Business
Illinois American Water Acquires City of Farmington Water System
Illinois American Water has acquired the City of Farmington’s water system, adding approximately 1,125 new customers to the company’s customer base in the Peoria District. The Farmington City Council voted in favor of the sale in March 2017 and the Illinois Commerce Commission (ICC) approved the sa..
Juniper Capital Management Acquires Sewer Rehabilitation Companies
Infrastructure Services Group (ISG), a new investment platform created by Juniper Capital Management, in partnership with ORIX Mezzanine & Private Equity and LionsWing Capital Partners LLC, has acquired Green Mountain Pipeline Services and Mr. Rehab Sewer Systems. Green Mountain and Mr. Sewer provid..
Phase 1 of 650-Mile NGL Pipeline Done
EPIC Y Grade Pipeline, LP, a subsidiary of EPIC Y Grade Services, LP and EPIC Midstream Holdings, LP, has placed Phase 1 of its 650-mile NGL pipeline, which connects DLK Black River Midstream’s processing plant in Eddy County, N.M., and Delaware Basin Midstream’s terminal in Orla County, Texas, in s..
New Jersey Governor Names Former Democratic State Senator to Utility Board
TRENTON, N.J. (AP) — New Jersey Gov. Phil Murphy says he’s naming a recently retired Democratic state senator to the board that oversees the state’s utilities. Murphy, a Democrat, said in a statement Thursday that he is nominating Bob Gordon to serve as a commissioner on the Board of Public Utiliti..
Trump has Confidence in EPA Chief as White House Probes His Ethics
WASHINGTON (Reuters) – President Donald Trump said on Thursday he has confidence in Scott Pruitt, the head of the Environmental Protection Agency, even as the White House investigates whether a condo rental by Pruitt was ethical. The EPA’s ethics office suggested there still could be questions abou..
Frontier Communications Names Burton Vice President, Federal Regulatory Affairs
Frontier Communications Corporation today announced that Alton (AJ) Burton Jr., currently Director, Federal Regulatory Affairs, has been promoted to Vice President. Burton will report to Group Vice President Ken Mason. “With regulatory and legal experience across the telecom sector, AJ is a tireles..
Aqua America Promotes Two Engineers to Vice President Posts
Aqua America (Aqua) today announced two directors from regulated operations have been promoted to vice president roles. Jim Barbato has been named vice president of corporate engineering and Joe Thurwanger has been appointed Aqua Pennsylvania’s vice president of planning and engineering. These promo..
New York City Wastewater Treatment Workers Compete in the 31st Annual Operations Challenge
The New York City Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) today held the 31st annual Operations Challenge where wastewater treatment plant operators compete to showcase the expertise and skills required to operate and maintain the city’s 14 wastewater treatment plants. After competing in five e..
EPA Chief Draws Trump Praise — and Ire
WASHINGTON (AP) — President Donald Trump is offering measured support for Scott Pruitt, the Environmental Protection Agency chief whose deregulatory efforts make him one of the most consequential Cabinet members. But Pruitt, who is at the center of swirling ethics questions over his travel spending ..
Pipeline Company Offers to Relocate Pennsylvania Residents Affected by Sinkholes
HARRISBURG, Pa. (AP) — Sunoco Pipeline LP has agreed to relocate five families whose backyards were damaged after sinkholes developed along a major natural gas pipeline in the Philadelphia suburbs. After sinkholes developed within 50 feet of homes and near an Amtrak rail line, the state Publi..
Vortex Companies, Advantage Reline Form Strategic Partnership
Vortex Companies recently announced a strategic partnership with Advantage Reline, developer of a Sprayed-In-Place Pipe (SIPP) trenchless technology for the municipal, industrial and commercial market sectors. “The industry has placed great emphasis on CIPP alternatives and by partnering with Advan..
Amphenol Appoints Wolff to Board of Directors
Amphenol Corporation today announced that Anne Clarke Wolff, Managing Director and Head of Global Corporate Banking and Global Leasing at Bank of America Merrill Lynch, has been appointed to the company’s board of directors. Wolff has been a Managing Director at Bank of America Merrill Lynch since ..
Report: California’s Regulated Water Utilities Invested More than $645 Million on Infrastructure in 2017
According to an analysis by the California Water Association (CWA), the state’s largest regulated water utilities invested more than $645 million in 2017 into improving and upgrading the infrastructure that delivers water to the communities they serve. CWA represents 100 water utilities regulated b..
Final Section of Canadian Natural Gas Pipeline Expansion Placed in Service
TransCanada Corporation today announced its Northwest Mainline Loop-Boundary Lake pipeline has been placed into service, completing the final section of its 2017 Expansion Program on the NOVA Gas Transmission Ltd. (NGTL) System, a natural gas pipeline system in Western Canada that consists of approx..
Virginia American Water Lifts Boil Water Advisory
Virginia American Water today announced it has lifted the boil-water advisory that was issued as a precautionary measure for customers in its Hopewell district, which includes the City of Hopewell, as well as the subdivisions of New Birchett Estates, Cedar Creek, Cedar Creek West, Strattford Woods a..
