Related Links: 2010 Inspector General Report on Iraq Reconstruction Three former U.S. Army Corps of Engineers project officials and two foreign contractor employees have been charged with 54 counts of bribery, fraud and conspiracy linked to $50.2 million worth of Corps construction contracts in Iraq, the U.S. Justice Dept. says. The new charges, unsealed on July 14, expand the list of defendants and their alleged offenses brought in a criminal complaint last October.Charged in the federal indictment are John A. Salama Markus and Onisem Gomez, two U.S. citizens and former Corps project engineers in Iraq. Also named is Ammar Al-Jobory,
New clean-air regulations from the Environmental Protection Agency will force electric utilities in the eastern U.S. to spend tens of millions of dollars on pollution-control equipment to trim sulfur dioxide and nitrogen oxide emissions from coal-fired powerplants. Data courtesy of the EPA Map shows clean air rules and policies by state. EPA's Cross-State Air Pollution Rule, announced on July 7, requires utilities in 27 states to cut emissions or buy allowances from the market, starting in 2012. Even tougher rules take effect in 2014, when EPA and state actions will require SO emissions to be cut 73% from 2005 levels
A new environmental document from the Interior Dept.'s Bureau of Ocean Energy Management, Regulation and Enforcement could speed development of wind farms off the East Coast. BOEMRE's blanket draft environmental assessment, issued on July 11, covers areas off the coasts of Delaware, New Jersey and Virginia. The assessment cuts by at least two years the application process for leasing offshore parcels for wind-farm development. After a comment period, BOEMRE expects to begin issuing leases as early as this year and continue through 2012.
President Obama has issued an executive order that broadens an earlier directive aimed at making federal regulations less burdensome. The July 11 executive order would apply to independent agencies, such as the National Labor Relations Board and the Nuclear Regulatory Commission. Building on a directive issued in January for Cabinet departments, the order asks agencies to develop plans in 120 days to streamline redundant or overly burdensome rules. Cass Sunstein, administrator of the White House Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs, says the January order could save $1 billion a year and eliminate millions of hours of paperwork.
The House Appropriations Committee at press time neared approval of a bill that would slash Environmental Protection Agency water infrastructure accounts. The bill would cut EPA aid for clean- water state revolving funds (SRFs) by 55%, to $689 million, and would trim drinking-water SRFs by 14%, to $829 million.
The AFL-CIO says it is seeking to pull together at least $10 billion in private and public funds over the next five years to invest in infrastructure projects, with the money coming from pension funds, federal, state and local governments, contractors, financial companies and non-profit organizations. The plan, which union officials announced on June 29 at a Clinton Global Initiative meeting, also includes spending at least $20 million in union-related funds over the next 12 months to make energy-efficiency improvements to public and private buildings. The AFL-CIO will kick off that effort by issuing a request for proposals to do
The Congressional Budget Office has cast a skeptical eye on President Obama’s proposal to shed excess federal real estate through creating a special Civilian Property Realignment Board. CBO says in a June 27 letter to a House committee chairman that the White House proposal is unlikely to bring in the $16 billion in additional revenue that the Office of Management and Budget projects. Related Links: CBO analysis of White House plan But the proposal has supporters in the administration and in Congress, who contend that the current system for disposing of excess federal property isn’t working and that a civilian
Sen. David Vitter (R-La.) has imposed a hold on the nomination of Lt. Gen. thomas Bostick, President Obama's choice to be the next Army corps of engineers chief. Vitter is withholding approval until the Corps provides satisfactory answers to the senator's questions about several Louisiana issues, including project funding.Senate holds block floor action on nominees. Furthermore, Bostick must gain approval from the Armed Services Committee, which has yet to convene a hearing on his nomination.Maj. Gen. Merdith W.B. “Bo” Temple, the Corps deputy commanding general, became the acting chief of engineers on June 17, following the retirement of Lt. Gen.
There is still no deal on the horizon on a multiyear Federal Aviation Administration bill, so Congress has approved another short extension. It would carry FAA activities, including Airport Improvement Program construction grants, through July 22. The bill, which the Senate passed on June 27 and the House cleared three days earlier, is the 20th stopgap since Sept. 30, 2007, when the last long-term FAA measure expired. The 19th extension was to lapse on June 30.
The Republican-controlled House is getting ready to deliver another punch to the General Services Administration's construction budget, following the Appropriations Committee's June 23 approval of a bill that would zero out fiscal 2012 GSA funds for new federal buildings. The full House is likely to pass the bill after July 4. But the Senate, where Democrats hold a majority, has yet to act on a GSA spending measure. The agency and construction industry officials are hoping for better numbers from that chamber.But if the House committee's figure becomes law, it would be the second heavy blow to GSA construction funds