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
Related Links: White House Fact Sheet Link to UN Framework Convention on Climate Change Website The Obama administration on March 31 formally submitted its plans to cut greenhouse gas emissions to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change.World leaders will meet in Paris in December to try to reach an international agreement to reduce global emissions of greenhouse gases, mainly carbon dioxide.Environmental advocates say the formal pledge to reduce greenhouse emissions is an important step that might encourage other nations to follow suit. But even some supporters note that for an international agreement to be successful in helping address
Related Links: OMB 3/25/2015 memo to agencies on real estate reduction plan The Obama administration has directed federal agencies to reduce their total real-estate square footage, in owned and leased space, starting in fiscal year 2016.The plan, outlined in a March 25 White House Office of Management and Budget memo, doesn’t bar new federal buildings construction, but any added space would have to be more than offset by selling other, underused facilities or reducing leases.The “Reduce the Footprint” program doesn't set an overall square-footage target for the government but asks each agency to come up with an annual goal.David Mader,
In separate but related actions, the Obama administration and a bipartisan group of senators have taken steps to break through the logjam over the long-term storage and disposal of high-level radioactive waste.
Related Links: Text of 2013 Bill, the Transportation Empowerment Act Transportation Construction Coalition map showing level of potential state gas-tax hikes under 2013 House and Senate bills Construction industry groups are battling to fend off a possible resurfacing of proposals to make deep cuts in the federal gasoline and diesel taxes and “devolve” to the states more responsibilities for the federally aided highway program.The last big devolution proposal was the Transportation Empowerment Act, which Sen. Mike Lee (R-Utah) and Rep. Tom Graves (R-Ga.) introduced in 2013. The proposal, backed by conservative groups such as Heritage Action for America, sought to
Related Links: Dept. of Justice press release 03/23/2015 Ex-Bechtel VP Pleads Guilty to Federal Kickback Charges Former Bechtel Corp. vice president Asem Elgawhary has been sentenced to 42 months in federal prison for taking $5.2 million in kickbacks on electric-power contracts in Egypt from 1996 to 2011, the Dept. of Justice says.Judge Deborah K. Chasanow imposed the sentence on March 23 in federal district court in Greenbelt, Md., and also directed Elgawhary to forfeit $5.2 million.Elgawhary, 73, of Potomac, Md., pleaded guilty last Dec. 4 to mail fraud, conspiracy to launder money and interfering with federal internal revenue laws.DOJ said
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