Regulatory
North Dakota Regulators Postpone Construction Violations Hearing
BISMARCK, N.D. (AP) — North Dakota regulators have granted a request by the developer of the Dakota Access pipeline to postpone a public hearing on whether the company violated state rules — but not without dissent. The Public Service Commission is looking into whether Energy Transfer Partners remo..
North Dakota to Get $10 Million for Pipeline Protest Costs
BISMARCK, N.D. (AP) — U.S. Sen. John Hoeven says North Dakota will receive $10 million from the federal government to help pay state law enforcement bills related to months of protests over the Dakota Access pipeline. The state applied to the Justice Department’s Emergency Federal Law Enforcement A..
North Carolina Agency Getting More Public Input on Pipeline
ROCKY MOUNT, N.C. (AP) — The public is getting more formal opportunities to speak up about a proposed natural gas pipeline running through eastern North Carolina. The state Department of Environmental Quality scheduled three “listening sessions” this week on the Atlantic Coast Pipeline projec..
Arizona Regulators to Ponder Rate Boost for APS
PHOENIX (AP) — Arizona utility regulators are set to consider a rate increase for the state’s largest electric company that could go into effect as soon as next month. Tuesday’s planned meeting by the Arizona Corporation Commission comes months after Arizona Public Service reached a deal with..
Water Agency Hires Firm to Evaluate Niagara Falls Discharge
NIAGARA FALLS, N.Y. (AP) — The public agency that was responsible for black, smelly water being discharged into water below Niagara Falls says it’s hired an engineering firm to evaluate the discharge. The Niagara Falls Water Board said in a statement released Monday that it’s retained Los Angel..
Settlement Offered to Dakota Access Developer
BISMARCK, N.D. (AP) — North Dakota regulators offered Monday to settle state allegations that the Texas-based developer of the Dakota Access oil pipeline improperly reported the discovery of American Indian artifacts during construction. The state Public Service Commission last November proposed a ..
After 22 Water Breaks, Lawrence Learns of Installation Woes
LAWRENCE, Kan. (AP) — Lawrence officials have learned that 13 miles of pipeline was improperly installed after 22 water main breaks. The Lawrence Journal-World reports that the breaks have occurred over a three-week period. Director of Utilities Dave Wagner says repair and replacement costs from th..
$60.7 Million Approved to Upgrade New York's Water and Wastewater Systems
On Aug. 10, New York Governor Andrew M. Cuomo announced that $60.7 million in grants, in addition to interest-free and low-cost loans, have been approved by the New York State Environmental Facilities Corporation Board of Directors to support vital drinking water and wastewater infrastructure projec..
Pennsylvania DEP Approves Utility's Source Water Protection Plan
The Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) has approved a Source Water Protection Plan for Appalachian Utilities, Inc., which delivers drinking water to approximately 3,000 people in Avis Borough and Pine Creek Township, Clinton County. The plan, which Appalachian created with te..
Tetra Tech Awarded $113 Million Contract to Support EPA Watershed Protection Program
Tetra Tech, Inc. has been awarded a five-year, $113 million contract to provide technical support services for the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Office of Water. Under this multiple-award contract, Tetra Tech will support the EPA Office of Water’s Assessment and Watershed Protection Div..
Company: Pipeline Construction Project Was Sabotaged
CANTON (AP) – Officials from the company building twin high-pressure natural gas pipelines across northern Ohio have told federal regulators that sabotage or leaky equipment caused drilling slurry to become contaminated while cleaning up a spill near the Tuscarawas River. The Canton Repository repo..
New DIRT Report Estimates Damage to Buried Utilities Cost Society at Least $1.5 Billion in 2016
The Common Ground Alliance (CGA) today announced findings from its comprehensive 2016 Damage Information Reporting Tool (DIRT) Report. The report, which is the sum of all 2016 data submitted anonymously and voluntarily by facility operators, utility locating companies, one call centers,..
North Carolina Lawmakers Seek Answers on Money Requests, Probes
RALEIGH (AP) — Several North Carolina legislators want more information quickly from Gov. Roy Cooper to justify his request for $2.6 million to respond to releases of a little-studied chemical into a river and future water safety issues. The Republican senators also demanded in a letter to Cooper t..
B.C. Seeks To Block Trans Mountain Oil Pipeline Extension
The new government of British Columbia has announced that it stands firmly against the extension of Kinder Morgan’s Trans Mountain oil pipeline and will seek ways to block its construction despite a green light from the federal government, Canadian media report. The Globe and Mail quoted the provin..
Federal Judge Clears Way for Completion of Water Project
BISMARCK, N.D. (AP) — A federal judge has cleared the way for completion of a $244 million project to bring Missouri River water to residents of northwestern North Dakota, though the state of Missouri and the Canadian province of Manitoba can appeal. U.S. District Judge Rosemary Collyer in Washingt..
Mexico Experts: Outdated Drain Caused July's Deadly Sinkhole
MEXICO CITY (AP) — A panel of experts in Mexico has determined that an old drainage pipe was to blame for a sinkhole on a major highway that killed two men last month when their car plunged into it. The 34-year-old drain was not replaced as suggested before an expanded highway was built on top of i..
Local Lawmakers: Probe Niagara Falls Black Water Discharge
NIAGARA FALLS, N.Y. (AP) — Local lawmakers are asking for a criminal investigation into the discharge of wastewater that turned the water below Niagara Falls black. The Niagara County Legislature passed resolutions Thursday night that request investigations by the New York state attorney general, t..
Trump Names ex-McConnell Aide to Lead Energy Agency for Now
WASHINGTON (AP) — President Donald Trump on Thursday named a former aide to Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell as interim leader of the commission that oversees the U.S. power grid. Trump elevated Neil Chatterjee, McConnell’s longtime energy adviser, to head the Federal Energy Regulatory Commis..
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..
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- $5.3 billion, 516-mile pipeline to connect Texas to Arizona through New Mexico