Related Links: Supreme Court docket file for Arkansas Game & Fish Commission v. U.S. Supreme Court docket file for L.A. County Flood Control District v. NRDC As the U.S. Supreme Court begins its new term, construction officials will be watching the cases that deal with water issues. Two cases on the court's docket focus on aspects of the Clean Water Act, and a third centers on whether timberland damaged by water releases from an Army Corps of Engineers dam are a federal "taking" of property.First up is the takings case, Arkansas Game & Fish Commission v. U.S., on which the

Related Links: WEFTEC Offical Website WEFTEC Opening Day Schedule The Water Environment Federation has put innovation and reaching out to the global community at the center of its new strategic direction, says Cordell Samuels, the association's incoming president.  SAMUELSSamuels says that, over the past two years, the association's leaders have taken a hard look at the group's strategic plan and decided "to strengthen some of the things we have always done and to craft new initiatives going forward."Association officials planned to outline the new strategic direction for WEF at the group's annual WEFTEC convention, set for Sept. 30-Oct. 3 in

Related Links: Amid PPP Slowdown, India Turns to Cash Contracts Green Building Booms in India The American Institute of Architects and the Commerce Dept. are gearing up for a trade mission, which will begin on Oct. 14, to major cities in India. The aim is to promote the services of U.S. design and architecture firms in India and Sri Lanka.The trip, which comprises Chennai, Calcutta and Bangalore, is the first of three such missions planned over the next three years. All of the trips will be financed by a recently announced Commerce Dept. grant to AIA as well as the

Related Links: Congressional Budget Office funding estimate of continuing resolution The Senate has approved a temporary spending bill that would avert a shutdown of federal agencies on Oct. 1 and keep construction and other programs running through the first six months of fiscal year 2013. It would boost funding slightly over 2012 levels.Senate passage, which came about 1 a.m. Sept. 22 on a 62-30 vote, is the final congressional action on the continuing resolution (CR). It next will go to the White House for President Obama's expected signature.The CR provides a small 0.6% across-the-board hike over 2012 levels for domestic

Related Links: OMB Sequestration Report CBO MAP-21 Analysis, Including Highway Trust Fund Status Unless Congress acts, federal construction programs face cuts totaling hundreds of millions of dollars on Jan. 2. The 2011 Budget Control Act mandates $1.2 trillion in "sequestration" cuts over 10 years because the House and Senate failed to pass a deficit-reduction plan last year.The 2013 sequestration share is $109 billion, which would be split between defense and non-defense sectors. An Office of Management and Budget report, released on Sept. 14, estimates individual defense accounts would be sliced 9.4% and non-defense programs would face 8.2% cuts.Construction programs would

Related Links: Congressional Budget Office Detailed Estimate of Continuing Resolution Text of Continuing Resolution Congress at press time was nearing approval of a temporary spending bill that would avert a shutdown of federal agencies on Oct. 1 and keep construction and other programs running through the first six months of fiscal year 2013. It would boost funding slightly over 2012 levels.Some key Senate Democrats blasted the highway-and-transit funding portion of the new continuing resolution (CR), saying it falls short of the amounts in the Moving Ahead for Progress in the 21st Century Act (MAP-21), signed into law on July 6.

Related Links: Construction Users Roundtable EPA's Stormwater Pollution Prevention for Construction Activities Owners, contractors and other industry participants joined in Washington, D.C., to preview and debate market prospects and how risk-taking and value creation are key connections for the the industry's future.Michael Shapiro, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency deputy assistant administrator of water, emphasized to the Sept. 11-12 conference, sponsored by ENR and owners group Construction Users Roundtable, the agency focus on sustainability. Infusing traditional infrastructure techniques with green steps can help build "21st-century urban stormwater management systems … to achieve the most sustainable use of water," he said.Rayola Dougher, senior

Related Links: Summary of House-passed stopgap bill Senate Democrats' letter on CR's highway, transit funding cut vs. MAP-21 The House has approved a temporary spending measure that would avert a shutdown of federal agencies on Oct. 1 and keep federal construction and other programs operating through the first six months of fiscal year 2013.House passage of the continuing resolution (CR) came on Sept. 13, on a 223-196 vote. The next step is action by the Senate, which is scheduled to hold a procedural vote on the measure on Sept. 19.The CR, which would extend to March 27, 2013, provides a

Related Links: Civilian BRAC Bill to Dispose of Excess Federal Assets Faces Challenges in Senate GSA Blasted at House Hearings Tough challenges await Dorothy Robyn when she takes over as the General Services Administration's Public Buildings Service commissioner in a few weeks.The Dept. of Defense deputy undersecretary for installations and environment moves to PBS at a time when the White House and Capitol Hill critics want to trim the agency's vast real estate portfolio. Robyn also inherits a sharply reduced construction budget. Further, she joins GSA after a regional PBS office was tarnished by scandal in the spring for sponsoring

Related Links: New NRC Chief Outlines Key Priorities Court Rules to Freeze New Construction Licenses on Nucelar Reactors The Nuclear Regulatory Commission has directed its staff to revise within 24 months a key nuclear-waste rule and develop a general environmental impact statement in response to a recent federal court ruling.The regulation deals with "waste confidence," a generic finding that spent nuclear fuel can be stored for decades beyond a reactor's licensed operating life without significant environmental harm. NRC says the rule enables it to license or renew the license of a reactor without examining the effects of extended waste storage