But Ninth Circuit Compelled EPA to Institute Formal BMP Review Process

The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (Corps) recently issued Regulatory Guidance Letter (RGL) 16-01 that clarifies for the Corps’ field staff and the regulated public when it may be appropriate to issue an approved jurisdictional determination (AJD), as opposed to a preliminary jurisdictional determination (PJD), or not make any determination at all regarding whether a particular tract of land contains federal “Waters of the United States” (WOTUS). A decision that WOTUS are present on particular site makes the property subject to federal control and permitting programs under Section 404 of the Clean Water Act (CWA), the Rivers and Harbors Act or possibly both.

Marcia Kellogg There are just some clients that your business cannot afford to have - you know who they are: the ones who are highly commodity-based and have limited experience, whose projects result in little or no profit, and who are a drain on your firm and its resources. Instead of trying to find projects that suit the firm, client-based firms identify clients with whom they can develop and nurture a partnership over time. It’s a philosophy that is primarily interested in owning the client, not the project. Most importantly, the focus of a client-based business is maintaining the relationship at all costs. Firms that align their cultures with the business goals and objectives of their clients realize a vast improvement in performance, because they have a true belief and purpose in the project and the client with whom they are working, and this spirit resonates throughout everything they do.

Julie Huval, Beck Technology The acronym “BIM” is showing up more and more in our industry. Owners are requiring it on projects, countries are setting standards for it, and firms are touting expertise in it. But what is Building Information Modeling (BIM) and, as marketers and business developers, why should we care?

Each year AGC seeks nominations for qualified and motivated individuals from the AGC Environmental Forum to serve on the steering committee for the forum. Would you like to play a leadership role in AGC of America’s environmental advocacy, education and outreach efforts?

Building owners and managers can now track their waste generation and management, as well as their energy and water use with the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) Energy Star Portfolio Manager, which is a benchmarking and tracking tool.

On Aug. 26, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) quietly released a proposal to clarify when facilities will need to set controls for greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions in order to obtain necessary air permits prior to construction or major upgrades and even to be operated. AGC is reviewing the proposal and plans to submit its comments by the Dec. 2 deadline.

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) recently revised its uniform guidance for EPA-credentialed inspectors who monitor compliance with the federal Lead Renovation, Repair and Painting (RRP) rule. For the regulated community, EPA has taken steps to bring many aspects of the firm certification and individual renovator training/certification processes online, seemingly to streamline compliance with the rule. EPA also regularly updates its online collection of Frequent Questions on the Lead Program to clarify requirements for industry, including specific work practices that renovators must follow. This article recaps recent developments related to the implementation and enforcement of EPA’s Lead RRP rule.

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) published a final rule on October 3 to make it easier to exclude tainted data from the agency’s future assessments of compliance or non-compliance with its National Ambient Air Quality Standards (NAAQS). EPA also finalized guidance for states seeking to demonstrate that a wildfire event affected monitored ozone concentrations. This package of documents could be critical for states looking for all possible options to help them attain EPA’s tighter ozone NAAQS issued in October 2015.

Join AGC in becoming recognized supporters of the great environmental compliance and green construction resources available online at the Construction Industry Compliance Assistance (CICA) Center. AGC worked with the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency to develop this popular (free) resource more than a decade ago; and it boasts 14,000 visits a month. When federal budget cuts slashed funding for industry compliance assistance initiatives, AGC quickly stepped up to keep the CICA Center online and current. AGC now seeks to establish a long-term funding program to sustain the CICA Center’s future in 2017 and beyond. We hope you’ll join us through our new annual CICA Center Supporter Program.