Underground Construction - October 2021 - 8

NEWSLINE LATEST INDUSTRY DEVELOPMENTS
sewer overflows, which can cause water to back
up, fouling residents' homes and yards.
The EPA order specifically requires the city to train
sewer staff on inspections, develop a routine and
inspection and maintenance plan for lift stations and
create a plan to address complaints and work orders,
the Belleville News-Democrat reported. It also
requires the city to submit overflow plans to the EPA.
It was the second EPA order within a month for
Cahokia Heights, located across the Mississippi
River from St. Louis. The first ordered immediate
action to prevent drinking-water contamination.
Feds, North Dakota to Negotiate
Pipeline Policing Costs
Federal and state lawyers met North Dakota last
month to negotiate a settlement for money that the
state claims it spent on policing protests against the
Dakota Access oil pipeline.
North Dakota filed a lawsuit against the U.S. Army
Corps of Engineers in 2019, seeking to recover more
than $38 million in damages from the months-long
pipeline protests almost five years ago.
State Attorney General Wayne Stenehjem and
other state lawyers met with attorneys from the
Corps and Justice Department at the federal
courthouse in Bismarck on Sept. 16. U.S. Magistrate
Judge Alice Senechal presided over the negotiations,
which were closed to the public.
If no settlement can be reached, a trial is set for
May 1, 2023.
California Agency Funds New
Sewage Treatment Technology
The California Energy Commission (CEC) has
awarded a $1.6 million to build and demonstrate a
new wastewater treatment and resource recovery
system at a water reclamation facility in Orange
County, California.
The treatment system involves a three-step
process to screen and flash-dry organic waste
into a biofuel, which is burned to create heat and
electricity. The process transforms a variety of
waste materials into safe and usable products, while
eliminating contaminants, according to Gate 5
Energy Partners.
The system will sit onsite, so there is no need
for hauling and land-spreading processed sludge.
Because it is a thermal process, no methane is
produced system.
" The Gate 5 system has notable advantages over
current processes because it can produce a net
surplus of energy and has the potential to transform
8 OCTOBER 2021 | UCONonline.com
the Chiquita WRF (Water Reclamation Facility) into a
net power exporter, " said Don Bunts, Deputy General
Manager of the Santa Margarita Water District
(SMWD), which includes the Chiquita facility.
In collaboration with SMWD, Stanford University's
Codiga Resource Recovery Center, and
MicroMedia Filtration, Gate 5 has assembled a team
of engineers, contractors and operators to design,
build, and operate the demonstration plant at
Chiquita WRF.
Missouri River Ruling Favors
North Dakota Water Project
A federal judge has rejected a lawsuit by the state of
Missouri seeking to stop a project that would supply
Missouri River water to central North Dakota.
The Bismarck Tribune reports the ruling will
enable the federal Bureau of Reclamation to move
ahead with a water service contract for the Central
North Dakota Water Supply Project. The project will
receive water from the McClusky Canal for systems
in Burleigh, Sheridan, Wells, Foster, Kidder, McLean
and Stutsman counties.
The Missouri suit alleged violations of federal
policy, including failure by project developers to
properly study the project's environmental impacts
and its alternatives. U.S. District Judge Nanette
Laughrey ruled against Missouri on all counts.
The Red River Valley Water Supply Program, which
will move Missouri River water by underground
pipeline from Washburn east to supply systems in
the east and central parts of the state. The Central
North Dakota Water Supply Project will use the same
pipeline, taking nearly 13 million gallons a day.
Construction Begins
for $64 Million Fiber
Expansion in Arkansas
Windstream, a privately held communications and
software company, announced that construction
has begun on the first of seven fiber broadband
expansion projects funded in partnership with the
State of Arkansas. The projects will deliver gigabit-speed
internet service to more than 15,000
households and small businesses in rural areas of
seven Arkansas counties.
The fiber-to-the-premises projects were made
possible by $46.3 million in state grants funded
through the federal American Rescue Plan Act
and administered by the Arkansas Rural Connect
(ARC) Broadband Program. Windstream will
invest $17.2 million, bringing the total program
cost to $63.5 million.
The construction work began in Grant County,
where completion is expected by the spring of
2022. The state grants also are funding fiber broadband
expansion in Carroll, Faulkner, Perry, Searcy,
Sevier and Van Buren counties.
" We're still investigating the root cause of this
ground upheaval, which continues to apply pressure
to DTE's utility equipment, " said Hakim Berry,
Detroit's chief operating officer.
DTE's monitoring of its natural gas system alerted
engineers to a potential issue, Berry added.
Minor exploratory excavation was initiated Sept.
15 in the area to help determine soil composition
and ground stability.
Utility Launches NW Indiana
Water Main Replacement Project
A private utility is launching a more than $24 million
project in Northwest Indiana to replace aging steel
and cast-iron water mains, including about five
miles of pipe dating back to the early 1900s.
In addition to the replacement work, the project
also includes 11 miles of new water mains. The
investments are expected to improve the reliability
of water distribution system and enhance system
flows and firefighting capabilities, Indiana American
Water President Matt Prine said.
" When we purchased this system more than
two decades ago, we knew significant investments
were needed, " Prine said. " Since that time, we have
already invested more than $400 million in our
water infrastructure in northwest Indiana. "
Indiana American Water also has been working
to remove about 55,000 lead service lines across
the state that were commonly used in construction
before World War II.
C Spire Begins Construction
on 243-Mile Fiber Route
Telecommunications and technology firm C Spire
announced that it has started construction on
a 243-mile-long fiber optic cable route from Meridian,
Mississippi to Homewood, Alabama.
The project, which involves placing conduit,
ducting and fiber optic cable underground, will
span six counties in Mississippi and five in Alabama.
Completion is expected next year.
Alabama ranks 38th nationally in broadband
access, and state leaders have made rural internet
access a priority through state funding and creation
of the Alabama Rural Broadband Coalition, a group
of community, business and government leaders.
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Underground Construction - October 2021

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