December 2022 Vol. 77 No. 12
Newsline
Newsline: US Justice Department Sues Idaho City over Water Pollution
Mississippi Water Investigations Said to Test Biden Commitment to Racial Equity
Federal investigations into public spending on the failing water system in Mississippi’s majority-Black capital city are a test of President Joe Biden’s commitment to racial equity, one of his congressional allies told hundreds of people at a town hall meeting hosted by the NAACP.
“President Biden has made a fundamental policy in his administration to talk about equity. And this is an issue of equity and fair treatment about the citizens of Jackson,” Democratic Rep. Bennie Thompson at Jackson’s New Hope Baptist Church — the same spacious sanctuary where Biden spoke during the 2020 campaign.
The Environmental Protection Agency announced in late October that it is investigating whether Mississippi state agencies have discriminated against Jackson by refusing to fund water system improvements in the city of 150,000, where more than 80% of residents are Black and about a quarter of the population lives in poverty.
Thompson said the EPA civil investigation is expected to take about four months. The federal agency could withhold money from the state if it finds wrongdoing — potentially millions of dollars. If the state agencies don’t cooperate with the investigation, the EPA could refer the case to the Department of Justice.
Thompson’s congressional district includes most of Jackson. He is chairman of the House Homeland Security Committee — one of two congressional committees that also are investigating how Republican-led Mississippi is spending federal money for water system improvements.
Williams, Sempra to Develop LNG, NatGas Pipelines in Texas and Louisiana
Williams said it has agreed with Sempra Infrastructure to establish the elements of an integrated platform to further connect the natural gas-rich Haynesville Basin to growing LNG export facilities along the U.S. Gulf Coast.
As part of the proposed transaction, the companies plan to form a strategic joint venture to own, expand and operate the Cameron Interstate Pipeline, which is expected to deliver natural gas to the proposed Cameron LNG Phase 2 in Hackberry, Louisiana. They also expect the JV to own the Louisiana Connector Pipeline, which is expected to deliver natural gas to Sempra Infrastructure’s proposed LNG facility in Port Arthur, Texas.
The agreement contemplates long-term gas sales of approximately 500 MMcf/delivered near Gillis, Louisiana, and two LNG offtake agreements for approximately 3 million tons per annum (MTPA) in the aggregate from Sempra Infrastructure’s proposed Cameron LNG Phase 2 and Port Arthur LNG projects.
Williams said the proposed transactions complement its recently sanctioned low-carbon Louisiana Energy Gateway (LEG) gathering project and are expected to include connections to pipelines serving Sempra Infrastructure’s LNG export facilities.
Williams’ LEG project, which is expected to go into service in late 2024, will gather 1.8 Bcf/d of natural gas in the Haynesville basin. Its partnerships with Context Labs, Encino Environmental and Satlantis will enable the measurement of end-to-end, verifiable and transparent emissions data to demonstrate the low carbon benefits of produced and delivered Haynesville natural gas, Williams said.
Ohio City Agrees to Spend $85 Million to Reduce Sewage Discharge
The city of Lakewood, Ohio, has agreed to perform work that will significantly reduce discharges of untreated sewage from its sewer system into Lake Erie and the Rocky River. The settlement is set forth in an interim partial consent decree that was filed in federal court in the Northern District of Ohio.
The decree requires Lakewood to complete construction of a high-rate treatment system that will treat combined sewer overflows and build two large storage basins that will hold millions of gallons of wastewater until it can be sent to the wastewater treatment plant. Under the decree, Lakewood will spend about $85 million to improve its sewer system and will pay a civil penalty of $100,000, split evenly between the United States and Ohio.
Lakewood will also conduct multiple pipe lining and repair projects within its sewer system designed to eliminate causes of sanitary sewer overflows. Lakewood will also undertake a sampling pilot study designed to identify sewage in stormwater outfalls and a one-year post-construction monitoring program, which will provide the data needed for future work in Lakewood’s sewer system.
The decree would partially resolve the violations alleged in the underlying complaint filed by the United States and the state of Ohio. The complaint alleges that Lakewood discharged untreated sanitary sewage into the Rocky River or directly into Lake Erie on at least 1,933 occasions from January 2016 through the present.
The complaint also alleges that on numerous occasions since January 2016, Lakewood discharged water from combined sewer outfalls that violated the effluent limitations included in its National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System permit.
Equitrans Wants US Legislation to Help Finish Mountain Valley Pipeline
U.S. energy company Equitrans Midstream Corp. said that the best path to complete its Mountain Valley (MVP) natural gas pipeline from West Virginia to Virginia by the second half of 2023 was through U.S. permitting reform legislation.
Equitrans also said that federal legislation would help the company stick to its previously announced $6.6 billion budget for the project.
Mountain Valley – the only big gas pipe under construction in Appalachia – is one of several U.S. pipeline projects delayed by regulatory and legal fights with environmental and local groups. The fights relate to federal permitting during President Donald Trump’s administration.
In early August, Democratic U.S. Senator Joe Manchin secured a commitment from President Joe Biden and Senate and House leadership to support permitting reform legislation that would also allow completion of MVP, but it reportedly failed because there wasn’t enough additional support in Congress.
Pennsylvania’s Wastewater Infrastructure Rated “Poor” by Engineering Group
The Pennsylvania Council of the American Society of Civil Engineers (ASCE) released the 2022 Report Card for Pennsylvania’s Infrastructure in November, with 15 categories of infrastructure receiving an overall grade of “C-”. Specifically, the state’s water infrastructure received a grade of “D.” According to the report, a C is considered “mediocre” while a D is “poor.”
