Rukke named acting pipeline safety director
STAFF REPORT | Hagadone News Network | UPDATED 3 years, 9 months AGO
LACEY, Wash. — The Washington State Utilities and Transportation Commission has named Scott Rukke acting director of the commission’s pipeline safety division, according to a commission press release.
Rukke, who has worked for the UTC for the last 23 years with its Pipeline Safety Program, will oversee the commission’s office responsible for inspecting the state’s natural gas and hazardous liquids pipelines to ensure that pipeline operators comply with federal and state laws and regulations, the press release said.
According to the press release, the UTC regulates transportation companies, electric and natural gas utilities, water and garbage companies, landline phone companies, marine operations like ferry companies, and low-level radioactive waste repositories.
According to the website of oil company Phillips 66, the company operates a pipeline that delivers refined petroleum products to a storage terminal north of Moses Lake at the corner of North Stratford Road and Road 7 NE. Tulsa, Oklahoma-based natural gas provider Williams also runs a high-pressure natural gas line from fields in Colorado and Wyoming that provides natural gas to industrial users in Warden and Moses Lake.
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Connell woman killed in Booker Road crash
CONNELL — Charges are pending against a Kennewick man following a collision about 12 miles south of Othello that killed a Connell woman and injured three other people Tuesday evening. A Washington State Patrol press memo said intoxicating substances were a factor. Jessica Zarate, 37, Connell, was pronounced dead at the scene of the crash near the intersection of SR 17 and South Booker Road, the WSP memo said. She was driving south on Booker Road approaching the intersection when her car was hit by a pickup driven by John Reiss, 62, Kennewick. Edgar Garcia Quirino, 28, Othello, was driving north on SR 17 and ran into Zarate's car, the WSP memo said. The crash occurred at about 6:40 p.m.
Wheeler Road closed because of traffic collision
UPDATE: The road was reopened as of noon, according to a GCSO media release. MOSES LAKE — Grant County Sheriff’s Office has announced there is a road closure between Road 3-NE and Road S-NE. There was a serious traffic collision. GCSO is asking for drivers to avoid the area and find alternative routes. This is a developing story and will be updated as more information becomes available.
Doors opening: The Currents will provide homeownership for more local workers
About 104 homes are planned at the former Atlas sawmill site
Teachers, nurses, firefighters and other workers who keep Coeur d’Alene running will soon have more places to buy a home in the community where they work. About 104 homes are being planned to be built at Atlas Waterfront, on roughly 10 acres that are part of a swath of land that was once home to the Atlas sawmill and is being redeveloped. Ignite CDA, the city of Coeur d’Alene’s urban renewal agency, is leading this effort.