Minister hits back at Apache’s claims

Mines and Petroleum Minister Norman Moore has hit back at suggestions he had misrepresented the public of Western Australia by not releasing certain documents requested by Apache North West. The criticism of the Minister was made in court today by Apache’s legal representative. “All I have done is provide to the public the State Government-commissioned [...]

Golden Gate celebrates 75th with help of engineers

The Golden Gate Bridge was heralded as an engineering marvel when it opened in 1937. It was the world’s longest suspension span and had been built across a strait that critics said was too treacherous to be bridged. But as the iconic span approaches its 75th anniversary over Memorial Day weekend, the generations of engineers [...]

Debate Intensifies Over Oil Produced From Canada’s Oil Sands

As the U.S. continues to increasingly rely on Canada as its most important foreign oil source, environmentalists and scientists are concerned about the repercussions of the partnership. The U.S. has worked to fundamentally alter domestic oil and natural gas drilling over the past decade, as lawmakers work to achieve the long sought after goal of [...]

Coastal homeownership has its own challenges

OWNING A home on the coast shouldn’t be a lesson in dreams gone wrong. For Wayne Higson, the coastal environment offered peace, serenity and a place to get away from it all – until corrosion, wind and water created a nightmare in vacation homeownership. “People don’t really know how bad things can get until they [...]

U.S. Navy Settles Underground Storage Tank Violations at Hampton Roads Facility

The U.S. Navy has agreed to pay a $5,855 penalty to settle alleged underground storage tank (UST) violations at its Building NH94, located at 7918 Blandy St., Norfolk, Va., the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency announced today. There are three 25,000-gallon underground storage tanks at this facility containing diesel fuel. Each UST is required to be [...]

Pipeline that leaked – safe to reopen

MANILA, Philippines — The Department of Energy (DOE) has asked the Court of Appeals (CA) to allow the reopening of the 117-kilometer Batangas-to-Manila white oil pipeline being operated by the Lopez-owned First Philippine Industrial Corp. (FPIC) after the leak test it conducted in December indicated no more leaks in the pipeline. In a five-page manifestation [...]

PHMSA Proposes New Rule to Increase Enforcement of Pipeline Excavation Programs

The U.S. Department of Transportation’s Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration (PHMSA) has proposed new procedures geared to strengthen excavation damage prevention programs and increase penalties for violators. Excavation damage continues to be a leading cause of all U.S. pipeline failures and is the single greatest threat to the safety, reliability, and integrity of the [...]

Big Dig needs $54 light fix – corroded tunnel fittings must be replaced

The state’s top highway official says all the light fixtures in the Big Dig tunnels must be replaced, a $54 million effort made necessary by design or manufacturing defects that have led to dangerous corrosion. The project, expected to begin next year, will cause frequent lane closings in the tunnels for up to two years, [...]

Pipeline regulators propose broader public access

The California Public Utilities Commission on Monday proposed opening up public access to most records under the agency’s purview, a dramatic shift that would allow Californians to view documents detailing the safety records of natural-gas pipelines running under their neighborhoods. The move comes 18 months after the explosion of a Pacific Gas and Electric Co. [...]

U.S. Sen. Bob Casey visits Allentown to call for greater transparency on pipeline safety information

Visiting the site of last year’s massive gas explosion in Allentown, U.S. Sen.Bob Casey, D-Pa., announced he was pushing for Pennsylvania to improve public transparency regarding pipeline safety information. In a letter he sent today to the chairman of the Pennsylvania Public Utility Commission, Casey said improving that transparency will help reduce the amount gas pipeline incidents and [...]