Regulatory
Detroit Lead Pipe Replacement Could Be Long and Costly
DETROIT (AP) — Detroit’s water chief said it could take decades and up to $500 million to remove underground water lines that could potentially threaten people’s health with lead. Water and Sewerage Department Director Gary Brown cited the figures this week at a national water conference held in Fl..
Pittsburgh Raises $1 Million to Address Lead Contamination
Pittsburgh Mayor William Peduto announced that the city has partnered with Peoples Gas and the Pittsburgh Water & Sewer Authority to invest $1 million to provide filters to every PWSA customer to reduce high lead levels in their drinking water. The city plans to offer the free filters to all homeow..
East Chicago Officials Say $56M is Needed for Lead Crisis
EAST CHICAGO, Ind. (AP) — East Chicago officials estimate the city needs at least $56 million to deal with its ongoing lead contamination crisis. Mayor Anthony Copeland submitted an inventory on Friday to Gov. Eric Holcomb about the resources needed to address the contamination in the Calumet neigh..
50 Wisconsin Lawmakers Sign Bill to Remove Lead Lines
MADISON, Wis. (AP) — Almost 50 legislators from both parties have signed onto a measure that would let utility companies raise rates to help customers replace dangerous lead service lines. Still, its sponsor, Republican Sen. Robert Cowles of Green Bay, warned supporters at the bill’s Senate committ..
Many Ohio Cities May Miss Deadline on Mapping Lead Pipes
TOLEDO, Ohio (AP) — Many of Ohio’s public drinking water systems are in danger of missing a deadline requiring them to map out the locations of their lead pipes, the state’s Environmental Protection Agency said Wednesday. Only about half the surveys from the nearly 1,900 public drinking water..
Flint's Water Line Replacement to Take Until at Least 2019
FLINT, Mich. (AP) — The head of Flint’s water pipe replacement program says the city in Michigan hopes to finish the project in 2019. Retired National Guard Brig. Gen. Michael McDaniel coordinates the FAST Start initiative to replace lines that leached lead into homes and businesses. He made his co..
Iowa Considers Dismantling Water Utilities in Three Cities
DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) – An overflow crowd jammed a legislative hearing to oppose a bill they argued would make it more difficult to ensure safe water. At Monday’s public hearing on a bill that would dismantle water utilities in Des Moines, West Des Moines and Urbandale, opponents criticized the pro..
PHMSA Makes Some Positive Changes in Final Safety Rule
The Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration (PHMSA) announced in January a number of changes in the pipeline safety laws in a final rule covering some of the provisions in the Pipeline Safety, Regulatory Certainty, and Job Creation Act of 2011. The key provisions dealt with the timefr..
Flint: More Corrosion Control Studies on Water Needed
FLINT, MI (AP) – Mayor Karen Weaver has told the Environmental Protection Agency that more corrosion control studies have to be done and Flint will need more than two years before the city can begin to supply its own water. The Flint Journal reports that the plan and a letter from Weaver were filed..
Mexican Sewer Spill Flares US Noses and Tempers
For more than two weeks, a stench of feces, ammonium and laundry detergent wafted through the air in the southwestern corner of the continental United States. Residents who contacted government offices got no answers. Finally, a U.S. official released a report that sparked a furious reaction: sewer..
EPA Tier 4 Mandates Driving Up Demand Of Non-Tier 4 Used Construction
According to a survey of Independent Equipment Dealers Association (IEDA) members, the EPA’s Tier 4 mandates are driving up the demand of non- Tier 4 used construction equipment, and this trend will continue for the next several years. For many equipment categories, used equipment availability is ..
Texas Town Gets $15 Million for Water Improvements
The Texas Water Development Board (TWDB) has approved financial assistance in the amount of $15 million from the Drinking Water State Revolving Fund to the city of Granbury. The assistance will finance water system improvements and enable the city to save approximately $2.1 million. With this fundi..
York Water to Expedite Replacement of Lead Service Lines
The Pennsylvania Public Utility Commission has approved a joint settlement with York Water Company for the immediate replacement of both company-owned and customer-owned lead service lines, with the total line replacement done at the same time and solely at the company’s cost. The Commission voted ..
Coalition Asks EPA to Act on Lead in East Chicago Water
EAST CHICAGO, Ind. (AP) — A coalition of community and environmental groups and law clinics has petitioned the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency to act immediately to protect East Chicago residents from lead in their drinking water. The petition Thursday from the NAACP, the Natural Resources Def..
Great Lakes Commission: Billions Needed for Water Upgrades
ANN ARBOR, Mich. (AP) — A Great Lakes organization wants governments in the U.S. and Canada to fund massive infrastructure upgrades to provide safe drinking water and support waterborne freight transport. The Great Lakes Commission says drinking water crises in Toledo, Ohio, and Flint, Michigan, sh..
