Related Links: Sen. Rand Paul discusses repatriation/Highway Trust Fund proposal on CNBC (YouTube) Sens. Wyden, Hatch comment on foreign-income repatriation proposal As the Highway Trust Fund's financial health nears a critical point, construction industry executives and state transportation officials are nervously watching what Congress will do. The trust fund's highway account is projected to tip over into the red within weeks. If new revenue isn't found, the flow of funds will slow and projects may be put on hold.Shortly before signing a new water-resources bill on June 10, President Obama weighed in on the unfinished infrastructure business, saying, "We need
Related Links: Webcast, prepared statements, from Senate committee 6/4/2014 hearing NRC status of implementation of post-Fukushima task force's recommendations Senate Environment and Public Works Committee Chairman Barbara Boxer (D-Calif.) wants the Nuclear Regulatory Commission to move to implement a NRC task force's safety recommendations for U.S. reactors in the wake of the March 2011 Fukushima Dai-ichi accident in Japan.Boxer said at a June 4 committee hearing that it was "scandalous" that none of the 12 recommendations the task force issued in July 2011 had been carried out yet at U.S. nuclear powerplants.She said NRC has completed its actions on four
Related Links: Section-by-section summary of Sanders-McCain VA Bill Text of Sanders-McCain VA Bill A bipartisan Senate bill to revamp the Dept. of Veterans Affairs would establish a panel to review and recommend improvements in the VA's construction program. The bill, introduced on June 9, results from a deal between Senate Veterans Affairs Committee Chairman Bernard Sanders (I-Vt.) and Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.).For the construction industry, the package's key item is a 13-member commission to examine VA construction, which "has been an ongoing problem" with the department, Sanders said.The bill directs the panel to review current VA medical-facility construction projects and
Related Links: Text of WRRDA conference report (see Sections 5021-5035 for WIFIA) New Water-Resources Bill Sails Toward Enactment (ENR 6/2/2014 issue) [subscription] One reason why construction and finance industry officials are eager to see President Obama sign the Water Resources Reform and Development Act (WRRDA) is that it includes a new way to help narrow the infrastructure funding gap. The Water Infrastructure Finance and Innovation Act program (WIFIA) will provide federal loans and loan guarantees for Army Corps of Engineers and Environmental Protection Agency projects.WIFIA's impact is likely to be much more modest than its model, the Dept. of Transportation's
Related Links: EPA Proposal (June 2) Some key numbers in EPA proposal The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency has unveiled a proposal to reduce greenhouse gas emissions from existing powerplants by 30% below 2005 levels by 2030. EPA says that the proposed rule, which it released on June 2, could lead to upgrades at fossil-fuel-fired powerplants and has the potential to create thousands of construction and electric-power-transmission jobs. The ambitious plan would reduce carbon pollution from the power sector by about 730 million metric tons and help mitigate some of climate change's worst effects, EPA Administrator Gina McCarthy said at a
Related Links: Information on House milcon/VA spending bill Summary of Senate milcon/VA spending bill It's becoming clearer that the Dept. of Defense construction budget faces deep cuts for 2015. The Senate Appropriations Committee on May 22 approved a measure that slashes DOD construction 33%, to $6.6 billion.That total is roughly the same amount the House approved for DOD in the military construction-veterans affairs bill that it passed on April 30. It also equals President Obama's request.The Senate panel's bill provides $4.3 billion to fund military mission-critical construction projects worldwide, $2.9 billion below 2014 levels. It allocates $1.19 billion for family
Related Links: Text of design-build amendmend added to House DOD bill Text of individual-sureties amendment added to House DOD bill A House-passed Defense Dept. authorization bill has two provisions that would alter federal construction contracting policies.The bill, which the House cleared May 22, includes an amendment that aims to ensure design-build shortlists are short. It requires two-step procurement for federal DB contracts of $1 million or more. Groups including the Design-Build Institute of America and American Institute of Architects backed the provision. They say one-step DB leads to long shortlists, requiring teams to prepare costly proposals while facing long odds
Photo by Billy Birdwell/U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Savannah District Among projects authorized in the new WRRDA is Savannah Harbor expansion, including dredging to deepen the entrance channel and inner harbor. Related Links: Text of WRRDA conference report House Transportation and Infrastructure summary of final WRRDA Senate Environment and Public Works Committee summary of legislation The Senate overwhelmingly has approved a major new water-resources measure that would authorize more than $12 billion in new Army Corps of Engineers civil works projects, launch a new federal loan program for Corps and Environmental Protection Agency projects and mandate faster Corps project reviews.The
Related Links: EPA Final regulations on cooling water intake structures at existing facilities A final Environmental Protection Agency rule to protect fish and other aquatic life from cooling-water intake structures at existing powerplants and factories has received lukewarm praise from some industry groups, but environmental advocates say they are deeply disappointed in the rule, released on May 19. The final rule will require existing powerplants to develop design and construction solutions to reduce the impact of large cooling-water intakes on local fish and other aquatic life, ranging from Chinook salmon to sea turtles. Reed Super, principal and founder of the
Photo courtesy of McGraw Hill Financial Senators Bennet (center) and Blunt (right), speaking at conference, discuss their bill to set up a new $50-billion infrastructure fund. Related Links: Standard & Poor's Emerging Trends in Infrastructure Web page Finance Committee Airs Transportation Funding Woes But Finds No Solutions Yet Private financing can help narrow the huge difference between infrastructure’s massive needs and its limited public funding, speakers at a recent conference in Washington, D.C., said. But they also noted that public-private financing vehicles alone won’t close the gap completely.Speaking at the May 14 meeting, sponsored by McGraw Hill Financial (MHFI), the
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