WASHINGTON — The long-delayed Keystone XL oil pipeline cleared a major hurdle toward approval Friday, a serious blow to environmentalists’ hopes that President Barack Obama will block the controversial project running more than 1,000 miles from Canada through the heart of the U.S.
The State Department reported no major environmental objections to the proposed $7 billion pipeline, which has become a symbol of the political debate over climate change. Republicans and some oil- and gas-producing states in the U.S. — as well as Canada’s minister of natural resources — cheered the report, but it further rankled environmentalists already at odds with Obama and his energy policy. The report stops short of recommending approval of the pipeline, but the review gives Obama new support if he chooses to endorse it in spite of opposition from many Democrats and environmental groups. Foes say the pipeline would carry “dirty oil” that contributes to global warming, and they also express concern about possible spills. CLICK TITLE TO CONTINUE READING
Groton - Town officials and Mystic merchants alike are hoping that the second phase of the Mystic Streetscape project is quick and painless. The town awarded a contract earlier this month to a Ludlow, Mass., company that is expected to start the bulk of the work on the beautification project along Water Street by mid-March. H.M. Nunes and Sons Construction Inc., the lowest of four bidders on the upcoming project, is expected to finish by the end of June. The company has performed similar work in Niantic. The project comes on the heels of the more extensive first phase, which focused on West Main Street. That project was plagued by delays and, coupled with downtown bridge repairs, caused disruption for downtown businesses. The work will include the extension of sidewalks, granite curbing, landscaping, drainage and on-street parking improvements along Water Street. Work will extend from the entrance to the Mystic Art Association to the intersection of Water Street and Noank Road. Project manager Rick Norris, a member of the city's planning and development department, said in contrast to the major work in phase one that included underground utilities and the removal of 15 utility poles, this project includes limited excavation.
"It's nowhere near the magnitude of work that occurred in phase one," Norris said. CLICK TITLE TO CONTINUE READING
School fixes would total $11.5M
Riley said some areas are long past needing replacement but until now the school system had no plan to do so or projections of how much the work would cost."If our town and community want to keep our facilities up to speed then this is the plan," he said, adding there could be some grant funding to help offset some of the cost. CLICK TITLE TO CONTINUE READING
Repairs to boat ramp on Niantic River planned byu next month
East Lyme - A new concrete ramp at the town-owned boat launch on Grand Street along the Niantic River should be in place by March. The project calls for replacing a damaged 20-foot-by-60-foot concrete ramp. The ramp needs to be replaced because a series of concrete planks, which people back their trailers down, had become worn down and broken. The axles of many trailers were also breaking during use of the ramp, said First Selectman Paul Formica. When completed, 2-foot-wide stone strips will run along the side of the ramp next to its existing bulkhead, according to the project's bid documents. The documents said the current ramp's "overly rigid support rails" led the concrete planks to break down when vehicles or trailers passed over it. For two years, the town has set aside a total of $140,000 in funds for the project. The town could realize some savings since the bid came in slightly under budget, said Formica. He said the launch is a town asset that needed to be repaired. Undertaking the project, which is in the town's capital plan, is in line with the town's philosophy to make improvements to infrastructure as long as taxes are also kept down, he said. The boating industry is also an important part of the economic vitality of downtown Niantic, Formica said. CLICK TITLE TO CONTINUE READING
Council approves energy efficient projects in Chesire
CHESHIRE — About $10.2 million worth of energy savings work is expected to cost the town nothing. The Town Council approved a long list of projects on Tuesday, a first step to signing a contract with an energy efficiency and renewable energy service provider that will have the projects completed within two years. The town has been working for more than two years with Ameresco, a Massachusetts-based company. The company did a thorough inventory of all town buildings and came up with a long list of projects that included simple energy savers like switching to more efficient and longer-lasting light bulbs and more long-term steps such as replacing roofs or windows.
Those projects were thoroughly vetted by a committee of town and school officials and a shorter list was compiled of projects that are likely to be included in a contract with Ameresco to be signed in a few months. The list includes replacement of light bulbs in buildings across town. Half of the projects on the list are ones that have been lingering on a five-year list of capital projects for the town, including replacing an electric heating system at Cheshire High School. In all, $3.1 million in improvements are being planned for Cheshire High School, the majority of that to replace the electric heating system with a gas system. Highland Elementary School is expected to get nearly $2.6 million in improvements, most of that to replace a heating system with a gas heating and cooling system.
"Almost 80 percent of this project is going to be schools. We're basically going to reap the benefits of $10.2 million in improvements to our buildings without carrying any debt," said School District Director of Management Services Vincent Masciana. The projects will be self-funded through a combination of $1.2 million in energy rebates and $9 million in financing at a rate of around 3.75 percent.
