July 2019 Vol.74 No. 7

In the “good old summertime,” family reunions abound. Meeting at a park, campground or Grandma’s house, Great Uncle Fred enthralls us with tales from the “old days” and Aunt Betty passes on family cooking secrets. Brothers and sisters, scattered across the g..

Editor’s Note: The following comment is in response to the May column of Editor-in-Chief Robert Carpenter titled “Renewing a Community of Cooperation.” Just wanted to drop you a line that I thoroughly enjoyed your editorial on the Massachusetts incident. I am proud to say that we ARE that kind of i..

The U.S. municipal water landscape is undergoing a transformation, as critical infrastructure services – water, gas, and electricity – converge under single investor-owned utility banners. This trend is highlighted by the growing roster of diversified infrastructure service providers owning water and wastewater utilities in the U.S., according to a new report from Bluefield Research.

The Plastics Pipe Institute (PPI) announced winners of its 2019 awards program, including several who are familiar to the underground utility infrastructure construction and rehabilitation sectors.

The importance of pipes, wires and cables buried underground that support our daily lives is being “unearthed” with the help of Executive Producer, Host and Author Mike Rowe and his animated alter ego “micro Mike Rowe.”

The Fiber Optic Sensing Association (FOSA), a non-profit organization dedicated to fiber optic sensing technology, commended the recent introduction of an infrastructure package by 31 House Energy and Commerce Committee members.

Twelve rare, juvenile Blanding’s Turtles hatched from incubated eggs were released recently back into a turtle-friendly habitat created for them near Saginaw, Mich., by Consumers Energy employees.

The Buried Asset Management Institute (BAMI-I) presented a one-day, overview version of its comprehensive certification program for water asset managers, CTAM, for the New Jersey Water Environment Association in early May. More than 40 professionals attended the workshop and received CEU/PDH credit...

The 7th annual Canadian Common Ground Alliance (CCGA) Damage Prevention Symposium will take place Oct. 8-10 in Niagara Falls, Ontario. Focusing on critical issues specific to Canadian stakeholders, this event features training and networking opportunities with those committed to damage prevention throughout Canada.

The Steering Committee of the Utility Engineering and Surveying Institute’s 2020 Surveying & Geomatics Conference is accepting abstracts for presentations and special panel sessions at the conference. Submissions can be made until Sept. 26, 2019, by visiting the conference website – surveyingconference.org – and selecting “Call for Submissions,” then “Submit Now.”

John William “Bill” Gilman of Greer, S.C., died last fall at age 73.

House Democrats have introduced the first infrastructure package in Congress that would make significant new investments in broadband deployment and drinking water systems, among other areas. All 31 Democrats on the House Energy & Commerce Committee sponsored the LIFT America Act (H.R. 2741), which had a hearing in front of that committee on May 22, 2019.

United States Tellurian Project: Haynesville Global Access Pipeline (HGAP) Capacity: 2 Bcf/d Location: Southwest Louisiana Dimensions: 160 miles of gas pipeline. Completion: 2Q 2023 (work to begin 2022) Comments: Tellurian is currently seeking shippers for its pipeline and production faciliti..

United States Navigator Energy Services Project: Glass Mountain System Expansion Location: Oklahoma (to Cushing) Length: 70 miles Capacity: 750,000 bbl. additional capacity Completion: 3Q 2019..

Canada Rangeland Midstream Canada Project: Marten Hills Pipeline System Capacity: Not determined Location: Northcentral Alberta Dimensions: 53 miles of crude and condensate pipeline Completion: 2Q 2020 Comments: The system will gather crude oil production from the Clearwater formation, which ..

United States Williams Project: Bluestream Pipeline Location: Kansas and Oklahoma Length: 188 miles Capacity: “significant volumes” Completion: 1Q 2021 Comments: Connecting fractionator in Conway, Kan. to southern terminus of Overland Pass Pipeline...

United States Targa Project: Grand Prix extension Location: Oklahoma Length: 110 miles Capacity: 120,000 bpd Completion: 1Q 2021 Comments: From southern Oklahoma into the Sooner Trend (oil field), Anadarko (basin), Canadian and Kingfisher (counties) “STACK” region of Central Oklahoma, where i..

Canada SemCAMS Midstream and Keyera Project: Canada Liquids Pipeline System Location: Northern Midland Basin Capacity: 100,000 bpd, expandable to 200,000 bpd Dimensions: 171 miles (275 km); 16-inch condensate, 12-inch NGL pipelines. Completion: 2022 Comments: The pipeline will connect the liq..

United States Tellurian Project: Delhi Connector Pipeline (DCPL) Capacity: 2 Bcf/d Location: Southwest Louisiana Dimensions: 180 miles of 42-inch gas pipeline Completion: 2023 (work to begin 2021) Comments: Tellurian began a binding open season for the Delhi Connector, connecting the Perryvil..

