government

Public-private solutions proposed to repair decaying water infrastructure
July 2011, Vol. 66 No. 7

In the keynote address to the 2011 Pennsylvania Infrastructure Summit, Pennsylvania American Water President Kathy L. Pape said recently that expecting government bailouts is not a realistic, long-term solution to fix aging water and wastewater systems, which require tens of billions of dollars of capital investment.

DC Water awards $330M tunnel contract for clean rivers project
July 2011, Vol. 66 No. 7

The District of Columbia Water and Sewer Authority (DC Water) Board of Directors has approved the Authority's largest contract to date, for the design and construction of a storage and conveyance tunnel as part of the Clean Rivers Project.

New Underground Construction Standards Imminent From OSHA; Pipeline Bill In Congress; Wetland Gas Repairs
June 2011 Vol. 66 No. 6

The Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) appears ready to propose a new standard on silica exposure which would have a major impact on underground construction companies.

SRF Budgets Take Beating, Pipeline Safety In Focus, Fracing Initiative Announced
May 2011, Vol. 66 No. 5

The EPA sewer and drinking water construction budgets for the current fiscal 2011 year dropped precipitously in the final budget passed by Congress. Fiscal 2011 actually started last Oct. 1 but Democrats and Republicans in the House and Senate had been unable to agree on a budget.

Senators introduce critical pipeline safety act
April 2011 Vol. 66 No. 4

The U.S. Senate Committee on Commerce, Science and Transportation recently announced that Senators Frank R. Lautenberg (D-NJ) and John D. Rockefeller IV (D-WV) have introduced legislation to improve pipeline safety efforts nationwide.

Sharp Budget Knife at Throat of SRFs
April 2011 Vol. 66 No. 4

The Environmental Protection Agency’s water infrastructure congressional appropriations are destined to sink, maybe like stones, this year. Republicans and some Democrats want to severely cut the appropriations for both the Clean Water and Drinking Water State Revolving Funds in fiscal year 2011, which started last Oct. 1.

INGAA Locks Horns with PHMSA
March 2011, Vol. 66 No. 3

The Interstate Natural Gas Association of America (INGAA) has locked horns with the Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration (PHMSA) over the agency's advisory bulletin on pipeline safety.

Expect Federal Funding Cuts, New Regs In 2011
Stephen Barlas, Washington Editor
February 2011, Vol. 66 No. 2

The 2011 Congress will be one of the most unpredictable in many years, and probably one of the most explosive too, owing to the partisan friction occasioned by the Republican tide washing over both the House -- where the GOP took over -- and the Senate.

Baby Steps: 14th Annual Municipal Survey
Robert Carpenter, Editor
February 2011, Vol. 66 No. 2

After more than two years of declining revenues, tightening budgets and helplessly watching from the sidelines as their sewer and water infrastructure continues to decay and they are increasingly struggling to maintain current service levels, U.S. municipal personnel are hoping to experience at least a minor measure of improvement in 2011.

In Wake of San Bruno, PHMSA Calls Oversight of IM Programs "Lacking"
February 2011, Vol. 66 No. 2

A National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) hearing on March 1-2 in Washington may push Congress to renew failed efforts from the fall of 2010 to upgrade pipeline safety laws. The hearings will air the NTSB's preliminary findings from the Pacific Gas and Electric Company (PG&E) pipeline explosion in California last September where seven people were killed.

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