Underground Infrastructure - October 2023 - 12

NEWSLINE LATEST INDUSTRY DEVELOPMENTS
tens of millions of acres of wetlands.
Fox declined to offer a specific number of
waterways that would no longer be protected.
But she said the Sackett case " does limit pretty
significantly the number of the waters that we
expect to be (under federal jurisdiction) when
those determinations are made'' by the Army
Corps of Engineers.
In a separate action last month, the
Biden administration weakened regulations
protecting millions of acres of wetlands,
saying it had no choice after the high court
ruling. The rule defining " Waters of the United
States " marks a policy shift that departs from
a half-century of federal rules governing the
nation's waterways.
The federal Clean Water Act allows states
and tribes to review what effect pipelines,
dams and some other federally regulated
projects might have on water quality
within their borders. The Trump
administration sought to streamline fossil
fuel development and made it harder for
local officials to block projects.
The rule announced will shift power back
to states, tribes and territories.
EPA Administrator Michael Regan said in
a statement that the new rule affirms the
authority of states, territories and tribes
" to protect precious water resources while
advancing federally permitted projects in a
transparent, timely and predictable way. "
The rule allows states and tribes to work
with federal agencies to determine the time
frame for review - up to a maximum of one
year - but provides a six-month default
deadline if local authorities and the federal
agency do not agree on a timeline.
The EPA has said states should have
authority to look beyond pollution directly
discharged into waterways and " holistically
evaluate " the impact of a project on local
water quality. The new rule gives local
regulators more power to ensure they have
the information they need before facing
deadline pressure to issue or deny a permit,
the EPA said.
Industry groups complained that a
proposed rule issued last year could lead
to unnecessary delays for a range of
infrastructure projects, including pipelines,
dams and bridges.
Former President Donald Trump had argued
12 OCTOBER 2023 | UndergroundInfrastructure.com
that states were improperly wielding the Clean
Water Act to block needed fossil fuel projects.
New York, for example, has used its review
authority to deny certain natural gas pipeline
projects. Washington state refused to issue a
permit for a coal export terminal in 2017.
In 2020, EPA officials said the Clean Water
Act shouldn't be used to hold infrastructure
projects hostage and finalized its rule that
curtailed state and tribal power.
Four states decline federal
funds to find, replace lead
water pipes, AP discovers
As the Biden administration makes billions
of dollars available to remove millions of
dangerous lead pipes that can contaminate
drinking water and damage brain
development in children, some states are
turning down funds.
Washington, Oregon, Maine and Alaska
declined all or most of their federal funds in
the first of five years that the mix of grants and
loans is available, The Associated Press found.
Some states are less prepared to pay for lead
removal projects because, in many cases, the
lead must first be found, experts said. And
communities are hesitant to take out loans to
search for their lead pipes.
States shouldn't " shrug their shoulders "
and pass up funds, said Erik Olson, a health
and food expert at the environmental group
Natural Resources Defense Council.
" It's troubling that a state would decide to
take a complete pass on the funding because
part of the reason for the funding is to figure
out whether you even have lead, " Olson said.
The Biden administration wants to remove
all 9.2 million lead pipes carrying water to
U.S. homes. Lead can lower IQ and create
behavioral problems in children. The 2021
infrastructure law provides $15 billion to find
and replace them. That money will help a lot,
but it isn't enough to get all the toxic pipes out
of the ground. State programs distribute the
federal funds to utilities.
The Environmental Protection Agency said
it is reviewing state requests to decline funds
but did not provide a full list of states that
have said no so far. That information will be
available in October, officials said. States that
declined first-year funds can still accept them
during the remaining four years.
Federal regulators propose
rule changes after 2018
gas distribution pipeline
blasts in Massachusetts
Federal regulators are proposing a series of
rule changes aimed at toughening safety
requirements for millions of miles of gas
distribution pipelines nationwide, following a
string of gas explosions in Massachusetts in 2018.
These proposed changes are designed
to improve safety and ease risk through the
improvement of emergency response plans,
integrity management plans, operation
manuals and other steps, according to the U.S.
Department of Transportation's Pipeline and
Hazardous Materials Safety Administration.
This proposal was prompted by the series
of blasts that ripped through parts of the
Merrimack Valley region of Massachusetts.
The explosions and fires in Lawrence, Andover
and North Andover in September 2018 left a
teenager dead, about two dozen injured and
destroyed or damaged more than 130 properties.
Thousands of residents and businesses were also
left without natural gas service for heat and hot
water for months in some cases.
Leonel Rondon, of Lawrence, died after
the chimney of an exploding house crashed
onto his car and crushed him. The 18-year-old
Rondon had received his driver's license just
hours earlier. Rondon's family later reached a
settlement with the utility involved in the disaster.
The explosions were caused by over
pressurized pipelines operated by Columbia
Gas of Massachusetts, according to a federal
investigation. The utility agreed to pay the
state $56 million in 2020 in addition to a
$53 million federal fine and a $143 million
lawsuit settlement.
Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg
said millions of miles of gas distribution
pipelines deliver energy to tens of millions
of Americans, heating homes and powering
businesses.
The proposal calls for improved
construction procedures to minimize the risk
of over pressurized pipelines and updated
management programs to prepare for overpressurization
incidents.
The changes require new regulator stations
to be designed with secondary pressure
relief valves and remote gas monitoring to
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