Environment
Breaking Records in a Conservation Park
Watercare Services of New Zealand engaged McConnell Dowell and McMillen Jacobs to increase the outfall capacity for its Army Bay Wastewater Treatment Plant. The project involved installing a new wastewater outfall, upgrading the existing pump station and building a new ultraviolet disinfection facility.
Outdated Sewer System Responsible for Virus in Famed Croatian Oysters
Authorities have detected norovirus, which causes diarrhea and vomiting, in parts of the Mali Ston bay — triggering shock and alarm among the breeders.
Call or Click for Safe Digging
Calling 811 before any digging begins starts the process of identifying and marking buried utility lines in the United States and preventing the damage, service disruption, injuries, potential fines and costly repairs that result from unintentionally hitting them.
L.A. Wants to Spend $8 Billion to Recycle All of Its Wastewater by 2035
The City of Los Angeles is considering a wastewater reclamation project that could end up supplying one-third of the city’s water by 2035.
New Jersey Raises Protective Status of 749 miles of Waterways
New Jersey is adding 749 miles (1,205 kilometers) of rivers and streams to its inventory of waterways that have a high level of protection from pollution and development.
Utility Denies Water Pollution Allegations
A utility is denying allegations by two environmental groups that it polluted a river with heated wastewater from a coal-fired power plant in New Hampshire.
Maryland Stormwater Partnership Ahead of Schedule, Under Budget
A stormwater partnership between Prince George’s County, Maryland and Corvias reported it has completed its initial pilot phase ahead of schedule and under budget.
It’s Complicated: The Politics of Pipelines
by Robert Carpenter | Editor-in-Chief Growing up in rural Oklahoma seems so long ago, so far away. It was a simpler time for many reasons, but nonetheless an enjoyable time and definitely life-shaping. Back then, the area’s primary economic drivers were wheat, cattle and oilfield (gas was viewed a..
Judge Halts Keystone XL for Environmental Study
NEW YORK (AP) — Environmentalists cheered a federal court order Thursday that blocks a Trump administration permit for the construction of the Keystone XL pipeline, pending an environmental review. The pipeline would begin in Alberta and shuttle as much as 830,000 bpd of crude through a half dozen ..
EPA Examining Further Changes To Methane Leak Rule
The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is taking a second look at its requirement for natural gas pipelines to repair compressor leaks as part of the methane emissions final rule the agency published in 2016. That rule – a new source performance standard (NSPS) regulating methane and volatile org..
Florida DEP Invests $90 Million In Water Quality Improvement Projects
Florida Department of Environmental Protection has provided more than $90 million toward the recent completion of seven water quality improvement projects in Central and South Florida. The funding was awarded through the Division of Water Restoration Assistance’s various funding resources and progra..
EPA Tier 4 Mandates Driving Up Demand Of Non-Tier 4 Used Construction
According to a survey of Independent Equipment Dealers Association (IEDA) members, the EPA’s Tier 4 mandates are driving up the demand of non- Tier 4 used construction equipment, and this trend will continue for the next several years. For many equipment categories, used equipment availability is ..
Corps Ignores Pleas To Restrict Pipeline Construction Permits
The Army Corps of Engineers turned back efforts by environmental groups to limit availability of nationwide permits (NWPs) that pipelines use when they want to build facilities that cross streams and tributaries but cause insubstantial environmental damage. The Corps issued its revisions to 50 NWPs ..
EPA Announces WIFIA Program For Financing Large Water Projects
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) announced the new Water Infrastructure Finance and Innovation Act (WIFIA) program that will provide long-term, low-cost credit assistance in the form of direct loans and loan guarantees to creditworthy water projects. WIFIA provides another option for ..
Trump to Tap Oklahoma AG Pruitt to Head EPA
WASHINGTON (AP) — President-elect Donald Trump is expected to nominate Oklahoma Attorney General Scott Pruitt to lead the Environmental Protection Agency, a source close to Pruitt said Wednesday. Environmental groups quickly denounced the choice. Pruitt, 48, has been a reliable booster of the fos..
Waste Processing Facility Guilty of Releasing Chemicals into Sewer System
DETROIT (AP) — Great Lakes Water Authority records show a hazardous waste processing facility in Detroit has released excessive amounts of mercury, arsenic, cyanide and other toxic chemicals into the city sewer system over 150 times since September 2010. Waste management service US Ecology is allow..
Air Force Sent Wastewater into Sewers up to 3 Times a Year
COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. (AP) — The Air Force says a base near Colorado Springs sent water laced with toxic firefighting foam into the city’s sewer system as often as three times a year. Air Force officials tell The Gazette that Peterson Air Force Base stopped sending firefighting foam wastewater in..
