O&G Industries, the Torrington, Conn.-based general contractor on a Connecticut powerplant project where a fatal blast occurred in February during a natural gas venting operation, says it plans to contest penalties levied against it Aug. 5 by the U.S. Labor Dept.’s Occupational Safety and Health Administration. Photo: AP Wideworld Plant construction The firm was among three construction companies and 14 subcontractors that OSHA cited for numerous alleged workplace safety violations related to the Feb. 7 blast at the 620-MW Kleen Energy LLC plant in Middletown that killed six workers and injured 50 others. OSHA has proposed $16.6 million in penalties
O&G Industries, the Torrington, Conn.-based general contractor on a Connecticut powerplant project where a fatal blast occurred in February during a natural gas venting operation, says it plans to contest penalties levied against it Aug. 5 by the U.S. Labor Dept.’s Occupational Safety and Health Administration. Photo: AP Wideworld Plant construction The firm was among three construction companies and 14 subcontractors that OSHA cited for numerous alleged workplace safety violations related to the Feb. 7 blast at the 620-MW Kleen Energy LLC plant in Middletown that killed six workers and injured 50 others. OSHA has proposed $16.6 million in penalties
A Senate jobs bill, which includes provisions designed to help small businesses, suffered a setback on July 29 when Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) was unable to assemble enough votes to block a filibuster. Senate Republicans opposed the measure, saying they wanted more time to offer amendments. It is unclear whether Reid will be able to bring the small-business bill back to the Senate floor before the August recess. Construction and other business groups support the measure, which would make it easier for small businesses to obtain credit by creating a $30-billion fund to support lending by community banks. It
Airport construction grants and other Federal Aviation Administration programs can continue for two more months, thanks to yet another stopgap authorization measure. President Obama signed the bill into law on Aug. 1. It is the 15th FAA extension since September 2007, when the last multiyear aviation bill expired. The new stopgap runs through Sept. 30. The Senate and House have approved different long-term FAA bills. Lawmakers and staff have been negotiating to reconcile the two measures, but were unable to reach agreement by the end of July, when the previous stopgap lapsed.
Legislation to tighten safety requirements for offshore oil and gas drilling has advanced in the House but faces an uncertain future in the Senate. The House on July 30 passed the Consolidated Land, Energy and Aquatic Resource Act, which would set tough safety standards for offshore drilling and require oil companies to cover 100% of cleanup costs and damages from spills they create. The “CLEAR” Act, approved 209 to 193, also would revamp the Interior Dept.’s former Minerals Management Service by removing conflicts-of-interest among its leasing, inspection and revenue-collection duties. Interior recently reorganized MMS and renamed it the Bureau of
Construction industry sources say the latest legal skirmish over Arizona’s controversial immigration law underscores the need for comprehensive immigration reform at the national level. The law, signed April 23, allows police to detain an individual under “reasonable suspicion” of being an illegal alien. The case could ultimately go to the U.S. Supreme Court, say political observers. Photo courtesy of the office of Jan Brewer Arizona Gov. Jan Brewer (R) has suggested bringing in the state legislature for a special session to modify its controversial immigration law. “This is a federal issue and it needs to be addressed,” says Kelly Knott,
Arizona Gov. Jan Brewer (R) says the state will appeal a July 28 preliminary injunction by a U.S. district judge that prevents portions of the state�s controversial immigration law from going into effect. �I will battle all the way to the Supreme Court, if necessary, for the right to protect the citizens of Arizona,� Brewer said. Brewer said the state would file an expedited appeal with the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit. The law, which allows police to detain individuals under �reasonable suspicion� of being an illegal alien, was signed April 23 was supposed to have gone
The state of Arizona asked a federal appeals court on July 29 to overturn a preliminary injunction by a U.S. district judge that prevents portions of the state’s controversial immigration law from going into effect. Arizona Gov. Jan Brewer (R) said, “I will battle all the way to the Supreme Court, if necessary, for the right to protect the citizens of Arizona,.” The state filed an expedited appeal with the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit. U.S. District Judge Susan Bolton put a temporary hold on portions of the law on July 28, one day before it was
As the Superfund program approaches its 30th anniversary, it is at a crossroads. To finish cleaning up nearly 1,300 designated hazardous waste sites—some dangerous to human health—sources say the program needs funding. But with a difficult economy and little congressional support for reinstating a dedicated trust fund, those resources could be hard to come by. The result is a slowing of the already lethargic pace of site completions. + Image Photo: courtesy of North Wind Inc. The trust fund legislation sunset in 1995 and ran out of money in 2000. Source: GAO Meanwhile, some industry firms have developed solutions of
The White House’s latest quarterly American Recovery and Reinvestment Act update, released on July 14, estimates the legislation created or preserved between 2.5 million and 3.6 million jobs as of June 30. Those figures are up from an estimated 2.2 million to 2.8 million ARRA jobs as of March 31. The report says stimulus-act transportation infrastructure jobs rose 17% in the quarter, to 102,000. Building construction jobs climbed 32%, to 80,200. Still, the construction industry’s June jobless rate was 20.1%, remaining the worst among industry sectors. The report also says ARRA outlays for infrastructure and other “public investment” totaled $86.3
