Underground Infrastructure - March 2023 - 8

NEWSLINE LATEST INDUSTRY DEVELOPMENTS
U.S. Appeals Court Reinstates
Pro-Infrastructure Water Rule
A U.S. appeals court said a lower court lacked
authority to remove a rule established by former
President Donald Trump that limited state's
power to deny permits for pipeline projects.
San Francisco Judge William Alsup originally
vacated the pro-infrastructure rule in 2021,
after President Joe Biden took office. However,
according to a Reuters report, the 9th U.S.
Circuit Court of Appeals said that a California
judge couldn't kill the rule because he didn't
consider first whether it actually broke the law.
The rule reinterprets part of the Clean
Water Act that allows states and Native
American tribes authority to deny approvals
for interstate pipelines and other projects.
The rule keeps states from blocking such
projects unless they can prove the projects
will directly pollute waterways.
Democrats and environmental activists
protested the rule while organizations such as
the American Petroleum Institute said they're
pleased with the court's decision.
Having a " clear and consistent permitting
process in place ensures that needed
infrastructure can be built, " API said.
PG&E Curtails Plan
to Bury Power Lines
to Prevent Forest Fires
California's PG&E has scaled back its plans to
bury 3,600 miles of power lines through 2026
as part of a larger capital project to fortify its
infrastructure against fires.
The Oakland-based utility now plans to
bury 2,275 miles over the next three years,
according to company executives in a February
investor presentation.
In a statement to Reuters, PG&E CEO
Patricia Poppe said that the reduction is " the
result of conversations with our key stakeholders "
and the need to demonstrate that
the business can advance its undergrounding
activities in a cost-effective manner. "
PG&E's overhead power lines were blamed
in 2018 for the worst wildfire in California
history, as well as other deadly fires in recent
years. The incidents forced the company to
apply for bankruptcy protection due to billions
of dollars in fire-related liabilities. Beginning in
June, PG&E will be tried for manslaughter in
connection with fire fatalities.
8 MARCH 2023 | UndergroundInfrastructure.com
The utility, which serves around 5.5 million
homes and businesses with electricity,
eventually intends to bury 10,000 miles of wires.
Water Utilities to be affected
by EPA's Proposed PFAS
Regulations
According to Bloomberg Law, water utilities
across the nation expect the EPA to codify
its 2022 health advisories that suggest PFAS
substances are dangerous in drinking water.
In a news release, the EPA reported that a
draft of the proposed rule is going through a
review process, with results being released in
the " coming weeks. "
In 2022, the EPA issued a health advisory
saying that all levels of PFAS substances in
drinking water are dangerous. According to
water attorney John Kindschuh, safe levels
are " so low that most if not all public water
systems can't even detect it. "
The interim advisory levels of 0.004 parts per
trillion (ppt) for perfluorooctanoic acid (PFOA)
and 0.02 ppt for perfluorooctanesulfonic
acid (PFOS) dramatically tightened EPA's 2016
advisory of 70 ppt for either compound or a
combination of both.
Professionals in industries such as chemical,
oil and gas, and automotive question the
scientific evidence surrounding the health
advisories. The concern stems from the fact
that the World Health Organization (WHO)
allows more PFOA and PFOS in drinking water
than the EPA's recommendation.
The industry is concerned about what
scientific evidence is being considered,
especially because the World Health
Organization issued draft guidance in
2022 that would allow more PFOA and
PFOS in drinking water than the EPA has
recommended, she said.
The WHO recommended a limit of 100 ppt
of either PFOA or PFOS in drinking water and
a total cap of 500 ppt for combinations of
up to 30 PFAS.
Pennsylvania Passes
'Forever Chemicals'
Drinking Water Limits
Pennsylvania has enacted a statewide drinking
water limit on two forms of highly toxic
chemicals, nicknamed " forever chemicals. "
The rule, published in January in the
official register of state government agency
actions, sets a limit of 14 parts per trillion for
perfluorooctanoic acid and 18 parts per trillion
for perfluorooctane sulfonic acid.
The rule applies to all 3,117 water systems,
the Department of Environmental Protection
(DEP) said.
Both chemicals belong to the group of
perfluoroalkyl and polyfluoroalkyl substances,
known collectively as PFAS, which are used in
products such as nonstick cookware, carpets,
firefighting foam and fast-food wrappers.
Currently, there is no national limit, although
the federal government has issued an advisory
level of 70 parts per trillion or below.
Studies have found associations between
the chemicals and cancer, thyroid disease,
ulcerative colitis and other health issues,
although state officials say their effects on
human health are not fully understood.
The chemicals have turned up increasingly in
public water systems and private wells around
the country after the federal government in
2013 ordered public water systems with more
than 10,000 customers to test for it.
In 2021, the Pennsylvania's DEP said that
about a third of the more than 400 sites it
had tested across Pennsylvania were found to
contain one of the chemicals.
Former Maui Official Gets
10 years for Taking
Wastewater Contract Bribes
A former Maui County official was sentenced
to 10 years in prison for accepting $2 million in
bribes from a Honolulu businessman in one of
the biggest bribery cases in Hawaii history.
Stewart Olani Stant, who was a wastewater
manager and the director of Maui's Department
of Environmental Management, was also
ordered to pay $1.9 million in restitution, the
Honolulu Star-Advertiser reported.
Prosecutors said businessman Milton Choy
deposited money into bank accounts owned
by Stant during a six-year period starting in
2012. They said Choy gave Stant gambling
chips during trips to Las Vegas and paid for
his Las Vegas airfare and hotel rooms. In
exchange, prosecutors said Stant directed at
least 56 sole-source contracts worth $19.3
million to Choy and the wastewater company
he owned, H2O Process Systems LLC.
Stant pleaded guilty Sept. 19 to a single
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