The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency on Jan. 7 proposed tougher standards for ground-level ozone, saying that the stricter requirements will protect public safety and health. The new standards, if enacted, would replace the standards set by the previous administration and would be the strictest ever proposed. EPA says it is proposing to set the “primary” standard, which protects public health, at a level of between 0.060 parts per million and 0.070 ppm measured over eight hours. EPA is also proposing that a separate “secondary” standard be set within the range of 7-15 ppm to protect plants and trees. In 2008,
The Occupational Safety and Health Administration’s regulatory agenda for the first half of 2010 contains some major construction rules, including a long-awaited final regulation on cranes and derricks and a proposed rule on crystalline-silica exposure. Both regulations are expected to be issued by July. Construction industry groups and labor unions say they expect OSHA to be more active on the regulatory front under Labor Secretary Hilda Solis and new OSHA chief David Michaels, confirmed to the post on Dec. 3. But industry organizations say they find the agency’s shift toward enforcement from cooperative alliances troubling, although not unexpected in a
The construction industry is divided over the landmark health care bill approved by the Senate on Dec. 24, primarily because of a provision that would require small construction industry employers to provide health insurance to employees. Employer groups like the Associated General Contractors and the National Utility Contractors Association (NUCA) say the measure would stifle growth and make it harder for small businesses to survive, particularly during difficult economic times. Labor unions, on the other hand, say the provision, sponsored by Sen. Jeff Merkley (D-Ore.), fixes a loophole that would have exempted most of the construction industry—largely made up of
The Environmental Protection Agency has moved one step closer to regulating carbon-dioxide emissions under the Clean Air Act, issuing a formal finding that greenhouse gases pose a threat to public health and welfare. LISA JACKSON Environmental groups are cheering EPA’s Dec. 7 “endangerment” finding, but construction and other business organizations warn that regulating greenhouse-gas (GHG) emissions could choke off economic growth. Stephen Sandherr, CEO of the Associated General Contractors of America, says, “At a time when the government is investing billions in construction activity to rebuild our economy, this decision will undermine the stimulus, cost thousands of construction workers their
The anticipated costs to contractors to comply with the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s final rule addressing stormwater runoff on construction sites outweigh any benefits to water quality, say industry representatives. Critics charge the new rule, published in the Dec. 1 issue of the Federal Register and which will go into effect on Feb. 1, 2010, imposes new costs and burdens on builders while doing little to address water quality. EPA and environmental advocates say the new rule, required under a 2006 court order, will help reduce pollution from construction sites into the nation’s rivers and streams. The final rule requires
President Obama will propose a reduction in U.S. greenhouse-gas emissions “in the range of 17%” during a United Nations climate-change conference on Dec. 9, the White House announced on Nov. 25. The proposal that Obama will offer at the meeting, to be held in Copenhagen, would trim emissions in 2020 about 17% from 2005 levels. The climate-change bill that the House passed in June also calls for a 17% cut.
The House was expected to take up a bill during the week of Nov. 30 that would freeze the estate tax permanently at 2009 levels. As a floor vote drew near, industry sources said they expected easy passage of the measure, which would keep the estate-tax exemption at $3.5 million for individuals. The maximum tax rate would remain at 45%. Democratic leaders in Congress and the Obama administration say a legislative “fix” is needed to ensure the inheritance tax does not revert in 2011 to pre-Bush era levels, when an estate-tax reform bill enacted in 2001 expires. The Associated General
A new Congressional Budget Office analysis showing that the health-care bill pending on the Senate floor would not substantially boost premiums for most Americans could generate more support from moderate Democrats, who are crucial to passing the measure. But industry and union officials remain concerned about key provisions of the $848-billion measure and say passage before Christmas is more and more unlikely. The Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act, a combination of bills that cleared the Senate Finance and Health, Education, Labor and Pensions committees, would cover an additional 31 million Americans and impose new requirements on insurance companies and
The Dept. of Energy has selected 32 pilot projects to receive $620 million in American Recovery and Reinvestment Act aid to evaluate new technologies aimed at making the electricity network more efficient. The private sector is contributing more than $1 billion in matching funds for those projects. The “smart grid” awards, announced on Nov. 24, include $435.2 million for 16 regional grid projects and $184.8 million for 16 energy-storage projects. The largest grant is $88.8 million to Battelle Memorial Institute for a five-state project in the Pacific Northwest. DOE hopes the projects will lead to more extensive applications. In October,
Following a new Government Accountability Office report, lawmakers from both parties are criticizing Obama administration claims that the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act has created or saved about 640,000 jobs. GAO’s study, released on Nov. 19, highlights inaccuracies in data submitted to federal agencies by recipients of ARRA funds. ARRA requires nonfederal recipients of stimulus aid to submit information about projects funded by the stimulus law, including the number of jobs created or preserved. GAO’s report cites examples of inaccurate data from funding recipients that call into question the accuracy of the administration’s estimates. A total of 3,978 reports showed