Oil/Gas Pipelines
Goldfield to Assist with Irma Restoration Efforts in Florida
The Goldfield Corporation has mobilized all of its power line construction personnel and related equipment from its Florida and Texas operations are committed to storm restoration work in Florida as a result of Hurricane Irma. Although the company is providing restoration services to most of the ma..
Massive, Slimy ‘Fatberg’ Clogging a London Sewer Weighs 143 Tons
LONDON (AP) — British engineers say they have launched a “sewer war” against a giant fat blob clogging London’s sewers, which may soon be destined for a museum. Utility company Thames Water is trying to dislodge the smelly blob, which is 820 feet long, by breaking it up with high-powered ho..
Audit Finds $58 Million in Overpayments on Mexico Highway
MEXICO CITY (AP) — An audit has found about $58 million in improper payments and contract irregularities in a highway expansion project that collapsed in central Mexico in July, killing two people. The federal comptroller’s office said contracts were improperly awarded, supervised and carried out. ..
Pipeline Construction Project Application Temporarily Suspended
The National Energy Board in Canada has agreed to suspend its review of TransCanada’s Energy East and Eastern Mainline projects for 30 days, following a request from the company. During this period, the board will not issue further decisions or take further steps concerning the review of the projec..
Engineers 20 Years Ago Warned of Houston Flooding Risk
DALLAS (AP) — A report released two decades ago on the Harris County reservoir system predicted with alarming accuracy the catastrophic flooding that would besiege the Houston area if changes weren’t made in the face of rapid development. The report released in 1996 by engineers with the Harris Cou..
Texas Town Struggles to Restore Water Service in Harvey Aftermath
HOUSTON (AP) — A Texas city that lost its drinking water system to Harvey struggled Saturday to restore service, and firefighters kept monitoring a crippled chemical plant that has twice been the scene of explosions and fires since the storm roared ashore and stalled over Texas more than a week ago...
Man Plunges Into Sinkhole on Brooklyn Street
NEW YORK (AP) — New York City firefighters were called to rescue a man whose leg became trapped in a sinkhole that formed in a crosswalk. The incident happened in the Bedford-Stuyvesant section of Brooklyn Tuesday morning. Stephen Suarez says he was returning to work after finishing a delivery when..
Ditch Witch, Utilicor Join Forces to Simplify Utility Repairs
Ditch Witch®, a Charles Machine Works Company, has partnered with Utilicor Technologies, Inc. to bring the benefits of advanced keyhole technology and reinstatement to contractors, municipalities and utilities globally. Due to the partnership, utility contractors will now be able to operate a nimbl..
Pipeline Company Response to Settlement Offer Not Disclosed
BISMARCK, N.D. (AP) — The company that built the Dakota Access pipeline has responded to an offer by North Dakota regulators to settle state allegations that it improperly reported the discovery of American Indian artifacts during construction. But the response from Energy Transfer Partners isn’t b..
Board Blames Niagara Falls Sewer Spill on Heavy Rain, Aging Infrastructure
ALBANY, N.Y. (AP) — A public agency under scrutiny for a discharge that turned water below Niagara Falls black says heavy rain and outdated infrastructure is to blame for another spill that prompted a violation notice from the state Department of Environmental Conservation. The board said Friday th..
Board Cited for Another Sewage Discharge at Niagara Falls
ALBANY, N.Y. (AP) — A public water board under scrutiny for a discharge that turned the water below Niagara Falls black and smelly violated quality standards for another discharge 17 days later, state officials said Friday. The Department of Environmental Conservation said it cited the Niagara Fall..
Niagara Falls Board Ordered to Halt Black Water Discharges
NIAGARA FALLS, N.Y. (AP) — State officials have told a western New York public agency that it must cease the type of wastewater discharges that caused a stretch of the Niagara River below Niagara Falls to turn black and smelly. Gov. Andrew Cuomo says the Department of Environmental Conservation has..
Sewage Enters Trench Used to Repair Detroit-Area Sinkhole
FRASER, Mich. (AP) — Officials say about 1.5 million gallons of sewage flowed into a trench used to repair a sewer line that collapsed and created a sinkhole north of Detroit. The Macomb County Public Works Office says no one was in the trench at the time of the incident overnight Monday. There wer..
NTSB: Worker Urged Evacuation Before Minnesota School Blast
MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — A maintenance worker at a Minneapolis school that partially collapsed after an explosion earlier this month had smelled natural gas and used a radio to tell others to evacuate less than a minute before the blast, according to preliminary report released Monday by the National Tran..
Sewer Spill Into Georgia Creek Contained
DECATUR, Ga. (AP) — Nearly four million gallons of raw sewage that spilled into a Georgia creek has been contained. DeKalb County officials say the spill happened last week along a tributary to Nancy Creek Basin in Brookhaven. County inspectors discovered that a 10-inch diameter pipe, comprom..
