Photo courtesy of AP Worldwide Some in the construction industry are waiting for more information on Romney's plans. Related Links: GOP Platform Romney Energy Plan Would Ramp Up Domestic Production News Analysis: A Mitt Romney administration would knock down regulatory hurdles that get in the way of contractors and depart from President Obama's policies on labor and taxes. But how much a Romney administration would cut transportation and water infrastructure spending remains something of an open question, several sources say."I don't think anybody knows. The truth of the matter is, there is not a specific plank in either candidate's platform"
Related Links: Link to text of Romney's energy white paper Presumptive Republican presidential nominee Mitt Romney’s energy plan, released on Aug. 23, seeks a dramatic increase in domestic oil, gas and coal production, which he said would create jobs in construction, manufacturing and other sectors.In his plan, Romney calls for North American energy independence by 2020, with a prime focus on increased exploration for fossil fuels in the U.S. He also pledges to approve the controversial Keystone XL crude oil pipeline project, and expand offshore oil and gas drilling, particularly off the coasts of Florida and Virginia.In perhaps the most
Related Links: NRC Foes Hail NRC Move to Freeze Construction Licenses NRC Aug. 7 Order in Response to Court Decision The Nuclear Regulatory Commission's new chair, Allison Macfarlane, says one of her priorities is to develop a response to a recent federal court decision that vacated nuclear-waste regulations the NRC had issued in 2010. MACFARLANEThe June 8 ruling from the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit led the commission to put on hold final approval of construction and operating licenses (COLs) for all new reactors as well as license renewals. NRC staffers have developed a preliminary response to
Related Links: U.S. Court of Appeals for D.C. Circuit Aug. 21 ruling In a long-awaited decision, a divided three-judge panel of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit has struck down an Environmental Protection Agency rule that aimed to cut powerplants' emissions or air pollutants that move across state lines. The cross-state air pollution regulation (CSAPR) would have required 28 states in the East, Midwest and South to reduce emissions of sulfur dioxide and nitrogen oxide that cross state lines and cause air-quality problems in downwind states. EPA finalized the rule in July 2011, but the court blocked
Related Links: Nuclear Regulatory Commission August 7 Order U.S. Court of Appeals June 8 Ruling on NRC's Waste Confidence Rule Update Critics of the nuclear energy industry praised the Nuclear Regulatory Commission for its recent decision to put on hold the final approval of construction and operating licenses for all not-yet-approved nuclear reactors, as well as license renewals, until it can review the environmental impacts of storing nuclear waste.But industry observers note that the NRC’s decision, spelled out in an Aug. 7 order, may not be the death knell some are making it out to be.Steve Kerekes, spokesman for the
Related Links: Senate Finance Committee Summary of Tax Extenders Package The Senate Finance Committee's passage on August 2 of legislation extending tax cuts known as "extenders" came as a welcome surprise to many. The package, cobbled together in the final week before the August recess by Committee Chairman Max Baucus (D-Mont.) and ranking member Orrin Hatch (R-Utah), would extend dozens of tax provisions set to expire at the end of the year. It cleared the committee by a bipartisan 19-5 vote.Environmental groups and renewable-energy advocates were quick to praise the committee for passing the bill. But some observers say the
Related Links: Full Text of DOD Memorandum of Understanding Secretary of Defense Leon Panetta and Secretary of the Interior Ken Salazar signed a memorandum of understanding on Aug. 6 to encourage development of renewable-energy projects on public lands set aside for defense-related purposes and other onshore and offshore areas near military installations.The memorandum sets out the guiding principles for how the two departments will work together to increase renewable-power projects on or near the nation's military installations.In the U.S., DOD installations encompass roughly 28 million acres, of which 16 million acres—previously managed by the Dept. of the Interior's Bureau of
The blackout that swept through the northern and eastern regions of India on July 30 and 31 demonstrated the huge gap between growing demand for electricity and supply as well as political tensions between the state and central governments.
The latest employment statistics from the Bureau of Labor Statistics, released August 3, showed a slight increase in jobs overall, but also an increase in the unemployment rate.Total non-farm payroll employment edged up by 163,000 jobs in July, but the unemployment rate ticked up slightly, from 8.217% in June to 8.254% in July.Alan Krueger, chairman of the Council of Economic Advisers, said in a statement that the report provides further evidence “that the U.S. economy is continuing to recover from the worst downturn since the Great Depression.”But those numbers are giving the construction industry little to cheer about. Construction employment
A decade ago, Pima County's Regional Wastewater Reclamation Dept., or RWRD, was facing a problem: The Arizona Dept. of Environmental Quality had ruled that the levels of nitrogen coming from RWRD's network of 10 wastewater-stripping and treatment plants were too high. As a result, RWRD embarked on a $720-million Regional Optimization Plan (ROMP) to improve the quality of its effluent. Related Links: DAF Placement Saves on Capital Costs Archeological Discoveries Coexist With Construction Crews at Pima County Project The ROMP program is using innovative techniques as it expands and upgrades the 37.5-million-gallons-a-day Ina Road plant to 50 mgd and replaces
