The U.S. Supreme Court on Jan. 9 heard oral arguments in a wetlands case that could have ramifications for the construction industry.The case pits an Idaho couple, Chantell and Michael Sackett, who planned to build a new home on a tract they had bought, against the Environmental Protection Agency, which issued a compliance order directing the couple to restore wetlands on that property. As they listened to the arguments by each side, several of the justices appeared to be sympathetic toward the Sacketts.A ruling in favor of the Sacketts would undermine EPA’s ability to control pollution and the destruction of
Related Links: Business Groups Challenge New NLRB Rule NLRB Members Vote in Favor of Streamlining Union Election Process President Obama on Jan. 4 said he will recess appoint three individuals to serve on the National Labor Relations Board—two Democrats and one Republican. The appointments bring the nation’s top labor panel back to a full complement of five members.The appointees are Sharon Block, a Democrat, currently the deputy assistant secretary for congressional affairs at the U.S. Labor Dept. and previously an aide to former Sen. Edward Kennedy (D-Mass.) on the Senate’s labor committee; and Republican Terence Flynn, currently chief counsel to
A coalition of industry groups and the U.S. Chamber of Commerce filed a lawsuit in federal court on Dec. 20 to block implementation of a new National Labor Relations Board rule that they say would speed up the union election process.The rule by the nation’s top labor panel would, among other things, consolidate all appeals of regional director decisions to the Board into a single post-election request for review. Parties can currently appeal regional director decisions to the board at multiple stages in the process. “This rule is about giving all employees who have petitioned for an election the right to
Environmental advocates were quick to praise the Environmental Protection Agency for releasing standards to reduce mercury and other pollutants emitted by powerplants. But industry groups say the final rule, issued Dec. 21, will force the early retirement of a number of coal plants and could cause electrical reliability problems as a result.The EPA’s mercury and air toxic standards (MATS) will require the most heavily polluting powerplants to reduce emissions of mercury, arsenic, acid gas, nickel, selenium and cyanide within the next four years. The EPA says utilities can rely on “widely available, proven pollution controls that are already in use
The House has rejected a Senate-passed bill that would extend the about-to-expire payroll tax cut for individuals, setting the stage for a end-of-year showdown between the two chambers.The Senate on Sept. 17 had approved a $33-billion package, which the Obama administration supported, to continue the tax reduction for two months past its current Dec. 31 expiration date.But House Republican leaders, who say they want a year-long extension for the tax break, pushed through a bill on Dec. 20 that in effect rejected the Senate measure by calling for a conference to reconcile the House- and Senate-passed bills.After the vote, House
Related Links: Portland, Ore.'s Big Pipe Winds Up 20-Year Program To Control Overflows The Metropolitan Water Reclamation District of Greater Chicago has reached a Clean Water Act settlement with the federal government to upgrade its combined sewer system.Under the consent decree, announced on Dec. 14, the MWRD will complete a tunnel and reservoir plan to increase its capacity to handle stormwater and address combined sewer overflows.The project, which involves building two reservoirs with a combined storage capacity of 18 billion gallons, will be completed in stages in 2015, 2017 and 2029.According to the MWRD, the district already has spent about
The U.S. State Dept.'s Bureau of Overseas Buildings Operations is rolling out a five-year strategic plan for information technology to support posts around the world and the agency's Washington, D.C., headquarters.Announced at a conference in Washington, D.C., on Dec. 7, the plan's key goals include the development of a global unified building management system as well as a comprehensive building-information-modeling solution for life-cycle building planning and operations.Danilo Stapulo, chief of OBO's information resource management application development branch, says that when his office recently analyzed OBO's strengths and weaknesses, the need for interoperability "kept popping up."OBO managers were "spending altogether too
Related Links: National Academies' press release (with link to full report) "Oil-Spill Panel Seeks Industry, Federal Actions," enr.com Jan. 12, 2011 A new report on the April 2010 Gulf of Mexico oil-well blowout concludes that industry and regulators had a “misplaced trust” in the blowout preventer used by the Deepwater Horizon rig.Like many other reports about the Gulf Coast disaster, the National Academy of Engineering/National Research Council study, released on Dec. 14, concludes that the accident, which killed 11 rig workers and spewed more than four million barrels of oil into the Gulf, was caused by a combination of factors.But
The House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee is considering legislation that would direct the majority of penalties paid by those responsible for the Deepwater Horizon oil spill to the Gulf Coast states. But some lawmakers, including committee Chairman John Mica, wonder if that approach is fair.The RESTORE Act, he said at a Dec. 6 hearing, "is crafted primarily to the benefit of the Gulf states that endured the primary damage." He added, "We want to be fair and equitable to all parties, including U.S. taxpayers."But the bill's chief sponsor, Steve Scalise (R-La.), countered, "It is critical to note that it is
Business groups contend that a resolution approved by the National Labor Relations Board on Nov. 30 would prove problematic for employers. Unions counter that the proposal, drafted by the labor panel's chairman, Mark Gaston Pearce, would streamline the election process and create a more level playing field for employees.The NLRB voted 2-1 to move forward with a proposal to amend certain representation election procedures to reduce unnecessary litigation in disputed cases. The Democrats on the panel, Pearce and Craig Becker, voted in favor of the proposal, while Brian Hayes, the lone Republican, voted no. The panel will now draft a
