Related Links: House Appropriations Committee release on military construction-VA bill passage, with links to bill text floor amendments Committee's release on energy-water programs bill passage with links to bill text, floor amendments The House, approving its first two fiscal 2016 appropriations bills, has called for increases in military construction and the Army Corps of Engineers' civil-works program. But the House also froze the Dept. of Veterans Affairs' account for large projects and cut VA's minor-projects budget.By a 255-163 vote, the House on April 30 cleared a bill that would boost Dept. of Defense construction 13%, to $6.8 billion. The measure
Related Links: California Releases Full Bay Delta Plan California Bay Delta Plan Undergoes More Changes California Gov. Jerry Brown (D) unveiled a significantly down- sized plan to restore his state's Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta, a major water resource for both agricultural and urban users. A revised environmental impact report will be circulated in June."Bold action is imperative. We've listened to the public and carefully studied the science. This revised plan is the absolute best path forward," says Brown.The previous $25-billion Bay Delta Conservation Plan (BDCP) faced difficulty in permitting some 110,000 acres of habitat restoration over 50 years. Under the new
Enlarge Image Courtesy OSHA Crane operators repeatedly checked the "Repair" box for cables and resulted to using exclamation points to alert superiors of the need for repairs. They continued to operate it until the boom cable broke more than a month after this daily report. (Click to enlarge) A federal administrative law judge has upheld “willful violation” of workplace safety laws at a Tennessee construction site and increased the fine against Mountain States Contractors LLC to $60,000.The Occupational Safety and Health Administration initially levied a $56,000 fine after a crane collapsed after its main boom cable broke at bridge replacement
Photo courtesy of Export-Import Bank of the U.S. ExIm Chairman Hochberg says bank's aid can help U.S. companies that face tough foreign competition for export sales. Related Links: Prepared text of ExIm Bank Chairman Hochberg's speech to bank's annual conference Press release on Sen. Kirk's ExIm reauthorization bill A tussle is likely to heat up on Capitol Hill in coming weeks over reauthorizing the U.S. Export-Import Bank.Conservative groups and lawmakers want to shut the 81-year-old institution; businesses—including engineering and construction-equipment companies—and their congressional allies favor extending the bank's charter for several more years.The debate should intensify in coming weeks because
Related Links: Text of House-passed bill Portman-Shaheen press release outlining bill (04/21/15) Congress has approved a narrowly focused measure that aims to encourage—but not require—commercial-building owners and tenants to improve their facilities’ energy efficiency.Final congressional action on the bill came on April 21, when the House passed it under suspension of the chamber's rules. The Senate approved the legislation on March 27. It next goes to the White House for President Obama’s expected signature.The bill’s sponsor, Sen. Rob Portman (R-Ohio), termed it “good for the economy and good for the environment.”Sen. Jeanne Shaheen (D-N.H.), who teamed with Portman in drafting
Related Links: Summary of House bill as of April 15 New Water-Resources Bill Sails toward Enactment (ENR 5/28/2014) [subscription] A $35.4-billion bill that is making its way through Congress to fund energy and water programs for fiscal year 2016 includes provisions construction-industry groups support. But some officials are disappointed that the measure, which a House appropriations subcommittee cleared on April 15, doesn't have money for some programs that 2014's Water Resources Reform and Development Act (WRRDA) authorized.The energy-water bill, one of the first to emerge in the 2016 appropriations round, would boost spending for Army Corps of Engineers civil-works operation
Related Links: Big River Steel Decision in Nucor v. Big River Big River Steel in Osceola, Ark., is speeding up construction after successfully defending against a legal challenge from one of its chief competitors, local neighbor Nucor. Osceola's mayor is pleased."Everything looks good for this plant now," says Dickie Kennemore. "Nucor didn't make us too nervous. You have to remember that the biggest investor in Big River is [the] Koch brothers, and they're bigger than Nucor."The $1.1-billion project also has had significant support from state lawmakers. A $125-million bond package helped to finance the work and locked in Osceola as
Related Links: APTA report on need for long-term bill, impact of ending trust fund's transit account (04/09/2015) Stand Up 4 Transportation web page Public-transit advocates are stepping up their campaign for a long-term surface transportation bill and also want to fight off congressional proposals to sever their programs from the Highway Trust Fund, a key revenue source for rail and bus projects for more than three decades. To highlight their messages, transit launched a Stand Up 4 Transportation day on April 9, with rallies and events at cities around the country, featuring top officials of local transit systems and their
Related Links: Diverse Groups Weigh in on Crystalline Silica Propopsal (ENR 04/07/2014 issue) [Subscription] Construction Industry Safety Coalition Study As the federal Occupational Safety & Health Administration continues to review the more than 1,700 public comments it received on its controversial proposal to set tougher limits on construction workers' exposure to airborne silica dust, an industry coalition has released a study contending that OSHA's cost estimates for the standard greatly underestimate the impact on companies.In September 2013, OSHA proposed to tighten permissible exposure limits for respirable crystalline silica to 50 micograms per cu meter, from 100 mcg per cu m.OSHA
Related Links: Congressional Budget Office Highway Trust Fund projections March 2015 State DOTs Plan Ways To Cope With Uncertain Federal Funds (enr.com 2/27/2015) [subscription] It's looking more and more likely that Congress won't approve an industry-desired five- or six-year bill increasing funds for highway and transit programs by May 31, when the current 10-month authorization lapses. Another stopgap appears to be in the cards.Cathy Connor, Parsons Brinckerhoff senior vice president, says, "I think, at this point, it is clear that we're not going to identify sufficient funding to do a long-term bill by May 31. So, it is fairly obvious