Regulatory
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..
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..
- 2 workers killed, 1 injured while working on sewer line in Mobile, Ala.
- $5.3 billion, 516-mile pipeline to connect Texas to Arizona through New Mexico
- Tunnel boring continues under Chesapeake Bay for $3.9 billion HRBT Expansion project
- Judge approves construction for key portion of $485 million pipeline in Larimer County, Colo.
- 31 workers rescued after LA tunnel partially collapses
- New products: Latest industry developments
- 31 workers rescued after LA tunnel partially collapses
- Ohio Supreme Court rules sewer line location isn’t a ‘defect’ in property dispute
- Faulconer Construction begins rock blasting for water pipeline project in Charlottesville, Va.
- $5.3 billion, 516-mile pipeline to connect Texas to Arizona through New Mexico