US cities win nearly $200 million in grants for pipeline upgrades
LAS CRUCES, N.M. (AP) — Federal officials announced the first $196 million of grants Wednesday in a $1 billion program to repair and replace aging and sometimes leaking natural gas pipelines across the country.
The Transportation Department and its Pipelines and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration announced that the city of Las Cruces, New Mexico, will get $10 million as the first grant recipient. Nineteen other communities will also get grants to help upgrade 270 miles (435 kilometer) of natural gas pipelines, although the government didn’t identify all the recipients.
Another nearly $400 million of grants will be announced later this year.
The grants, announced by Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg, will be paid for with money from the infrastructure law President Joe Biden’s administration is touting in a series of events across the country.
Several of the pipelines that will be repaired or replaced were installed decades ago, and some of them are leaking. Officials estimate that completing these repairs will help reduce methane emissions by roughly 212 metric tons a year.
Aging pipelines have been involved in fatal explosions and massive spills that have occurred over decades in California, Michigan, New Jersey and other states.
“Investments in pipeline safety are investments in community safety and our shared environment,” said PHMSA Deputy Administrator Tristan Brown.
Related News
From Archive
- Fatal Shawnee trench collapse linked to Oklahoma contractor’s repeated safety violations, OSHA reports
- Tunnel boring machine ‘Clack-A-Mole’ nears one-third completion in Oregon outfall project
- Explosion in underground PG&E vault leaves one dead in Richmond, Calif.
- Tennessee pipeline gets initial FERC approval despite environmental concerns
- Sinkhole in Texas town accrues over $800,000 in sewer rehabilitation costs
- Wisconsin proposes new PFAS drinking water standards to align with federal rules
- Elgin, Ill., joins EPA drinking water initiative to accelerate lead pipe replacement
- GasTracker Accurately Locates Plastic Gas Pipes
- Florence, S.C., to fund $537 million sewer, water upgrade with bonds and 5% rate hike
- Union County, Ga., breaks ground on $20.5 million fiber broadband expansion project
Comments