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Yahoo
3 days ago
- Business
- Yahoo
Army Corps releases environmental review for Line 5 tunnel through Great Lakes
The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers has released a long-awaited draft of its environmental review for Enbridge's Line 5 Tunnel project through the Straits of Mackinac. Although the draft is not an official decision, it gives the an idea of how the agency views the project. The Corps is accepting public comments through June with a decision expected in the fall. The Great Lakes Tunnel Project was fast-tracked earlier this spring as a part of the Trump administration's goal to "unleash" American oil and gas. Canadian-headquartered Enbridge has proposed to build a tunnel to house its Line 5 pipeline through the 4 1/2 mile stretch separating Lakes Michigan and Huron. The Army Corps' Detroit District, which is overseeing the permitting process, said it will not eliminate any steps in the environmental review process. But Great Lakes tribes and environmental groups remain unconvinced that the aged-out pipeline can continue to operate safely through the world's largest surface freshwater system. Several Great Lakes tribes withdrew as cooperating agencies in the review process, saying that the federal agency was not acting in good faith. Tribal leaders claimed the process lacked meaningful dialogue and undermined the federal government's responsibility to protect tribal treaty rights. The draft spans hundreds of pages, evaluating the necessity of the proposed project and examining potential environmental impacts while also reviewing possible alternatives. It considered two main alternatives, which included denying permits and allowing the existing pipeline to operate under the Straits as is, or placing a protective cover over the portions that are currently exposed. It also considered changing the tunnel's design and decommissioning the pipeline entirely. Officials from the Corps concluded that the project is warranted, citing projections that demand for the petroleum products transported by the pipeline will either remain stable or grow over the next 25 years. Over the years in the Straits of Mackinac, Line 5 has experienced anchor strikes, missing supports and coating loss, exposing patches of bare metal. The tunnel became possible after a review by former Michigan Republican Gov. Rick Snyder, who in his final month of office when he created the Mackinac Straits Corridor Authority. The corridor authority signed 99-year lease agreement with Enbridge to continue operations of the Line 5 tunnel. Enbridge has said the Great Lakes Tunnel will nearly eliminate the risks of a pipeline incident. The tunnel will be bored into rock 60 to 250 feet under the lakebed, using a tunnel boring machine that will move the tunnel forward 40 feet per day on average. It will be constructed the south side of the Straits to the northern shores, which Enbridge says minimizes environmental impacts. The tunnel will be owned and operated by Michigan, and leased to the company. The Great Lakes Tunnel Project also needs two state permits, one from Michigan's Public Service Commission and the other from the Department of Environment, Great Lakes and Energy. Enbridge has secured the permit from the public service commission, but must redo the permitting process with the environment and energy agency given new information on nearby wetlands. The permit from the state public service commission was challenged by tribes, but that challenge was struck down earlier this year. On April 2, tribes and environmental groups asked the state Supreme Court to consider overturning the lower court's decision. Line 5 opponents have long worried about the risks the pipeline poses to the Great Lakes. The pipeline, which was built in 1953, was built to last 50 years, and leaked 35 times during its tenure. Environmentalists and Great Lakes tribes warn of risks at the Straits of Mackinac, which is seen as the worst place in the region for an oil spill and sacred to Anishinaabe tribes. They also cite threats to nearby wetlands and explosion risks within the tunnel. The Line 6 oil spill that occurred late last year in Jefferson County, Wisconsin, has heightened these fears. The Institute for Energy Economics and Financial Analysis, an international think tank, released a report earlier this year that said that shutting down the pipeline would be a more cost-effective avenue for the company as that the tunnel will likely cost three times the initial estimate due to inflation and rising costs. More: As Lake Superior wetlands become more vulnerable, tribe fears cultural guideposts could slip away Caitlin Looby is a Report for America corps member who writes about the environment and the Great Lakes. Reach her at clooby@ follow her on X @caitlooby and learn more about how she approaches her reporting. This article originally appeared on Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: Army Corps releases environmental review for Line 5 Great Lakes tunnel
Yahoo
4 days ago
- Business
- Yahoo
RIPTA's efficiency study is a third of the way there
