Photo By 1st Lt. Ian McBride, U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Louisville District House and Senate bills trim Inland Waterways Trust Fund's share of future aid for $3.1-billion Olmsted Lock and Dam on Ohio River. Related Links: House Approves Water Resources Bill Focus on Water-Resources Bill Shifts to House (ENR 6/3/2013 issue) The quest for the first major water-resources bill in six years has cleared a key hurdle with House passage of an $8.2-billion measure that would authorize 23 new Corps of Engineers water projects, speed their regulatory reviews and boost funds for dredging.The House's 417-3 vote on Oct. 23

The joint-venture contracting team building the $1-billion-plus data center in Utah for the National Security Agency has been hit with a wrongful death lawsuit arising from a fatal accident near the jobsite in June 2012.Cathi Turner, 48, of West Riverton, Utah, was riding her bike with a friend on a Saturday morning along Redwood Road, which passes near the front entrance to the site, when she collided “with a large orange highway sign sitting in the bike lane and crashed her bike. She died later from injuries  sustained in the crash,” says attorney Robert Gilchrist with the Salt Lake City

Related Links: Shuster Rolls Out Water Resources Bill Focus on Water Resources Bill Shifts to the House The House on Oct. 23 overwhelmingly approved bipartisan legislation to authorize the U.S. Corps of Engineers to build, operate and maintain water resources projects.Lawmakers approved the Water Resources Reform and Development Act (WRRDA) 417-3.The bill would authorize badly needed investments in the nation’s lock and dam infrastructure, upgrade deficient levees and maintain ports, harbors and key navigation channels.The Senate passed a companion bill by an 83-14 vote in May. A conference committee will now need to iron out differences between the two bills.In

Land acquisition, a major impediment to large infrastructure projects in India, has in the past delayed private companies' development plans while they sort out litigation over land ownership and compensation.Land costs that a decade ago comprised 10% of investment have increased to around 22%. National bank data released in March revealed infrastructure projects worth $145 billion were being held up.To address issues related to land, Parliament has cleared the Right to Fair Compensation and Transparency in Land Acquisition, Rehabilitation and Resettlement Law, which now replaces the archaic 1894 law. Expected to come into effect by mid-2014, it has evoked a

Related Links: Sen. Reid's remarks on Senate Floor following establishment of bipartisan deal Shutdown's Construction Impact Widens The government is up and running again following the passage of a $987-billion continuing resolution (CR) on Oct. 16 that will fund the government through Jan. 15.On Day 16 of the shutdown, Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) and Republican leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) struck a deal that keeps the government running through Jan. 15 and raises the debt ceiling through Feb. 7. As part of the deal, they agreed to name conferees to work on the budget resolution, which has passed both

Related Links: Transcript of 10/9/2013 Oral Argument Supreme Court Hears Arguments Over Forum Selection for Disputes With oral arguments now complete in one of the most important construction cases before the U.S. Supreme Court in its new term, both sides—and many other industry officials and attorneys—must wait for the high court to issue its opinion.The case, Atlantic Marine Construction Co. v. U.S. District Court for the Western District of Texas, centers on the issue of a "forum-selection" clause in a contract between prime contractor Atlantic Marine Construction Co. (AMC), Virginia Beach, Va., and subcontractor J-Crew Management Inc., Killeen, Texas. The

Related Links: EPA regulation on cars and light trucks information page Court's Oct. 15 order granting certiorari in six consolidated greenhouse gas cases The U.S. Supreme Court will revisit federal regulation of greenhouse-gas emissions under the Clean Air Act but set strict limits on how it will do so. The high court on Oct. 15 agreed to hear six consolidated cases during its current term to decide whether the Environmental Protection Agency’s 2010 rule governing emissions from new cars and light trucks also gave the agency the authority to set new permitting requirements for powerplants, refineries and other "stationary sources"

Related Links: Text of Judge's Order to EPA Industry Position on Congressional Coal Ash Legislation A federal judge has ordered the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency to move forward with a stalled rule governing coal-ash disposal but offered few details on how the EPA should proceed.In a Sept. 30 order, Judge Reggie Walton of the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia said he would issue an opinion with more specifics by Oct. 30. EPA proposed the coal-ash regulation in 2010.Environmental groups filed suit in 2012 against EPA, seeking to have the agency designate coal ash as a hazardous material

Related Links: Text of final SEC regulation (see pp. 206-231) PDF Text of SEC's proposed version of the rule (from Jan. 6, 2011 Federal Register) In a win for engineering firms, a recently issued Securities and Exchange Commission rule largely excludes design firms from having to register with the SEC as "municipal advisors."Approved by the SEC on Sept. 18, the final rule says engineering firms won't have to register if they provide "engineering advice" to municipal agencies. The SEC says such advice can include feasibility studies that contain projected output capacity, utility rates, market demand or revenue based on a

Photo by AP Wideworld Obama wants Boehner to bring Senate-passed stopgap spending bill up for a House floor vote. Boehner continues to call on the president and Senate Democratic leaders to come to the negotiating table and discuss ways to end the partial government shutdown and raise the U.S. debt limit. Photo Courtesy of Office of House Speaker/Caleb Smith Related Links: ENR Government Shutdown Update (10/4/2013) Federal Funding Cutoff Hits Many, But Not All, Projects As the partial federal shutdown continued, President Obama traveled to a Maryland construction company on Oct. 3 and criticized House Speaker John Boehner (R-Ohio) for