ActiveCare Direct Monthly Reports: How to Reduce Machine Idle Times and Boost Profits
ActiveCare Direct monthly reports provide insights on idle percentages versus work percentages across the entire fleet, by individual machine and by machine type. This allows you to easily compare utilization by operator and machine, as well as set goals for increased utilization over time. Doing so..
Vermont Gas Agrees to Independent Review of Pipeline
MONTPELIER, Vt. (AP) — Vermont Gas Systems has agreed to an independent review of a pipeline project to address allegations of safety shortcuts. The company says it is confident in the integrity of the Addison Natural Gas Project pipeline, which was completed last year, but wants an outside expert ..
DC Water Commissions First Leg of Anacostia Tunnel System
The District of Columbia Water and Sewer Authority (DC Water) today announced it has commissioned a 7-mile, 23-foot diameter tunnel segment that will reduce combined sewer overflows to the Anacostia River by more than 80 percent. The tunnel, which is part of the Anacostia Tunnel System, will cap..
Illinois American Water Acquires Village of Fisher Water and Wastewater Systems
Illinois American Water today announced it has acquired the Village of Fisher’s water and wastewater systems. As part of the acquisition, Illinois American Water will invest $2.9 million in the first five years of ownership including security upgrades, meter replacements, wastewater plant improvemen..
Primoris Agrees to Acquire Willbros
Primoris Services Corporation today announced that it has entered into a definitive merger agreement to acquire Willbros Group, Inc. in an all-cash transaction. Primoris will pay $0.60 per share for all of the outstanding stock of Willbros and will settle all of the existing Willbros debt obligation..
CommScope Names Pease CFO
CommScope today announced it has named Alexander W. Pease executive vice president and chief financial officer, effective April 2. Pease succeeds Mark Olson is retiring from the company. Pease, who has more than 18 years of extensive financial and operational experience across a wide range of indus..
Comcast Business Invests $1.7 Million to Expand High-Performance Fiber-Optic Network in Pennsylvania
Comcast Business today announced it has invested $1.7 million in an expansion of its fiber-based network in Harrisburg, reaching more than 600 additional businesses directly and benefiting hundreds more by making the network more accessible. Capable of delivering up to 100 Gigabits-per-second (G..
Downing Joins Black & Veatch as Water Technology Group Innovation Leader
Black & Veatch today announced it has added Leon Downing as a principal process and innovation leader in the global construction, engineering and consulting company’s Water Technology Group. As an expert in resource recovery design and modeling, Downing will provide technology leadership and client..
New Administrator Chosen for Louisiana Utility Commission
BATON ROUGE, La. (AP) — Louisiana’s state utility regulatory agency has a new top administrator, chosen from within the agency’s ranks. The Louisiana Public Service Commission chose Brandon Frey to be its executive secretary, a position that oversees the day-to-day operations of the agency. Frey h..
Georgia Public Service Commission OK's Dominion Energy, SCANA Merger
The Georgia Public Service Commission has unanimously approved the merger of Dominion Energy, Inc. and SCANA Corporation, becoming the first state regulatory agency to act on the proposed merger. “We greatly appreciate the prompt action by Chairman McDonald and the other commissioners i..
ACSI: Customer Satisfaction with Utilities Inches Up in Competitive Energy Landscape
According to ACSI’s 2018 Utilities Report, despite rapid advances in the energy industry throughout 2017, customer satisfaction with gas and electric providers inched up only 0.4 percent to a score of 75.2 (on a 100-point scale). The ACSI results include cooperative, investor-owned, and..
NASSCO Names Joy Executive Director
After an extensive, nationwide search, the Executive Board of the National Association of Sewer Service Companies (NASSCO) today announced the appointment of Sheila Joy as Executive Director, effective April 2, 2018. Joy will report to NASSCO’s Board of Directors and lead NASSCO in its ongoing missi..
NASSCO Launches Nation-Wide Search for Executive Director
The National Association of Sewer Service Companies (NASSCO) has opened a search for its next executive director. Recently, the NASSCO board of directors accepted the resignation of Ted DeBoda, P.E., who served as executive director for eight years. DeBoda will continue his role as a Pipeline Asses..
Underground Construction Business: People
Brierley Associates Jim Williams, P.E., joined Brierley Associates’ Trenchless Services sector, which provides assistance to the energy industry and other market sectors using HDD and trenchless technologies in the Texas region. He has more than 24 years of experience in underground engineering and..
NASSCO Celebrates Strong Year of Accomplishments
In 2017, NASSCO (National Association of Sewer Service Companies) continued to expand its influence in the industry with numerous active programs. NASSCO is a national organization dedicated to improving standards relating to the assessment, maintenance and rehabilitation of underground wastewater i..
- OSHA cites Florida contractors for trench safety violations at sewer and excavation sites
- Biden-Harris administration invests $849 million in aging water infrastructure, drought resilience
- Texas contractor penalized by OSHA for repeated trench safety violations
- West Virginia approves $67 million for water, sewer projects
- Mark Boyer named 2025 MVP of underground infrastructure industry