Pipeline Construction

Atlantic Coast Pipeline Developer Cited for Tree-Felling Violations in Virginia

The Virginia Department of Environmental Quality (DEQ) today issued a Notice of Violation (NOV) to Atlantic Coast Pipeline, LLC (ACP) for failing to maintain adequate limits of disturbance during tree felling operations in violation of Virginia’s State Water Control Law. These limits forbid work wit..

Columbia Gas of Pennsylvania Files to Recover Investment in Replacing and Upgrading Aging Infrastructure

Columbia Gas of Pennsylvania, Inc., a subsidiary of NiSource Inc., filed a request today with the Pennsylvania Public Utility Commission (PUC) to adjust its base rates for distribution service so it can continue to upgrade and replace the company’s underground natural gas distribution pipelines...

Kentucky Utility Fined $395,000 for 2014 Gas Line Rupture

The Kentucky Public Service Commission (PSC) has fined Louisville Gas and Electric Co. (LG&E) $395,000 for a series of violations that led to the September 2014 rupture of a high-pressure natural gas pipeline in Goshen, Oldham County. The penalty is the largest ever assessed by the PSC in a n..

Atlantic Coast Pipeline Developers Seek More Time for Tree Clearing

RICHMOND, Va. (AP) — Developers of the proposed Atlantic Coast Pipeline say they need more time to cut down trees along the project’s route and likely won’t make the initial deadline designed to protect migrating birds and endangered or threatened bats. Dominion Energy made the request to federal r..

Maryland Natural Gas Pipeline Receives Permit

ANNAPOLIS, Md. (AP) — Maryland issued a permit Friday for a proposed natural gas pipeline in western Maryland that has brought protesters to the state capital. The wetlands and waterways permit for the proposed Columbia Gas pipeline includes customized conditions specific to the project and its loc..

6 Months After Hurricane Maria, Puerto Rico Pleads for Help

COROZAL, Puerto Rico (AP) — Hurricane Maria shredded the electric poles in this plantain farming town high in the mountains of central Puerto Rico, leaving tens of thousands of people without power or running water. Desperate, residents of the town’s Barrio Mana neighborhood asked federal officials ..

IoT Technology to Help Canadian City Improve Water Leak Detection

Echologics, a Mueller Technologies company, today announced it will deliver an Internet of Things (IoT) Smart City solution over Bell’s broadband wireless network for the City of Medicine Hat, Alberta. The solution will wirelessly monitor the city’s water pipeline network to help reduce water loss a..

Pipe Dream? Hong Kong Architect Proposes Low-Cost Tube Homes

HONG KONG (AP) — Hong Kong’s notoriously expensive housing makes owning an affordable home a pipe dream for many residents. A local architect has proposed a novel idea to help alleviate that problem: building stylish micro-apartments inside giant concrete drainage pipes. James Law’s OPod Tube Hous..

Canadian Regulators OK Pipeline Abandonment Project

Canada’s National Energy Board (NEB) has approved TransCanada’s request to abandon a 266-kilometer section of the Peace River Mainline. The NEB attached 22 conditions to its approval. TransCanada initially applied to the NEB on Aug. 18, 2016 to abandon parts of the Peace River Mainline in Northwest..

FERC Reinstates Certificate for the Southeast Market Pipelines

In a split decision, the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) has reinstated its authorizations issued to Transcontinental Gas Pipe Line Company, LLC; Sabal Trail Transmission LLC; and Florida Southeast Connection LLC concerning the Southeast Market Pipelines (SMP) Project.  Those dissenting ..

5 Arrested for Protesting Maryland Gas Pipeline

ANNAPOLIS, Md. (AP) — Five clean-water activists have been arrested at the Maryland State House after protesting a planned pipeline that would carry natural gas under the Potomac River and C & O Canal. They were arrested Wednesday after blocking an entrance to the Capitol. The protesters urged Gov..

Fiber Optic Sensing Association Releases Installation Considerations for Pipelines

The Fiber Optic Sensing Association (FOSA), the world’s premier trade association for distributed fiber optic sensing (DFOS), today released FOSA Installation Considerations for Pipelines, which contains guidance on the selection and positioning of fiber optic cables to maximize the benefits of DFOS..

Rover Pipeline Work Stoppage Ordered in West Virginia

CHARLESTON, W.Va. (AP) – A company building a 713-mile-long natural gas pipeline has been ordered to halt construction after West Virginia inspectors cited 14 violations. The Charleston Gazette-Mail reports the offenses include leaving trash and construction debris partially buried on site, imprope..

Protest over Infrastructure Turns Violent in Panama's Colon

COLON, Panama (AP) — A protest over infrastructure and insecurity turned into violent clashes with police Tuesday in Panama’s second biggest city, which is home to a strategic port at the northern end of the Panama Canal. Preliminary reports from national police said four officers and one protester..

Timeline Set for Environmental Analysis of Alaska LNG Project

JUNEAU, Alaska (AP) — The federal agency responsible for studying the environmental impact of the Alaska LNG project has released a timeline for completing its review. The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission announced Tuesday that it plans to release a draft of the final Environmental Impact..

