The Senate has approved Regina McCarthy, President Obama’s pick to head the Environmental Protection Agency’s office of air and radiation. She was confirmed on June 2, after Sen. John Barrasso (R-Wyo.) lifted a “hold” on her nomination. The former Connecticut Dept. of Environmental Protection chief will be responsible for developing new rules for powerplant emissions of sulfur, mercury and nitrogen oxide.

The Highway Trust Fund will need an infusion of $5 billion to $7 billion by August to avoid a slowdown in spending, Senate Environment and Public Works Committee Chairman Barbara Boxer (D-Calif.) and the panel’s top Republican, James Inhofe (Okla.), are warning. Citing Obama administration and Dept. of Transportation estimates, the senators said on June 2 that $8 billion to $10 billion more will be needed in 2010 to maintain the current highway program level, which is $40.7 billion. To fix the 2009 problem, Inhofe raised the idea of using the interest on the trust-fund balance. Interest is pegged at

The Senate has confirmed President Barack Obama’s pick to head up the Environmental Protection Agency’s Office of Air and Radiation. The Senate approved Regina McCarthy for the post on June 2 by a voice vote. The former Connecticut Dept. of Environmental Protection chief will be responsible for overseeing the development of regulations for powerplant emissions of sulfur, mercury and nitrogen oxide. McCarthy’s nomination was held up for weeks by Sen. John Barrasso (R-Wyo.), who placed a procedural “hold” on her nomination because of her support for the EPA’s recent finding that greenhouse gases could pose a threat to public health

The U.S. House of Representatives took the first steps toward approving an ambitious and wide-ranging global-warming bill on May 21. The Energy and Commerce Committee approved a bill that industry sources are calling historic by a 33-25 vote, largely along party lines. Photo: AP/WideWorld Bill sponsor Waxman (center) and GOP’s Barton oversaw a week of markups. Photo: AEP Bill sets 83% target reduction by 2050. The massive bill—more than 930 pages—is the result of weeks of hearings and negotiations in the House, and it is supported by a wide range of environmental groups, corporations, electric utilities and energy companies. But

The House Energy and Commerce Committee on May 21 approved an ambitious energy/global warming bill by a 33-25 vote, largely along party lines. The massive bill—more than 930 pages—is the result of weeks of hearings and negotiations in the House and is supported by a wide range of environmental groups, corporations and electric utilities and energy companies. But the bill’s ultimate prospects are uncertain. The legislation still has numerous critics, and must be approved by the Ways and Means and other House committees before it can move to the floor for a vote. Meanwhile, the Senate does not have a

Industry groups are hopeful that Senate committee approval of a bill to reauthorize the Clean Water and Drinking Water State Revolving Funds bodes well for final congressional approval this year. Industry has had a long wait: the Clean Water SRF was last reauthorized 22 years ago and the Drinking Water SRF was last approved in 1996. Congress annually appropriates funds for the SRFs but at lower levels than called for in needs-assessment surveys. The water measure, which the Environment and Public Works Committee cleared on May 14, would authorize $38.5 billion over five years. Of that, $20 billion is for

Water infrastructure projects would get a boost under legislation to reauthorize the clean water and drinking water state revolving funds at $38.5 billion over five years. The proposal passed the Senate Environment and Public Works Committee on May 14. The bill, which was approved with bipartisan support, would increase the clean water SRF to $20 billion over five years and the drinking water SRF to $14.7 billion over five years. A comparable bill passed the House on March 5, although the House bill only provides funds for the clean water SRF and does not address drinking water. Construction industry groups

Schools and defense were on the agenda on Capitol Hill this week, with the final spending levels far from settled. The House passed a bill on May 14 that would authorize $6.4 billion for green school renovation and modernization projects for fiscal 2010. The bill passed 275-155, largely along party lines. The bill stipulates that funds be used for projects that meet green building standards or equivalent state or local standards. The bill also requires that in 2015—the final year of funding—districts use 100% of the funds they receive for green projects. One of the bill’s key sponsors, Rep. George

Business groups and unions describe President Obama’s picks to fill the two vacant Democratic seats on the National Labor Relations Board as experienced labor attorneys on the union side. Unions are cheering Obama’s choices, announced on April 24, but business organizations are bracing for potential reversals of some Bush-era NLRB decisions. Craig Becker, associate general counsel to the Service Employees International Union and the AFL-CIO, and Mark Pearce, a founding partner of the New York law firm Creighton, Pearce, Johnsen & Giroux, are expected to gain Senate confirmation. The third vacant board seat will be filled with a Republican, who

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency announced on May 8 that it would distribute $111.9 million in grants bolstered by funds from the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act to help communities clean up Brownfield sites. The grants include $37.3 million from the Recovery Act and $74.6 million from the EPA Brownfields general program. The grants will help to assess, clean up and redevelop abandoned, contaminated Brownfields—sites where expansion, redevelopment or reuse may be complicated by the presence or potential presence of a hazardous substance, pollutant or contaminant. The Small Business Liability Relief and Brownfields Revitalization Act of 2002 expanded the definition