Photo Courtesy of San Diego County Water Authority The roller-compacted concrete, placed in layers, used less time and water than conventional concrete to produce. Related Links: Drought in Western U.S. Has Water Utilities Considering a Range of Solutions Construction on the world's largest dam-raise project of its kind wrapped up this summer, providing the San Diego County Water Authority with an additional 152,000 acre-ft of water, more than doubling the capacity of the St. Vincente reservoir.The project involved removing two inches from the surface of the original St. Vincente dam, then using roller-compacted concrete to add—in layers, one on top
Related Links: Link to National Economic and Labor IMpacts of the Water Utility Sector Link and background on Johnson Foundation report. A new study puts some data behind claims that the water-wastewater industry can boost the economy through investments in infrastructure.The study found that 30 water utilities across the U.S. plan to spend an aggregate of $23 billion annually for capital construction and operating costs over the next 10 years. The study, released at WEFTEC's annual meeting in New Orleans on Sept. 29, was funded and published by the Water Research Foundation and the Water Environment Research Foundation.The research team
Related Links: Supreme Court oral arguments calendar Briefs in Supreme Court cases for 2014-2015 term In the term that begins on Oct. 6, the Supreme Court faces two cases that could have a major impact on construction firms, industry officials say.KBR v. U.S. focuses on a whistle-blower's claims that KBR fraudulently billed the government for 2005 work at a water purification plant in Iraq earlier than work occurred. A lower court ruled in the whistle-blower's favor in 2013. The case's key question is whether a federal contractor can claim the same sovereign-immunity protections as the government.Mike Kennedy, Associated General Contractors
Related Links: Summary of Senate Finance Committee EXPIRE act Tax Extensions Before End of 2013 No Sure Thing (ENR 12/16-23/2013 issue) [subscription] Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) has said he plans to take up legislation in the coming lame-duck session to extend or re-instate several expiring or expired tax credits."We have to do the tax extenders," Reid told reporters at a Sept. 18 press conference, noting that the absence of extensions has been "extremely hurtful" for businesses and individuals. The post-election session is scheduled to start on Nov. 12.The Senate Finance Committee on April 3 approved a package that
Photo by AP/Wideworld The Pinedale Anticline in Wyoming is one of the highest-producing gas fields in the U.S. Related Links: National Academy of Sciences Report Food and Water Watch Report A definitive study published by the National Academy of Sciences has concluded that horizontal drilling and hydraulic fracturing to extract shale gas and oil do not, in themselves, cause contamination of drinking-water sources. However, faulty cementation and construction techniques, such as improperly cementing well casings and linings, can potentially trigger migration of methane into groundwater wells and aquifers, according to the report, published in the Sept. 12 issue of the
Related Links: Bureau of Labor Statistics report on 2013 fatal injuries Link to further BLS fatal injury data, including previous years. New Occupational Injury and Illness Recording and Reporting RequirementsNAICS Update and Reporting Revisions The Occupational Safety and Health Administration on Sept. 11 released new final requirements that expand the types of non-fatal injuries that most companies must report to the agency.Under the new severe-injuries-and-illness reporting requirements, which take effect Jan. 1, employers must notify OSHA within eight hours after a worker is killed on the job and within 24 hours after a worker suffers a work-related hospitalization, amputation or
Photo by AP Wideworld Cleanup A worker picks up blobs of oil in Barataria Bay near the Gulf of Mexico after the spill. Related Links: Link to Sept. 4 decision Transocean Settles with Feds on Deepwater Horizon Spill A Sept. 4 decision by the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Louisiana could clear the way for up to $18 billion in penalties for BP in its role in the 2010 Deepwater Horizon disaster.A strongly worded opinion from the court said that BP Exploration and Production Inc. was liable for "gross negligence" and "willful misconduct" in causing the blowout
Related Links: Information on House bill EPA proposed rule on U.S. waters The House of Representatives has approved a bill that would prevent the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers from finalizing a proposed rule that seeks to clarify when a federal permit is needed for construction projects that disturb wetlands and streams.The House approved the bill on Sept. 9 by a bipartisan 262-152 vote. But with only a few weeks left in the legislative session and a Democratic majority in the Senate, the bill's prospects in the Senate are uncertain. President Obama has threated
Related Links: NRC Final Rule NRC Statement on Waste Confidence Nuclear powerplant projects that had been put on hold may begin to go forward, following the Nuclear Regulatory Commission's approval of a final rule dealing with the environmental effects of continued storage of spent nuclear fuel.The rule, which NRC commissioners approved on Aug. 26, concludes that spent fuel can be safely managed in dry casks indefinitely.The regulation, proposed in September 2013, applies to the continued storage of used nuclear fuel between the end of a reactor's license period and the fuel's ultimate removal for disposal.In 2012, the U.S. Court of
Related Links: Obama's Executive Order Invites Confusion Link to US Senate Health, Education, Labor & Pensions Committee Report on Federal Contractor 2012 Worker Violations On its face, President Obama's July 31 executive order requiring federal contractors to list workplace-related violations when they submit bids and proposals is an attempt to keep persistent violators from continuing to win federal contracts.Why, the president asks, should violators earn checks from federal taxpayers if they won't treat their workers according to federal standards?According to the order, contracting officers and newly appointed agency "labor compliance advisors" would evaluate the violations to determine if a company
