Congressional and industry opposition is mounting to an Obama administration plan to use some Harbor Maintenance Trust Fund money for purposes other than dredging ports and harbors, its sole use now. At an April 13 hearing before the Senate appropriations energy and water development subcommittee, the Army's assistant secretary for civil works, Jo-Ellen Darcy, said the administration plans to develop a bill in the coming months that would allow the trust fund to finance port security and other non-dredging activities. Several senators, including subcommittee Chairwoman Diane Feinstein (D-Calif.), expressed displeasure with the plan. Bills to ensure all trust-fund receipts continue

The Environmental Protection Agency says new draft guidance to identify waters that are protected by the Clean Water Act clarifies current confusion stemming from Supreme Court rulings over when contractors need a U.S. Army Corps of Engineers permit to build in such areas. But some industry groups say the guidance, which the Corps and EPA issued on April 27, greatly expands the scope of the Clean Water Act's protections and could slow down projects and lead to lawsuits. Glynn Rountree, environmental policy analyst for the National Association of Home Builders, says, “A lot of what they are doing is adding

In a settlement with the U.S. Justice Dept. and other federal agencies, BP Exploration Alaska Inc. has agreed to pay a $25-million civil penalty for crude-oil spills in 2006, totaling more than 5,000 barrels, from its pipelines on Alaska's North Slope. Under the pact, announced May 3, BP also will put in place an estimated $60-million, pipeline-integrity program to include regular inspections. U.S. investigators found that two 2006 spills, totaling 5,078 barrels stemmed from BP's failure to inspect and maintain the pipeline well enough to prevent corrosion. The firm pleaded guilty in 2007 to a misdemeanor violation of the Clean

MICHAELS A sluggish rule-making process has stymied efforts to improve construction-site safety, officials from the U.S. Occupational Safety and Health Administration and union groups say. But construction industry sources note that, before going into effect, the rules need to be carefully considered and reflect the opinions of all stakeholders. OSHA administrator David Michaels, along with Peg Seminario, AFL-CIO’s director of safety and health, spoke about the agency’s accomplishments and challenges over the past 40 years at an April 21 panel discussion at the Center for American Progress in Washington, D.C. Michaels said that while the overall rates of workplace deaths,

A new Bureau of Reclamation report concludes that projected temperature increases as a result of climate change are likely to affect the timing and quantity of stream flows in all western U.S. basins. In turn, that possibility could have a significant effect on water supplies in that region, says the congressionally mandated study, released on April 25. The report assesses how climate-change risks could affect hydropower, flood control, and fish and wildlife across eight major river basins, including the Colorado, Rio Grande and Missouri. BuRec, through its WaterSMART Basin Studies program, already is working with communities across the western U.S.

An appellate court has rejected a National Roofing Contractors Association challenge to an Occupational Safety and Health Administration's directive on fall protection in residential construction. The directive, issued in December 2010, takes effect on June 16. It rescinds OSHA's 1999 guidelines, which allowed roofing and residential contractors to use “alternative” methods, such as slide guards—also called “roof brackets”—to protect workers. The new directive discards that option, except in narrow circumstances, and requires contractors to have written fall-protection plans. In a ruling issued on April 7, the 7th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals said that because the OSHA directive was not

The Senate has approved the nomination of Peter Lyons, a former Nuclear Regulatory Commission member, to be the Dept. of Energy's assistant secretary for nuclear energy. Lyons, who was confirmed on April 14, has been acting assistant secretary in DOE's nuclear office since November 2010. The Nuclear Energy Institute supports Lyons' confirmation, saying he always has advocated high standards for nuclear plant safety.

Citing limited Highway Trust Fund revenue, Sen. Max Baucus (D-Mont.) has floated the idea of a two-year highway bill. The Obama administration has proposed a six-year highway-transit authorization, a span many in industry like. At an April 14 Environment and Public Works Committee hearing, Baucus said if currently projected trust-fund revenue were spread over six years, annual highway spending in that period would be cut to $28 billion from $42 billion now. Baucus says, unless new revenue is found, a shorter bill that the trust-fund can finance at $42 billion a year, may be better than a six-year measure with

The simmering debate over how to cut the federal budget deficit is heating up, with the April 13 release of President Obama's outline for shrinking the budget gap squaring off against House Republicans' deficit-trimming plan, drafted by Budget Committee Chairman Paul Ryan (Wis.) and approved by the chamber on April 15. Photo: Courtesy of House Republican Conference Duel begins between budget plans from the House GOP’s Ryan and Obama. Photo: Pete Souza Both proposals would slice non-defense domestic spending, which could hit construction programs. Construction officials welcome the fiscal focus. The proposals aim to slash the deficit by about $4

Although it is difficult to determine how the Supreme Court justices might rule in a major environmental case argued on April 19, they asked several questions related to whether the courts or another branch of government should establish the nation's policies on global warming and whether, in a hypothetical common-law public-nuisance case, a federal regulation would supersede a determination by a district judge. At issue in the case, American Electric Power v. Connecticut, is whether states and individuals can sue utilities under federal common law for contributing to global warming and force them to reduce emissions of CO?. Legal observers