Photo Courtesy of Butte County, Calif. Unregulated marijuana cultivation, such as in California's Upper Central Valley, poses a threat to watersheds because of deforestation, watercourse diversion and uncontrolled runoff of pollutants. California officials are considering policies to protect the state's water resources from the growing problems associated with legal marijuana cultivation. The proliferation of farms, both legal and illegal, has exploded in the state due to the loosening of legal prohibitions on the sale of marijuana.After initially declining to place its agency inspectors at risk, the Central Valley Regional Water Quality Control Board approved allowing its field personnel to accompany
Related Links: GC Vows Thorough Probe in Miami Garage Fatalities OSHA Cites Five Firms for Miami Garage Collapse Miami Dade College, the owner of a $22.5-million parking-garage project that partially collapsed in October 2012, filed on Oct. 8 a lawsuit against the general contractor, its insurer and six subcontractors. Alleging breach of contract, the suit claims that Ajax Building Corp., Liberty Mutual Insurance and the other firms failed to "undertake to correct or complete the project or to compensate MDC."While under construction, a quarter of the five-story, 520,000-sq-ft structure suffered a progressive collapse on Oct. 10, 2012, killing four workers.
Related Links: Rep. Waxman's Letter to OMB FracFocus Chemical Disclosure Registry Controversy remains over long-delayed Environmental Protection Agency guidance for writing permits for hydraulic fracturing that uses diesel. Some Democrats in the House of Representatives are eager to see the guidance finalized, but both industry and environmental groups have concerns, for different reasons.In an Oct. 25 letter, Rep. Henry Waxman (D-Calif.) asked the Office of Management and Budget to expeditiously review EPA's guidance, proposed in draft form in May 2012, and reject "any industry efforts to weaken or delay it." The new guidance would require U.S. oil and gas companies
Related Links: Construction Coalition Objects to OSHA's Proposed Silica Rule (ENR 9/9/2013 issue) OSHA Proposes Tougher Limit for Silica-Dust Exposure (enr.com 8/23/2013) The Occupational Safety and Health Administration is giving industry groups, unions and other parties more time to file comments on its proposal to tighten the exposure standard for airborne silica.On Oct. 25, OSHA said it is extending the comment-period deadline by 47 days, to Jan. 27. A coalition of construction-industry groups objects to the proposed, more stringent exposure limit.OSHA announced the proposal on Aug. 23 and published it on Sept. 12.
Photo By 1st Lt. Ian McBride, U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Louisville District House and Senate bills trim Inland Waterways Trust Fund's share of future aid for $3.1-billion Olmsted Lock and Dam on Ohio River. Related Links: House Approves Water Resources Bill Focus on Water-Resources Bill Shifts to House (ENR 6/3/2013 issue) The quest for the first major water-resources bill in six years has cleared a key hurdle with House passage of an $8.2-billion measure that would authorize 23 new Corps of Engineers water projects, speed their regulatory reviews and boost funds for dredging.The House's 417-3 vote on Oct. 23
The joint-venture contracting team building the $1-billion-plus data center in Utah for the National Security Agency has been hit with a wrongful death lawsuit arising from a fatal accident near the jobsite in June 2012.Cathi Turner, 48, of West Riverton, Utah, was riding her bike with a friend on a Saturday morning along Redwood Road, which passes near the front entrance to the site, when she collided “with a large orange highway sign sitting in the bike lane and crashed her bike. She died later from injuries sustained in the crash,” says attorney Robert Gilchrist with the Salt Lake City
Related Links: Shuster Rolls Out Water Resources Bill Focus on Water Resources Bill Shifts to the House The House on Oct. 23 overwhelmingly approved bipartisan legislation to authorize the U.S. Corps of Engineers to build, operate and maintain water resources projects.Lawmakers approved the Water Resources Reform and Development Act (WRRDA) 417-3.The bill would authorize badly needed investments in the nation’s lock and dam infrastructure, upgrade deficient levees and maintain ports, harbors and key navigation channels.The Senate passed a companion bill by an 83-14 vote in May. A conference committee will now need to iron out differences between the two bills.In
Land acquisition, a major impediment to large infrastructure projects in India, has in the past delayed private companies' development plans while they sort out litigation over land ownership and compensation.Land costs that a decade ago comprised 10% of investment have increased to around 22%. National bank data released in March revealed infrastructure projects worth $145 billion were being held up.To address issues related to land, Parliament has cleared the Right to Fair Compensation and Transparency in Land Acquisition, Rehabilitation and Resettlement Law, which now replaces the archaic 1894 law. Expected to come into effect by mid-2014, it has evoked a
Related Links: Sen. Reid's remarks on Senate Floor following establishment of bipartisan deal Shutdown's Construction Impact Widens The government is up and running again following the passage of a $987-billion continuing resolution (CR) on Oct. 16 that will fund the government through Jan. 15.On Day 16 of the shutdown, Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) and Republican leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) struck a deal that keeps the government running through Jan. 15 and raises the debt ceiling through Feb. 7. As part of the deal, they agreed to name conferees to work on the budget resolution, which has passed both
Related Links: Transcript of 10/9/2013 Oral Argument Supreme Court Hears Arguments Over Forum Selection for Disputes With oral arguments now complete in one of the most important construction cases before the U.S. Supreme Court in its new term, both sides—and many other industry officials and attorneys—must wait for the high court to issue its opinion.The case, Atlantic Marine Construction Co. v. U.S. District Court for the Western District of Texas, centers on the issue of a "forum-selection" clause in a contract between prime contractor Atlantic Marine Construction Co. (AMC), Virginia Beach, Va., and subcontractor J-Crew Management Inc., Killeen, Texas. The
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