Related Links: Construction Coalition Objects to OSHA's Proposed Silica Rule (ENR 9/9/2013 issue) OSHA Proposes Tougher Limit for Silica-Dust Exposure (enr.com 8/23/2013) The Occupational Safety and Health Administration is giving industry groups, unions and other parties more time to file comments on its proposal to tighten the exposure standard for airborne silica.On Oct. 25, OSHA said it is extending the comment-period deadline by 47 days, to Jan. 27. A coalition of construction-industry groups objects to the proposed, more stringent exposure limit.OSHA announced the proposal on Aug. 23 and published it on Sept. 12.

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

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

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: 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

Related Links: OMB 9/17/13 guidance to agencies on implementing shutdown USDOT info on shutdown impact at FHWA, FTA, FAA and its other agencies As Senate Democrats and House Republicans unleashed streams of blame at each other for the fiscal standoff that closed much of the federal government on Oct. 1, construction industry officials were studying how the shutdown will affect federal contracts and grants. Federal construction aid totals tens of billions of dollars a year.The Office of Management and Budget made clear in a Sept. 17 memo that, during a funding lapse, an agency cannot award, extend or renew contracts

Related Links: Press release from office of U.S. Attorney for D.C. A former U.S. Environmental Protection Agency official has pled guilty to a federal charge that over more than a decade, he carried out a scheme to cheat the government of almost $900,000 in salary and benefits that he was not entitled to, the Dept. of Justice said.John C. Beale, 64, who worked for EPA from 1989 until last April 30 in the agency’s Office of Air and Radiation, entered a guilty plea to a charge of theft of federal property on Sept. 27 in U.S. District Court for the

Related Links: EPA Blog Announcing Draft Proposed Rule Action EPA Background on "Waters of the U.S." Definition, Including Links to Court Cases The Environmental Protection Agency and Army Corps of Engineers have drafted a proposed rule that they say aims to clear up the issue of which bodies of water fall under federal regulatory jurisdiction and which do not.Construction officials are concerned that EPA and the Corps will define federally regulated waters too broadly. Environmental groups praised the agencies' action.EPA and the Corps sent their draft proposal on Sept. 17 to the Office of Management and Budget, which will coordinate