April 2021 Vol. 76 No. 4
Newsline
Newsline
Multiple Utility Workers Hurt in Gas Explosion Near Houston
Utility workers trying to repair a broken gas line north of Houston struck another one, causing an explosion that injured six of them, including one critically, authorities said.
The explosion happened Friday in Klein, said Rachel Neutzler, a spokesperson for the Harris County fire marshal. The CenterPoint Energy workers were repairing a 2-inch (5 centimeter) gas line when they struck a larger one, sparking the explosion, she said.
The workers remained hospitalized Saturday with second- and third-degree burns. A firefighter was also injured but was treated at the scene, Neutzler said. Authorities initially said all seven of the injured were utility workers.
The blast and ensuing fire forced the evacuation of about 100 people from nearby homes, and they were allowed to return on Saturday. One home’s exterior and fence, and a powerline and utility pole were damaged.
CenterPoint Energy said in a statement that electricity had been restored to affected homes but that crews were still working to restore gas service.
ASCE’s U.S. Infrastructure Report Card Receives a ‘C–’
The American Society of Civil Engineers (ASCE) released the 2021 Report Card for America’s Infrastructure, its latest quadrennial assessment of the nation’s infrastructure. The Report Card gives the U.S. an overall ‘C-’ grade and finds the country is spending just over half of what is required to support the backbone of the economy.
For the first time in 20 years, the country’s infrastructure as a whole received a grade in the ‘C’ range, meaning on average, the nation’s infrastructure is in mediocre condition, has deficiencies and needs attention. However, 11 of the 17 categories in the Report Card received a grade in the ‘D’ range: aviation, dams, hazardous waste, inland waterways, levees, public parks, roads, schools, stormwater, transit, and wastewater.
Overall, the long-term infrastructure investment gap continues to grow. That gap has risen from $2.1 trillion over 10 years in the last report to $2.59 trillion in the latest study, meaning a funding gap of $259 billion per year.
“This not a report card anyone would be proud to take home,” said ASCE Executive Director Thomas Smith. “We have not made significant enough investments to maintain infrastructure that in some cases was built more than 50 years ago. As this study shows, we risk significant economic losses, higher costs to consumers, businesses and manufacturers – and our quality of life – if we don’t act urgently. When we fail to invest in infrastructure, we pay the price.”
If the U.S. does not pay its overdue infrastructure bill, ASCE said by 2039 the U.S. economy will lose $10 trillion in growth and exports will decline by $2.4 trillion. More than 3 million jobs will be lost in 2039. In addition, each American household will bear $3,300 in hidden costs per year.
ASCE highlighted the role infrastructure investment could play in speeding the nation’s economic recovery. “America’s infrastructure bill is overdue, and we have been ignoring it for years. The COVID-19 pandemic only exacerbates the funding challenge because state and local governments have had to prioritize public health over everything else for the past year,” said Jean-Louis Briaud, Ph.D., P.E., ASCE president. “If we take action now, we can generate job growth and build infrastructure that is more reliable, more secure and more resilient while increasing the quality of life for everyone.”
Montana County Approves Permit for an Under River Pipeline
A floodplain permit to place a natural gas pipeline under the Gallatin River in Montana was approved as part of a larger project to build a vacation rental destination on an island in Gallatin Gateway,
county officials said.
The Gallatin County Planning Department issued the permit to NorthWestern Energy on Friday, granting permission to place a 2-inch (5-centimeter) pipeline up to 15 feet (5 meters) below the riverbed about 225 feet (70 meters) downstream of the Mill Street bridge, The Bozeman Daily Chronicle reported Tuesday.
Company officials said the Riverbend Glamping Resort project would use about half the natural gas capacity of the pipeline, while the remaining will be made available to other utility customers.
NorthWestern said it would bore the pipeline deep enough to prevent floatation, collapse or lateral movement and would complete construction in the winter and early spring to avoid flooding impacts. It also said natural gas is unlikely to enter the river because it has a low solubility, meaning if it leaked it would escape into the air.
“The main concern with natural gas is explosion potential,” the company said. “In elevated concentrations it can escape quickly from water, causing an explosive hazard in poorly ventilated or confined areas, none of which are present at the proposed bore site, and is why the pipeline is not encased in conduit and odorant is added.”
