Underground Construction - March 2020 - 8

NEWSLINE LATEST INDUSTRY DEVELOPMENTS
CenterPoint Energy Sells Miller
Pipeline, Minnesota Limited to
PowerTeam Services

Feds to Fund Water Infrastructure Projects
in Four States
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) announced the availability of $2.7 billion
for infrastructure projects that help protect surface water and provide safe drinking water
to communities across the country.
The State Revolving Funds (SRF) programs assist states, tribes and territories by funding
a wide range of water infrastructure projects, including drinking water treatment and
distribution systems, wastewater treatment and collection systems, and a variety of other
projects related to preserving water quality, pursuant to the Clean Water Act and the Safe
Drinking Water Act.
The 2020 annual allocation for the four EPA Region 7 states totals $148.7 million of SRFs,
including:
* Iowa - $38.95 million
* Kansas - $27.13 million
* Missouri - $63.46 million
* Nebraska - $19.12 million
Over the last three years, the EPA Region 7 states have been allocated approximately
$150 million per year for their Drinking Water and Clean Water SRF loan programs, according
to the EPA.
In 2020, EPA is providing approximately $1.6 billion in new federal grant funding for the
Clean Water State Revolving Fund (CWSRF). This funding is available for a wide range of water
infrastructure projects, including modernizing aging wastewater infrastructure, implementing
water reuse and recycling, and addressing stormwater. More than $64 million in CWSRF
grant funding is available to tribes, certain U.S. territories, and the District of Columbia
for infrastructure projects.
EPA is also making available more than $1.07 billion in new federal grant funding for the
Drinking Water State Revolving Fund (DWSRF). This funding can be used for loans that help
drinking water systems install treatment for contaminants, improve distribution systems by
removing lead service lines, and improve system resiliency to natural disasters such as floods.
In addition, more than $50 million in DWSRF grant funding is available to tribes, U.S.
territories, and the District of Columbia to use for drinking water system upgrades. *

MARCH 2020 | UConOnline.com

CenterPoint Energy announced an agreement to
sell Miller Pipeline and Minnesota Limited to PowerTeam Services for $850 million in cash, subject
to customary price adjustments.
Miller Pipeline and Minnesota Limited, which
represent CenterPoint Energy's Infrastructure
Services business segment, are two of the premier
natural gas distribution and transmission pipeline
contractors in the United States, providing services
to customers in 35 states.
"PowerTeam's combination with Miller Pipeline
and Minnesota Limited creates a powerful platform
with nationwide scale," said Brian Palmer, chief executive officer of PowerTeam, who will serve as the
chief executive officer of the combined company.
In 2019, both Miller Pipeline and Minnesota
Limited were acquired by CenterPoint Energy in the
CenterPoint Energy-Vector Corporation merger.
Miller Pipeline is based in Indianapolis and employs more than 3,500 people. Minnesota Limited
has its headquarters in Big Lake, Minn., with peak
employment of more than 1,400 employees.
The sale is scheduled to close in the second
quarter of 2020.

U.S. Equipment Rentals
to Top $58 Billion in 2020
Equipment and event rental companies are
expected to generate $58.1 billion in revenue in
the United States in 2020, up 3.8% from 2019,
according to the latest forecast from the American
Rental Association (ARA).
Construction and industrial equipment rental
are forecast to reach $40.1 billion in 2020
with general tool rental revenue accounting
for $14.1 billion and party and event revenue
expected to be $3.8 billion.
Total U.S. rental revenue is expected to grow
by 4.1% in 2021, 4.2% in 2022 and 3.5% in 2023
to reach $65.2 billion.
"We are in a fairly steady growth pattern with
the chances of recession relatively low, keeping
rental revenue growth moving higher throughout
the forecast period," said John McClelland,
ARA's vice president of Government Affairs,
and chief economist.
In Canada, total rental revenue is forecast to top
$5.6 billion in 2020, up 2.1% from 2019. Rental revenue in Canada is expected to grow 2.3% in 2021,
3.3% in 2022 and 2.7% in 2023 to total $6.1 billion.

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Underground Construction - March 2020

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