A new guide from the Center for Neighborhood Technology, a Chicago-based think tank, seeks to shed some light on what has been a murky area: defining the value of using green infrastructure to manage stormwater and sewer systems versus traditional gray tunnels and reservoirs. “The Value of Green Infrastructure” guide, the culmination of a research effort that was funded in part by the Environmental Protection Agency and the non-profit clean-water advocacy group American Rivers, is designed to fill an information gap that some sources say has hampered the widespread adoption of green infrastructure practices in cities across the United States.
The U.S. Senate on March 2 approved a temporary continuing resolution to fund the federal government through March 18. The two-week spending bill, which was approved by the House March 1, cleared the Senate by a 91 to 9 vote. The president is expected to sign the bill, which includes $4 billion in cuts. Construction programs facing reductions include: $650 million from highways, $293 million from other surface transportation projects and $341 million from Corps of Engineers Civil Works. The House passed a nine-month extension on Feb. 19 that includes $61 billion in cuts. Senate Democrats say the cuts would
With the House’s passage of a $1.2-trillion continuing resolution funding the federal government through Sept. 30, industry groups are nervous that environmental and infrastructure programs could be scaled back sharply. The House bill, approved on Feb. 19, cuts appropriations by $61 billion compared with 2010 enacted levels. But the cuts aren’t set in stone. The continuing resolution (CR) now moves to the Senate, where Democratic leaders have slammed the House plan. Industry officials note, however, that Senate Democrats may be forced to make some concessions to avert a government shutdown. The current CR expires on March 4. Senate Majority Leader
Airport construction would get a boost under the two-year Federal Aviation Administration reauthorization bill the Senate approved on Feb. 17. The legislation, introduced by commerce committee Chairman Jay Rockefeller (D-W.Va.), would hike funding for Airport Improvement Program (AIP) construction grants, to $4 billion in the bill’s first year and $4.1 billion in the bill’s second year from the current $3.5 billion. But industry officials worry the Senate numbers will not hold. A four-year bill making its way through the House of Representatives would trim AIP to $3.1 billion in fiscal 2011 and to $3 billion in 2012 and 2013. The
The House Ways and Means Committee on Feb. 17 approved a bill to repeal the 2010 health-care law’s requirement that companies file a 1099 tax form for each vendor that provides more than $600 in goods or services. Some industry groups opposed the provision, contending it is too burdensome for small companies. House Majority Leader Eric Cantor (R-Va.) said GOP leaders hope to bring the bill to the floor in the spring. The Senate passed a similar measure on Feb. 2.
The long-awaited report from the chief investigator for the National Commission on the BP Deepwater Horizon Oil Spill and Offshore, released Feb. 17, provides damning evidence that preventable engineering and management mistakes—rather than mechanical failings—were the primary cause of the Deepwater Horizon rig explosion last spring. Related Links: Full report The National Commission released its final report to the president on January 11. In that report, the panel concluded that human error, rather than mechanical failings, was the root cause of the explosion. The new report from chief investigator Fred Bartlit’s team, which looked in detail at the well blowout
Highways, transit and passenger rail are the big winners among construction programs in President Obama’s $3.7-trillion fiscal 2012 budget request, which calls for sharp increases in those sectors next year, kicking off a proposed $556-billion, six-year surface transportation bill. But many other major construction accounts would suffer cuts under Obama’s plan to help meet his goal of freezing overall non-security-related discretionary funding. Among programs that would be trimmed are Environmental Protection Agency water infrastructure, Army Corps of Engineers civil-works construction and General Services Administration new buildings construction. The Associated General Contractors calculates that the Obama budget seeks a total of
The departments of Energy and the Interior plan to put areas in the Atlantic on a fast track for wind-power projects, spending $50 million over five years in offshore infrastructure and supply chains. DOE wants to develop 10 GW of offshore wind power by 2020. But because of high development costs and lengthy permitting, no offshore U.S. wind farms are yet under construction. Under a plan announced on Feb. 7, DOE and DOI aim to trim those costs by funding research and development in areas such as ports, marine systems engineering and turbine design. Interior also says it will speed
The Environmental Protection Agency’s recent announcement that it will move to develop a new drinking-water standard for perchlorate may well lead to more work for engineering and construction firms. In 2008, the Bush Administration concluded that perchlorate did not pose enough of a risk to compel a new water standard. But EPA Administrator Lisa Jackson told the Senate Environment and Public Works Committee on Feb. 2 that new data indicates a new perchlorate standard is warranted. Jackson also said EPA would take steps toward regulating hexavalent chromium, a carcinogen. The American Water Works Association will argue for higher, rather than
When Indianapolis Mayor Greg Ballard came into office in 2008, he inherited a wastewater treatment and sewer system that was averaging 7.8 billion gallons of overflow each year, according to federal officials. At the time, it was not unusual for as little as one-quarter to a half inch of rainfall to fill the combined sewers to capacity and flood raw sewage into local rivers and streams. Ballard also inherited a two-year-old consent decree with the U.S. Dept. of Justice to bring the city in compliance with the Clean Water Act as well as a project to expand its wastewater treatment