Each category was evaluated on the basis of capacity, condition, funding, future need, operation and maintenance, public safety, resilience, and innovation.
“This report shows that Pennsylvania’s infrastructure has seen some noteworthy improvements and that our lawmakers are prioritizing the built environment, but out-of-sight, out-of-mind systems such as water and wastewater pipelines are lacking the necessary attention,” said David DiGioia, chair, 2022 Report Card for Pennsylvania’s Infrastructure.
“With help from the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law, we could improve our communities for generations if we double down on investment and close our funding gaps across all sectors included in this report,” he said.
Despite recent investment in water main replacement and improvement in identifying vulnerability to failures for prioritization of repairs, Pennsylvania’s public water systems are projected to have a $10.2 billion funding gap over the next 10 years, a number only very slightly offset with recent federal actions to provide infrastructure funding.
Michigan Receives $500 Million Investment to Rebuild Water Infrastructure
Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer has announced a $500 million plan to address water infrastructure investments in Michigan’s water system through the new MI Clean Water program, which will provide direct investments for communities, helps provide safe water to residents and support over 7,500 Michigan jobs, according to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency.
MI Clean Water confronts the large infrastructure issues that Michigan faces, such as lead-laden water service lines, toxic contamination like Per- and Polyfluoroalkyl Substances (PFAS), undersized sewers, failing septic systems, unaffordable water rates, and constrained local budgets. MI Clean Water will reduce barriers for communities and allow them to access needed funds for necessary and timely infrastructure upgrades.
This investment includes a proposal combining federal dollars for lead service line replacement in low-income communities ($102.1 million) with bonding authority for water quality protection ($290 million), one-time General Fund appropriation for drinking water infrastructure and innovation ($105 million), and asset management grants ($2.9 million) to help communities develop, update, and improve their plans for wastewater and stormwater systems resulting in a comprehensive water infrastructure investment of $500 million in Michigan’s water systems.
A $293 million investment in wastewater protection includes Clean Water Infrastructure Grants (eliminating sanitary sewer overflows; correcting combined sewer overflows; increasing green infrastructure)–$235 million; Substantial Public Health Risk Grants (removing direct and continuous discharges of raw sewage from surface or ground water)–$20 million; Failing Septic System Elimination Program–$35 million; and Stormwater, Asset Management, and Wastewater Grants–$3 million.
Judge Questions New Water Permit for 303 Mile Mountain Valley Pipeline
A federal circuit court judge said West Virginia regulators haven’t adequately explained how approvals for construction on the Mountain Valley Pipeline have been changed to avoid future water pollution, setting up another potential setback for the beleaguered natural gas pipeline.
A permit for the 303-mile (488-km) proposed pipeline was opposed by environmentalist groups after the West Virginia Department of Environmental Protection (WVDEP) found 100 water-quality and sediment violations.
During arguments at the 4th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals, one judge from the panel asked WVDEP to explain how further construction guidelines address the pollution concerns.
“There’s no question you have new conditions, what you don’t have is an explanation as to why those conditions are specifically tailored to address past problems,” Judge James Wynn said.
In previous challenges, the 4th Circuit Court had vacated key approvals from federal agencies needed for the pipeline to cross a national forest.
US Justice Department Sues Idaho City over Water Pollution
The federal government is suing a small Idaho town near Grand Teton National Park for dumping toxic waste from its sewage treatment plant into a stream that feeds several scenic rivers in the region.
The U.S. Department of Justice filed the lawsuit in Idaho’s U.S. District Court, contending the city of Driggs violated the Clean Water Act by dumping effluent with too much e. coli and ammonia or otherwise violated wastewater permit rules more than 2,600 times over the last seven years.
The effluent was released into Woods Creek, which flows into the Teton River, Henry’s Fork, the Snake and Columbia Rivers on its way to the Pacific Ocean. The Teton River and Henry’s Fork are renowned fly-fishing locations, drawing anglers from around the world. The violations, if proven, could put the city of about 2,100 people on the hook for more than $160 million in fines.
In written statement, the city of Driggs said the lawsuit was a positive development because it will allow the EPA and city officials to work together to come up with solutions.
“Although it seems scary to be sued by the Department of Justice, it’s actually an opportunity to receive support and resources,” from the federal government, Driggs Mayor August Christensen wrote in the statement.
Enbridge Approves Expansion of Southern B.C. Pipeline System
Enbridge sanctioned an expansion of the southern segment of its British Columbia (B.C.) pipeline system, a project that would cost up to US$2.65 billion (C$3.6 billion), after strong demand from crude oil producers.
In a separate move, the company launched an open season on the northern segment of the B.C. line. Interest in the open season would determine whether Enbridge launches a $1.4 billion (C$1.9 billion) expansion of that line.
Enbridge said the T-South expansion of its B.C. pipeline system, which runs from near Chetwynd and extends south to the Canada-U.S. border at Huntingdon-Sumas, will add 300 MMcf/d (8.5 MMcm/d) of capacity.
The expansion of the T-North segment would boost capacity by about 500 MMcf/d (14 MMcm/d). T-North connects the Fort Nelson area to the T-South segment and to interconnecting pipelines at the B.C.-Alberta border on the east.
Enbridge expects the T-South expansion will be in service in 2028, while open season for T-North is expected to end Jan. 10, 2023. UC
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