Colorado Won't Put Oil-Gas Pipeline Map Online
DENVER (AP) — Colorado Gov. John Hickenlooper says the state won’t offer an online map of oil and gas pipelines after a fatal house explosion that was blamed on a leaking pipe, citing security concerns. Hickenlooper said Tuesday Colorado will instead expand an existing service that allows people to..
Colorado to Tighten Pipeline Rules After Fatal Gas Explosion
DENVER (AP) — Colorado officials say they will strengthen regulations for oil and gas pipelines to reduce the chances of another home explosion like one that killed two people in April. Gov. John Hickenlooper announced the rule-tightening on Tuesday. It’s one of seven steps recommended by state reg..
Iowa Town Agrees to $195k Sinkhole Suit Settlement
SIOUX CITY, Iowa (AP) — The City Council has agreed to settle a lawsuit filed by a woman over sinkholes that formed on her Sioux City property. The Sioux City Journal reports the council voted unanimously Monday for a $195,000 settlement of Joyce Downing’s lawsuit. Downing sued the city in 20..
Popular California Beach Closed After Sewer Spill
DANA POINT, Calif. (AP) — Officials have shut down a popular Southern California beach because of elevated bacteria after 900 gallons of sewage spilled into the water. The Orange County Health Care Agency said Sunday that Baby Beach and nearby swimming docks in Dana Point are closed for at least th..
Police Investigating Natural Gas Explosion in Nebraska
LINCOLN, Neb. (AP) — Nebraska authorities have launched an investigation into a natural gas explosion that seriously injured two people, leveled a house and significantly damaged nearly 20 other homes in Lincoln. Police are focusing on the home where authorities believe the explosion occurred Monda..
Possible 2nd Niagara Falls Water Discharge Being Probed
NIAGARA FALLS, N.Y. (AP) — New York state officials say they’re investigating a possible wastewater discharge near Niagara Falls similar to one last month that turned the water below the world-famous attraction black and smelly. The Department of Environmental Conservation announced Tuesday evening..
Water Agency Hires Firm to Evaluate Niagara Falls Discharge
NIAGARA FALLS, N.Y. (AP) — The public agency that was responsible for black, smelly water being discharged into water below Niagara Falls says it’s hired an engineering firm to evaluate the discharge. The Niagara Falls Water Board said in a statement released Monday that it’s retained Los Angel..
After 22 Water Breaks, Lawrence Learns of Installation Woes
LAWRENCE, Kan. (AP) — Lawrence officials have learned that 13 miles of pipeline was improperly installed after 22 water main breaks. The Lawrence Journal-World reports that the breaks have occurred over a three-week period. Director of Utilities Dave Wagner says repair and replacement costs from th..
Geologists Study Massive Florida Sinkhole
LAND O’LAKES, Fla. (AP) — Geologists are studying a massive Florida sinkhole that destroyed two homes and rendered five others uninhabitable. Experts might ever know exactly what caused Pasco County’s largest sinkhole in decades, but a team of University of South Florida researchers have descende..
Man Falls into 10-foot Sinkhole While Trying to Block it off
PHILADELPHIA (AP) — A Philadelphia man who fell into a sinkhole says he was putting traffic cones around it because he was worried about the safety of children playing outside. Eugene Clark tells WCAU-TV (http://bit.ly/2wJ1NiG) he was near the sinkhole Saturday night when the asphalt gave way and h..
Mexico Experts: Outdated Drain Caused July's Deadly Sinkhole
MEXICO CITY (AP) — A panel of experts in Mexico has determined that an old drainage pipe was to blame for a sinkhole on a major highway that killed two men last month when their car plunged into it. The 34-year-old drain was not replaced as suggested before an expanded highway was built on top of i..
Local Lawmakers: Probe Niagara Falls Black Water Discharge
NIAGARA FALLS, N.Y. (AP) — Local lawmakers are asking for a criminal investigation into the discharge of wastewater that turned the water below Niagara Falls black. The Niagara County Legislature passed resolutions Thursday night that request investigations by the New York state attorney general, t..
Big Easy on Edge as City Scrambles to Fix Pumping System
NEW ORLEANS (AP) — Flood-weary residents remained on edge as Louisiana’s governor declared a state of emergency in New Orleans, but this time the threat wasn’t churning in the Gulf of Mexico. The city’s malfunctioning water-pumping system and the threat of more rain have left some neighborhoods at ..
Emergency Declared in New Orleans as Flood Threat Looms
NEW ORLEANS (AP) — Louisiana’s governor declared a state of emergency in New Orleans on Thursday as the city’s malfunctioning water-pumping system and the threat of more rain left some neighborhoods at greater risk of flooding. The city scrambled to repair fire-damaged equipment at a power plant an..
Sinkhole Develops on Louisiana Street
METAIRIE, La. (AP) — Authorities have barricaded a sinkhole that was discovered on a Louisiana street. Nola.com/The Times-Picayune reports the Jefferson Parish Streets Department was notified about the 12-foot by 12-foot hole Wednesday around 9 a.m. There were no injuries and no additional da..
- 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