The Keystone XL pipeline is one step closer to reality, following the State Dept.'s release of a draft supplemental environmental impact statement on the project.

Related Links: OMB Sequestration Report, With Program-by-Program Spending Reductions House-Passed Bill Has Billions for Post-Sandy Rebuilding (ENR 1/28/13) The budget "sequester" knife has fallen on federal spending, and many construction programs did not escape. Mandatory cuts of 7.8% to defense accounts and of 5% to non-defense categories add up to a hit of more than $4 billion this year, ENR estimates.Programs suffering the largest cutbacks include the Dept. of Energy's environmental cleanup programs at former nuclear-weapons plants, Environmental Protection Agency water infrastructure and military construction.In all, the sequestration directive that President Obama signed late on March 1 requires $85.3 billion

Photo Courtesy of AASHTO Senate panel chair Boxer (above) and House committee Chair Shuster and already have met to discuss bill to succeed MAP-21 in 2014. Photo Courtesy of AASHTO Related Links: AASHTO Videos of Shuster, Boxer Feb. 28 Speeches MAP-21 Transportation Measure Goes on the Books (ENR 7/16/12) State transportation departments are busy carrying out 2012's Moving Ahead for Progress in the 21st Century Act and gearing up for the next highway-transit bill. They hope it will become law before MAP-21 expires on Sept. 30, 2014, but funding the program will be a problem.At the American Association of State

Related Links: EPA Bio on Gina McCarthy MIT Bio on Ernest Moniz President Obama has tapped Gina McCarthy, current assistant administrator at the Environmental Protection Agency's Office of Air and Radiation, to serve as the agency's administrator. Obama also picked Ernest Moniz, former undersecretary of energy during the Clinton administration and currently a physicist at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, to lead the Dept. of Energy.While both are expected to be confirmed, some environmental groups have expressed reservations about Moniz's support for natural-gas development and nuclear power. McCarthy could face some tough questioning from lawmakers about upcoming EPA regulations, including

Following weeks of speculation, President Obama has nominated a top current Environmental Protection Agency official and a former Clintoon administration Energy Dept. official to fill the top posts at EPA and DOE.Gina McCarthy, currently assistant administrator at EPA’s Office of Air and Radiation, has been tapped to serve as administrator of EPA; Ernest Moniz, former under secretary of energy during the Clinton administration, and currently a physicist at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) to lead the DOE, Obama announced at a March 4 White House briefing.Both are expected to be confirmed, industry sources say, although some environmental groups express

Related Links: OMB sequester report, including program-by-program cuts Federal construction programs have taken a hit totaling several billion dollars under mandatory spending cuts that took effect March 1. Among the construction accounts absorbing the biggest reductions in the budget “sequester” are Dept. of Energy environmental cleanup at former nuclear weapons plants, Environmental Protection Agency water infrastructure and military construction.Cuts to major construction programs will amount to more than $4 billion, according to an initial ENR review of a March 1 Office of Management and Budget report to Congress on the sequester.That amount is in line with an early February Associated

Related Links: Sen. Vitter Press Release on James Martin Resignation A political flap over Environmental Protection Agency officials' use of "alias" emails has generated more fallout.Last fall, GOP lawmakers blasted then-EPA Administrator Lisa Jackson for using a secondary email account. They claimed the account, under the name "Richard Windsor," was a ploy to circumvent agency transparency rules.On Feb. 15, James Martin, the head of EPA's Denver-based Region 8, said he would resign. An EPA spokeswoman says Martin resigned for "personal reasons" and did not comment further. But some Republicans speculate that the email probe was a factor in Martin's decision.

Related Links: Link to National Coordinating Committee for Multiemployer Plans commission's report Link to two PBGC reports on multiemployer pension plans A commission comprising industry and union officials, including a large construction contingent, has called for short- and long-term actions, ranging from minor tweaks to major changes, to bolster the ailing multi-employer pension system.The National Coordinating Committee for Multiemployer Plans panel's Feb. 19 report may help shape bills on multi-employer pension rules. Marco Giamberardino, National Electrical Contractors Association executive director for government affairs, says, "The goal is to see legislation pass before the end of this year."The report says there

Photo by Martin Gonzalez After demolition of the dilapidated Chicago-area hotel, a federal judge halted plans for a high-end, eco-friendly conference center after allegations the developer had bilked investors. A federal judge has halted plans to construct the "world's first zero-carbon-emission platinum LEED-certified" hotel and conference center in Chicago after a federal suit accused its developer of fraudulently selling more than $145 million in securities and $11 million in fees to foreign investors.In a suit filed in February, the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission alleges Anshoo Sethi, the Intercontinental Trust Center of Chicago and the Chicago Convention Center "perpetuated a

Two former employees of Trojan Labor of Nashville LLC charge in a federal lawsuit that the company violated wage and hour laws and docked their wages for safety equipment it should have provided.John T. Taylor and Michael J. Dooley are seeking class action status for themselves and all similar employees of the temporary staffing firm over the past three years.Workers had to report at Trojan Labor offices as early as 4 a.m. to sign in and get a “work ticket,” but had to wait there before going in a mandatory carpool to the jobsite, according to the suit filed Feb.