Utility Infrastructure
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..
2 Dead, 3 Injured After Indiana House Explosion
EVANSVILLE, Ind. (AP) — Firefighters found two bodies in the basement of a southwest Indiana house after it was destroyed by an explosion and fire Tuesday that also injured three people. Searchers located the first body amid the rubble about four hours after the explosion was reported around 8:45 a..
Georgia Utility Awards Sewer Contract
The Walker County Water & Sewerage Authority (WCWSA) has awarded a $297,000 contract to Insituform, an Aegion Company, to combat millions of gallons of stormwater infiltrating its system. The project involves renewing and extending the life of 11,000 feet of sewer line, utilizing a cured in place p..
Water Utility Nears Safety Milestone
Mesa Water District has announced it is approaching four years without a lost time accident due to a robust environmental health and safety program that has helped the district achieve a “gold standard” of safety performance. Mesa Water’s overall safety rating improved 15 percent between 2014 and 2..
Artesian Water Completes Infrastructure Project
Artesian Resources Corporation’s principal subsidiary, Artesian Water Company, Inc. has achieved full regionalization of drinking water throughout its growing southern New Castle County service area. In June 2017, Artesian’s transmission and distribution teams completed several critical service con..
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..
West Virginia American Water Begins Infrastructure Upgrades
West Virginia American Water today announced it is beginning work on the following water infrastructure improvement projects: An approximately $70,000 project to replace 500 feet of 1950s-era water line with new six-inch PVC line in South Hills. The project will take place along Bridg..
Pennsylvania American Water Names New Senior Supervisor
Pennsylvania American Water today announced that Jamie Yakes has been named to the position of senior supervisor of the company’s Yardley District, which provides water service to Yardley Borough, Lower Makefield Township and Falls Township. In his new position, Yakes is responsible for overs..
Pennsylvania American Water Names New Coatesville Operations Superintendent
Pennsylvania American Water today announced the appointment of Justin Brame to the position of operations superintendent of its Coatesville area water and wastewater systems. In his new role, Brame will oversee all aspects of the Coatesville operations, including distribution, collection, wat..
American Water Announces Recipients of 2017 James LaFrankie Scholarship Awards
American Water has announced the recipients of the 26th annual James V. LaFrankie Scholarship Awards. The awards were distributed nationwide to nine college-bound children of full-time American Water employees who demonstrate an interest in water-related industry occupational fields. Out of 66 comp..
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..
Pennsylvania American Water Begins Two Water Main Upgrade Projects
Pennsylvania American Water has announced work is underway on the following construction projects: Upgrading more than 3,500 feet of water main in Clarks Summit and South Abington Township to improve reliability for customers, reduce service disruptions and increase water flows for firefighting. ..
Pennsylvania American Water Begins Water Line Expansion
Pennsylvania American Water has started construction to extend water lines in Butler County to provide public water service to the Summit Township Elementary School and approximately 100 residential customers. The elementary school was closed in January after reports of lead and E.coli contami..
Contracts Awarded for Underground Utilities Construction
The Palm Beach Town Council has approved the following contracts for underground utilities construction: More than $4.8 million to Burkhardt Construction for undergrounding, water main and drainage improvements $7.9 million to Whiting-Turner Contracting for the installation of underground utilit..
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..
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 ..
Philadelphia Expanding, Improving Low-income Water Program
PHILADELPHIA (AP) — The Philadelphia Water Department is launching a new program next month to provide discounted service to low-income families. Philly.com (http://bit.ly/2sRCnQx ) says the city expects about 50,000 households to participate, about five times as many as the city’s current program ..
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 ..
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..
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..
$90 Million Contract Awarded for Construction of Stormwater Conveyance System
The Metropolitan Sewer District of Greater Cincinnati has awarded Kokosing Industrial Inc. an $89.9 million construction contract for the Lick Run Greenway Project, a 1.5-mile stormwater conveyance system designed to keep hundreds of millions of gallons of combined sewer overflow out of the Mill Cre..
Ten Underground Mechanics Complete PECO's Comprehensive Training Program
PECO today announced that ten new underground apprentice mechanics celebrated their completion of a rigorous 15-week training program – joining the front lines to ensure safe and reliable service for PECO’s 1.6 million electric customers. More than 600 people applied for this year’s program, which d..
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..
Technology Helps Utility Reduce Methane Emissions from Pipeline
Southern California Gas Co. recently used innovative gas capture technology to empty natural gas from a permanently abandoned pipeline in Santa Clarita, Calif. The special process enables gas to be saved for later use while eliminating noise and emissions that occur in the traditional venting metho..
PG&E Senior VP and Chief Nuclear Officer to Retire
Edward D. Halpin, Senior Vice President, Generation and Chief Nuclear Officer of Pacific Gas and Electric Company, and a 35-year veteran of the energy industry, has announced his retirement, effective December 31, 2017. “Ed has done an outstanding job leading our nuclear and power generation operat..
Utility Earns National Safety Award
For the second straight year, Florida Public Utilities Company, a subsidiary of Chesapeake Utilities Corporation, has received a Safety Achievement Award from the American Gas Association for excellence in employee safety. The selection was based on criteria that included professional and person..
Aqua America Receives Approval to Acquire Pennsylvania Wastewater System
Aqua America, Inc. today announced its largest subsidiary, Aqua Pennsylvania, received approval from the Pennsylvania Public Utility Commission to purchase the wastewater assets of New Garden Township, serving approximately 2,100 customer connections in southeast Pennsylvania’s Chester County. Aqua..
Gas Pipeline Project Expected to Cause Traffic Delays in New Mexico
SANTA FE, N.M. (AP) – A utility company will be realigning a six-mile stretch of natural gas pipeline along New Mexico State Road 68, causing traffic delays in the height of the Rio Grande tourist season. The Santa Fe New Mexican reported (http://bit.ly/2s5GBmo ) Wednesday New Mexico Gas Co. plans ..
- TxDOT advances massive drainage tunnel beneath I-35 in Austin
- Glenfarne Alaska LNG targets late-2026 construction start for 807-mile pipeline project
- U.S. water reuse boom to fuel $47 billion in infrastructure spending through 2035
- $2.3 billion approved to construct 236-mile Texas-to-Gulf gas pipeline
- Major water pipe break in Puerto Rico hits over 165,000 customers
- Pennsylvania American Water launches interactive map to identify, replace lead water service lines
- Trump's tariffs drive $33 million cost increase for Cincinnati sewer project
- Utah city launches historic $70 million tunnel project using box jacking under active rail line
- Tulsa residents warned after sewer lines damaged by boring work
- Fatal trench collapse halts sewer construction in Massachusetts; two workers hospitalized