$10M for Metro North Upgrade
Seeking to avoid a commuter rail catastrophe like the electrical outage that crippled the Metro-North New Haven line in September, Gov. Dannel P. Malloy, Transportation Commissioner James Redeker, and federal elected officials announced plans Sunday to upgrade a Connecticut substation.
Standing on a train platform at Union Station in New Haven, officials said they’re hoping to avoid another outage similar to what happened in September in Mount Vernon, New York, when a ConnEdison cable failed and led to a power outage on the line that took weeks to repair.
Starting Monday, Feb. 3, Connecticut Light & Power and Metro-North will attempt a similar upgrade at a substation in Cos Cob to replace a transformer. “It will be upgraded in such a way to make sure the things that happened in Mount Vernon, don’t happen in Connecticut,” Malloy said.
Last September, an electrical backup cable failed during maintenance and the second line had been out for more than 30 days before work began, according to Malloy. CLICK TITLE TO CONTINUE READING
Repairs to boat ramp on Niantic River planned byu next month
East Lyme - A new concrete ramp at the town-owned boat launch on Grand Street along the Niantic River should be in place by March. The project calls for replacing a damaged 20-foot-by-60-foot concrete ramp. The ramp needs to be replaced because a series of concrete planks, which people back their trailers down, had become worn down and broken. The axles of many trailers were also breaking during use of the ramp, said First Selectman Paul Formica. When completed, 2-foot-wide stone strips will run along the side of the ramp next to its existing bulkhead, according to the project's bid documents. The documents said the current ramp's "overly rigid support rails" led the concrete planks to break down when vehicles or trailers passed over it. For two years, the town has set aside a total of $140,000 in funds for the project. The town could realize some savings since the bid came in slightly under budget, said Formica. He said the launch is a town asset that needed to be repaired. Undertaking the project, which is in the town's capital plan, is in line with the town's philosophy to make improvements to infrastructure as long as taxes are also kept down, he said. The boating industry is also an important part of the economic vitality of downtown Niantic, Formica said. CLICK TITLE TO CONTINUE READING
Council approves energy efficient projects in Chesire
CHESHIRE — About $10.2 million worth of energy savings work is expected to cost the town nothing. The Town Council approved a long list of projects on Tuesday, a first step to signing a contract with an energy efficiency and renewable energy service provider that will have the projects completed within two years. The town has been working for more than two years with Ameresco, a Massachusetts-based company. The company did a thorough inventory of all town buildings and came up with a long list of projects that included simple energy savers like switching to more efficient and longer-lasting light bulbs and more long-term steps such as replacing roofs or windows.
Those projects were thoroughly vetted by a committee of town and school officials and a shorter list was compiled of projects that are likely to be included in a contract with Ameresco to be signed in a few months. The list includes replacement of light bulbs in buildings across town. Half of the projects on the list are ones that have been lingering on a five-year list of capital projects for the town, including replacing an electric heating system at Cheshire High School. In all, $3.1 million in improvements are being planned for Cheshire High School, the majority of that to replace the electric heating system with a gas system. Highland Elementary School is expected to get nearly $2.6 million in improvements, most of that to replace a heating system with a gas heating and cooling system.
"Almost 80 percent of this project is going to be schools. We're basically going to reap the benefits of $10.2 million in improvements to our buildings without carrying any debt," said School District Director of Management Services Vincent Masciana. The projects will be self-funded through a combination of $1.2 million in energy rebates and $9 million in financing at a rate of around 3.75 percent.
$10M for Metro North Upgrade
Seeking to avoid a commuter rail catastrophe like the electrical outage that crippled the Metro-North New Haven line in September, Gov. Dannel P. Malloy, Transportation Commissioner James Redeker, and federal elected officials announced plans Sunday to upgrade a Connecticut substation.
Standing on a train platform at Union Station in New Haven, officials said they’re hoping to avoid another outage similar to what happened in September in Mount Vernon, New York, when a ConnEdison cable failed and led to a power outage on the line that took weeks to repair.
Starting Monday, Feb. 3, Connecticut Light & Power and Metro-North will attempt a similar upgrade at a substation in Cos Cob to replace a transformer. “It will be upgraded in such a way to make sure the things that happened in Mount Vernon, don’t happen in Connecticut,” Malloy said.
Last September, an electrical backup cable failed during maintenance and the second line had been out for more than 30 days before work began, according to Malloy. CLICK TITLE TO CONTINUE READING