Underground Construction - June 2021 - 10

NEWSLINE LATEST INDUSTRY DEVELOPMENTS
" While utilities do an incredible job of
managing wastewater and safely returning
it to the environment, increased water from
heavy rains and storms can challenge and even
circumvent this great work, " said EPA Assistant
Administrator for Water Radhika Fox. " Under
America's Water Infrastructure Act of 2018,
this new grant program empowers EPA's state,
local, and utility partners to improve stormwater
management and benefit communities. "
Stormwater can collect pollutants-including
trash, chemicals, oils, and dirt/sediment-and
convey them to nearby waterways. When
mixed with domestic and industrial wastewater
in combined sewers, stormwater can also
contribute to combined sewer overflows (CSO)
during heavy rainstorms.
U.S. states and territories can apply for the
funding, which will be provided as sub-awards
to municipal entities for projects that address
infrastructure needs for CSOs, sanitary sewer
overflows (SSO), and stormwater management.
3M Settles with
Minnesota City for
Water Supply Contamination
Manufacturer 3M has reached a $12.5 million
settlement with the city of Bemidji, Minn.,
to help pay for treating contamination in the
community's water supply.
The funds will go toward building and
operating a new treatment facility to remove
chemicals known as PFAS, which the company
manufactured for use as firefighting foam.
The city found elevated levels of PFAS in its wells
in 2016 and linked the source of the contamination
to firefighting foam used during training at the
regional airport, which is located near the wells,
Minnesota Public Radio News reported. Some PFAS
have been linked to health problems.
The first phase of the $16 million treatment
project is already online, city officials said.
Construction on the second phase, which will
allow the city to treat more water, will take about
two more years to complete.
Regulators Fined Gas Utility
$900K for Pipeline Violations
Indiana regulators have fined CenterPoint nearly
$900,000 for natural gas pipeline violations
committed in 2019 by the utility previously
known as Vectren.
The $894,000 civil penalty is part of CenterPoint's
settlement agreement with the Indiana Utility Regulatory
Commission for failing to locate or mark its
pipelines within two days of gas line excavations.
The IURC said those procedures include
accurately marking those pipelines and contacting
the excavator within those two working days, the
Evansville Courier & Press reported.
CenterPoint said in a statement about the penalty
that it is " committed to continuing to work with
customers, excavators, emergency responders,
peer utilities and elected officials on the importance
of safe digging. "
The penalty payments go into Indiana's general
fund and CenterPoint is not allowed to recover
those funds from customers, the IURC said. *
10 JUNE 2021 | UCONonline.com
http://www.wyoben.com http://www.UCONonline.com
Underground Construction - June 2021

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