County Floodplain Administrator Sean O’Callaghan said he approved the application because it complied with regulations.
Hundreds of people raised concerns about the pipeline last year when the NorthWestern applied for the permit. Peggy Lehmann, a landowner near the proposed resort, argued against the project and is working with Protect the Gallatin River in opposing the permits.
She argued the pipeline should not have been approved because it would affect aquatic wildlife, the river, the habitat and public recreation. She also said there could be significant consequences if the pipeline broke.
Pelosi Pledges Swift Work on Major U.S. Infrastructure Package
House Speaker Nancy Pelosi on March 14 pledged swift work by Congress on a job and infrastructure package that will be “fiscally sound,” but said she isn’t sure whether the next major item on President Joe Biden’s agenda will attract Republican backing.
Infrastructure legislation has a long history of support from both parties as lawmakers aim to deliver on projects back home. But Republicans disagree with Biden’s focus on the environment and the possibility of financing any program with debt after the government borrowed heavily to address the economic fallout from the coronavirus pandemic.
Pelosi has directed key Democratic lawmakers to begin working with Republicans on a “big, bold and transformational infrastructure package.”
Sen. Tom Carper, D-Del., chairman of the Senate Environment and Public Works Committee, and Rep. Peter DeFazio, D-Ore., chairman of House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee, hope to pass a bill out of their committees in May.
The package could include policy changes — on green energy and immigration — and even try to make permanent some of the just-passed COVID-19 assistance such as child tax credits.
“It is going to be green, and it is going to be big,” DeFazio told The Associated Press.
Work on passing infrastructure legislation in a Senate split 50-50 with Vice President Kamala Harris providing a tiebreaking vote will probably prove more difficult. Moderate Sen. Joe Manchin, D-W.Va., recently made clear he will block infrastructure legislation if Republicans aren’t included.
Wyoming Sen. John Barrasso, the No. 3 Senate Republican, said he wants to see bipartisan support for an infrastructure legislation. But he said the House in the last Congress refused to embrace a $287 billion bill unanimously passed
by a Senate committee and changed it in a way that Republicans could not accept.
Cost will be a major hurdle in passing an infrastructure plan. There’s little political interest in increasing the 18.3-cent-per-gallon federal gas tax, which generates revenue for the Highway Trust Fund, even though the rate has not increased since 1993. Biden promised during the recent presidential campaign he would not increase taxes on people making less than $400,000 a year.
Michigan Ex-Governor Loses Challenge to Flint Water Charges
A judge rejected a request to dismiss misdemeanor charges against a former Michigan governor in the Flint water scandal.
Lawyers for Rick Snyder said he worked in Ingham County, not Genesee County, so the indictment from a one-person grand jury was returned in the wrong place. But Judge William Crawford II said prosecutors have flexibility about where to pursue a case.
If the former Republican governor goes to trial, a jury will be asked to determine if charges of willful neglect of duty occurred in the boundaries of Flint and Genesee County, Crawford said.
The attorney general’s office has “intimate knowledge” of what the investigation revealed and where, the judge said.
“The state Legislature does not want strict adherence to territorial boundaries applied to nebulous concepts of venue,” especially if it could “impede justice,” Crawford said.
Snyder’s attorneys plan to appeal. It’s the first of what will be many aggressive challenges to an unprecedented case against a sitting or former Michigan governor for alleged acts while in office.
Snyder, who served until 2019, is charged with failing to timely declare an emergency in Flint, which used the Flint River for drinking water in 2014-15 without properly treating it to reduce corrosion. Lead in old pipes contaminated the system over 18 months.
Experts also blamed high bacteria levels in the water for a spike in Legionnaires’ disease.
The indictment accuses Snyder of violating the state constitution by failing to check the performance of public officials under his control. The catastrophe in the majority-Black city has been described as environmental racism.
The judge noted that the water switch was hatched when Flint was under the thumb of Snyder-appointed managers who had sweeping powers to fix the city’s poor finances.
Eight other people face charges in Flint, including two former state health officials who are accused of involuntary manslaughter in nine deaths linked to Legionnaires’ disease.
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