Googlemaps Three towns, Saluda (B), Tryon (A) and Columbus (C), are unhappy with water pressure in their multi-community system in the hills of North Carolina. Three small towns in the mountain country of North Carolina, not far from Asheville, say they are suffering from poor water pressure and they are blaming the engineering firm that designed the water delivery lines connecting the towns. The towns of Columbus and Tryon and the city of Saluda are suing Asheville, N.C.-based engineer Joel E. Wood and Associates, LLC.A judge recently transferred the lawsuit from state superior court in Polk, N.C. to federal court
Related Links: Jan. 13 oral argument transcript High Court to Hear Arguements in NLRB Appointments Case The U.S. Supreme Court Justices seemed to be skeptical of the Obama administration’s position during Jan. 13 oral arguments in a case centering on the president’s ability to make recess appointments to the National Labor Relations Board, courts, and other government offices.The case, NLRB v. Noel Canning, is significant for construction because it involves two appointments to the NLRB, the body that adjudicates labor cases important to construction firms and unions, that were invalidated as unconstitutional by the U.S. Court of Appeals for the
Related Links: Nuclear Energy Institute Statement on Nov. 19 Court Ruling Nov. 19 Court Ruling The Dept. of Energy on Jan. 2 asked the full U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit to review a November ruling by that court's three-judge panel that the fee utilities pay to fund long-term storage of spent nuclear fuel must be zeroed out.DOE also has sent Congress a proposal that would make nuclear-waste fees comply with the court's mandate, says spokesman Bill Gibbons. He says DOE will work with Congress, local and tribal officials, and the nuclear industry to "develop a
Related Links: Supreme Court to Hear NLRB Recess Appointment Case Petitions in Supreme Court case Construction industry groups will be watching closely when the U.S. Supreme Court hears oral arguments on Jan. 13 in a case dealing with presidential authority to name appointees to senior agency positions.The case, National Labor Relations Board v. Noel Canning, centers on the question of whether a president can make such appointments during a recess that occurs within a session of the Senate or is limited to recesses occurring between Senate sessions. The U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit said in a January
Related Links: SBA Final Rule (Federal Register 12/23/2013) SBA Size-Standard Summary, by Industry Dredging companies and construction firms that do land-subdivision work soon will face a higher maximum revenue level to qualify for federal small-business aid programs offering, for example, loans and contracts.A Small Business Administration final rule, which takes effect on Jan. 22, hikes dredging firms' "size standard" in average annual receipts, to $25.5 million from $20 million. Land-subdivision firms' mark rises to $25.5 million from $7.5 million.Other SBA construction category standards were unchanged: General contractors' level remains at $33.5 million; specialty-trade contractors' mark is still at $14 million.
Related Links: Link to text of Corps report Corps press release on report A U.S. Army Corps of Engineers study has identified eight plans, costing as much as $18.4 billion, to block Asian carp and other harmful species from moving from the Mississippi River basin through waterways around Chicago and into the Great Lakes.The Corps’ Great Lakes and Mississippi River Interbasin Study, released on Jan. 6, holds out the possibility of hundreds of billions of dollars in design and construction work over many years, but it does not pick a preferred plan from among the eight options, nor does it
Related Links: Interior Dept. press release Executive summary of U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service final EIS (2/5/2013) Interior Secretary Sally Jewell has rejected a proposal to swap a parcel of Alaska state and Native-owned land on the Aleutian peninsula for a road corridor through a federal wildlife refuge.Jewell’s decision, announced on Dec. 23, drew praise from environmentalists, but strong criticism from Alaska’s senior U.S. senator and some local officials.Jewell said that the proposed road—from the town of King Cove through part of the Izembek National Wildlife Refuge to an all-weather airport near the town of Cold Bay about 20 miles
Related Links: Information on Baucus Energy Tax Proposal Information on Baucus Corporate and Accounting Tax Reform Proposal With President Obama's Dec. 20 announcement that he will nominate Senate Finance Committee Chairman Max Baucus to be U.S. ambassador to China, industry officials say they don't expect to see action any time soon on one of the Montana Democrat's main priorities: an overhaul of the federal tax code.If Baucus, as predicted, is confirmed to the China post, his successor as chairman of the powerful Finance panel is widely expected to be Energy and Natural Resources Committee Chairman Ron Wyden (D-Ore.), a strong
Related Links: Senate Clears Budget Bill With $45B Spending Hike for 2014 (enr.com 12/18/2013) House and Senate budget committees' summary of budget agreement (12/10/2013) Now that Congress has approved a budget bill that includes a sizable spending hike for the rest of fiscal year 2014, construction industry officials will gear up to battle with advocates for a wide range of other interests for a share of those dollars.MIKULSKIThe budget bill—the result of a deal between House Budget Committee Chairman Paul Ryan (R-Wis.) and Senate Budget Committee Chairman Patty Murray (D-Wash.)—won final congressional approval on Dec. 18, when the Senate passed
Related Links: WRDA Update: Views Differ on Negotiations' Status (enr.com blog 12/19/2013) House-Senate Talks on WRDA Bill Get Under Way (ENR 12/2-9/2013) As the House and Senate began their year-end breaks, there was no agreement in sight yet on a new Water Resources Development Act, or WRDA.The bill would authorize at least $8 billion in Army Corps of Engineers projects and make changes in Corps policies.Key lawmakers and staffers from both houses have been exchanging information since a House-Senate conference committee formally convened on Nov. 20 to work out the differences between the bills. The two chambers passed those measures
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