CEAC-2021-07-July

Bridger Pipeline plans to convert 27 miles of an oil gathering
pipeline into a larger transmission line in McKenzie County. It
also will add another 2.4 miles to the pipeline located east of
Watford City. Other pipelines will transport the oil to Guernsey,
Wyoming, and then to market in other states.
The state Public Service Commission recently voted unanimously
in favor of the $21 million project. Commission Chair
Julie Fedorchak said she sees it as a sign of the Bakken’s
recovery following the oil downturn brought on by the coronavirus
pandemic.
The company’s application for the project alluded to the
potential shutdown of the Dakota Access pipeline, saying the
Bridger project “will be a vital part of an alternative route
out of North Dakota in the event of a shutdown of the other
pipelines leaving the Williston Basin,” the Bismarck Tribune
reported.
A judge is expected to rule any day on whether Dakota
Access pipeline can continue operating during an environmental
review.
Tiny Bats Put Kibosh on Power Line Tree-
Cutting for 2 Months
PORTLAND, Maine (AP) — Tree-cutting on a key stretch of a
$1 billion hydropower project in western Maine was forced
to stop almost as soon as it started to protect the newly born
young of a federally protected bat.
The New England Clean Energy Connect has a narrow window
of only two weeks to begin work on the power line
after a federal appeals court gave the green light to proceed
last week. Tree removal will have to stop in June and July
when the pups of northern long-eared bats are born and
cannot yet fly.
The northern long-eared bats are tiny — the size of a small
mouse — and they live in trees instead of caves.
A permit issued by the Army Corps of Engineers in November
prohibited tree-cutting during June and July, and tree crews
who’re already on the job had planned to stop during the
two-month period to protect the bats, whose populations
have been decimated by so-called white nose syndrome.
Vermont Company Gets $5 Million for
Extreme Cold System
HANOVER, N.H. (AP) — A Vermont company is getting more
than $5 million for a New Hampshire-based project examining
the effects of extreme cold on different kinds of roadways
and airstrips.
The U.S. Army Corps of Engineer’s Cold Regions Research and
Engineering Laboratory is providing the funding to Applied
Research Associates of Randolph, Vermont. It’s part of a $9
million contract to develop and install a transportation loading
system at the Frost Effects Research Facility in Hanover,
New Hampshire.
The system, which won’t be fully operational until 2023, will
be designed to simulate the passage of tens of thousands of
vehicles in a 24-hour period to demonstrate how different
pavements stand up to heavy usage at freezing temperatures.
The funding was recently announced by U.S. Sens. Patrick
Leahy and Jeanne Shaheen.
Indianapolis Highways Cut Off 18 Months for
Rebuild Work
INDIANAPOLIS (AP) — The two interstate routes through
downtown Indianapolis are now cut in two for a reconstruction
project that highway officials expect will take 18 months
to complete.
The recent closure allows traffic on Interstates 70 and 65 to
reach the city’s downtown, but through traffic is blocked as
crews rebuild a portion of the route the two highways share.
State highway officials recommend that any drivers traveling
through the Indianapolis area use I-465 as a detour route.
A major portion of the $320 million project is rebuilding
what is known at the North Split, the northern interchange
that brings the two highways together on the eastern edge
of downtown Indianapolis.
Work on the project is expected to continue until fall 2022.
Shreveport Kicks Off $36 Million Drinking
Water Renovation
SHREVEPORT, La. (AP) — Shreveport is launching a $36.5
million project designed to improve its drinking water infrastructure.
The city is renovating its service pump station that was built
in the 1930s, the Shreveport Times reported.
“We learned in February how critical it is to have a reliable
water system,” William Daniel, Water and Sewerage director,
told the newspaper. “The completion of this project will
guarantee a more efficient system to deliver safe drinking
water to our residents.”
The money will go toward renovating deteriorated parts of
the building and repurposing space so it can be more effectively
used, the newspaper said. The work will also include
installing new backwash and high service pumps. That will
help increase the reliability and capacity of those systems.
Volume 86 · Number 7 | 7