Underground Construction - May 2021 - 8

NEWSLINE LATEST INDUSTRY DEVELOPMENTS
Size of Pipeline Spill
Again Underestimated
in North Carolina
An energy company has again underestimated
the amount of gasoline that spilled from a crack
in a pipeline running through a North Carolina
nature preserve.
The Colonial Pipeline Company issued a
statement saying it likely underestimated the size
of the spill at 1.2 million gallons. The company
did not provide a new estimate. The company
initially reported the size of the spill in September
at 273,000 gallons. It revised that estimate upward
to 1.2 million gallons in January. The spill occurred
in August where the pipeline crosses the Oehler
Nature Preserve north of Charlotte.
North Carolina Department of Environmental
Quality Secretary Dionne Delli-Gatti said that it's
" unacceptable " that the company still can't accurately assess the size of the spill. The state is requiring the company to issue a revised assessment.
Colonial said in its statement that its estimates
are driven solely by the data it has available to it
at the time. Colonial believes it has recovered the
majority of what was spilled, it has installed nearly
120 wells to aid in the recovery effort. It is also
monitoring nearby residents' wells and has not
found signs of contamination there.
The pipeline is the largest refined products pipeline in the U.S., carrying than 100 million gallons of
fuel a day from Houston Texas to New York Harbor.

U.S. West Prepares for Possible
1st Water Shortage Declaration
The man-made lakes that store water supplying
millions of people in the U.S. West and Mexico are
projected to shrink to historic lows in the coming
months, dropping to levels that could trigger the
federal government's first-ever official shortage
declaration and prompt cuts in Arizona and Nevada.
The U.S. Bureau of Reclamation released
24-month projections this week forecasting that
less Colorado River water will cascade down from
the Rocky Mountains through Lake Powell and Lake
Mead and into the arid deserts of the U.S. Southwest
and the Gulf of California. Water levels in the two
lakes are expected to plummet low enough for
the agency to declare an official shortage for the
first time, threatening the supply of Colorado River
water that growing cities and farms rely on.
It comes as climate change theoretically could
mean less snowpack flows into the river and its
tributaries, and hotter temperatures parch soil and

MAY 2021 | UCONonline.com

cause more river water to evaporate as it streams
through the drought-plagued American West.
The agency's models project Lake Mead will
fall below 1,075 feet for the first time in June 2021.
That's the level that prompts a shortage declaration
under agreements negotiated by seven states that
rely on Colorado River water: Arizona, California,
Colorado, Nevada, New Mexico, Utah and Wyoming.
The April projections, however, will not have
binding impact. Federal officials regularly issue longterm projections but use those released each August
to make decisions about how to allocate river water.
If projections don't improve by then, the Bureau of
Reclamation will declare a Level 1 shortage condition. The cuts would be implemented in January.
Arizona, Nevada and Mexico have voluntarily
given up water under a drought contingency plan
for the river signed in 2019. A shortage declaration
would subject the two U.S. states to their first mandatory reductions. Both rely on the Colorado River
more than any other water source, and Arizona
stands to lose roughly 18 percent of its supply.
Water agency officials say they're confident their
preparation measures, including conservation and
seeking out alternative sources, would allow them
to withstand cuts if the drought lingers as expected.
The Bureau of Reclamation also projected that
Lake Mead will drop to the point they worried in the
past could threaten electricity generation at Hoover
Dam. The hydropower serves millions of customers
in Arizona, California and Nevada.

Jackson Won't Release Email
About 2020 Water System
Problems
The city of Jackson, Miss., has denied a TV station's
public records request for email about problems
with the city water treatment system.
WLBT-TV recently requested all city email related
to the Environmental Protection Agency telling
Jackson in March 2020 to bring its water treatment
system into compliance with federal law. City officials kept the emergency administrative order secret
until news organizations recently reported about it.
WLBT reported that it requested city email
related to the order. In a one-page response, the
Public Works Department said email is " protected
by attorney-client privilege, the attorney work doctrine or as settlement negotiations in an ongoing
enforcement action. "
The response was dated April 13, but was not
released until April 16, days after Mayor Chokwe Antar Lumumba spoke at a City Council meeting and

defended his decision to not make the order public.
" The reason we haven't sent (it) out is because
the draft hasn't been finalized by any party. When
there is a completed document that both the EPA
and the city of Jackson agree to, it will be issued, "
Lumumba said.
Correspondence associated with the order
appears to contradict the mayor's statement that
the order was still in the negotiation stage, with the
EPA calling it a " final agency action. "
City Council member Ashby Foote said Jackson
is in talks with the EPA about the water system but
on an issue separate from the 2020 order. He said
those negotiations should not prohibit Jackson
from releasing the documents requested.

New Mexico Sues for Cleanup
of Abandoned Wells
The State Land Office announced a lawsuit against
two oil and natural gas companies, citing unmet
obligations to plug at least 29 abandoned wells in
western New Mexico, remove trash and debris and
pay penalties for trespassing on an expired lease site.
The lawsuit against BC&D Operating and
Dominion Production Company is the sixteenth in a
campaign by the agency to increase accountability
for cleanups among natural resources companies
that lease state land.
In a statement, New Mexico State Lands Commissioner Stephanie Garcia Richard indicated that
her agency is seeking voluntary compliance with
lease provisions before resorting to litigation.

Oklahoma Gas and Electric
Partners with Dobson Fiber
on Communications Network
Upgrade
Oklahoma Gas and Electric (OG&E) announced
that it has entered into an agreement with Dobson
Fiber to upgrade the resiliency and capacity of the
company's communications network backbone to
accommodate new grid automation and mitigate
risk of wireless interference on the traditional
microwave system.
Through the agreement, the two Oklahoma
headquartered companies will build approximately
350 miles of new fiber and leverage over 600
miles of Dobson's existing network to connect key
infrastructure.
As part of the company's continued grid
enhancement efforts to deploy increased grid
automation, monitoring and operational technologies, the agreement with Dobson will upgrade

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Underground Construction - May 2021

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