A Rhode Island Public Transit Authority bus is seen parked outside the State House on April 29, 2025. (Photo by Christopher Shea/Rhode Island Current) The state's legislative leaders don't yet have the efficiency study they asked for from the cash-strapped Rhode Island Public Transit Authority (RIPTA), but for the past two weeks, they've had a 19-page report. That puts the state's public transit agency a third of the way done with an overdue study lawmakers mandated RIPTA deliver to them by March 1. The efficiency study was requested by Gov. Dan McKee and the General Assembly as a condition in last year's state budget to plug the agency's deficit. RIPTA now faces a $32.6 million shortfall heading into the fiscal year beginning July 1. House Speaker K. Joseph Shekarchi, who has made clear there is no extra money to fill RIPTA's deficit now that federal pandemic aid has dried up, confirmed Wednesday that he had received the report. 'I received an embargoed synopsis that I have not fully reviewed yet,' Shekarchi said in a statement. 'However, I look forward to hearing from RIPTA on how they plan to change their management practices.' Senate President Valarie Lawson said she too plans to review the memo sent by RIPTA. 'This is an issue that has been a top concern of many members of the Senate,' she said in a statement. 'A robust public transit system is vital to our economy and quality of life.' RIPTA's board of directors commissioned Canadian-headquartered engineering consulting firm WSP to do the efficiency study on March 27 at a cost of $412,346. The scope outlined in RIPTA's request for proposals called on the contractor to deliver a memo within 30 business days detailing best practices among public transit agencies, a performance assessment of transit operations within 45 days, and a review of the state's long-term transit strategy and its implementation within 75 days. 'We're working rapidly to get all reports coming out of the study to the General Assembly as soon as possible to inform the state budget,' agency spokesperson Cristy Raposo Perry said in an email to Rhode Island Current. 'We will update you when the next product is complete.' WSP completed the first phase on May 16, a report that looked at five other similar-sized transit agencies. The peer comparison report confirmed that RIPTA is not alone in facing a post-pandemic deficit. The other agencies were Hampton Roads Transit based out of Norfolk, Virginia; Regional Transit Service, which services Rochester, New York; Capital District Transit Authority, which serves Albany; Delaware Transit Corp.; and the Kansas City Area Transportation Authority. The report found per capita spending ranged from $23 to $145 among the five while administrative cost per service hour ranged from $21 to $48. Other data points included advertising revenue and passenger trips per service hour and fare revenue per trip. But no corresponding figures for RIPTA are provided in WSP's memo. 'Recognizing the timing constraints related to the state budget process concluding in June, we have structured the scope of work to prioritize delivering critical information as quickly as possible,' Raposo Perry said. 'This includes sharing draft deliverables such as this. The final report will include those figures.' A man who answered the phone at a Connecticut number for WSP said he could not answer questions about the report and then hung up. A spokesperson for the firm in Montreal did not immediately respond to an email requesting comment. 'Many agencies are facing a drop in funding due to expiring pandemic funding and rising costs due to inflation,' the WSP report states. WSP pointed to a 'novel approach' of one agency's pursuit of 'universal access agreements,' defined as partnerships where employers pay an annual fee to cover their workers' fares to commute. But the report does not specify which of the five agencies had embraced these initiatives. RIPTA has already been coordinating with area employers to boost revenue. In January, RIPTA extended its 10x and 28 routes to align with shift schedules at the new Amazon Fulfillment Center off Route 6 in Johnston. In return, Amazon agreed to pay $90,000 annually over the next decade to cover employee fares. On Wednesday, RIPTA announced that the Omni Providence Hotel First Hotel Group had agreed to partially subsidize fares for 216 employees who work at Rhode Island's largest hotel. Passes for the general public cost $70 but the pass costs $65 for participants in the 'Wave to Work' program. Raposo Perry said the hotel will pay $45 per monthly pass, while hotel employees pay the remaining $20 balance for unlimited bus rides. Legislators have proposed their own measures to close RIPTA's deficit. That includes legislation that would put a $100 million transit bond on the 2026 ballot, upping the agency's share of the gas tax, and added rideshare fees that would go directly toward funding mass transit. Transit advocates have also pointed to resolutions introduced in the House and Senate in late February that would appropriate the full $32.6 million to keep the agency afloat for another year. But the Rhode Island General Assembly is facing significant challenges with a budget deficit and potentially devastating federal funding cuts with just weeks to go before the end of the 2025 legislative session. Among them, a $17.8 million budget shortfall for the state's homelessness services and an additional $15 million to cover proposed pay raises for state troopers and correctional officers.. The state will also have to make up a $24 million shortfall in education aid to local school districts in its fiscal 2025 and 26 budgets after a correction was made to data on the number of students in poverty. SUBSCRIBE: GET THE MORNING HEADLINES DELIVERED TO YOUR INBOX
