Regulatory
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..
Judge Halts Pipeline Construction in Pennsylvania
WEST CHESTER, Pa. (AP) — An administrative law judge has temporarily halted work on Sunoco’s Mariner East 2 pipeline in eastern Pennsylvania. That happened because the judge wants the Pennsylvania Public Utility Commission to hear and rule whether Sunoco violated a 2015 settlement agreement with We..
Cooper Says He's Acting on Chemical in North Carolina River
RALEIGH, N.C. (AP) — North Carolina Gov. Roy Cooper said Monday he’s directing state criminal investigators to see if a chemical plant violated any permits by discharging a little-studied chemical into a river that hundreds of thousands of people use for drinking water. Cooper discussed his order t..
Boil-water Advisory Lifted in Kansas Town
EMPORIA, KS (AP) – Emporia residents no longer have to boil their water. The Kansas Department of Health and Environment announced Sunday that a boil advisory had been lifted. The advisory had been in place since Thursday, after a major water main break left the city of about 25,000 residents nearl..
Water-boil Advisory in New Mexico Town May End Soon
ARTESIA, N.M. (AP) – Residents in a southeastern New Mexico community are hoping that a week-long water boil advisory will be lifted soon. The Artesia Daily Press reports that test results of 10 water samples tested negative for any bacteria in Artesia this weekend. If state officials come up with..
Report: Violations Occurred During Mariner East 2 Construction
The Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) has released details of oversight activities for the Mariner East 2 Pipeline Project, which includes construction violations. Presently, four Notices of Violation have been issued for the project. In addition, one Consent Order and Agree..
Los Angeles Restoring Water Tunnel to Capture Runoff
LOS ANGELES (AP) — Los Angeles is restoring a century-old water tunnel to capture runoff from the Sierra Nevada, which had a record snowfall this winter after years of drought. The Department of Water and Power is spending $4.5 million to repair and reopen a 2-mile-long tunnel that once carried wat..
$16 Billion Water Tunnels Get Expected OK
SAN FRANCISCO (AP) — The main California agency promoting Gov. Jerry Brown’s proposed $16 billion water tunnels gave its expected approval to the project Friday. The move by the Department of Water Resources, which is helping shepherd Brown’s tunnels project over the regulatory and financial hurdle..
Omaha Wastewater Project Is Candidate for Federal Loan
OMAHA, Neb. (AP) — Omaha has been invited to apply for a $55 million federal loan to help pay for upgrades to its sewer and wastewater treatment system. The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency says Omaha’s project was one of 12 nationwide chosen to apply for the loan. EPA administrator ..
Judge Takes Away Chicago Suburb's Water Fund Control
CHICAGO (AP) — A judge has taken away a Chicago suburb’s control over its water fund after determining the city’s officials engaged in illegal conduct over several years. Cook County Circuit Judge Kathleen Pantle noted in a ruling Wednesday that millions of dollars were missing and another $26 mill..
New Orleans Official Warns of Lead Threats in Tap Water
NEW ORLEANS (AP) — The New Orleans inspector general says the city hasn’t adequately warned residents that ongoing street repairs and water system improvements could result in temporarily high lead levels in some buildings’ tap water. Inspector General Ed Quatrevaux’s latest report says some old ci..
Dakota Access Developer’s New Pipeline Rankling Regulators
NEW WASHINGTON, Ohio (AP) — The company that developed the Dakota Access oil pipeline is entangled in another fight, this time in Ohio where work on its multi-state natural gas pipeline has wrecked wetlands, flooded farm fields and flattened a 170-year-old farmhouse. The federal commission that ove..
Regulators Release Environmental Assessment of Pipeline
RICHMOND, Va. (AP) – The Atlantic Coast Pipeline intended to carry natural gas across West Virginia, Virginia and North Carolina would have some adverse environmental effects, including impacts on water resources, forest and other habitats, but most could be reduced to insignificant levels, an asses..
