pipeline on the project’s impact on intact forests underestimated the effects by more than 300 percent. The Roanoke Times reports that in a July 21 fil..
Minnesota Officials, 3M Struggle Over Clean Water Agreement
MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — Minnesota Pollution Control Agency officials say manufacturing company 3M Co. has violated a decade-old legal agreement that outlines how the business pays for clean drinking water in Minneapolis. The Star Tribune reports that about 200 residents in the city’s southeastern suburb..
Utility Panel: Poland Spring Plan Won't Harm Water System
AUGUSTA, Maine (AP) — Poland Spring is clearing regulatory hurdles for its plan to pump up to 172 million gallons of water a year from a public water district well. The Maine Public Utilities Commission said Tuesday a permit application filed by parent company Nestle Waters to withdraw municipal wa..
Regulators Seek More Work for Mississippi Utility Companies
JACKSON, Miss. (AP) — Mississippi regulators have finalized an effort to push utilities to do more to hire locally based companies. The Public Service Commission voted 3-0 Tuesday to adopt its “Hire Mississippi” rule, after proposing it in May. The rule requires regulated private utilities to kee..
EPA Finalizes WIFIA Fee Rules, Congress Provides Additional Funding
The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) took another major step toward issuing its first credit subsidies for water infrastructure projects. It published a final rule in June, specifying fees it would charge counties and cities expected to vie for money in the first round of funding under the Wate..
Feds Give Maine $300K to Help Ensure Pipeline Safety
SOUTH PORTLAND, Maine (AP) — Maine’s U.S. senators say the federal government is giving Maine more than $300,000 to keep its pipelines safe. Republican Sen. Susan Collins and independent Sen. Angus King say the federal Department of Transportation is giving the money to the Maine Public Utilities C..
FERC Issues New Natural Gas Project Guidelines
The staff of the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission’s (FERC) Office of Energy Projects has finalized its revised Guidelines for Reporting on Cultural Resources Investigations for Natural Gas Projects, which were issued in draft form on January 25, 2017, for comment. The guidelines have been altere..
Maine Utility Regulators to Weigh in on Water Transportation Proposal
LINCOLN, Maine (AP) — Utility regulators are weighing in on Poland Spring’s plan to transport up to 172 million gallons of water a year from a public water district well that once served a Maine paper mill. The Maine Public Utilities Commission on Tuesday is set to discuss a permit application file..
Factory in New York Village with Tainted Water Gets Superfund Tag
HOOSICK FALLS, N.Y. (AP) — A factory site contaminated with chemicals that also tainted drinking water in an upstate New York village near the Vermont border has been designated a federal Superfund site. The listing announced Monday by the Environmental Protection Agency allows federal resources to..
Natural Gas Council Releases Resilience, Reliability Guide
The Natural Gas Council, which collectively represents companies that produce, transport and deliver clean, affordable natural gas throughout the United States, has released a white paper, “Natural Gas: Reliable and Resilient” highlighting the operational measures, physical characteristics and cont..
Crews: 2 Approaches to Restore Outer Banks Islands' Power
RODANTHE, N.C. (AP) — Crews are taking two approaches to restore power to two North Carolina Outer Banks islands. Cape Hatteras Electric Cooperative spokeswoman Laura Ertle said in a statement that crews are digging up damaged cables to splice together. The utility also is looking at an overhead tr..
Minnesota Working to Clean up the State's Water
ST. PAUL, Minn. (AP) — Minnesota’s governor is pushing for more improvements to water quality in the state. Minnesota Public Radio reports that 40 percent of the state’s lakes and streams are polluted and many are unsafe for recreational activities. Current cleanup efforts predict water quality ..
Agencies Start Process to Rescind Water Rule
(AP) — The Environmental Protection Agency and the Army Corps of Engineers have started a process aimed at ending a federal regulation — opposed by some small business groups — that sought to expand government jurisdiction over bodies of water. The agencies published a notice in the Federal Registe..
Las Vegas Water Pipeline Fight to Go Before Federal Judge
LAS VEGAS (AP) — A decades-long fight over a plan to pump water from arid and sparsely populated valleys along Nevada’s eastern edge and pipe it to thirsty Las Vegas is about to get its first hearing before a federal judge. Environmental groups and American Indian tribes are expected to tell U.S. D..
Corps of Engineers Plans Water Project
The Nashville District U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE), has released a presolicitation notice announcing it plans to issue an Invitation for Bid (IFB) solicitation for a firm fixed-price construction contract for a certified small business contractor to complete work at Melton Hill Lock, which ..
Court Says Flint Residents Can Sue Michigan Over Bad Water
FLINT, Mich. (AP) — A federal appeals court says Flint residents who used lead-contaminated water can pursue constitutional claims against Michigan and city officials. In a 3-0 decision, the court overturned decisions by a federal judge who said the claims weren’t allowed under water law. The court..
Officials Work on Response Plan to Nogales Sewer Line Break
NOGALES, Ariz. (AP) – Officials are working on a plan to respond to the flow of untreated wastewater pouring into a southern Arizona wash from a partial break in an international sewage line north of Nogales. Santa Cruz County officials say the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers has personnel on scene to..
Mountain Valley Pipeline Lawsuit Filed
ROANOKE, Va. (AP) — A newly filed lawsuit is seeking to stop federal regulators from granting the developers of the proposed Mountain Valley Pipeline the power of eminent domain. The lawsuit was filed Thursday in federal court in Roanoke, Virginia, on behalf of property owners in the pipeline’s pa..
INGAA Board Supports Safe Pipeline Construction
INGAA today announced that on July 18 its board of directors formally and unanimously affirmed its commitment to the highest levels of safety and integrity in the pipeline construction process. INGAA has 26 members, representing the vast majority of the interstate natural gas transmission pipeline ..
Democrat Stone Leaving Mississippi Senate for Utility Job
HOLLY SPRINGS, Miss. (AP) — A Democrat from northern Mississippi is leaving the state Senate to become manager of a local utility company. Sen. Bill Stone of Holly Springs tells the Northeast Mississippi Daily Journal that his resignation will take effect Monday. The Mississippi Constitution bans ..
Flint's Water Quality Improving
FLINT, Mich. (AP) — Michigan will close five of the nine locations where Flint residents have been getting free bottled water, filters, replacement cartridges and testing kits because the city’s water quality is improving. Mayor Karen Weaver said Wednesday that officials will keep the last four wat..
Rover Pipeline Construction Halted in West Virginia
MORGANTOWN, W.Va. (AP) — State environmental authorities have ordered a halt to Rover Pipeline construction in places where it found permit violations damaging streams in northern West Virginia. After inspectors in April, May, June and July found erosion-control failures that left sediment deposits..
Vermont Reaches Deal to Run Water Lines to Homes with PFOA
MONTPELIER, Vt. (AP) — The state of Vermont says a company that owns a Bennington facility that once used the chemical PFOA has agreed to pay for a $20 million public water line extension to about 200 homes whose private water supplies are contaminated with the chemical. The settlement with Saint G..
- 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