Related Links: FTA Federal Register notice outlining funding plan U.S. DOT press release Federal transportation officials are moving quickly to release $2 billion in aid to cover recovery costs for transit systems in New Jersey, New York and other eastern states that suffered major damage from Superstorm Sandy.The Federal Transit Administration announced on Feb. 4 that it will use $2 billion of the $10.9 billion it received in the recently enacted post-Sandy spending bill to reimburse local transit agencies for operating and capital costs they incurred after the massive storm struck in late October.FTA Administrator Peter Rogoff said, “We are
Related Links: EPA's Draft Climate Change Adaptation Plan Federal Register Notice The Environmental Protection Agency is seeking public comments on its draft Climate Change Adaptation Plan, published Feb. 8 in the Federal Register.The plan is a snapshot of ways climate change could affect EPA’s core mission and key goals. The agency said, “It is essential that EPA adapt to, anticipate and plan for future changes in climate.”EPA and other federal agencies are drafting climate change adaptation plans in response to a 2009 executive order from President Obama requiring them to do so.EPA says it has not yet conducted a detailed
Related Links: Justice Dept. press release Granite Construction Co. has agreed to repay the federal government $367,500 in a settlement with the Justice Dept. regarding alleged overbilling on federal construction projects.The settlement, which Justice announced on Feb. 8, centers on prices that federal officials claim Granite inflated on projects financed by the Dept. of Transportation and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers between 2006 and 2008.The settlement agreement states that Granite disclosed the potential overcharges to the Justice Dept. in October 2009.A Granite spokeswoman said in an emailed statement, "This was an inadvertent and honest mistake which was confirmed by
Related Links: House-Passed Debt-Limit Bill Awaits Senate Vote (ENR 2/4/13) New Fiscal Fights Ahead After 'Cliff' Deal (enr.com 1/9/13) A newly enacted bill has averted, for the time being, a default on the federal government's financial obligations, but mandatory spending cuts still are due to take effect on March 1.President Obama signed a bill on Feb. 4 that allows the government to borrow what it needs through May 18. The Treasury Dept. had warned that, without further action, the U.S. would breach its $16.4-trillion debt ceiling.To stave off the March 1 spending reductions for a few months, Obama on Feb.
Related Links: DOE Looking at Cost, Schedule Problems at S.C. Nuclear Site (ENR 1/28/13) Cold War Cleanup (ENR 1/12/11) Supporters of the Dept. of Energy's mixed-oxide-fuel (MOX) fabrication facility under construction in South Carolina are trying to save the $4.8-billion project from being tabled by mandatory spending cuts under the coming sequestration or reductions in the upcoming White House fiscal 2014 budget.The project, being built by Areva Shaw MOX Services, is expected to be $1 billion to $2 billion over its budget, and DOE has no takers for its end product: fuel for commercial nuclear reactors.Rep. Joe Wilson (R-S.C.) has
Related Links: DOE's Chu: Natural Gas Is a 'No-Brainer' DOE's Chu Defends Decision to Support Solyndra Energy Secretary Steven Chu has announced that he will leave his post by the end of February or when a successor is approved and in office.Chu, who announced his decision on Feb. 1, has led the Dept. of Energy since early 2009, a period during which several U.S. regions experienced the start of a natural-gas boom. At DOE, Chu, a Nobel Prize-winning physicist, oversaw energy-efficiency block grants and the growth of the Advanced Research Projects Agency—Energy (ARPA-E), which supports high-risk, high-reward technology development.Chu also
Photo Courtesy of U.S. Army Corps of Engineers User fees paid into the trust fund that finances harbor dredging vastly exceed spending, giving the fund an estimated $8-billion balance. Related Links: Link to Senate 1/31/13 WRDA hearing (Webcast, prepared statements, testimony) After TIFIA's Success, Will WIFIA Be Next? (ENR Blog: 11/16/12) Congress is just starting to write a new Water Resources Development Act, or WRDA, but it is already clear that one focus of the bill, which will map policy and authorize funds for the Army Corps of Engineers civil-works program, will be cutting the Harbor Maintenance Trust Fund surplus
Courtesy of REI Related Links: Transcript of remarks by Obama, Salazar, Jewell at White House 2/6/13 Jewell biographical sketch President Obama has picked Sally Jewell, president and CEO of outdoor equipment and apparel retailer Recreational Equipment Inc., as his nominee to be the Dept. of the Interior secretary. The choice was a surprise because Jewell had not been among those rumored as a candidate for the top Interior post.Jewell has strong environmental credentials. She also has a mechanical engineering degree and worked early in her career as an engineer for energy giant Mobil in the Oklahoma and Colorado oil fields.In
PHOTO COURTESY OF U.S. DEPT. OF TRANSPORTATION Related Links: LaHood to Leave Top DOT Post (enr.com 1/29/13) LaHood biographical sketch Ray LaHood, who announced Jan. 29 he would be stepping down as head of the Dept. of Transportation, looked back on his four years as DOT Secretary in a telephone interview Feb. 4 with Tom Ichniowski, ENR’s Washington bureau chief.LaHood also discussed his decision to leave DOT and hinted that President Obama will have “bold things to say" about infrastructure in his second term. An edited version of the interview follows.What do you see as your major accomplishments in the
Related Links: Chu's letter to DOE employees announcing decision to step down Energy Secretary Chu Defends Decision to Support Solyndra (enr.com 11/17/11) Energy Secretary Steven Chu has announced that he will leave his post by the end of February or when a successor is approved and in office.Chu, who announced his decision on Feb. 1, has led the Dept. of Energy since early 2009, a period during which several regions of the United States experienced the start of a natural gas development boom.At DOE, Chu, a Nobel Prize-winning physicist, oversaw the growth of the Advanced Research Projects Agency—Energy (ARPA-E) which