Business Wire
23-04-2025
- Business
- Business Wire
Softchoice, a World Wide Technology Company, Achieves Premier Tier Services Status within the AWS Partner Network and Signs Strategic Collaboration Agreement with AWS
TORONTO--(BUSINESS WIRE)-- Softchoice, a World Wide Technology company today announced that it has achieved Amazon Web Services (AWS) Premier Tier Services Partner status within the AWS Partner Network (APN). This is the highest level of recognition in the APN and differentiates Softchoice as an AWS Partner that has demonstrated expertise and notable success in helping customers design, architect, build, migrate, and manage their workloads on AWS. To achieve Premier Tier Services status, Softchoice completed a rigorous approval process through accreditations and certifications, demonstrated a long-term investment in their collaboration with AWS, and demonstrated extensive expertise in project management, professional services, and deploying customer solutions on AWS. "Achieving Premier Tier Services status in the AWS Partner Network represents a significant milestone in our collaboration with AWS. Our team has demonstrated deep technical expertise with multiple partner program validations and has successfully supported numerous customers in reaching their technology objectives with AWS solutions. This designation strengthens our position as an experienced leader in the market, and we are excited to continue our growth alongside AWS," said Chris Woodin, Senior Vice President of Solutions and Alliances at Softchoice. Softchoice also announced today that it is expanding its strategic collaboration agreement (SCA) with AWS to extend its capabilities to a larger customer base, particularly targeting small and mid-sized businesses (SMBs), mid-market companies, and smaller enterprises. The SCA will establish and deploy a new cloud specialist team at Softchoice, aligned with the best practices of the AWS cloud sales team. This team will comprise account executives in the US and Canada, supported by roles in pre-sales, cloud architecture, professional services, and operations. Softchoice will deploy the full team in 2025, with the goal of meeting customers where they are in their cloud journey – whether that's supporting them through cloud migration, modernization, AI services, or cloud billing and management services. The new SCA expands upon Softchoice's initial SCA signed in 2021, which helped establish its AWS practice. At that time, Softchoice became the first Canadian-headquartered AWS systems integrator or scale partner to sign an SCA with the company. This expanded SCA represents a custom and strategic investment specifically aligned with the best practices of the AWS cloud sales team while leveraging Softchoice's strengths in the SMB and mid-market sectors. "We are thrilled to evolve and invest in our collaboration with AWS through our expanded strategic collaboration agreement that harnesses our deep technical expertise and our robust AWS solutions," added Chris Woodin. "This investment will help customers unlock the potential of cloud, regardless of their current stage in the cloud journey. We're committed to delivering exceptional value to even more customers, empowering them to modernize, scale, and grow in today's digital era, and we're excited to enhance our customers' transformation journeys with the support of AWS." Softchoice has achieved 200 AWS certifications, further validating its experts' breadth of knowledge and skill in designing, deploying, and managing AWS solutions. It has completed more than 250 AWS projects over the past five years. Learn more about Softchoice's AWS solutions here: About Softchoice, a World Wide Technology company Softchoice Corporation, a World Wide Technology company, is a software and cloud-focused IT solutions provider that equips people to be engaged, connected and creative at work, and organizations to be agile, innovative, and secure by delivering AI-powered cloud and digital workplace solutions. Through our mission, we unleash the potential in people and technology to unlock value for our customers as we guide them through their transformation journey with comprehensive end-to-end solutions. We have a highly engaged, high-performing team that is welcoming, inclusive, and diverse in thought and experience, and are certified as a Great Place to Work ® in Canada and the United States. For the past 20 years, we have consistently been recognized by Great Place to Work ® as a Best Workplace in Canada. As part of World Wide Technology (WWT), a global technology solutions provider leading the AI and Digital Revolution, we have access to serve our customers through WWT's resources. That includes its Advanced Technology Centre, a collaborative ecosystem of the world's most advanced hardware and software solutions, which helps customers and partners conceptualize, test and validate innovative technology solutions for the best business outcomes and then deploy them at scale through WWT's global warehousing, distribution and integration capabilities.
