Latest news with #JohnColetti
Yahoo
30-05-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Department of Energy cancels 24 awards issued to businesses
Downtown Birmingham viewed from Red Mountain. Two companies in the area will lose $75 million each after their grant funding was eliminated by the U.S. Department of Energy. (John Coletti/The Image Bank) The U.S. Department of Energy announced Friday the cancellation of 24 awards issued by the Office of Clean Energy Demonstrations that impacts two businesses in Alabama. American Cast Iron Pipe Company and United States Pipe and Foundry Company, LLC were both set to receive $75 million in grant money from the Department of Energy but will no longer receive the funding in light of the grants getting canceled. 'While the previous administration failed to conduct a thorough financial review before signing away billions of taxpayer dollars, the Trump administration is doing our due diligence to ensure we are utilizing taxpayer dollars to strengthen our national security, bolster affordable, reliable energy sources and advance projects that generate the highest possible return on investment,' said U.S. Secretary of Energy Chris Wright said in a DOE press release. 'Today, we are acting in the best interest of the American people by cancelling these 24 awards.' A message was left with both companies Friday seeking comment. According to a press release, American Cast Iron Pipe Company made it to the negotiation stage of the awards process and was planning to use the funding to replace single cupola furnaces with four coreless induction furnaces. This would have reduced the facility's CO2 emissions by an estimated 62% and the melting/holding process CO2 emissions by 95%. The U.S. Pipe and Foundry Company said in a press release that they planned to use the money for Phase 1 of U.S. Pipe's Iron Electric Induction Conversion project. The project involved replacing a coke-fired furnace with electric induction melting furnaces and would have resulted in an 'estimated 73% reduction in carbon intensity at the Alabama Works ductile iron pipe production facility.' Of the 24 awards given, nearly 70% were signed between Election Day last year and Jan. 20. By cancelling the awards, the Department of Energy is generating $3.6 billion in savings for Americans. The DOE said the awards have been terminated because they 'failed to advance the energy needs of the American people, were not economically viable and would not generate a positive return on investment of taxpayer dollars.'
Yahoo
16-05-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Birmingham mayor, city council file lawsuit against state over water utility board changes
The skyline of Birmingham, Alabama. Birmingham officials have filed a lawsuit against a new state law that would reduce the number of appointments from the city to the Birmingham Water Works Board. (John Coletti/The Image Bank) The Alabama Legislature's 2025 session is over, and the lawsuits have begun. After state lawmakers passed a bill reducing Birmingham's appointments to the Birmingham Water Works Board (BWWB), Birmingham officials filed a federal lawsuit to try to protect their controlling interest in the utility. The city government currently appoints six of the nine directors on the board; SB 330, sponsored by Sen. Dan Roberts, R-Mountain Brook, converts BWWB into a regional authority with seven members and a single appointment from the city. SUBSCRIBE: GET THE MORNING HEADLINES DELIVERED TO YOUR INBOX A hearing on the lawsuit, filed before Gov. Kay Ivey signed the bill on May 7, was scheduled for Thursday but postponed. The law does not explicitly mention BWWB but its provisions reflect the make-up of the water utility. Currently, two directors are appointed by the mayor while the Birmingham City Council appoints four members. A message was left with Gov. Kay Ivey's office Thursday seeking comment. Proponents of the legislation said it was necessary to impose changes. In the past, the water utility has been beset with issues with billing, oversight and concerns over public trust. Customers reported concerns with unread meters and inaccurate water bills. Under Roberts' bill, the governor, lieutenant governor and counties that own a major reservoir would each get an appointment. Birmingham's mayor and the president of the Jefferson County Commission also get an appointment. The governor's appointment must come from one of the counties served by the utility. Another county located outside the area where the utility is based gets to also appoint a board member. The governing body of the municipality where the regional water utility is located appoints a director. Finally, that law states that a resident where the water utility is located may also be a member of the Board. The remaining members are selected, respectively, by the Jefferson County Mayors Association, the Shelby County Commission and Blount County Commission. The lawsuit alleges the bill the equal rights and due process protections in the U.S. and Alabama constitutions. The lawsuit says that lawmakers in the Legislature, most of whom are white, reduced the power of officials in Birmingham whose population is 67% Black and forms 41% of the utility's customer base. The lawsuit also notes that other areas with representation are mostly white. In Blount County, it says, only about 2% of the residents are Black, and in Walker County, only 6% are Black. 'SB330 violates the Equal Protection Clause of the United States Constitution,' the lawsuit states. Plaintiffs listed in the lawsuit also stated that the law violates their right to due process because any changes to the board require changes to the Certificate of Incorporation, which is not part of the legislation, that must be approved by Birmingham City Council. The law changes the Certificate of Incorporation by reducing the number of members that the city council may appoint, which members of the Council did not approve. SUPPORT: YOU MAKE OUR WORK POSSIBLE