Changes to Improve Wetland and Waterway Encroachment Permit Review Times Announced in Pennsylvania

As part of a statewide effort to reduce permit backlogs, Pennsylvania’s Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) today announced revisions to the instructions and forms for Chapter 105 General Permit Registrations relating to water obstructions and encroachments. These revisions will improve the..

Shuler Named PLCA's President of Associate Members

The Pipe Line Contractors Association (PLCA) today announced it has named Jared Shuler President of Associate Members. A PLCA member for the last nine years, Shuler, who previously served as the association’s senior vice president of pipeline contract services, will serve in his new role for a term..

API NY: Valley Lateral Pipeline Critical To New York’s Consumers, Workers

The New York branch of the American Petroleum Institute (API New York) today issued a statement applauding the federal district court decision to reject attempts by New York state regulators to block Millennium Pipeline’s Valley Lateral Project – a natural gas pipeline project in Orange County that ..

API: New Source Review Memorandum Offers Needed Infrastructure Permitting Clarity

The American Petroleum Institute (API) today released a statement praising the release of EPA’s memorandum on existing New Source Review (NSR) regulations. “EPA’s practical clarification to the language in the NSR regulations is a positive step that will help reduce uncertainty in the permitting pr..

North Carolina Republicans Want Pipeline Deal Probed

RALEIGH, N.C. (AP) — North Carolina Republicans continue to attack Democratic Gov. Roy Cooper over a $58 million agreement his office reached with utilities poised to build the Atlantic Coast Pipeline. Now, the GOP hopes their criticism will get the attention of federal prosecutors. State Republica..

New York Loses Appeal to Block Millennium Natgas Pipeline

(Reuters) – A federal appeals court on Monday denied New York State’s petition to review orders from federal energy regulators that authorized Millennium Pipeline Co to build a natural gas line to a power plant in Orange County, New York. “We certainly disagree with the decision, and are reviewing ..

ACEC Recognizes Contractor for Work on New York Natural Gas Pipeline

Ecology and Environment Engineering, P.C. (E & E) has been awarded the American Council of Engineering Companies of New York (ACEC New York) Platinum Engineering Excellence Award in the Environmental category. The prestigious award recognizes E & E’s pioneering work on Williams Gas Pipelines’ Rockaw..

Parts of National Forest Closed for Mountain Valley Construction

ROANOKE, Va. (AP) — The U.S. Forest Service says it is closing parts of the Jefferson National Forest in Virginia and West Virginia through which the Mountain Valley Pipeline will run. The Roanoke Times reports the closure order “was enacted to protect public safety due to hazards associated with c..

Sewer, Water Projects in Southwestern Alabama to Receive Funding

MOBILE, Ala. (AP) — A $315 million from the RESTORE Act and the Alabama Gulf Coast Recovery Council will help fund projects in southwestern areas of the state. Fifty projects will be given funding for infrastructure, environmental restoration and economic development, Al.com reported. The biggest i..

Vermont Town Discovers Leak Spewing Raw Sewage into Nearby River

BRANDON, Vt. (AP) — Officials in a Vermont town say a broken sewer pipe has spewed over 1 million gallons of raw sewage into the Neshobe River, which flows into Lake Champlain. Brandon town officials say they don’t know when the pipe broke or how long it was leaking sewage. WPTZ-TV reports the town..

Plans for Arkansas Trail Swerve With Utilities Project

FORT SMITH, Ark. (AP) — By the year 2024, an extension of the Old Railroad Trail will be the first city trail in Fort Smith to carve a path through the middle of town and serve as much as an alternative transportation route as a recreation trail. The nearly 3-mile paved trail will connect Cre..

Five Cabinet Chiefs to Testify Before U.S. Senate on Infrastructure

WASHINGTON (Reuters) – The Trump administration will send five cabinet secretaries to a U.S. Senate hearing next week to tout its plan to spur $1.5 trillion infrastructure improvements using $200 billion in new federal funding. The heads of the Transportation, Commerce, Labor, Agriculture and Labor..

Virginia Community Colleges, Union to Offer Pipeline Jobs Training

ROANOKE, Va. (AP) — A labor union has reached an agreement with regional community colleges in Virginia to train workers hoping to nab construction jobs on the Mountain Valley Pipeline. The Roanoke Times cites a release from the Laborers’ International Union of North America that says one- to two-w..

Many Metro Atlanta Residents Told to Keep Boiling Water

ATLANTA (AP) — Schools were resuming and a highway in metro Atlanta has reopened after a massive water main break in one of Georgia’s largest counties, but residents are still being advised to continue boiling water. DeKalb County officials said late Wednesday that water pressure was being re..

San Diego Gas Leak Prompts Evacuation of 1,100 Homes

SAN DIEGO (AP) — A ruptured gas pipeline in San Diego was capped Wednesday after the leak prompted the evacuation of more than 1,000 homes and shut down a 5-mile (8-kilometer) stretch of freeway for about nine hours. A construction worker helping with a road expansion project accidentally dri..