Electronic Reporting and Transparency Are Key to EPA’s National Enforcement Priorities Update: EPA just announced a 45 day extension until December 12, 2013, for submitting comments on this proposal - click here. There’s still time to let EPA know your views on electronic reporting. On July 30, 2013, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) announced a new regulatory program that would make every construction company’s stormwater permit records and compliance history accessible to the public. The proposed National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System (NPDES) Electronic Reporting Rule would require all construction site operators covered by an NPDES permit to submit a variety of permit-related information electronically instead of using paper reports. The proposed e-reporting rule would make each company’s site-specific information, such as inspection and enforcement history, pollutant monitoring results, and other data required by permits accessible to the public through EPA’s website.

Many contractors are bracing themselves for more stringent national ambient air quality standards (NAAQS) for ground-level ozone, which could throw an estimated 96 percent of U.S. cities into nonattainment and potentially lead to a $1 trillion hit to our economy. Federal judges recently upheld the current 2008 ozone standard, initially challenged by public environmental and health groups for being too lenient. The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is still working to finalize a rule that would advise states on how to develop implementation plans for areas that exceed that legal limit. However, groups have filed a new lawsuit to force EPA to update the ozone NAAQS within a year and are lobbying hard for a much tighter standard.

The U.S. Federal Government continues to be a leader in adopting sustainability strategies for new construction and existing buildings.  Traditionally, government agencies have used green building assessment and certification programs to implement these strategies.  Government contractors and suppliers have used knowledge of these rating systems to open doors and win contracts.  However, the rules may change as agencies work to meet the requirements in the Guiding Principles for Federal Leadership in High Performance and Sustainable Buildings.  In an era of fewer building projects, knowledge of these requirements is a tool that can help companies compete more effectively for contract opportunities.

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) recently released “Our Built and Natural Environments: A Technical Review of the Interactions among Land Use, Transportation, and Environmental Quality.” As part of its smart growth program, this second edition of a report from 2001 details how the environment and public health can be affected by the way cities and towns are developed.  The report does not discuss the economic impacts of different land use, development, or transportation decisions.

The U.S. Senate confirmed Gina McCarthy as the new administrator of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) on July 18 by a 59-40 vote. On EPA’s regulatory agenda are new rules that would limit greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions from power plants, control hydraulic fracturing (natural gas extraction) and the disposal of coal combustion residuals, and reduce stormwater runoff from developed sites, among many others.

Next year, design for the construction of new federal buildings will have to meet stricter energy efficiency standards.  The Department of Energy (DOE) also is reworking a rule that phases out the use of power from fossil fuel sources for new and renovated federal buildings.  This phase-out provision has sparked some controversy in Congress, where some would like to strike-out the phase-out while retaining energy performance goals.  A bill of that nature may be attached to a more comprehensive energy efficiency bill that is making its way through the Senate in time for debate this fall.

Does the Tool Really Work? The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has released a National Stormwater Calculator that reportedly can determine the predevelopment hydrology for any location in the United States.  According to EPA, the tool can also evaluate how different green infrastructure technologies may help to manage or prevent runoff at a particular site.  But what do you think? AGC wants your feedback – can this new EPA tool really do all of these things?

By a vote of 265-155 the House on July 24, 2013 passed HR 2218, Coal Residuals Reuse and Management Act of 2013, which prevents the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) from designating fly ash and other coal ash residuals from being classified as a hazardous waste. The legislation, introduced by Rep. David McKinley (R-W.Va.), establishes a regulatory structure for coal ash that would be controlled by states with little EPA oversight.

Next week, the U.S. House is expected to vote on a piece of legislation that could safeguard the use of fly ash and other coal combustion residuals (CCRs) in construction.  AGC supports H.R. 2218, the Coal Residuals Reuse and Management Act of 2013, which would establish reasonable disposal requirements that protect human health and the environment.

By Richard W. Goeken* The U.S. Supreme Court has ruled on the scope of demands a regulatory agency may place on a property owner seeking a building permit to develop a plot of land. The recent decision in Koontz v. St. Johns River Water Management District recognizes that developers have a constitutional basis to fight permitting officials that attempt to hold up project approvals until onerous and unrelated conditions are met.