Regulatory
Application for PennEast Pipeline Closed Over Deficiencies
TRENTON, N.J. (AP) — New Jersey regulators have closed an application for a more than $1 billion natural gas pipeline starting in Pennsylvania and ending in New Jersey. The New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection said Wednesday in a letter to PennEast that its request for a 60-day extensi..
Michigan Sues Flint After Council Refuses to OK Water Deal
LANSING, Mich. (AP) – The state of Michigan sued Flint Wednesday, alleging that the city council’s refusal to approve a broadly backed deal to buy water long term from a Detroit-area system is endangering public health in the wake of a man-made crisis that left the supply contaminated with lead. Th..
Board Orders Review of Vermont Utility Regulation System
MONTPELIER, Vt. (AP) — The Vermont Public Service Board has ordered a review of the state’s utility regulation system saying it wants to make sure it’s equipped to handle modern utilities. The review would include a look at an alternative regulatory model used by Green Mountain Power and Verm..
Trump Administration Moves to Withdraw Obama’s Water Rule
WASHINGTON (AP) — The Trump administration moved Tuesday to roll back an Obama administration policy that protected more than half the nation’s streams from pollution but drew attacks from farmers, fossil fuel companies and property-rights groups as federal overreach. The 2015 regulation sought t..
Texas Town Receives $5.5 Million for Water, Wastewater Projects
The Texas Water Development Board (TWDB) has approved financial assistance in the amount of $5.5 million, consisting of a $1.6 million loan from the Drinking Water State Revolving Fund and a $3.9 million loan from the Clean Water State Revolving Fund, to the city of Gladewater. The assistance provi..
More than $16 Million Awarded for South Dakota Water, Wastewater Projects
The South Dakota Department of Environment and Natural Resources has approved more than $16 million for water and wastewater projects. Loans were awarded to the following municipalities: Eagle Butte, $940,000 in two loans, which includes a $670,000 loan for sanitary and storm sewer improv..
Vermont Utility Regulators Give Final Nod to FairPoint Deal
MONTPELIER, Vt. (AP) – Vermont utility regulators have given final approval to a deal that will allow the state’s largest landline telecommunications company to be acquired by an Illinois Company. The Vermont Public Service Board decision that was released Monday says the combined company that wi..
Flint Extends Contract for Detroit-area Water Supply
FLINT, Mich. (AP) — Flint has extended its water contract with the Great Lakes Water Authority to September as the impoverished Michigan city struggles to recover from a lead-tainted water crisis. The Flint Journal reports (http://bit.ly/2teV69f ) that the city council approved the short-term..
Vermont Public Service Board Is Changing Its Name
MONTPELIER, Vt. (AP) — The Vermont Public Service Board is changing its name to the Vermont Public Utility Commission. The board announced on its website that the new name will go into effect on July 1. The panel will continue its mission of approving the siting of energy project and ove..
California's Giant Water Tunnels Win First Crucial Approval
SAN FRANCISCO (AP) — U.S. wildlife officials gave crucial first approval Monday to California Gov. Jerry Brown’s decades-old ambitions to build two massive tunnels that would re-engineer the water system in the nation’s most populous state. The National Marine Fisheries Service and U.S. Fish and Wi..
Feds To Give Update On California’s Big Water Tunnels
The federal regulators evaluating Gov. Jerry Brown’s decades-old ambitions to re-engineer the water supplies from California’s largest river are promising a status update Monday, as Brown’s $16 billion proposal to shunt part of the Sacramento through two mammoth tunnels awaits a crucial yes or no fr..
Maine Regulators, FairPoint Agree on $175K Settlement
AUGUSTA, Maine (AP) — Maine utility regulators and FairPoint Communications are in agreement on a $175,000 settlement after the company failed to meet performance benchmarks from 2014 to last year. The state Public Utilities Commission’s staff had recommended $500,000 in fines after FairPoint..
Florida DEP Approves Nearly $39 Million for Water Pipeline Projects
The Florida Department of Environmental Protection’s Clean Water State Revolving Fund and Drinking Water State Revolving Fund programs recently selected seven clean water and drinking water pipeline projects around the state for $38.6 million in low-interest loans and grants. Both programs provide l..
PHMSA Seeks Pipeline Advisory Committee Nominations
The U.S. Department of Transportation’s Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration has announced it is seeking nominations for personnel, preferably executive-level leadership, from the federal government and industry to fill vacancies on its Gas and Liquid Pipeline Advisory Committees. ..
Montana City Takes Ownership of Water Utility
MISSOULA, Mont. (AP) — The city of Missoula has taken ownership of the water utility that serves its residents after a three-year court battle. The city bought Mountain Water Co. for $83.86 million and paid another $6.8 million to developers who had a claim against the company. Those amounts ..
