Underground Construction - July 2019 - 8

NEWSLINE LATEST INDUSTRY DEVELOPMENTS
package by 31 House Energy and
Commerce Committee members.
Among the proposed Leading Infrastructure for Tomorrow's America
Act, or LIFT America Act (H.R.2741)
legislation's "Smart Infrastructure"
technology provisions are:
* $40 billion for the deployment of
secure and resilient high-speed
broadband internet service

to expand access for communities
nationwide
* $5 billion in federal funding for
low-interest financing of broadband
infrastructure deployment through
a new program
* $4 billion to upgrade the U.S.
electric grid to accommodate
more renewable energy and make
it more resilient

* $2.7 billion to spur the development
of Smart Communities, including
$850 million in technical assistance
to help cities and counties
integrate clean energy into their
redevelopment efforts

TTC, BAMI-I Present
One-Day Asset
Management Workshop

Consumers Energy Releases Rare Turtles
Protected During Pipeline Project
Twelve rare, juvenile Blanding's Turtles
hatched from incubated eggs were released
recently back into a turtle-friendly habitat
created for them near Saginaw, Mich., by
Consumers Energy employees.
The eggs, two adults and a juvenile Blanding's Turtle were rescued in 2018 from along
the path of Consumers Energy's Saginaw Trail Pipeline. The adults were
moved to a safe location, where they laid 12 eggs that were incubated,
hatched and raised by the company's contract herpetologist over the
winter. The juveniles are now large enough to be released.
"At Consumers Energy we demonstrate our guiding principle of 'leaving it better than we find it' every day. The Saginaw Trail Pipeline project
and the rescue of these rare turtles reaffirm our commitment to preserving Michigan's environment as we modernize our gas infrastructure," said
Charles Crews, Consumers Energy's vice president of gas operations.
"Not only do we seek out endangered reptiles like the Blanding's Turtle,
we have safely relocated thousands of frogs, salamanders, snakes and
turtles from the pipeline path and protected, enhanced or restored more
than 750 acres of land across the state last year alone," he added.
With more than 200 names suggested by Consumers Energy customers and employees, these names were selected for the 12 juvenile
turtles: Sheldon, Bubby, MiShell, Restoration, Roscoe, Myrtle, Tina (Turtle),
Tommy, Crush, Thor, Taco and Darkhorse.
The Blanding's Turtle is listed as a Species of Special Concern and
is protected by the Michigan Department of Natural Resources. It is
protected across the species range and is currently being considered for
federal protection.
While it has a lifespan of over 80 years, the Blanding's Turtle does not
reach sexual maturity until about age 20. Hatchling and juvenile turtles
suffer very high mortality rates from predators, particularly raccoons. It
may take decades for one adult female to produce enough turtles to help
keep the population stable.
The turtles prefer shrub swamp wetland and open water areas with
logs and stumps to bask, so Consumers Energy recreated that environment to give the juvenile turtles a better chance of survival. Felled trees
that were removed to safely install the pipeline were strategically placed to
create basking/hiding areas. *

JULY 2019 | UConOnline.com

The Buried Asset Management Institute (BAMI-I) presented a one-day,
overview version of its comprehensive certification program for water
asset managers, CTAM, for the New
Jersey Water Environment Association in early May. More than 40
professionals attended the workshop
and received CEU/PDH credit.
Tom Iseley, P.E., Ph.D., founder and
director of Louisiana Tech University's
Trenchless Technology Center, led
the development of CTAM and serves
as chairman of the BAMI-I Board
of Directors. BAMI-I is a non-profit
corporation dedicated to educating
and assisting those who have an
interest in applying best buried asset
management practices to extend the
life and efficiency of their assets.

Canadian CGA
Schedules Symposium
The 7th annual Canadian Common
Ground Alliance (CCGA) Damage
Prevention Symposium will take
place Oct. 8-10 in Niagara Falls,
Ontario. Focusing on critical issues
specific to Canadian stakeholders,
this event features training and
networking opportunities with those
committed to damage prevention
throughout Canada.
CCGA is Canada's unified
damage prevention voice and attract

members from all Canadian national
organizations and associations who
share common damage prevention
and public safety solutions.

Surveying & Geomatics
2020 Conference
Issues Call for Abstracts
The Steering Committee of the Utility
Engineering and Surveying Institute's
2020 Surveying & Geomatics
Conference is accepting abstracts
for presentations and special
panel sessions at the conference.
Submissions can be made until Sept.
26, 2019, by visiting the conference
website - surveyingconference.org -
and selecting "Call for Submissions,"
then "Submit Now."
To be held May 31-June 2, 2020,
at The Lawrenceburg Event Center,
Lawrenceburg, Ind., in conjunction
with Cincinnati State Technical and
Community College, the conference
is for professional surveyors,
engineers and academics practicing
and researching in professional
surveying and geomatics.
For questions about submitting
abstracts, please contact the
conference Technical Chairs:
JP Mohsen, Ph.D., F.ASCE, F.ASEE,
Professor, University of Louisville,
jpm@louisville.edu
Ahmed Elaksher, Ph.D., Aff.M.ASCE,
Associate Professor, New Mexico
State, afelaksher@cpp.edu
For questions about the
conference, visit the website, or call
(800) 548-2723 or +1 (703) 295-6300

In Memoriam
John William "Bill"
Gilman of Greer,
S.C., died last fall
at age 73.
He was a
past president of
McLaughlin Manufacturing Company
in Greenville, S.C., a graduate of
Western Illinois University and earned
his Master's from Southern Illinois
University at Edwardsville. *

http://www.surveyingconference.org http://www.UConOnline.com

Underground Construction - July 2019

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Underground Construction - July 2019