Oil/Gas Pipelines

Construction Error Dumps up to 1,000 Gallons of Raw Sewage

MONTPELIER, Vt. (AP) — Construction in Vermont’s capital city hit a snag over the weekend after utility workers drilled into a sewer line Friday, dumping hundreds of gallons of raw sewage into the Winooski River. A Montpelier Public Works spokesman says the leak wasn’t discovered until Saturd..

Water Main Break Leaves 85 Pennsylvania Homes Without Service

ABINGTON, Pa. (AP) — A water main break has left 85 homes without service in Pennsylvania. Officials say a 16-inch main broke around 2 p.m. in Abington Monday. The Abington Township Police Deputy Chief says thousands of gallons of water rushed into a nearby neighborhood, forcing the evacuation of s..

Swimming Halted on North Carolina Lake After Sewer Spill

CHARLOTTE, N.C. (AP) — Nearly 400 gallons of sewage have been spilled into a North Carolina lake, leading officials to suspend swimming for the weekend. Rusty Rozzelle, water quality program manager for Charlotte-Mecklenburg Storm Water Services, told local media outlets that the sewage was spill..

Boil-water Advisory Issued for New Jersey Capital City

TRENTON, N.J. (AP) – A boil-water advisory has been issued for some residents and businesses in New Jersey’s capital city. The Trenton Water Works on Tuesday announced there is a potential or actual threat to the water quality. Officials are not saying what the problem is. Officials say ..

Primoris Services Corporation Acquires Florida Gas Contractors

Primoris Services Corporation has acquired the assets of Florida Gas Contractors, a utility contractor specializing in underground natural gas infrastructure. Total consideration was approximately $33 million paid in cash at closing. Florida Gas Contractors can also receive an additional $1.5 millio..

Texas Oil and Gas Regulator Can Operate for 12 More Years

Texas Gov. Greg Abbott has signed House Bill 1818, which reauthorizes the Railroad Commission of Texas, the state’s oil and gas regulator, to operate for another 12 years. A committee of lawmakers, known as the Sunset Commission, is in charge of reviewing the agency. In 2016, the Railroad Commissio..

INTREN Announces New CEO, Board Leadership

INTREN has announced that Loretta Rosenmayer, founder and CEO, will become Chairwoman of the Board of INTREN, and Kelly Tomblin, President and Chief Executive Officer at Jamaica Public Service Company Ltd., will become the company’s new CEO, effective July 10, 2017. “This evolution come..

The Evolution Of Grouting Solutions

Injection grouting is described by its proponents as the first trenchless technology to repair leaks in underground pipes. First used for municipal applications more than 50 years ago, injection grouting has advanced to become the most economical and reliable method for controlling infiltration in ..

NASSCO Standard Bearers: Marilyn Baron

If someone would have told me, back when I was a young woman growing up on Long Island, NY, that I was going to make a long and distinguished career in the world of sewers, I would have told them they were crazy. From a very early age, I had my eyes set on the world of fashion. I attended the New Yo..

Water Line Break Could Leave Mississippi Town Without Water for 5 Days

VICKSBURG, Miss. (AP) — Too much water will mean none at all for almost 30,000 customers in and around Vicksburg for five days or more. The line carrying treated water from the city’s water plant to all customers broke Wednesday morning in an area that’s currently flooded by a Mississippi River bac..

Energy Company Unhooks Gas Lines after Fatal Colorado Explosion

DENVER (AP) — The company that owns a gas well linked to a fatal home explosion in Colorado said Tuesday it will permanently disconnect other pipelines in the area like the one blamed in the explosion. Anadarko Petroleum, which owns the well, did not say how many pipelines would be disconnected. Bu..

NTSB Joins Investigation into Fatal Gas Pipeline Explosion

FIRESTONE, Colo. (AP) — The National Transportation Safety Board has joined the investigation into a fatal Colorado house explosion blamed on unrefined natural gas flowing from a severed pipeline. The Longmont Times-Call reported Wednesday (http://bit.ly/2r2W8Rz) the agency got involved because pip..

Huge Sinkholes Are Now Appearing in the Wrong Places

FRASER, Mich. (AP) — Dora Linda Nishihara was driving in San Antonio one dark evening in early December when she suddenly disappeared from sight. Later, her car, with her body inside, was found at the bottom of a 12-foot-deep water-filled sinkhole that had swallowed the road ahead of her. Two days ..

Colorado Needs More People Monitoring Pipeline Safety

DENVER (AP) — State records show Colorado has only three people assigned to check on the safety of pipelines running from about 54,000 active oil and gas wells, a task that came under scrutiny after a leaking pipeline was blamed for a fatal house explosion. The Denver Post reported Sunday (http://d..

Sewer Main May be Cause of San Francisco Sinkhole

SAN FRANCISCO (AP) — San Francisco Public Utilities Commission spokeswoman Betsy Rhodes says a sewer main may be the cause of a sinkhole in San Francisco but officials won’t know for sure until they can move a big-rig truck that is partially swallowed by the hole. A truck driver escaped unharmed ea..

