Related Links: Summary of Senate Finance Committee EXPIRE act Tax Extensions Before End of 2013 No Sure Thing (ENR 12/16-23/2013 issue) [subscription] Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) has said he plans to take up legislation in the coming lame-duck session to extend or re-instate several expiring or expired tax credits."We have to do the tax extenders," Reid told reporters at a Sept. 18 press conference, noting that the absence of extensions has been "extremely hurtful" for businesses and individuals. The post-election session is scheduled to start on Nov. 12.The Senate Finance Committee on April 3 approved a package that
Related Links: House P3 panel report House transportation committee press release Feds Step Up Quest for Private Infrastructure Financing (enr.com 9/9/2014) [subscription In a sign of increased federal interest in using private money to help build infrastructure, a special House panel charged with studying public-private partnerships has recommended government actions that could improve how P3s are used in highway, transit, water and other projects.In a report released on Sept. 17, the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee’s P3 panel called for a variety of steps, including creating a U.S. Dept. of Transportation procurement office to develop performance standards for public-private ventures
Rendering courtesy of Maine Dept. of Transportation One of the largest TIGER awards is $25 million, for the planned $158.5-million bridge across the Piscataqua River, between Maine and New Hampshire. Related Links: DOT press release on TIGER awards, with links to more information Profiles of each TIGER-winning project After another fierce funding competition, the Dept. of Transportation has awarded $584 million to highway, bridge, rail, port, pedestrian-safety and other projects in the latest round of its TIGER grant program.The sixth Transportation Investment Generating Economic Recovery program awards, which DOT Secretary Anthony Foxx announced on Sept. 12, went to 72 projects
Photo by AP Wideworld Cleanup A worker picks up blobs of oil in Barataria Bay near the Gulf of Mexico after the spill. Related Links: Link to Sept. 4 decision Transocean Settles with Feds on Deepwater Horizon Spill A Sept. 4 decision by the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Louisiana could clear the way for up to $18 billion in penalties for BP in its role in the 2010 Deepwater Horizon disaster.A strongly worded opinion from the court said that BP Exploration and Production Inc. was liable for "gross negligence" and "willful misconduct" in causing the blowout
Related Links: Information on House bill EPA proposed rule on U.S. waters The House of Representatives has approved a bill that would prevent the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers from finalizing a proposed rule that seeks to clarify when a federal permit is needed for construction projects that disturb wetlands and streams.The House approved the bill on Sept. 9 by a bipartisan 262-152 vote. But with only a few weeks left in the legislative session and a Democratic majority in the Senate, the bill's prospects in the Senate are uncertain. President Obama has threated
Courtesy of U.S. Dept. of the Treasury DOT Secretary Foxx, at Obama administration infrastructure summit, announced loan and bond financing for Florida highway, Pennsylvania bridge projects. Related Links: Treasury Dept. release on infrastructure summit, with link to report on innovative financing White House backgrounder on infrastructure summit The Obama administration is pushing ahead with its campaign to draw more private dollars to narrow the huge U.S. infrastructure-finance gap, announcing on Sept. 9 a flurry of project-funding actions.Officials made the announcements at a Washington, D.C., “summit,” at which Cabinet secretaries heard ideas from public and private officials on further ways to
Related Links: NRC Final Rule NRC Statement on Waste Confidence Nuclear powerplant projects that had been put on hold may begin to go forward, following the Nuclear Regulatory Commission's approval of a final rule dealing with the environmental effects of continued storage of spent nuclear fuel.The rule, which NRC commissioners approved on Aug. 26, concludes that spent fuel can be safely managed in dry casks indefinitely.The regulation, proposed in September 2013, applies to the continued storage of used nuclear fuel between the end of a reactor's license period and the fuel's ultimate removal for disposal.In 2012, the U.S. Court of
Related Links: Obama FY 15 Budget a Mixed Bag Construction Week: Export-Import Bank Gets Three-Year Extension of Funding As Congress returns after a five-week break, lawmakers will face a short must-do list before, in a few weeks, leaving Washington again for a final burst of pre- election campaigning.The most pressing September agenda item is a measure to fund federal agencies, including construction programs, for at least part of the next fiscal year, which starts on Oct. 1. Also expiring on Sept. 30 is the authorization for the Export-Import Bank of the U.S., which aids construction-equipment makers and other companies seeking
Photo by AP Wideworld New land ports of entry, such as Mariposa Station in Arizona, are a GSA priority. Related Links: Information on GSA Land Ports of Entry Program GSA Congressional Testimony on Fiscal 2015 Budget Request As the General Services Administration waits to see how much construction funding congressional appropriators will provide for FY2015, the reality of a more austere overall budget environment is reshaping the way GSA works with the architecture-engineering-construction industry, says Michael Gelber, deputy commissioner of GSA's Public Buildings Service.Gelber told a joint Design-Build Institute of America-Society of American Military Engineers symposium in Washington, D.C., on
Rendering courtesy of EYP Amman embassy project, targeted for FY 2018 completion, includes new office annex, security upgrades to the existing chancery. Related Links: BL Harbert release on Amman project award State Dept. announcement of design firm selection for Colombo project State Dept. announcement of design firm selection for Ankara project The State Dept. has awarded BL Harbert International LLC, Birmingham, Ala., a $153.5-million design-build contract to renovate the U.S. embassy in Amman, Jordan.The State Dept.’s Bureau of Overseas Buildings Operations, or OBO, said it also has selected Skidmore, Owings & Merrill as design architect for a new U.S. embassy
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