Related Links: Obama Rolls Out $302-Billion Transportation Bill Proposal (ENR 3/10/2014 issue) [subscription] Boxer Seeks to Unveil New Transportation Bill in April (enr.com 2/18/2014) [subscription] Senate Environment and Public Works Committee Chairman Barbara Boxer (D-Calif.) is moving ahead with the highway-policy portion of a draft new surface-transportation legislative package.Boxer said at a March 27 committee hearing on transportation matters that she would discuss the envisioned bill with the rest of the panel's "Big Four" the week of March 31. Those other senators are David Vitter (La.), the committee's top Republican; Thomas Carper (D-Del.), transportation and infrastructure subcommittee chair; and John
Related Links: OSHA Proposes Tougher Limit for Silica-Dust Exposure Contractor Groups Want OSHA to Withdraw Silica Dust Reg Occupational Safety and Health Administration officials are receiving a wide range of views during three weeks of public hearings in Washington, D.C., on OSHA's proposed rule to cut worker exposure to crystalline silica on construction sites.OSHA is holding the public meetings, which began on March 18 and run through April 4, to gather more information and input on its proposal, issued on Sept. 12. "This is an open process, and the input we receive will help us ensure that a final rule
Photo Courtesy of U.S. Dept. of Agriculture Natural Resources Conservation Service Proposal would alter list of what qualifies as "waters of the U.S.," which require federal permits for construction near them. Related Links: Text of EPA-Corps of Engineers proposed rule An Environmental Protection Agency-Army Corps of Engineers proposal to redefine which bodies of water are federally regulated has stirred up a storm of criticism from construction groups that contend the new definition is far too broad.The proposed rule, released on March 25, would have a big impact on construction because it changes when firms must get a Corps Clean Water
Related Links: GSA Blog on New Performance-Based Standards New Version of "Facilities Standard for the PBS" The General Services Administration is taking a new tack in the latest version of its mandatory design standard for new construction and major renovations managed by its Public Buildings Service (PBS).For the first time, the updated version of the "Facilities Standard for the PBS," or P-100, is a performance-based, rather than a solely prescriptive, standard, GSA officials say.P-100, released on March 14, establishes design standards and criteria for new buildings, alterations and work in historic structures for PBS. It contains policy and technical criteria
Related Links: Text of proposed regulation EPA Administrator McCarthy You Tube video National Association of Home Builders statement The Environmental Protection Agency and Army Corps of Engineers have proposed a new regulation that aims to clear up the murky definition of which bodies of water fall under federal regulatory jurisdiction.The definition is important because contractors who want to build near federally regulated “waters of the United States” must obtain a Corps of Engineers permit before they can start work.Reactions to the proposed rule, which the agencies released jointly on March 25, came quickly and were sharply split. Construction industry and
Related Links: Text of Okland-Justice Dept. settlement agreement Justice Dept. press release In a civil settlement with the Dept. of Justice, Okland Construction Co. Inc. has agreed to pay the federal government $928,000 to resolve false-claims allegations related to the Small Business Administration’s small disadvantaged business (SDB) program, the department said.In announcing the settlement on March 21, DOJ said Salt Lake City-based Okland entered a mentor-protégé agreement with Saiz Construction Co. Inc., a West Valley City, Utah-based firm that participated in SBA’s 8(a) SDB program.In the settlement agreement, Justice alleged that Okland and Saiz did not form an SBA-approved joint
Photo courtesy of Maryland State Highway Administration A Maryland interagency work group met monthly and as needed to avoid project delays and excessive paperwork on the $2.83-billion Intercounty Connector project, on target to complete this summer. Related Links: Support for Environmental Review Reforms Gains Momentum Perfectly Aligned Political Will Pushed New NY Bridge Process Western Transmission Project Slow to Advance New California Streamlining Law Gets Mixed Reviews ICC Project Page Purple Line Project Page Before construction of the $2.83-billion Intercounty Connector began in 2007, Maryland State Highway Administration officials recognized a critical need to forge better connections among its various
Photo Courtesy of Washington DOT The Skagit River bridge replacement project in Washington state in 2013 was one of the first projects to benefit from MAP-21. Related Links: Perfectly Aligned Political Will Pushed New NY Bridge Process New California Streamlining Law Gets Mixed Reviews Streamlining Smooths Progress on $2.8B Maryland Highway Project Western Transmission Project Slow to Advance Federal Infrastructure Projects Permitting Dashboard Viewpoint by John D. Porcari: Project Environmental Reviews, Undo the Do-Over Loop As House-Senate negotiations on a new water-resources authorization bill head into the home stretch, construction industry officials are calling for the final bill to include
Photo Courtesy of Pacificorp The Boardman-to-Hemingway transmission project, first proposed in 2000, is not expected to complete until 2020. The project was placed on the Obama administration's list of projects to accelerate in 2011. Related Links: Project Website Information on Interagency Rapid Response Team for Transmission An Obama administration effort to expedite federal agencies' review of the proposed 300-mile, 500-kV Boardman-to-Hemingway transmission line through parts of eastern Oregon and southern Idaho has had both positive and negative effects on advancing the project, according to Idaho Power, the utility that started planning the project several years ago.Doug Dockter, manager of 500-kV
Image courtesy of National Basketball Association/Sacramento Kings In 2013, incremental CEQA reforms were merged with a bill allowing rapid development of a new basketball arena for the Sacramento Kings. Related Links: Sacramento Arena Gets Protection From Environmental Litigation, Signs PLA OPR's Preliminary Evaluation of Transporation Alternatives Metrics Recent legislative efforts to streamline the far-reaching California Environmental Quality Act should lessen the environmental-review burden on infill and transit-oriented projects, proponents say. Detractors contend the reforms won't reduce the lawsuits that, they claim, abuse CEQA's original intent. Gov. Jerry Brown (D) signed S.B. 743 into law in September 2013. The bill amalgamated
RSS
