Related Links: Arkansas Spill Zone Residents Await Plan to Return Home; New Leak in Missouri Ruptured Section of Arkansas Pipeline Sent for Lab Tests ExxonMobil Corp. violated federal safety regulations while operating the Pegasus pipeline that dumped about 5,000 barrels of oil in a Mayflower, Ark., neighborhood in March and should pay more than $2.6 million in penalties, a federal regulator determined.The U.S. Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration (PHMSA), in a notice issued Nov. 6, claims ExxonMobil, and its ExxonMobil Pipeline Co., did not pay attention to known problems with pipeline integrity in 1991, 2005 and 2006.“The operator experienced
Related Links: After Dike Failure, TVA Cleans Area Near Kingston Coal Plant Cleanup from TVA Coal Ash Disaster Breaks New Ground The Tennessee Valley Authority should implement a groundwater protection plan to minimize the degradation of aquifers near its coal-fired plants, the Environmental Integrity Project says in a Nov. 6 report. The group credited the federal power producer for its decision to phase out ash ponds and replace them with landfills, which TVA did after about 5.4 million cu yd of wet ash from the 1,456-MW Kingston, Tenn., plant flowed over about 300 acres and into the Emory River in
Photo Courtesy Federal Emergency Management Agency Fargo wants to make reinforcement of temporary levees part of the past. Related Links: Risks Pile Up At Canada's Muskrat Falls Hydro Army Corps Plan Would Tame Red River, Prevent 100-Year Flood Flood Control on the Red River as a Complex Environmental Decision System On Oct. 24, the cities of Fargo, N.D., and Moorhead, Minn., moved one step closer to solving a perennial problem within the region: Red River Basin flooding. The U.S. House of Representatives authorized a plan to build nearly $2 billion worth of aqueducts and dams, as well as a 35-mile
Photo Courtesy of Bechtel McCullough at Hanford project site. Related Links: DOE Hanford Site Vitrification Plant Pushes Construction Deadlines DOE Inspector General's Audit Report of Hanford Vitrification Plant Design Control PDF Sept. 24 DOE Hanford Tank Waste Retrieval, Treatment, and Disposition Framework Report PDF Peggy McCullough, named in July as Bechtel National project director for the high-level nuclear-waste treatment plant at the U.S. Energy Dept.'s Hanford site in eastern Washington state, inherited a $12.2-billion project beset by delays and cost overruns since work began a decade ago, with numerous technical, budget and procedural challenges. The complex facility will turn 56
Related Links: U.S. DOT to Help with New Mexico Repairs New Mexico is looking at, so far, an estimated $6.87 million worth of road and highway repairs from recent heavy rains and floods that battered the state in September, transportation officials say.Other damage assessments have yet to be tallied, as local and federal officials look for funds to help kick off the repair work more quickly.Twenty-five of New Mexico's 33 counties experienced flooding and infrastructure damage since two major storms slammed the state between Sept. 13 and Sept. 24 and dropped more than eight inches of rain in some regions
Related Links: Colorado Floods Leave Thousands Stranded, Infrastructure in Shambles Colorado Flood Waters Reach Historic Levels A week after heavy rains delivered what many in the area termed a 1,000-year-flood, state and local officials were still scrambling to complete rescue efforts in northern Colorado's devastated communities and begin initial cleanup and repairs that will take months, if not years, to complete.At least eight people died, tens of thousands were evacuated, and nearly 18,000 homes and 1,000 businesses were damaged or destroyed in the raging floodwaters that tore through the foothills and onto the northeastern plains. The rains, measured in Boulder
Related Links: After Colorado Floods, More Rain; Hundreds Unaccounted HCN: Front Range Flooding 'Inevitable' At least eight people are dead and many more are still unaccounted for after nearly a week of heavy rains and catastrophic floods that devastated communities along Colorado’s Front Range and northeastern plains.Tens of thousands of people were evacuated from towns cut off by rising rivers and streams, many by helicopter and National Guard convoys. Cities became islands, cut off on all sides by downed bridges, flooded highways and mudslides. Chinook helicopters rescued hundreds of residents from Lyons, Jamestown and other foothill areas inaccessible by car.But
Photo courtesy of Colo. DoT Highway 34 in the Big Thompson Canyon west of Loveland, Colo., will be closed "indefinitely." Photo courtesy of Colo. DoT The heavy rains pushed rivers and streams above their historic flood levels and washed out highways, like State Highway 72 in Coal Creek Canyon west of Denver. Heavy rains continued pelting Colorado through the weekend, slowing the state's efforts to fortify regions hit by “biblical floods” that struck the state early last week.By some counts, officials said, about 700 residents who live near the foothills where the flooding hit, and across the Denver metro area,
Related Links: Council's Draft Initial Comprehensive Plan List of Authorized but not Yet Started Projects The Gulf Coast Ecosystem Restoration Council approved a draft plan to restore the Gulf Coast's ecosystem and economy. While the Aug. 28 vote in New Orleans is a step toward selecting and funding construction and other projects to restore the gulf's battered shorelines and economy, it could be at least a year before any new projects break ground, according to the Dept. of Commerce.Congress established the council under the RESTORE Act, a law enacted in July 2012 that requires 80% of Clean Water Act (CWA)