A successful conference needs an outstanding agenda!  The 2014 AGC Contractors Environmental Conference will be held June 12-13, 2014, in Arlington, Va.  Please help AGC of America plan an environmental program that meets your needs and exceeds your expectations. 

Submit Your Application by January 15 for a Chance to Win up to $120,000 in Funding! The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is now collecting applications for the 2013 Construction Equipment Funding Opportunity, a pilot rebate program for non-road engines.  EPA currently has $2 million in available funding for rebates to help public and private construction equipment owners repower or retrofit their older diesel construction engines.  This program is made possible by the Diesel Emission Reduction Act (DERA), which Congress reauthorized in January 2011 to allow rebates, in addition to grants and revolving loans.

On Oct. 25, the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) announced that it would be extending the public comment period on its proposed silica rule by 47 days. The original deadline to submit public comments had been Dec. 11, but has been pushed back to Jan. 27, 2014. AGC submitted a request to extend the deadline by 90 days in order to best respond to the proposed rule’s 87 detailed questions. This extension now allows AGC to work with its members to properly formulate an effective response. AGC is also working with a coalition of nearly two dozen construction industry trade associations that represent all facets of the industry to craft a response to the proposed rule.

On Oct. 25, the U.S. General Services Administration (GSA) sent to the U.S. Department of Energy its long-awaited recommendations for the federal government’s use of green building rating systems. GSA recommends that agencies use either the U.S. Green Building Council’s (USGBC) Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) 2009 or the Green Building Initiative’s (GBI) Green Globes 2010 — with a minimum goal of achieving LEED Silver or 2 Green Globes certification levels for new buildings.

AGC Offers Members Opportunities to Learn More and Weigh In The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) recently released a massive 331-page draft report distilling peer-reviewed science on how smaller, isolated water bodies are connected to larger ones.  See Connectivity of Streams and Wetlands to Downstream Waters: A Review and Synthesis of the Scientific Evidence.  The agency is accepting comments on the draft report through Wednesday, Nov. 6.  EPA has publicly acknowledged that the final version of its connectivity report will serve as a basis for a future joint EPA and U.S. Army Corps of Engineers rulemaking to clarify their jurisdiction in Clean Water Act Section 404 permitting.  This article provides links to information on how these actions may impact your business, identifies the key issues for the construction industry, and highlights current opportunities for you to communicate your concerns with government officials. 

UPDATE: EPA is extending until Dec. 26, 2013, the comment period for the Draft National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System General Permit for Stormwater Discharges From Industrial Activities. Click here to read the Federal Register notice. The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) will accept public comment through Wednesday, Nov. 27 on a draft general permit to regulate stormwater discharges from most industrial activities (78 Fed. Reg. 59,672, Sept. 27, 2013). Construction companies that perform activities associated with cement or concrete manufacturing, asphalt paving, minerals mining, or landfill operations will all likely be impacted by changes to EPA’s Multi-Sector General Permit (MSGP). Stormwater discharges from active construction sites that disturb one acre or more of land are regulated separately under a state or EPA’s Construction General Permit.

AGC Seeks Industry Input on Costs Associated with OSHA’s Proposed Cut to Legal Limit UPDATE: On Oct. 25, the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) announced that it is extending the public comment period on its proposed silica rule by 47 days. The original deadline to submit public comments had been Dec. 11, but has been pushed back to Jan. 27, 2014. AGC submitted a request to extend the deadline by 90 days in order to best respond to the proposed rule’s 87 detailed questions. Click here for more. On August 23, 2013, the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) proposed a rule to reduce the permissible exposure limit (PEL) to airborne crystalline silica in both the general/maritime industry and the construction industry by half, to 50 micrograms/m3.  OSHA estimates that the proposed rule will impact 477,000 establishments, 1.85 million workers, and carry an annualized compliance cost of $511 million dollars for the construction industry.  AGC believes industry’s compliance costs will actually be much higher, but we need you to provide us with the data to prove it.

Earlier Session Rescheduled Due to Government Shutdown, New Session Added – FREE to AGC Members! Registration is now open for the following webinar sessions that EPA is hosting specifically for the construction industry. Please register as soon as possible using the links below. (Note that these links are not accessible from EPA’s website.)

With the simultaneous release of the Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) draft science report on the connectivity of waters and the submittal of its new proposed rule to the Office of Management and Budget for review, the House Science, Space, and Technology Committee Chairman Lamar Smith (R-Texas) and Environment Subcommittee Chairman Chris Stewart (R-Utah) sent a letter raising concerns over the draft rule, which is expected to greatly expand the agency’s regulatory authority under the Clean Water Act (CWA).

In celebration of the 2013 America Recycles Day on November 15, the AGC Environmental Forum is issuing its first-ever annual used hard hat recycling challenge to AGC members.  Old hard hats can fade, turn brittle and compromise workers’ safety.  Let us see how many old and unsafe hard hats we can retire and recycle within the next three weeks.