Related Links: DOE Conditionally Approves $7.7B Oregon LNG Export Facility Platt's: Expedited Federal Export Approvals Don't Mean US LNG into Europe Soon, Panels Say Sterne Agee Highlights Recent Government and Private Sector Moves of U.S. LNG Exports Action on North American liquified-natural-gas export-terminal projects accelerated late last month as regulators advanced projects on the Pacific coast and U.S. politicians debated faster approvals as a "geopolitical tool" to counter Russia's moves in the Ukraine.On March 24, the estimated $7.7-billion Jordan Cove Energy terminal in Coos Bay, Ore., became the first LNG project on the West Coast—and the first greenfield project in
Related Links: Link to Jordan Cove LNG Project Link to DOE's conditional authorization of Jordan Cove CB&I and Japan's Chiyoda Win $6 Billion EPC Award for Louisiana LNG The Dept. of Energy has given conditional approval to export liquefied natural gas from Jordan Cove LNG terminal in Coos Bay, Ore.DOE's decision, announced on March 24, drew praise from construction unions but criticism from environmental organizations.The $7.7-billion Oregon project is the seventh LNG export facility in the U.S. to receive conditional approval since 2011. But it is the first U.S. greenfield project and the first on America's west coast, according to
Photo Courtesy of Washington DOT The Skagit River bridge replacement project in Washington state in 2013 was one of the first projects to benefit from MAP-21. Related Links: Perfectly Aligned Political Will Pushed New NY Bridge Process New California Streamlining Law Gets Mixed Reviews Streamlining Smooths Progress on $2.8B Maryland Highway Project Western Transmission Project Slow to Advance Federal Infrastructure Projects Permitting Dashboard Viewpoint by John D. Porcari: Project Environmental Reviews, Undo the Do-Over Loop As House-Senate negotiations on a new water-resources authorization bill head into the home stretch, construction industry officials are calling for the final bill to include
Chart by ENR/McGraw Hill Construction President Obama's budget request would boost funding for highway and transit programs and GSA's federal buildings accounts. It would slice funds for Environmental Protection Agency water infrastructure, Dept. of Defense construction, Army Corps of Engineers civil works and Dept. of Energy defense environmental cleanup. Related Links: Obama Rolls Out $302B Transportation Bill Proposal DOT FY2015 Budget Details New Finance Panel Chair Wyden Will Be Key Player on New Transportation Bill President Obama's fiscal year 2015 budget request would give big boosts to federal highway and transit programs as well as to General Services Administration federal
Related Links: Transcript of Feb. 24 oral arguments Briefs in Case The U.S. Supreme Court heard oral arguments Feb. 24 in a significant environmental case in which the justices appeared to be split on whether the Environmental Protection Agency had the authority to develop greenhouse gas regulations for powerplants, refineries, and other “stationary sources.”The justices did not appear willing to revisit the court's 2007 Massachusetts v. EPA decision, which said that EPA could regulate greenhouse gases if the agency found that they endangered public health.Instead, the case before the court on Feb. 24 centers on a narrower question of whether
Related Links: Information on GBI's Guiding Principles for New Construction President's 2009 Executive Order The Portland, Ore.-based Green Building Initiative (GBI) has launched a new guide to help federal agencies building new construction projects to comply more easily with a 2009 executive order related to sustainability in federal buildings."The Guiding Principles Compliance for New Construction" of federal buildings, released on Feb. 19, complements GBI's program for existing federal buildings, which has certified approximately 250 buildings since its inception. The standards are based upon GBI's Green Globes rating system.According to GBI's new president, Jerry Yudelson, the compliance guide allows agencies to
Related Links: OSHA page on crystalline silica rulemaking Link to Sept. 12, 2013, Federal Register Notice A coalition of construction industry associations has asked the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) to withdraw its proposal to tighten crystalline silica exposure limits for construction workers.But organized labor, including the AFL-CIO’s Building and Construction Trades Dept., says that the proposed rule is necessary to protect workers from developing silicosis, cancer and other silica-related illnesses.The proposed rule, published in the Sept. 12, 2013, Federal Register, would set a new permissible exposure limit standard of 50 micrograms per cubic meter (µg/m3), which is much
Related Links: Federal Register Notice Court Strikes Down New NLRB Rule (2012) The National Labor Relations Board has reissued a proposal to streamline the union-representation election process that is virtually identical to a controversial rule first proposed in June 2011.Employer-oriented construction and business groups opposed the original changes, saying the proposed revisions would not give employers enough time to prepare for union elections.In May 2012, the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia invalidated the rule, saying the board lacked a quorum when the changes were issued. The court did not make a judgement on the merits of the
Photo Courtesy of Waterkeeper Alliance A mix of coal ash and contaminated water spilled into the Dan River over several days. Related Links: Dan River Ash Spill Information Cleanup of TVA Coal Ash Spill (2011) A spill from a coal-ash pond at a retired Duke Energy coal plant near Eden, N.C., that turned the Dan River black, then gray, has been plugged, but environmental advocates worry the spill's ecological impact will be far-reaching.Wet coal ash poured into the Dan River over a period of days, beginning on Feb. 2, as a result of a broken 48-in.-dia stormwater pipe under the
Related Links: BLS Information on January Employment Situation Associated General Contractors of America news release Associated Builders and Contractors News Release The construction industry added 48,000 jobs in January, bringing its employment to its highest level since July 2009.According to the U.S. Labor Dept.’s Bureau of Labor Statistics, which released its monthly unemployment report Feb. 7, despite the particularly severe weather in much of the nation, construction employment totaled 5.92 million in January, an increase of 48,000 from the previous month. The gains in the construction in January more than offset a decline of 22,000 in December.Jobs gains occurred in
