Pipeline projects deliver energy and jobs

Before Pennsylvania can take its place as a global energy leader, it must continue to build out the infrastructure necessary to transport these resources safely and efficiently. For our commonwealth to truly benefit, the development of this critical infrastructure can and should be a local, collaborative effort (“A New Job Pipeline for Steelworkers,” Dec. 27 Forum).

By employing thousands of Pennsylvanians to safely deliver energy to our communities, pipeline projects will have a lasting impact on our state’s economy. Furthermore, the quality of life enjoyed by residents will be preserved as pipelines represent the safest, most efficient way to transport energy.

Utilizing local trades on pipeline infrastructure ensures that the most qualified and best trained professionals are hired for the work. We live in the communities that these pipelines will serve, and we take great pride in knowing that our work will meet and exceed state and federal regulation safety requirements. For the full article click here 

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Randy Baumgardner: Focused approach to transportation needs

As your state senator, I have been very busy this fall and early winter. The Colorado Assembly’s formal session begins every January and lasts into the first part of May but the work of the critical committees that make up the structure of your state government go on year around.

I was honored to be designated vice-chair of the Transportation Legislation Review Committee last year and then chairman this year. Early in December, I chaired this joint house and senate committee in Denver.

At that meeting the Colorado Department of Transportation presented its funding challenges. CDOT offered its solutions on how to proceed for the coming year. Our roads are a critical piece of Colorado’s infrastructure, and the discussions centered on highway repairs, paving and many other important topics. For the full article click here 

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Why carbon cash grabs fail

Any political leader — such as Ontario Premier Kathleen Wynne and Alberta Premier Rachel Notley — who imposes a carbon pricing scheme on Canadians that is not 100% revenue neutral, is not interested in reducing man-made global warming.

She, or he, is interested in a cash grab from the public, which isn’t surprising since both the Ontario and Alberta governments are deeply in the red.

A similar debate is underway in B.C., where Premier Christy Clark and NDP opposition leader John Horgan differ on what should be done with monies raised from any future increases to B.C.’s $30-per-tonne carbon tax. For the full article click here 

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Letters: Investment in inventive infrastructure projects can end Britain’s flooding problems

SIR – In 1943, J F Pownall proposed the construction of a Grand Contour Canal running down the length of England at 310ft above sea level, connecting Newcastle, Liverpool, Bristol, London and other cities. The purpose was to provide a conduit for transmitting water from the wetter North to the drier South, and for barge traffic.

There would be no locks except at the connections down to sea level. The canal would be 100ft wide and 17ft deep and would be able to take a flow of 2,000 cubic ft per second.

There does not appear to be any reason why a scheme based on Mr Pownall’s idea could not be implemented now to intercept rivers flowing from catchments at more than 310ft above sea level, divert the flood flow away from the towns and villages below, and discharge either direct to the sea or to a river elsewhere in the country which was not in flood. For the full article click here 

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Cyber at Sea: House-Passed Legislation Signals Focus on Maritime Cybersecurity

Recent developments in the United States suggest that cybersecurity of the maritime sector will come under increasing focus in 2016.  On December 16, 2015, H.R. 3878, “Strengthening Cybersecurity Information Sharing and Coordination in Our Ports Act of 2015,” passed the House of Representatives. The Bill’s language echoes and expands upon recommendations made by the General Accountability Audit’s June 5, 2014 study Maritime Port Cybersecurity. It also reflects congressional focus on enabling cybersecurity information sharing as seen in the recent passage of the Cybersecurity Information Sharing Act (CISA). (Indeed, but for the lack of a Senate companion bill, H.R. 3878 might otherwise have been included in the budget package in which CISA was enacted.)

The importance of a secure maritime sector is well understood. Ninety percent of global commerce moves by sea; approximately three quarters of U.S. commerce moves through ports and waterways, amounting to over $1.3 trillion in cargo annually. Cyber-based risk is now a significant concern. Many ports are highly automated, creating potential vulnerabilities to cyber attack. And, many modern vessels and their critical systems, such as propulsion systems, can send and receive data from shore-based facilities thousands of miles away. Disruption of trade, damage to physical property or persons, and even silent intelligence gathering to support smuggling operations or other objectives, are among the cyber risks facing the maritime sector. For the full article click here 

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Commercial priority-service offerings promise to be eye-opening to carriers, public safety, critical infrastructure

During the past few months, the two largest U.S. wireless carriers—Verizon and AT&T—each have announced offerings that would enable enterprise, public-safety and critical-infrastructure customers to have their packets prioritized over normal consumer traffic, even during times of severe network congestion. Such offerings have raised eyebrows throughout the wireless community and could have significant implications in the near future.

There is little question that there is a market demand for such services. Many enterprises have business-critical applications that must run smoothly and efficiently—time is money, and any delay in operations can have a negative impact on the bottom line. For public-safety and critical-infrastructure entities, the stakes are even higher, as their successful operations can mean the difference between life and death for many.

Despite this market demand for such priority-service offerings, their announcement caught many off guard. After all, the carriers had long said that would not prioritize public-safety traffic, because doing so could result in regular consumer customers not receiving the kind of network performance they expect. It was a major talking point that public-safety representatives repeated on Capitol Hill as they spent years lobbying for legislation that resulted in the establishment of FirstNet. For the full article click here 

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GAO Criticizes DHS’ Efforts to Track Effectiveness of Cybersecurity Outreach

The Department of Homeland Security is not doing enough to measure the effectiveness of its outreach efforts to promote cybersecurity for critical infrastructure in the United States, according to a government watchdog.

The report, from the Government Accountability Office (GAO), found that although DHS has taken steps to promote the National Institute of Standards and Technology’s (NIST)framework for improving critical infrastructure cybersecurity, it is not using specific metrics to track how effectively those efforts are taking root.

Adopting the NIST Framework

The NIST framework, developed in 2014, is designed to “provide a flexible and risk-based approach for entities within the nation’s 16 critical infrastructure sectors to protect their vital assets from cyber-based threats,” according to the GAO. Those sectors are chemical, commercial facilities, communications, critical manufacturing, dams, the defense industrial base, emergency services, energy, financial services, food and agriculture, government facilities, healthcare and public health, IT, nuclear reactors and materials, transportation systems, and water and wastewater systems. For the full article click here 

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