FHWA Administrator Victor Mendez to Deliver Keynote at ConferenceAttendees at the AGC 2013 Contractors Environmental Conference (CEC) on June 13-14, 2013, will gain access to up-to-date information and resources on compliance and trends that affect the business of construction across the nation.  From a keynote address by Administrator Victor Mendez of the Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) and award-winning speakers to this year’s “Compliance Assistance Hour: A Meet and Greet with the Federal Agencies,” AGC opens the doors to resources that help contractors maintain compliance and meet the sustainability goals of their projects. Watch a video interview of Administrator Mendez and learn more about the conference here.

Attendees at the AGC 2013 Contractors Environmental Conference (CEC) on June 13-14, 2013, will gain access to up-to-date information and resources on compliance and trends that affect the business of construction across the nation.  From a keynote address by Administrator Victor Mendez of the Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) and award-winning speakers to this year’s “Compliance Assistance Hour: A Meet and Greet with the Federal Agencies”, AGC opens the doors to resources that help contractors maintain compliance and meet the sustainability goals of their projects. Watch a video interview of Administrator Mendez and learn more about the conference here.

For the first time, AGC members responded to a survey that gathered information for a market report on green schools.  McGraw-Hill published “The New and Retrofit Green Schools SmartMarket Report” in March 2013.  As a benefit of their participation, AGC members can access the report for free by clicking on this link.

AGC joined 190 other industry groups from a wide selection of economic sectors to express concern about a growing path of influence whereby groups use lawsuits that seek to force federal agencies to issue regulations that advance their policy priorities. These lawsuits are used to negotiate rulemaking schedules and other concessions from agencies outside of the traditional regulatory process. Unfortunately, impacted parties, including private citizens and states who may be subject to the regulations at issue, have been denied the opportunity to intervene in these suits as some courts have held that they lack standing to participate.

Exciting Learning and Networking Opportunities Planned for June 13-14 After an extremely successful first-ever AGC Contractors Environmental Conference last year, AGC will keep the momentum going at this year’s conference – scheduled for June 13-14, 2013, in Arlington, Va.  This year will bring some exciting opportunities from an impressive line-up of speakers to technology demonstrations and a new Compliance Assistance Hour where attendees can explore resources and ask targeted questions.

At the beginning of 2013, President Obama signed into law The American Taxpayer Relief Act of 2012 that provides one-year extensions for several tax credits, including those for compressed natural gas (CNG), liquefied natural gas (LNG), and propane (liquefied petroleum gas or LPG).  If you use alternative fuel in your fleets, you may be eligible for a tax credit.

On Feb. 5, the General Services Administration (GSA) announced the opening of a sixty-day public comment period on the federal government’s use of third-party green building certification systems.  The 2012 Green Building Certification System Review is available for public comment (ending on April 8, 2013) before GSA develops a formal recommendation on the government’s use of green building certification systems.

Low-impact development (LID) strategies are central to many sustainable infrastructure initiatives, and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has been promoting the benefits of these practices for years.  In addition, EPA is expected to incorporate LID strategies and techniques in its new National Stormwater rulemaking when setting first-time standards for permanent stormwater controls to treat runoff from completed new development or redeveloped sites (aka, EPA’s post-construction rules, due out in proposed form in June 2013).  To reduce some of the barriers to greater acceptance of these strategies, EPA has released a series of seven new fact sheets: “Low Impact Development (LID) Barrier Busters."

The U.S. Green Building Council (USGBC) has announced the last public comment period, open March 1 through March 31, 2013, on the fourth version of its Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) Green Building Rating System.  USGBC membership will vote on LEED v4 this summer.

If you own or operate a stationary [1] generator, pump, compressor or some other piece of stationary equipment then you probably need to “retrofit” its engine to comply with federal National Emission Standards for Hazardous Air Pollutants (NESHAP) covering stationary reciprocating internal combustion engines (RICE).  Leading engine manufacturers warn that compliance is not going to be cheap, easy, or quick – especially when a limited number of qualified experts have just over two months to meet the nation’s retrofit needs.  Also be aware that the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) recently published amendments to the RICE NESHAP rule, mainly regarding RICE used for emergency or back-up power (78 Fed. Reg. 6674, Jan. 30, 2013).  EPA just announced it will host a series of free webinars in advance of the May 3, 2013, compliance deadline.