Magazine
Reunion and Reflection
In late 2018, a germ of an idea was floated about that turned into a true gem of an idea – how about having a reunion for the horizontal directional drilling industry?
Two Federal Regulatory Actions Ease Pipeline Construction
Two key President Trump administration environmental regulators have made moves to wipe away potential barriers to new pipeline construction.
Vermeer Debuts New Horizontal Directional Drill
Vermeer has introduced a new product in its Navigator series of horizontal directional drills.
NACE International Postpones Corrosion 2020 Due to Coronavirus
The NACE Board of Directors voted Friday to postpone its annual CORROSION 2020 conference and expo following reports of coronavirus cases in the Houston area.
ClockSpring|NRI Announces New Chief Executive Officer
Clockspring|NRI has announced that Frank Firsching has been named the company’s new Chief Executive Officer effective immediately.
API Issues New Pipeline Safety and Sustainability Standard
The American Petroleum Institute (API) today issued a new standard for pipeline inspectors to enhance safety and sustainability during pipeline construction.
Eversource to Acquire Columbia Gas of Massachusetts Assets for $1.1 Billion
Eversource Energy announced that it has reached an agreement to purchase the Massachusetts natural gas assets of Columbia Gas for $1.1 billion from NiSource.
Fort Lauderdale Fined Nearly $2 Million for String of Sewer Leaks
The state of Florida is fining the city of Fort Lauderdale $1.8 million for a series of sewage spills that spilled over 200 million gallons of sewage from December 2019 through February 2020.
Utility to Pay $53M for Fatal Gas Line Explosion
A utility company will pay the largest criminal fine ever imposed for breaking a federal pipeline safety law — $53 million — and plead guilty to causing a series of natural gas explosions in Massachusetts that killed one person and damaged dozens of homes, federal officials said Wednesday.
New Products
LiuGong North America liugongna.com LiuGong North America introduced its first F-series excavator. The reduced tail-swing, 1.8-metric-ton, mini-class 9018F represents the smallest of the powerfully efficient, sixth-generation LiuGong F-Series models. Its compact dimensions and retractable underca..
FERC Boosts Natural Gas in Lieu of Alternative Fuels
An order issued by the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) in December against state subsidies for nuclear and renewable energy – called “out-of-market subsidies” – apparently gives a big boost to electric utilities using natural gas and the pipelines that feed them.
Municipal Funding, Reality and Candidates
This issue of Underground Construction contains our exclusive Sewer & Water Municipal Survey and Forecast. Information for the annual article came from our own survey and research combined with data from industry consulting expert FMI and our Washington D.C. correspondent Stephen Barlas.
Vermeer Introduces High-Capacity, Truck-Mounted Vacuum Excavators
Vermeer Corporation announced it has purchased a minority equity investment in and signed a distribution agreement with Vacuum X-Traction Products Inc. (VXP).
Texas Railroad Commission Adopts New Pipeline Safety Rules
The Railroad Commission (RRC) of Texas has adopted new natural gas pipeline safety rules regarding the type of natural gas distribution pipelines that are allowed to be installed.
HDD Hall of Fame Inducts Cherrington, Melsheimer as Inaugural Pioneers
Industry pioneers Dick Melsheimer and Martin Cherrington became the first inductees into the HDD Hall of Fame on Wednesday in its inaugural ceremony at the Underground Construction Technology International Conference & Exhibition in Fort Worth, Texas.
INGAA President and Industry Veteran Don Santa Announces Retirement
After nearly two decades leading the Interstate Natural Gas Association of America (INGAA), Don Santa announced today that he will retire from the organization effective February 15, 2020.
U.S. Supreme Court Will Not Hear Flint Water Case
The U.S. Supreme Court has declined to take a case stemming from the 2014 water crisis in Flint, Michigan.
HOBAS Demand Response Solutions Offers Needed Flexibility
HOBAS Pipe, with its U.S. manufacturing facility in Houston, Texas, and several other plants around the globe, has the distinction of being the world’s only producer of centrifugally cast fiberglass reinforced polymer mortar (CCFRPM) pipes.
