River

Investigators with the U.S. Coast Guard (USCG) and Spectra Energy are trying to determine how part of the company’s Texas Eastern natural gas pipeline under the Arkansas River near Little Rock ruptured, leaving a two-mile stretch of the river closed to commercial traffic.

A bill introduced Tuesday in the U.S. House of Representatives calls for the federal government to improve restoration and conservation efforts in the Delaware River Basin through the use of public-private partnerships and coordination among basin stakeholders.

A bill introduced Tuesday in the U.S. House of Representatives calls for the federal government to improve restoration and conservation efforts in the Delaware River Basin through the use of public-private partnerships and coordination among basin stakeholders.

Water supplies affected by last Saturday’s crude oil spill of up to 50,000 gallons along the Yellowstone River in Montana were deemed to be meeting federal safe drinking water standards as of Friday, the state Department of Environmental Quality (DEQ) said.

A 70-mile stretch of the Monongahela River is no longer impaired for potable water use, according to a report issued by Pennsylvania’s Department of Environmental Protection (DEP). A voluntary prohibition on Marcellus Shale wastewater discharge may get the credit for the cleaner water.

The volume of water used for mining — which includes oil and gas extraction with fracking — is miniscule compared to the amount used to irrigate crops, serve municipalities and supply manufacturers. But large-scale fracking is a relatively new use not without controversy, and that continues to draw scrutiny at a time when Texas and much of the West have been gripped by drought.

The West Virginia Department of Commerce is evaluating bids from several exploration and production (E&P) companies interested in valuable mineral rights below the Ohio River in the northern part of the state.

Quicksilver Resources Canada Inc. (QRCI) has filed with regulators for a liquefied natural gas (LNG) project that would allow it to liquefy its Horn River gas production and export it to Asian markets.

Drilling for natural gas and oil in northern Colorado has American Rivers calling the state’s White River one of the most endangered rivers in the United States.