Colorado Pipeline Explosion Brings Calls for Safety but no Quick Fix

DENVER (AP) — Colorado regulators have ordered a snap review of oil and gas pipelines after a fatal house explosion near a well, but they haven’t said how they plan to fix a fundamental flaw in the system: They don’t know where all those pipelines are. Matt Lepore, the state’s top oil and gas..

Leaky Gas Pipeline Blamed in Fatal Colorado Blast

FIRESTONE, Colo. (AP) — A red-orange fireball that killed two people and destroyed a Colorado home prompted the governor to order sweeping inspections of natural gas lines and is certain to worsen tensions in state already divided over how to regulate the industry. Fire investigators said Tuesday t..

Heavy Rains Cause Sewer Overflow in North Carolina

ASHEVILLE, N.C. (AP) — April’s heavy rains caused a sewer line running through Asheville’s Biltmore Estate to overflow into the French Broad River. The Asheville Citizen-Times reports (http://avlne.ws/2qxmqeE) a public announcement mandated by state law says the public line expelled 25,130 gallons ..

Broken Pipe to Blame for Saltwater Spill in Oklahoma County

TULSA, Okla. (AP) — Environmental tests on an Oklahoma creek have led to the discovery of a saltwater spill into the main source of freshwater for Tallgrass Prairie Preserve. The Tulsa World (http://bit.ly/2oQconk ) reports that an Environmental Protection Agency inspector working on Bird Cre..

Sewer Leak in New York Town Stopped

GLOVERSVILLE, N.Y. (AP) – State environmental officials say a mainline sewage leak in a Mohawk Valley city has been stopped with temporary repairs and no drinking water supplies have been affected. Department of Environmental Conservation Commissioner Basil Seggos says Friday the sewage leak in Glo..

Patients Evacuated From Texas Hospital Following Water Leak

FRISCO, Texas (AP) — A suburban Dallas hospital was evacuated and dozens of patients moved to other facilities after a pipe burst and caused water to rain on the floors below. Officials in Frisco said in a statement that 78 patients at Baylor Scott & White — Centennial Hospital were moved els..

Blocked Pipe Spilling Tainted Water over Idaho Mine Tailings

HAILEY, Idaho (AP) — A blocked or broken pipe is causing tainted water in a pond to spill over the soil cap of an old mine’s tailing pile on state-owned land in central Idaho. The water contains orange iron oxide from water seeping from the tailings pile at the Triumph Mine about 12 miles (19 kilom..

Broken Sewer Line from Fontainebleau State Park Repaired

MANDELLIVE, La. (AP) – Park officials say they’ve repaired a broken sewer line that has been leaking untreated wastewater from Fontainebleau State Park into Bayou Castine near Mandeville. The New Orleans Advocate (http://bit.ly/2pceG4i ) reports the park was closed to day visitors Friday and Saturd..

Greenville Explodes Pathway For Sanitary Sewer Expansion

The recent expansion and rehabilitation of the city of Greenville, SC, sanitary sewer system was the first time the utility department undertook the total design and construction of such a project. By doing so, the overall costs were reduced by more than 50 percent, and the project was completed on ..

Pipeline Construction Causes Atlanta Highway to Rupture

DECATUR, Ga. (AP) — Another major highway through Atlanta was partially shut down on Monday, this one after underground utility work caused the pavement to rise up, break apart and send a passing motorcyclist flying through the air. Witnesses said the motorcyclist was riding in the carpool lane whe..

South Dakota Town Receives $1.6 Million for Relining Project

The South Dakota Board of Water and Natural Resources has approved a $1.606 million funding package for the City of Lake Norden to reline its wastewater collection system. The funding package includes a $321,000 Consolidated Water Facilities Construction Program grant and a $1.285 million C..

Water Research Foundation Releases New Report on Lead Service Line Lining and Coating Technologies

The Water Research Foundation has released a new research report on lead service line lining and coating technologies that says certain lining and coating technologies can effectively reduce or eliminate the release of lead from lead service lines. The report, Evaluation of Lead Service Line Lining..

Broken Pipe Leaks Chemical Into Lake Michigan Tributary

PORTAGE, Ind. (AP) — A spill at a U.S. Steel plant in northern Indiana that sent wastewater containing a potentially carcinogenic chemical into a Lake Michigan tributary was apparently caused by a pipe failure but testing has found none of that toxic substance in the lake, the company and federal ..

Bypass Construction for Michigan Sinkhole Repair Completed

Construction of the bypass for a sewer line that collapsed Christmas Eve and caused a massive sinkhole in Fraser, Michigan has been completed. “That bypass has now been essentially completed in the last couple of days,” said Candice Miller, Macomb County Public Works Commissioner. “We are now runni..

Sewer Spill Impacts Idaho Lake

HAYDEN, Idaho (AP) — Officials in northern Idaho say thousands of gallons of raw sewage seeped into Hayden Lake. KREM-TV (http://bit.ly/2oeHFms ) reports that the Hayden Lake Recreational Water and Sewer District was notified Wednesday of the sewage spill. The sewage seeped up from the ground due t..