Indiana City Asks EPA for More Time to Cut Sewer Overflows
JEFFERSONVILLE, Ind. (AP) — A southern Indiana city wants the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency to give it 10 more years to reduce its raw sewage overflows. A 2009 agreement gives Jeffersonville until 2025 to comply with the EPA’s sewage overflow reduction mandate. But the News and Tribune repor..
Fighting Back The Zealots
by Robert Carpenter, Editor-in-Chief We lost the Keystone Pipeline to politics rather than rational justification. The environmental lobby had enough political clout with President Obama when he took office to manipulate his anti-carbon leanings into a full-fledged war on all things carbon. The Oba..
Governor Asks Minnesotans to Take Water Stewardship Pledge
FALCON HEIGHTS, Minn. (AP) — Gov. Mark Dayton is asking Minnesotans to take a Water Stewardship Pledge, and to rethink how water affects their daily lives and how they use it. Dayton made the announcement Tuesday at the Minnesota State Fair as part of his Year of Water Action. Minnesotans can take ..
Stantec Acquires Firm Focused On Resources For Built Infrastructure
In the second quarter of 2016, Stantec announced the completion of its acquisition of MWH Global – a 6,800-person engineering, consulting and construction management firm focused on water and natural resources for built infrastructure and the environment. This acquisition expands Stantec’s position ..
INGAA Says Aspects Of New Methane Emission Limits Troublesome
The Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) new rule requiring transmission pipelines to plug methane leaks at compressor stations includes some softening of earlier-proposed requirements, but will still impose substantial costs as companies move to repair leaks at new or modified compressors and co..
Water Organizations, EPA Release Effective Utility Management Report
Eight heavy-hitters in the water and utility industries collaborated with the United States Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to develop the Effective Utility Management (EUM) Report entitled, Taking the Next Step: Findings of the EUM Review Steering Group, which was announced at the National Wa..
Tracking EPA Consent Decrees
As has been well-documented in the underground sewer infrastructure industry, the impact of a United States Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) consent decree upon a city is tremendous, both in terms of financial obligations and scope of new construction and rehabilitation work for sewer systems. ..
Water Sector Groups Join Forces, Launch Recognition Program
The National Association of Clear Water Agencies (NACWA), the Water Environment Federation (WEF), the Water Environment Research Foundation (WERF) – with support from the U.S. Environment Protection Agency (EPA) – announced their partnership in a new Utility of the Future (UOTF) Today Recognition ..
Minor Pipeline Provision In House Energy Bill
Federal agencies will have less of a chance to slow down applications for pipeline construction if the Senate passes the energy bill which cleared the House in December. The North American Energy Security and Infrastructure Act of 2015 (H.R. 8) passed the House by a vote of 249-174, which means it h..
Michels Accepted Into Green Tier Sustainability Program
Michels Corporation has been accepted into the Wisconsin Green Tier Sustainability program based on its commitment to environmental stewardship and to reducing its environmental impact. Green Tier is administered by the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources and recognizes organizations for super..
The Continuing Evolution Of Tier 4
New Emission Standards For 75-Hp Engines And Above Mean More Educational Awareness The evolution of emission standards in the compact equipment industry has been happening for quite some time. In 2015, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has mandated that all 75-horsepower and above nonr..
Study finds methane emissions lower than EPA estimates
As reported by Don Santa, INGAA president and CEO, the Environmental Science & Technology journal has released a report finding that methane emissions from the natural gas transmission and storage sector are 27 percent lower than the federal government’s estimate, based on the average estimate from ..
Pipelines Hope GOP or Courts Fix New Wetlands Rule
Republicans in Congress are working to pass legislation which would set aside a new EPA and Army Corps of Engineers joint rule to make it more expensive to build pipelines in areas containing streams and other small bodies of water. The new EPA rule would require pipelines – and anyone else wanting ..
- Trench collapse kills one construction worker in Houston, Texas
- Intrepid Fiber breaks ground on fiber optic network in Superior, Colo.
- Excavator collides with I-95 overpass in Henrico, Va., causing multi-vehicle crash
- Shrewsbury, Mass., expands sewer inspections and cleaning efforts
- Kinder Morgan moves forward with $1.7 billion natural gas pipeline project in Katy, Texas
- Final construction phase kicks off for Indianapolis deep rock tunnel
- Texas contractor penalized by OSHA for repeated trench safety violations
- Trench collapse kills one construction worker in Houston, Texas
- Nevada OSHA fines Elon Musk's Boring Company over safety violations in Vegas tunnel project
- WES tunnel boring machine retrieved from Oregon river after seven-month project