Mixed revenue and profitability results marked the second quarter of 2019 for the utility and communications industry, particularly among the publicly traded members of the Utility & Communications Construction Index (UCCI). Quanta Services continues to increase both its revenue and profitability. UCCI companies are near all-time highs of revenue, but experienced declines in profit margins during the quarter.

Texas’ natural gas utilities need to be ready for two new state pipeline safety programs: filing incident reports within one-hour of an accident, and removing underground cast-iron pipe by Dec. 31, 2021, used for natural gas delivery to end-use customers.

The Trenchless Technology Center (TTC) at Louisiana Tech University has once again had a very active year, continuing to meet its mission to advance trenchless technology by serving as an independent source of knowledge, research and education in the field.

On April 22–24, the Distribution Contractors Association (DCA) and the American Gas Association (AGA), held the 6th Annual DCA/CGA Workshop in Chicago. The workshops are intended to increase communication and cooperation between local distribution companies (LDCs) and the contractors who build gas distribution infrastructure for them.

Sometimes redundancy is a good thing, especially when considering safety at one of the country’s nuclear generation plants. All systems must be working efficiently with back-ups to the back-ups. That is why one such nuclear power plant contracted the installation of a new generator-powered, fire-suppression system to back up the existing power-dependent, fire-suppression system.

Plano, Texas, embarked on a mission in 2015 to rehabilitate more than three miles of reinforced concrete pipe (RCP) after a condition assessment had shown deterioration due to corrosion from H2S (hydrogen sulfide) sewer gas.

NASSCO’s 2019 Annual Conference kept traditions alive at the Fort Lauderdale, Fla., Ritz Carlton Hotel in April, by welcoming members and guests to the event with a poolside reception. Other traditions included activities such as the golf tournament and awards banquet, where the incoming and outgoing board of directors were recognized, the Trainer of the Year was announced and two new members were inducted to the Select Society of Sanitary Sewer Sleuths.

Granite Inliner LLC strengthened its position in the water and wastewater market by acquiring CIPP-related assets and equipment of Lametti & Sons Inc.

Cortec Corporation’s U.S.-patented CorroLogicVpCI Filler meets the long-term protection needs of cased pipeline crossings. Its special blend of vapor phase corrosion inhibitors protects in the liquid-phase, in the vapor-phase, and at the air-water interface. This multi-phase package of corrosion inh..

The new iPlus Infusion UV felt cured-in-place pipe (CIPP), manufactured and installed by Insituform Technologies, an Aegion company, is now commercially available. Insituform patented UV CIPP in the 1980s as an alternative to..

Don Rigby joined Madewell Products Corporation’s leadership team in a newly created position responsible for driving education and engagement within new and existing contracting partners, engineers and owners. A veteran of the underground trenchless industr..

Thomas O’Dwyer, P.E., joined McMillen Jacobs as a principal and leader of its Tunnel Ventilation/Fire Life Safety practice, overseeing design and analysis of rehabilitation/upgrade and construction projects. His 27 years of experience includes several major ..

Dewitt Jason Dewitt is the new West Coast regional sales manager for Vermeer MV Solutions. Based in Exeter, Calif., he manages sales activities within his region and provides quality support to the dealers in those territories by det..

David Scott was promoted to the position of senior vice president of Specialty Operations, at United Rentals. Based in Atlanta, he leads the division’s Trench, Power, HVAC, Fluid Solutions, Tools, and Reliable Onsite Services businesses, to expand its 340-lo..

Ellingson, a nationwide specialty trenchless construction contractor, acquired Directed Technologies Drilling, (DTD) a pioneer in the use of horizontal directional drilling (HDD) methods to mitigate soil and groundwater contamination and develop clean water supplies. ..

CASE Construction Equipment is partnering with country music star Jon Pardi on a series of promotions throughout 2019 and 2020 focused on raising awareness for, and growing interest in, careers in the construction industry. The first promotion includes an exclusive presale opportunity for Pardi’s he..

Hyundai Construction Equipment Americas was awarded contracts for procurement of construction equipment and accessories by Sourcewell, a national cooperative representing more than 50,000 U.S. and Canadian government, education and nonprofit organizations. ..

AMERICAN Flow Control, the valve and hydrant division of AMERICAN Cast Iron Pipe Company, headquartered in Birmingham, Alabama, is forming AMERICAN Innovation, LLC, a company dedicated to research and development. In addition, the AMERICAN Flow Control Center for Innovative Excellence will be constr..

Vermeer’s new D23x30DR S3 Navigator horizontal directional drill (HDD) integrates dual rod technology into a compact machine design to efficiently maneuver through rock in congested cities, busy neighborhoods or tight job sites. Featuring a class-leading narrow footprint and a weight of 16,500 poun..

John Deere’s integrated grade guidance system arms operators with the detail they need for precision excavation projects