Yahoo
16-04-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Army Corps will fast-track Enbridge Line 5 tunnel project through Straits of Mackinac
The highly controversial Line 5 tunnel project through the Straits of Mackinac will be fast-tracked, likely bypassing a thorough environmental review, as a part of the Trump administration's stated goal to "unleash" American oil and gas. The Line 5 pipeline, owned and operated by Canadian-headquartered Enbridge, runs through the Great Lakes, crossing 4.5 miles on the bottom of Lakes Michigan and Huron. This means the permitting process with the federal agency will be expedited. The Army Corps originally posted a list of 600 projects to its website in February, which the agency took down from its website while it continued to vet the projects. Last year, the Canadian oil giant chose Barnard Construction to build the Great Lakes tunnel for Line 5. The company is owned by Tim Barnard, who along with his wife, gave $1 million total to Trump's campaign during the election, according to records from the Federal Elections Commission. "Building a tunnel under the Great Lakes to house an outdated and dangerous pipeline is risky. Expediting that process is reckless," said Beth Wallace, climate and energy director for the National Wildlife Federation, in a statement. "The permitting processes exists for a reason. We cannot afford to bypass safety in order to line the pockets of a foreign oil company." Ahead of the Army Corps' decision, which has been looming for weeks, six Great Lakes tribes pulled out as cooperating agencies in the federal review process earlier this week. Tribal leaders argued the federal agency was not acting in good faith, and was undermining the federal government's responsibility to protect tribal treaty rights. On March 31, the agency's Great Lakes and Ohio River Division announced that it's seven districts are authorized to use special emergency processing procedures, which the agency says it will publicly post. This included the Detroit district, which is overseeing the permitting process for the tunnel project. The move to expedite the tunnel project as an emergency project will likely face legal challenges from environmental groups and Great Lakes tribes. The company also needs state permits from Michigan's Public Service Commission and Department of Environment, Great Lakes and Energy. Enbridge has secured the permit from the public service commission, but must to redo the permitting process with the environment and energy agency given new information on nearby wetlands. The permit from the state public service commission was challenged by tribes, but that challenge was struck down earlier this year. On April 2, tribes and environmental groups asked the state Supreme Court to consider overturning the lower court's decision. The Line 5 pipeline runs 645 miles from Superior, Wisconsin, to Sarnia, Ontario, crossing Michigan's two peninsulas. It carries oil and gas products, which largely pass through the U.S. Some products, like propane, are used in Michigan. Enbridge has proposed relocating the Line 5 pipeline into a concrete-lined tunnel, bored through the lakebed, which Canadian oil company has said will nearly eliminate the chance of a pipeline incident. Enbridge first proposed the tunnel project in 2018. The Army Corps' environmental impact statement was slated to be released in this spring, with construction beginning in 2026. Line 5 opponents have long worried about the risks the aging pipeline poses. The pipeline, which was built in 1953, was built to last 50 years, and has leaked 35 times during its tenure. Environmentalists and Great Lakes tribes are especially worried about the risks through the Straits of Mackinac, which is considered the worst spot in the Great Lakes for an oil spill and culturally significant to Ojibwe tribes. Opponents have also raised concerns that nearby wetlands could be affected, and there is a risk of explosion within the tunnel due to the pipeline's contents. Tribes and environmental groups worry what the emergency designation will mean for the review process. However, the Army Corps' website states that "even in an emergency situation, reasonable efforts will be made to receive comments from interested federal, state, and local agencies and the affected public." More: Along Wisconsin's northern shores, Line 5 continues to pit tribal culture against Big Oil More: As Lake Superior wetlands become more vulnerable, tribe fears cultural guideposts could slip away Caitlin Looby is a Report for America corps member who writes about the environment and the Great Lakes. Reach her at clooby@ follow her on X @caitlooby and learn more about how she approaches her reporting. Please consider supporting journalism that informs our democracy with a tax-deductible gift to this reporting effort at or by check made out to The GroundTruth Project with subject line Report for America Milwaukee Journal Sentinel Campaign. Address: The GroundTruth Project, Lockbox Services, 9450 SW Gemini Dr, PMB 46837, Beaverton, Oregon 97008-7105. This article originally appeared on Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: Army Corps fast-tracks Enbridge Line 5 tunnel through Great Lakes
