Construction industry sources say they are hopeful that the U.S. Supreme Court overturns President Obama’s Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act, which they contend is problematic for employers.
Opportunities in the wastewater sector continue to grow, particularly in developing countries. Although large wastewater systems are being built around the globe, the market is changing, with new approaches to looking at wastewater and different mechanisms emerging for financing projects. According to Lux Research, a Boston-based research firm, the global wastewater market should reach $27.5 billion in 2012, with work divided roughly evenly between developed and developing countries. Glen Daigger, senior vice president and chief technology officer at Englewood, Colo.-based CH2M Hill, says that in 2010 the United Nations declared sanitation is a basic human right. Moreover, according to the
Photo Courtesy of Chesapeake Bay Foundation Algae blooms, like this one in the Chesapeake Bay, are typically caused by high levels of nitrogen and phosphorus. Environmental groups say a pair of lawsuits they have filed against the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency are necessary to reduce the size of large algae blooms, or "dead zones," that stretch for miles in the Gulf of Mexico, Chesapeake Bay and other waterways across the nation.But the National Association of Clean Water Agencies (NACWA) says court rulings in the environmental groups' favor could have "astronomical" financial impacts on wastewater treatment agencies, which would face facilities
Related Links: Link to Supreme Court website with Sackett v. EPA ruling The U.S. Supreme Court, in a unanimous March 21 ruling, said that an Idaho couple could legally challenge an Environmental Protection Agency compliance order that told them to restore wetlands on property they had purchased to build a new home.Construction industry groups say the case is not only a win for landowners, but also for developers and construction firms. “It’s a victory for all people who develop land, not just the small mom and pops” says Tom Ward, vice president of legal advocacy for the National Association of
Related Links: Text of one of the NRDC lawsuits Environmental groups have filed a pair of lawsuits in federal district courts to force the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency to take tougher action to curb pollutants in the nation’s waterways. The Natural Resources Defense Council and other environmental organizations say their lawsuits, filed March 13, are necessary to reduce the size of large algae blooms, or “dead zones,” that stretch for miles in the Gulf of Mexico, Chesapeake Bay and other waterways across the nation.But the National Association of Clean Water Agencies (NACWA) says a court ruling in the environmental groups'
One year after the devastating March 11 tsunami and earthquake caused a nuclear crisis at the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power station in Japan, regulators in the U.S. are working to ensure the country's fleet of nuclear reactors are safe and strong enough to withstand a natural or man-made disaster of similar force.
Courtesy of Louisiana Coastal Protection and Restoration Authority ONGOING Cleanup continues on Gulf Coast, including work at Elmers Island, La. (above). Energy giant BP's $7.8-billion settlement with individuals and businesses harmed by the Deepwater Horizon oil spill resolves most lawsuits against the company by private citizens but still leaves open the federal government's and the five Gulf states' law-enforcement and natural-resource damage claims. The U.S. District Court in New Orleans will consider the federal and state claims in the near future. The outcome could bring more dollars for further Gulf Coast cleanup and restoration.On March 2, just before its trial
The push for a multiyear surface- transportation bill has suffered a setback on a Senate procedural vote on March 6. Backers of a two-year, $109-billion measure fell eight votes short of the 60 needed for cloture to cut off debate and move ahead on the bill.House Republicans at press time were determining how—or whether—to revise a five-year, $260-billion bill that had cleared committee. On March 1, Speaker John Boehner (R-Ohio) said there is GOP opposition to an 18-month bill. "Apparently, our members don't think too highly of it. I would only look at it as a fallback measure," he said.
Related Links: July 2011 report from NRC Near-Term Task Force on Japan The Nuclear Regulatory Commission is directing virtually every commercial U.S. nuclear powerplant to meet new safety requirements, which the commission says it is putting in place as a result of lessons learned from Japan's March 2011 Fukushima disaster.The NRC, in a March 9 announcement, said it has instructed its staff to issue three orders to operators of U.S. commercial nuclear reactors. The directives apply to all reactors currently operating or under construction, as well as to those planned and recently licensed at the Southern Nuclear Operating Co.'s Vogtle
