government

Pipeline VOC Emission Limits Soon To Be Finalized; EPA Makes Changes To Pipeline GHG Reporting Rule
February 2012, Vol. 67 No. 2

Natural gas transmission companies are very unhappy with the EPA's decision to tighten industry air emission limits. A consent decree signed by the EPA requires the agency to revise both New Source Performance Standards (NSPS) and national emission standards for hazardous air pollutants (NESHAP) for the natural gas industry, including for pipelines, by the end of February. Those are two separate EPA regulatory programs.

Birmingham Water Works tries to reassure customers
January 2012, Vol. 67 No. 1

The Birmingham Water Works Board is distancing itself from Jefferson County’s financial woes following a filing on Nov. 9 of the largest government bankruptcy in U.S. history, according to an article in The Birmingham News.

Upgrade water system, create nearly 1.9 million jobs
December 2011, Vol. 66 No. 12

Want to create nearly 1.9 million American jobs and add $265 billion to the economy? Upgrade our water and wastewater infrastructure. That’s the message of a new report released by Green For All, in partnership with American Rivers, the Economic Policy Institute and the Pacific Institute. The Rockefeller Foundation generously provided funding for the project.

Integrity Management Expansion Stirs Controversy In Congress
November 2011, Vol. 66 No. 11

Two House committees are attempting to combine slightly different pipeline safety bills while Sen. Rand Paul (R-KY) is preventing a Senate vote on a bill passed by the Commerce Committee last May. All three bills are moderate, and make changes around the edges of current law, both with regard to natural gas and oil pipelines.

U.S. Labor Dept. improves Whistleblower Protection Program
September 2011, Vol. 66 No. 9

In a continuing effort to improve the Whistleblower Protection Program, the U.S. Department of Labor’s Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) announced that it is implementing additional measures to strengthen the program and is releasing an internal report detailing a recent review of the program.

Disaster aid for Kane County, IL, infrastructure projects
September 2011, Vol. 66 No. 9

Kane County, IL, has been awarded more than $2.27 million in federal disaster aid for five infrastructure projects aimed at alleviating chronic flooding. The federal funding is part of the Illinois “IKE” Disaster Recovery Program established in the wake of Hurricane Ike in Sept. 2008.

Jefferson County seeks better deal to settle debt
September 2011, Vol. 66 No. 9

In an effort to avoid filing the largest municipal bankruptcy in U.S. history, officials in Alabama’s Jefferson County extended until mid-September talks with creditors holding $3.14 billion in debt incurred after officials borrowed money to fix their troubled sewer system and then entered into a number of complicated and corruption-laced refinancing deals that backfired in 2007 with the mortgage lending crisis. Those schemes also resulted in the conviction of a number of local officials and businessmen.

Official San Bruno Report Clears Pipe Bursting, Faults Utility And Oversight
August 2011, Vol. 66 No. 8

On Aug. 30, the National Transportation Safety Board issued its final report on the fatal pipeline explosion in San Bruno, CA, that occurred on Sept. 9, 2010. The report named Pacific Gas & Electric's "lax approach to pipeline safety" and the failure of overseeing bodies to check that approach as the main factors in a preventable accident.

Water and wastewater construction loans awarded
August 2011, Vol. 66 No. 8

Tennessee Governor Bill Haslam and Department of Environment and Conservation Commissioner Bob Martineau announced recently that seven communities and one county have been approved to receive low-interest loans for water and wastewater infrastructure improvements.

AEM progresses with I Make America
August 2011, Vol. 66 No. 8

Less than a year ago, the Association of Equipment Manufacturers (AEM) launched I Make America, a national grassroots campaign to increase jobs for America's equipment manufacturers. The message of I Make America is simple: the goal is to create a new manufacturing policy that creates jobs by rebuilding and modernizing America's infrastructure, and by helping farmers and manufacturers sell their products to new markets around the world.

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