The U.S. Dept. of Transportation on July 14 held the last of six town-hall meetings to gather opinions about what the long-delayed successor to the Safe, Accountable, Flexible, Efficient Transportation Equity Act: a Legacy for Users, or SAFETEA-LU, should look like. For months, industry officials have been waiting for DOT to release its “principles” for a new multiyear bill. DOT officials heard views from a range of groups but didn’t announce the principles. One participant, American Highway Users Alliance CEO Greg Cohen, told ENR, “Hopefully [the meeting] will lead to no further delays on an administration principles document.” Since SAFETEA-LU
A construction coalition, including the Associated Builders and Contractors and Painting and Decorating Contractors of America, said on July 6 the EPA has limited authority to expand its rule covering renovation and other work involving lead paint. EPA said on May 6 it would decide by the end of 2011 whether to propose a rule to widen its lead-paint requirements to apply to public and commercial buildings.
In the latest intense competition for Dept. of Transportation funds, the agency awarded $293 million for 53 streetcar and bus projects around the country. Some of the aid will go for construction. DOT Secretary Ray LaHood, announcing the winners on July 8, said the grants are part of the Obama Administration’s community “livability” initiative, which links transportation planning and funding with housing and economic development. Awards included $130 million in Urban Circulator funds and $163 million in Bus and Bus Livability aid. The federal grants will be supplemented by local funds. Streetcar projects in St. Louis, Charlotte, N.C., Cincinnati, Fort
Critics contend that the new emissions targets in a proposed Environmental Protection Agency rule for sulfur dioxides and nitrogen oxides carried downwind from powerplants in 31 eastern states and the District of Columbia could be difficult to achieve, but environmental advocates say the new proposal will result in cleaner air. EPA says the proposed rule, which EPA Administrator Lisa Jackson signed on July 6, would cut SO2 emissions by 2014 by 70% from 2005 levels and trim NOx emissions by 52%. Gina McCarthy, EPA’s assistant administrator for air and radiation, says the proposal is a “large and important step in
Two Senate committees have cleared bills crafted to address aspects of the Gulf oil spill. But whether those measures will become vehicles for wider-ranging energy policy, or climate-change provisions, remains an open question. Some political observers are skeptical that the Senate will be able to approve any sort of wide-ranging bill in a congressional session that will be cut short by the mid-term elections. The Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee approved a bill on June 30 that would toughen safety requirements for offshore drilling operations, provide adequate funding for more comprehensive inspections of offshore rigs and mandate reforms at
A Senate report sees troubling indications that Haiti’s post-earthquake reconstruction has “stalled.” The June 22 Senate Foreign Relations Committee Democratic staff report says items to be addressed include developing “a feasible, comprehensive rebuilding strategy” and getting the Interim Haiti Recovery Commission fully operational. The Jan. 12 quake caused about 230,000 deaths and an estimated $11.5 billion in damages.
In a decision with implications for software vendors and construction firms, the U.S. Supreme Court on July 28 ruled business methods, such as formulas or strategies for improving efficiency, are patentable. The case, Bilski v. Kappos, appealed a lower-court ruling upholding the U.S. Patent Office’s denial of a patent for a formula for minimizing risk in buying and selling energy. The appeals court cited logic that limited patent protection to inventions involving new machinery or physical transformations of items. In the court’s 5-4 opinion, the justices upheld the rejection of the patent application, saying the formula was too abstract to
Single-employer and multi-employer pension plans that suffered losses when financial markets plunged in 2008 and 2009 have gained some relief under legislation enacted on June 25. The measure allows multi-employer plans, which affect unionized workers and companies in construction, to spread 2008-2009 investment losses over 30 years, instead of 15 years. The pension provisions moved to enactment when lawmakers shifted them from a stalled package of tax-break extensions to a bill that temporarily halts a cut in Medicare payments to physicians. It was the Medicare-pensions bill that President Obama signed. Meanwhile, the tax “extenders” bill was blocked in the Senate
Three Republican U.S. senators have introduced legislation that would temporarily allow foreign vessels to assist with the oil cleanup effort in the Gulf of Mexico. Related Links: Investigations Expand List Of BP’s Drill-Program Failures The senators are Kay Bailey Hutchison (R-Texas), George LeMieux (R-Fla.) and John Cornyn (R-Texas). The June 18th move comes in response to questions raised in Congress about whether the Jones Act, a maritime law dating back to the 1920s that permits only American ships and vessels to transport goods to and from U.S. ports, is impeding progress on the oil spill cleanup. Some lawmakers have called
The U.S. Supreme Court has ruled the National Labor Relations Board lacked authority to issue decisions when it had just two members. In a 5-4 opinion handed down on June 17, the court likely invalidated nearly 600 NLRB judgments from January 2008 to March 2010. It said a minimum quorum of three members is necessary. Unions criticized the court’s ruling, saying it will delay action on important labor disputes. But Denise Gold, the Associated General Contractors’ associate general counsel, says the decision should have a minimal impact. The Senate on June 22 confirmed two NLRB nominees: Republican Brian Hayes and
