Enlarge Related Links: EPA Notice of Proposed Rulemaking Information on Argonne National Laboratory's biofuel's program Proposed federal mandates for ethanol and advanced biofuels under the federal law requiring certain levels of renewable fuels to be blended with gasoline seem to have few supporters and many critics.The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency announced on May 29 its proposed targets for cellulosic biofuels, biomass-based diesel and advanced biofuels to be blended with gasoline for 2014-2016 under the Renewable Fuel Standard (RFS).Ethanol and other biofuel blends for transportation vehicles were initially heralded in some quarters as a way to reduce greenhouse gas emissions in
Related Links: Information on House bill ENR Blog on House-Senate hearing on Waters of U.S. Construction industry groups are hopeful that Congress will pass legislation to require the Environmental Protection Agency to revise a not-yet-finalized rule defining which bodies of water fall under federal jurisdiction and thus require an Army Corps of Engineers permit authorizing construction or dredging to begin nearby.SHUSTERBut environmental advocates expect that President Obama would veto any measure that seeks to delay implementing the joint EPA-Corps regulation. They say that the bills, introduced by House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee Chairman Bill Shuster (R-Pa.) and Sen. John Barrasso
Related Links: Link to OSHA rule OSHA Frequently Asked Questions page A long-awaited federal Occupational Safety and Health Administration final rule for working in confined spaces on construction sites has received general support from industry and labor unions, which see the regulation as a positive development that will protect workers.The rule, which OSHA released on May 1 and published in the Federal Register on May 4, establishes new requirements for working safely in confined spaces, such as pits, sewers, crawl spaces and tanks. The rule's requirements take effect on Aug. 3.Assistant Secretary of Labor for Occupational Safety and Health David
USAID A map of earthquake's epicenter and surrounding areas. Related Links: View Structural Engineer Kit Miyamoto's Latest Blog and Video from Nepal Quake Zone Kit Miyamoto's First Blog and Video from Quake Zone USAID Nepal Earthquake information page Hartford High School Engineers Help Nepal Students Power Up Since the devastating April 25 earthquake in Nepal that killed 7,500 people, the U.S. has provided more than $14.2 million in humanitarian aid. Federal disaster teams were reaching areas made inaccessible by landslides and debris triggered by the tremor that registered a magnitude-7.9. The federal military teams began aerial assessments of the stricken
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
Photo Courtesy of SaskPower Officials say the Boundary Dam project demonstrates that CCS is viable. Related Links: Clean Coal--Is Carbon Capture and Sequestration Fossil Fuels' Best Hope? (ENR, subscription) Saskatchewan Community Wind Report on Boundary Dam CSS Facility The world's first full-scale carbon capture and sequestration (CCS) facility of its kind at a commercial coal plant is performing better than expected, officials from SaskPower, the Canadian facility that owns the plant, said at a recent meeting in Washington, D.C.CCS has been touted by the Obama administration and advocates around the globe as a way to enable coal to remain part
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: DOE Fact Sheet on March 24 Directive Press Release on Senate Legislation Issued by Office of Sen. Murkowski Industry observers are hopeful that recent initiatives by the Obama administration and Congress could help to break the long-running impasse over the storage and disposal of high-level radioactive waste.On March 24, President Obama signed a directive to enable federal officials to identify a site to store high-level defense-related waste, and a group of senior senators introduced a bill to establish a policy for addressing the long-term storage of nuclear and defense-related radioactive waste. And, on March 27, Sen. Harry Reid
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
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.
