The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency announced on Sept. 30 that it would use the Clean Air Act to potentially regulate greenhouse gasses. Industry sources say the proposal, which applies to stationary sources that emit more than 25,000 tons of greenhouse gasses annually, could result in litigation and construction delays if it were to go into effect. The same day, Sens. Barbara Boxer (D-Calif.) and John Kerry (D-Mass.) introduced legislation to address global warming in the Senate. The House of Representatives passed a global warming bill last spring, but the Senate has failed to move forward on a comparable bill until
Many municipal wastewater systems built in the 1970s and 1980s are nearing the end of their useful lives, forcing municipalities and utilities around the country to look at ways of breathing new life into their treatment plants. The stimulus funding in the $787-billion American Recovery and Reinvestment Act, Slide Show Photo: D.C.WASA WASA designed a $935-million upgrade to the Blue Plains treatment plant. Related Links: D.C. System Will Handle Nitrogen and CSO Problems New Program Targets Farmers coupled with an expected increase in funding for the clean-water and drinking-water state revolving funds (SRFs), could offer some benefit to municipalities that
Construction industry officials keeping close watch on the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act’s progress now have new data to study. A White House Council of Economic Advisors report, released on Sept. 10, finds the stimulus law so far has produced or saved about one million jobs, including 133,000 in construction. The figures are estimates, not an actual count of jobs reported by state agencies or companies that have received ARRA aid. Robert A. Murray, McGraw-Hill Construction’s vice president for economic affairs, says CEA’s report, its first quarterly ARRA review, “does indicate the stimulus will increase the ‘pro-cyclical’ benefits to come
Federal agencies have released seven draft reports aimed at creating a framework for the cleanup of Chesapeake Bay. Among the recommendations are new, more stringent regulations for controlling stormwater runoff and stricter enforcement of existing regulations. Despite efforts over the past 25 years to clean up the Chesapeake, the bay remains severely polluted with nitrogen and phosphorous from urban and agricultural runoff. The landmark Chesapeake Bay agreement—a voluntary pledge signed in 2000 by the governors of Maryland, Pennsylvania and Virginia as well as by the administrator of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and the mayor of Washington, D.C.—was the first
The economy’s dizzying downward spiral has left few unaffected, and contractors that work in the environmental sector are no exception. But firms report the lukewarm environmental market may be starting to heat up, due in part to an infusion of federal funds from the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA) and expected increases in federal funding for water, wastewater and Superfund cleanup projects. Photo: MWH Water and wastewater projects are getting more money. Related Links: General Building: Shaky Economy Leaves Firms Unsettled About What Lies Ahead Manufacturing/Industrial Process: Squeeze Is On As Firms Fight For What Little Work Is Available
A federal court has upheld the legality of President Barack Obama’s executive order requiring certain federal contractors and subcontractors to use the Dept. of Homeland Security’s E-Verify system to ensure their workers are legally authorized to work in the U.S. The rule implementing the order goes into effect on Sept. 8 and applies to employers holding federal prime contracts of $100,000 or more or subcontracts worth $3,000 or more. Several business groups, including the Associated Builders and Contractors and the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, had challenged the requirement, claiming broader use of the E-Verify program would expose contractors to potential
State transportation officials are hoping Congress will cancel an $8.7-billion rescission of unobligated highway funds that is due to occur on Sept. 30. The Federal Highway Administration notified states on Aug. 25 how large a cut each would incur. California would lose the largest sum, $794 million. In the 2005 Safe, Accountable, Flexible, Efficient Transportation Equity Act: a Legacy for Users, Congress mandated the rescission to take effect on the measure’s last day, Sept. 30, as a way of trimming the legislation’s overall price tag. Key Senate lawmakers already have indicated they support undoing the highway-fund reduction. But when Congress
White House officials gathered a group of industry, community and union leaders on Aug. 24 to drum up support for a climate-change bill. At that meeting, the White House officials said they hope to work to create incentives to encourage building owners to retrofit facilities to reduce energy costs, says one attendee, Charlie Bacon, CEO of Limbach Facility Services, a Pittsburgh-based mechanical contractor. Although providing little detail, Van Jones, a special advisor on green jobs for the White House’s Council on Environmental Quality, said the administration would support more incentives to create jobs and reduce dependence on imported oil. Bacon
The Dept. of Homeland Security says it may rescind its controversial “no match” regulation, which is aimed at cracking down on companies that knowingly hire illegal immigrants. In an Aug. 19 proposal in the Federal Register, DHS says it is seeking comments through Sept. 18 on its plan to revoke the rule, which the Bush administration issued in 2007. The regulation would have penalized employers who are notified that employee documentation does not match Social Security Administration records. DHS says it instead plans to focus its enforcement efforts through such programs as E-Verify. The 2007 no-match rule never went into
Federal agencies are giving the public 30 more days to comment on a proposed rule dealing with project labor agreements in construction contracts. In an Aug. 24 Federal Register notice, the Defense Dept. and two other agencies said they are reopening the comment period through Sept. 23. The proposed rule would implement President Obama’s Feb. 6 executive order encouraging agencies to consider requiring PLAs on projects over $25 million.