Underground Construction Industry Applauds Proposed Sewer, Water Infrastructure Legislation
Legislation that would open the door to private investment in water and wastewater infrastructure investment was introduced today by U.S. Reps. John “Jimmy” Duncan (R-Tenn.) and Bill Pascrell (D-N.J.). The Sustainable Water Infrastructure Investment Act, which would remove water and wastewater..
Mountain Valley Review Finds Limited Environmental Impacts
ROANOKE, Va. (AP) — An environmental assessment of the proposed Mountain Valley natural gas pipeline finds the project would have “significant” impacts on forests in Virginia and West Virginia but “limited” other adverse effects. The analysis was published Friday by the Federal Energy Regulatory Co..
Contract Awarded for Lewis and Clark Water Pipeline Project
TEA, S.D. (AP) — The organization responsible for a system that delivers water to towns and rural water systems in South Dakota, Iowa and Minnesota has awarded a contract to construct a pipeline. The Lewis and Clark Regional Water System board of directors said Thursday that a roughly $2.2 mi..
Ruling on Dakota Access Pipeline Shutdown Months Away
BISMARCK, N.D. (AP) — A federal judge won’t decide until later this year whether to shut down the disputed Dakota Access oil pipeline while federal officials conduct a more thorough environmental review. U.S. District Judge James Boasberg on Wednesday approved a schedule under which both sides in a..
Trade Associations Send Letter Urging Senate to Approve FERC Nominees
30 trade associations have sent a letter to U.S. Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell and Democratic Leader Chuck Schemer imploring them to act promptly to restore a quorum at the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission. In the letter, the associations claim that because FERC has lacked a quorum for..
Settlement Approved in 2016 Seattle Natural Gas Explosion
SEATTLE (AP) — The state’s largest energy utility will pay at least $1.5 million for a natural gas explosion in Seattle’s Greenwood neighborhood last year. The Washington Utilities and Transportation Commission on Monday approved a settlement between Puget Sound Energy and commission staff reached ..
Report: New York Should Do More to Protect Drinking Water
ALBANY, N.Y. (AP) — A new report from New York Comptroller Thomas DiNapoli concludes that state officials can do more to protect residents from drinking water contamination. The findings are part of an analysis released by DiNapoli’s office on Monday. They come after potentially harmful industrial ..
Agencies Issue Public Advisory Due to Sewer Bypass
The United States Environmental Protection Agency, the Nebraska Department of Environmental Quality and the Kansas Department of Health and Environment have jointly issued an Advisory for the Missouri River downstream from the confluence of Papillion Creek and the Missouri River south of Omaha. The..
Michigan Governor Defends Cabinet Members Charged in Flint Water Crisis
LANSING, Mich. (AP) – An apologetic Michigan Gov. Rick Snyder was largely silent last year when criminal charges were brought against state officials over Flint’s man-made drinking water crisis, except to say some “bureaucrats” had failed residents and that he was focused on the city’s recovery. No..
Republicans Ready Regulatory Relief for Pipelines
It looks like, based on two recent hearings, that GOP members of the House are focused on providing the pipeline industry with regulatory relief as part of any infrastructure bill which comes before Congress. One House committee held hearings in May on a discussion draft of legislation containing ch..
Plastics Pipe Institute Shows Support for Trump's “Construction of American Pipelines” Memorandum
The Plastics Pipe Institute, Inc., the major trade association representing all segments of the plastic pipe industry, today released a statement echoing comments made by several national associations representing the oil and gas pipeline industry in support of President Trump’s objective to increas..
Official Hopes Charges in Flint Water Crisis Help Return Trust
FLINT, Mich. (AP) — In a battered city where many still refuse to bathe in tap water, much less drink it, the prosecution of officials accused of letting Flint’s public supply become contaminated with toxic lead and failing to warn of deadly bacteria represents a tentative step toward restoring trus..
California to Require Utilities to Plug Gas Leaks Big and Small
LOS ANGELES (AP) — California regulators adopted a stricter rule Thursday that requires utilities to plug leaks in natural gas lines. The rule adopted by California Public Utilities Commission aims to cut 40 percent of the potent greenhouse gases emitted from leaking pipes and gas distribution syst..
Agencies Delay Methane Rules Opposed by Oil, Gas Industry
WASHINGTON (AP) — The Trump administration is delaying two Obama-era regulations aimed at restricting harmful methane emissions from oil and gas production. The Environmental Protection Agency said it is seeking a two-year delay for oil and gas companies to follow a new rule requiring them to monit..
West Virginia American Water Seeks Infrastructure Rate Hike
CHARLESTON, W.Va. (AP) — West Virginia American Water Co. has asked state regulators to endorse infrastructure improvements that would boost the average residential customer’s bill by $1.04 per month. The company’s application was filed Thursday with the Public Service Commission. The company says..
- 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