Pennsylvania Eyes New Fees to Add Drinking Water Inspectors
HARRISBURG, Pa. (AP) — Gov. Tom Wolf’s administration says it wants to impose new fees on public water utilities to pay for more inspectors and resolve a federal official’s warning it isn’t adequately enforcing safe drinking water standards. Wolf’s Department of Environmental Protection says it hop..
Corpus Christi Gets $51 Million for Water Improvements
The Texas Water Development Board (TWDB) has approved more than 51 million in financial assistance from the Drinking Water State Revolving Fund to the city of Corpus Christi. The city will use the assistance to refinance water system improvements and could save approximately $8.2 million over the li..
California Water Leaders to Push for Infrastructure Investments
More than 130 local California water leaders will be in Washington, D.C. this week to meet with key members of California’s congressional delegation and highlight the critical role of water infrastructure as part of the Association of California Water Agencies’ annual DC Conference. ACWA members re..
Maine Utility Regulators to Consider $1.5B FairPoint Sale
AUGUSTA, Maine (AP) — Maine utility regulators are ready to delve into details of the proposed $1.5 billion sale of FairPoint Communications, the country’s eighth-largest phone and internet company. Consolidated Communications, based in Illinois, announced in December it was buying FairPoint, assum..
New York Lawmakers Propose Program for Crumbling Water Pipes
ALBANY, N.Y. (AP) — Small upstate New York communities faced with dilapidated wooden pipes rumored to be more than 100 years old need state money to repair water system infrastructure on the verge of collapse, a group of lawmakers said Thursday. A bipartisan group of lawmakers joined officials in p..
Utility Altered Water Treatment Chemicals Without Approval
PITTSBURGH (AP) — State environmental officials found that the Pittsburgh Water and Sewer Authority altered its water treatment chemicals without approval, although there is so far no evidence that this move has caused any public health risk. The Pittsburgh Post-Gazette reports (http://bit.ly..
North Dakota Town Gets $1.2 Million for Sewer Project
FARGO, N.D. (AP) — The Federal Emergency Management Agency has awarded more than $1.2 million to the city of Fargo. The money is to help protect the city’s wastewater treatment plant from flooding. The grant is part of FEMA’s Hazard Mitigation Grant Program and will cover 75 percent of the cost to..
Senate Confirms Scott Pruitt to Lead EPA
WASHINGTON (AP) — Oklahoma Attorney General Scott Pruitt on Friday won Senate confirmation to head the Environmental Protection Agency, a federal agency he repeatedly sued to rein in its reach during the Obama administration. The vote was 52-46 as Republican leaders used their party’s narrow Senate..
New Hampshire Town Appeals Order to Replace Sewer Force Mains
HAMPTON (AP) — Hampton officials are appealing a state order directing the town to replace two sewer force mains at the beach after one of the pipes leaked sewage into the town’s marsh. The state Department of Environmental Services handed down the order last month, instructing the town to replace ..
New York Invests $40 Million for Sewer Upgrades
ALBANY, N.Y. (AP) — New York state is investing $40 million in efforts to improve local wastewater systems. Gov. Andrew Cuomo announced the funding Thursday. It will go to several communities in the North Country, the Hudson River Valley and on Long Island in the form of grants and low-cost loans. ..
Contractors Facing Increased Pressure to Turn Down the Noise
Sound regulations dictate work hours and required equipment decibel ratings in residential and commercial neighborhoods. The rules vary by country, state and municipality, which can make it tricky for contractors to stay on top of the current guidelines. These regulations are already affecting contr..
Utility to Pay $8.5 Million to Settle Suit Over Gas Blowout
LOS ANGELES (AP) — The Southern California Gas Co. agreed Wednesday to pay $8.5 million to settle a lawsuit over a well blowout that spewed natural gas for nearly four months and drove thousands of residents from their Los Angeles homes. The utility signed an agreement with the South Coast Air Qu..
Corps Ignores Pleas To Restrict Pipeline Construction Permits
The Army Corps of Engineers turned back efforts by environmental groups to limit availability of nationwide permits (NWPs) that pipelines use when they want to build facilities that cross streams and tributaries but cause insubstantial environmental damage. The Corps issued its revisions to 50 NWPs ..
EPA Announces WIFIA Program For Financing Large Water Projects
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) announced the new Water Infrastructure Finance and Innovation Act (WIFIA) program that will provide long-term, low-cost credit assistance in the form of direct loans and loan guarantees to creditworthy water projects. WIFIA provides another option for ..
Colorado City to Vote on Fluoride in Water
DURANGO, Colo. (AP) – Voters will decide in April whether water in their southwestern Colorado community should continue to be fluoridated. The Durango Herald reports that the Durango City Council voted to place the question on the ballot after more than a year of meetings and debate. The council c..
- 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