Texas Water Development Board OK's More than $1 Billion in SWIFT Assistance
The Texas Water Development Board (TWDB) has approved $1,052,915,000 in financial assistance from the State Water Implementation Fund for Texas (SWIFT) program. The SWIFT financing will be distributed to 10 project sponsors across the state. “Texas communities understand the importance of proactive..
Nearly $16 Million Approved for Water Projects in Texas
The Texas Water Development Board (TWDB) today approved financial assistance of more than $15.9 million for water and wastewater construction projects across the state. The projects approved include: $12 million to the city of Justin for water system improvements, including the replacement of 38..
Lawmakers Seek to Reauthorize Northern Border Regional Commission
MONTPELIER, Vt. (AP) – A bipartisan group of seven members of the U.S. House of Representatives from northern New England and upstate New York is working together to reauthorize a program that provides economic development funds across the region. Since 2008, the Northern Border Regional Commission..
US Lawsuit: Ohio City let Sewage into Lake Erie Tributaries
CLEVELAND HEIGHTS, Ohio (AP) — The Environmental Protection Agency and the Justice Department have sued the Ohio city of Cleveland Heights, saying it allowed raw sewage to flow into Lake Erie tributaries. The Plain Dealer reports (http://bit.ly/2vmjBiH ) that Cleveland Heights denies any liability ..
Michigan’s Flint Campus Gets $400,000 for Water Expenses
FLINT, Mich. (AP) – The Flint campus of the University of Michigan is getting $400,000 from the state for costs related to the city’s water crisis. The money is part of the new budget signed last week by Gov. Rick Snyder. University spokesman Rick Fitzgerald says the money is partial reimbursement..
EPA Promoting Millions in Funding for Water, Sewer Programs
WASHINGTON (AP) – The Environmental Protection Agency is considering a dozen proposed water and sewer projects for a program that uses $25 million in federal funds to help secure billions in additional public and private financing. EPA Administrator Scott Pruitt highlighted the Water Infrastructure..
Months Needed for Extra Study of Dakota Access Pipeline
BISMARCK, N.D. (AP) — The Army Corps of Engineers says additional environmental review of the disputed Dakota Access oil pipeline is likely to take the rest of the year. The federal agency, Texas-based pipeline developer Energy Transfer Partners and energy trade groups also are advocating for keepi..
North Carolina Gets $3M to Enforce Safe Drinking Water Act
RALEIGH, N.C. (AP) — North Carolina has received $3 million from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency to help the state enforce the Safe Drinking Water Act. The grant, announced Monday, was made under the Public Water System Supervision program and goes to the state Division of Environmental Qu..
Rhode Island Town to Replace Lead Water Lines in Flint-Inspired Program
NORTH PROVIDENCE, R.I. (AP) — A Rhode Island town is teaming up with a utility to replace lead drinking water lines in a pilot program inspired by the water crisis in Flint, Michigan. The Providence Journal reports (http://bit.ly/2tWGBEG ) that North Providence is committing $270,000 in federal gra..
Ohio Village Receives $500,000 for Sanitary Sewer Expansion
The Ohio EPA is providing a $532,464 loan to the village of Apple Creek to extend sanitary sewers to Waynedale High School on Dover Road. The loan, along with a grant from the Ohio Public Works Commission, will cover the entire cost of the project. Apple Creek will extend sanitary sewers nearly a m..
Ohio Sewer District Receives Nearly $5 Million for Collection System Upgrades
The Ohio EPA is providing a $4,774,375 loan to the Northeast Ohio Regional Sewer District (NEORSD) to fund upgrades to the Kingsbury Run sewer collection system. Kingsbury Run serves as a drainage outlet for the central portion of Cleveland, east of the Cuyahoga River, and the west end of Shaker Hei..
Trump Selects Lawyer as FERC's Chairman
WASHINGTON (AP) — President Donald Trump has nominated energy lawyer Kevin McIntyre to chair the vacancy-plagued commission that oversees the nation’s power grid and natural gas pipelines. Only one commissioner currently serves on the five-member Federal Energy Regulatory Commission, leaving it wit..
- 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