On Jan. 24, 2013, the US Green Building Council (USGBC) announced that a Clean Construction Pilot Credit can be used toward Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) certification.  This optional pilot credit rewards projects that take specific steps to reduce emissions from diesel engines during the construction phase of the project.

Looking ahead, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has committed to an aggressive regulatory agenda and is poised to take action in all program areas—taking up issues like stormwater runoff, fly ash reuse, and the disturbance of lead paint in buildings.  The rulemaking pipeline is full, and the construction and real estate industries are positioned to feel the brunt over the next four years.  Fortunately, AGC is working year round to keep EPA in check and remains closely engaged with the Agency on nearly a dozen pending rules, all projected to have significant impacts on construction jobs and the economy.  AGC will continue to push for sound, fact‐based decision‐making at all levels of government.

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has notified the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit it will not be able to finalize a draft vessel general discharge permit until March 15 (Natural Resources Defense Council Inc. v. EPA, D.C. Cir., No. 09-1089 11/30/12).   EPA’s website states that it expects to issue a final 2013 Vessel General Permit by March 15, 2013, with an effective date of Dec. 19, 2013.

On Jan. 14, AGC hosted representatives from the Office of the Secretary of Defense, Naval Facilities Engineering Command, General Services Administration and Department of Veterans Affairs to participate in a roundtable discussion with industry groups on the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) consideration of new nationwide rules that would expand and strengthen the current federal Lead Renovation, Repair and Painting (LRRP) Program requirements. Specifically, EPA is looking at expanding the LRRP Program to include renovations of both the exteriors and interiors of public and commercial buildings.

Stormwater Flow Rate Is Not a "Surrogate" for Controlling Sediment Runoff AGC is closely examining a landmark court decision rejecting the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) attempt to use stormwater flow rate as a surrogate pollutant in a TMDL (total maximum daily load) case. In this key decision handed down by the Federal District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia, a federal judge ruled that the Clean Water Act (CWA) does not authorize EPA to limit “stormwater flow” [in lieu of regulating sediment discharges] in TMDLs because such flow itself is not a pollutant (Virginia DOT v. EPA, E.D. Va., No. 1:12-cv-775, 1/3/13). Click here to read the court decision.

On Jan. 8, the U.S. Supreme Court unanimously reached a decision in the L.A. County Flood Control District v. Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC) Inc. case that could have had vast consequences for stormwater systems and other water infrastructure across the country (No. 11-460, decided Jan. 8, 2013).  It is a short opinion (9-0, Alito concurring) that focused solely on the determination that water flowing from one part of a waterway to another part of the same waterway cannot result in the discharge of a pollutant (consistent with the Court's prior Miccosukee opinion).  Click here to read the entire opinion. 

Last week, the National Association of Home Builders (and other parties) announced a settlement with the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) regarding their long-standing lawsuit over the 2009 “Effluent Limitations Guidelines” for the “Construction Development Industry” (C&D ELG) rule. EPA will undertake a new rulemaking in the near term to "scrap the turbidity limit altogether" and to modify several of the mandatory “non-numeric” Best Management Practices (BMP) requirements that currently form the basis of the 2009 rule. Click here to read the signed settlement document.

After nearly four years, Lisa Jackson, the head of the Environmental Protection Agency, has announced her departure from the nation’s top environmental post. Jackson has said she will step down following President Obama’s State of the Union address in January. Jackson, the former commissioner of New Jersey’s Department of Environmental Protection, has often been a polarizing figure to many in the environmental and business communities.

Overall Agency Supports Many of AGC’s Positions In response to a court ordered deadline, on Dec. 14 the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) finalized a rule to require a 20 percent reduction in the amount of fine particulate matter (PM2.5) allowed in outdoor air through the entire country. The current standard has been in place since 1997. Reduction in the emission of fine particulate matter is expected to come chiefly from diesel engines and coal-fired power generation plants. States must meet the standard by 2020 or face penalties. The standard will make it harder for some industries to expand operations without strict pollution controls.

In this issue of the Observer, AGC’s Environmental Forum Steering Committee Chairman Connie Determan provides construction companies with a resource for developing an environmental program that supports environmental compliance and achievement of company objectives.  “The Contractor Guide to Developing an Environmental Program” was developed through the collaborative effort of construction companies located in the United States for the purpose of supporting the environmental performance of the projects they perform.