John Deere Upgrades Small-Frame G-Series Skid Steers, Compact Track Loaders
John Deere enhanced its lineup of small-frame G-Series skid steers and compact track loaders, providing operators with even more power and efficiency on the job site. While the five models (312GR, 314G, 316GR, 317G, 318G) were..
DataLogger 6 Update Boasts Groundbreaking Features
Productivity improvements and new features to DataLogger 6 allow users to document and analyze even more of their job sites. These groundbreaking enhancements in Version 1.15 include McElroy Optimized Cooling, which reduces the minimum cool time per a new, patent-pending formula that is ASTM F2620-compliant. In addition, this update includes the ability to capture pressure tests in the field.
Barbco’s Revolutionary FlexBor Receives Patent
Barbco Inc. Co-Owner and CEO, Anthony R. Barbera was granted U.S. Patent #10465460 for the FlexBor tooling and technology. This is another milestone in the East Canton, Ohio, manufacturer’s 30-year history of underground equipment manufacturing.
Next-Generation Ditch Witch RT80: Designed for Versatility
Underground construction in urban areas can be a constricting and uniquely challenging experience – especially without a versatile and maneuverable machine. Enabling contractors and operators to overcome these challenges inspired improvements to an already proven Ditch Witch ride-on trencher, the RT..
Avanti Expands Product Offerings
avantigrout.com Avanti has added an AV-500 Epoxy line to its portfolio of injection solutions used to stabilize soils and rock, restore structural inte..
ISCO Division Partners with TV Pipe Solutions
isco-pipe.com ISCO Industries’ culvert-lining division, Snap-Tite, has established a master distribution agreement with TV Pipe Solutions. The agreement covers the full line of culvert rehabilitation product, including Snap-Tite pipe liners, from 8- to 63-inch diameter and up to 132 inches, the Hyd..
Global Pipeline Construction Outlook 2020
For those who thought producer retrenchment in U.S. shale basins, global trade wars or middling commodity prices would stop pipeline expansion dead in its tracks: Move along, folks. There’s nothing to see here.
House Dems to Approve Tough Pipeline Bill
Democrats in the House are about to pass a new pipeline safety bill, which is unlikely to attract any Republican support. The Pipeline Safety Act (H.R. 5120), passed by two House committees in November with no GOP votes in favor, also clashes with the bi-partisan bill passed last summer by the Senate Commerce, Science and Transportation Committee.
$234 Billion CAPEX Expected over Next 10 Years for Water/Wastewater Infrastructure
More than $234 billion of capital expenditures (CAPEX) are forecasted over the next decade to address aging municipal water and wastewater pipe network infrastructure. Precipitated by decades of underinvestment, municipal utilities are under increasing pressure to address deteriorating linear assets at a faster pace.
Ohio Power Siting Board Approves Natural Gas Pipeline Route
The Ohio Power Siting Board (OPSB) has approved a route for Duke Energy’s Central Corridor natural gas pipeline following a review of the company’s application and hearings on the 14-mile project.
Doosan Infracore Demonstrates Automated Construction Site Solution
Doosan Infracore (DI) has unveiled ‘Concept-X’, an automated worksite control solution, at its Proving Grounds in Boryeong City, Korea.
LAN Starts Construction of Conroe Treatment Plant
LEM Construction Co has begun construction of a $60 million wastewater treatment plant for the City of Conroe, the fast-growing seat of Montgomery County, located north of Houston.
- OSHA cites Florida contractors for trench safety violations at sewer and excavation sites
- Cadiz to reuse steel from terminated Keystone XL pipeline for California groundwater project
- Lynchburg, Va., breaks ground on largest-ever Blackwater CSO tunnel project
- Biden-Harris administration invests $849 million in aging water infrastructure, drought resilience
- The EPA announces $6.2 billion in funding for Iowa and Kansas water infrastructure