News

New safety concerns regarding the management of coal combustion wastes may spark first-time federal rules that could jeopardize the future use of fly ash in the construction of roads and buildings.  Last December, a containment failure at a Tennessee-based waste impoundment released approximately 1 billion gallons of coal ash sludge into the adjoining rivers and neighborhood, resulting in more than $1 billion in clean up costs.  The accident has brought the public's attention to the hundreds of similar impoundments nationwide and triggered an evaluation of how effectively states and the federal government are addressing the storage and disposal of coal combustion waste.
During October, AGC of America will hold regional town-hall-style conference calls on environmental issues.  The calls are free and open to members of AGC's Environmental Network and AGC Chapter Staff. Participants will hear brief updates on the hot environmental topics of the day. The calls will provide time for participants' questions and discussion of their concerns.
The fourth and final installment of AGC's summary of the American Clean Energy and Security Act of 2009 (H.R. 2454) explains the major provisions of Title IV (Transitioning to a Clean Energy Economy) of interest to the construction industry.
The U.S. Senate is drafting a comprehensive bill to address climate and energy, and it is basing that work on a related bill passed by the U.S. House of Representatives.  The third installment of AGC's summary of the American Clean Energy and Security Act of 2009 (H.R. 2454) highlights the major provisions of Title III (Reducing Global Warming Pollution), which identifies reduction goals and establishes a cap-and-trade program to reduce emissions from major sources.
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's (EPA) National Clean Diesel Campaign (NCDC) just announced a new "clean diesel helpline."  Get answers to your questions on clean diesel funding and technologies within one business day.Do you have questions about: Clean diesel funding? Clean diesel projects? Clean diesel technologies?Ongoing technical support is available at (877) NCDC-FACTS (1-877-623-2322) or via email at cleandiesel@epa.gov.Click here to access EPA's clean diesel tools and other resources - or to sign up to receive e-mail updates on technologies, funding, policy and other issues related to reducing emissions from heavy-duty diesel engines.

AGC Invited To Help Shape New Action Plan Aimed at Improving Water Permit ComplianceU.S. EPA Administrator Lisa Jackson has directed the Office of Enforcement and Compliance Assurance to examine its Clean Water Act enforcement program and report back to her in early October with an action plan to strengthen and improve the Agency's enforcement efforts.  This new initiative comes in light of information showing that water quality goals are not being met, there are too many violations in too many places, and the level of EPA enforcement is unacceptably low, according to Administrator Jackson's memo to key Agency officials.AGC met with EPA officials last week to discuss the National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System stormwater permit program and how it is enforced on construction jobsites.  AGC suggested positive incentives and expressed concerns about any potentially punitive measure; AGC plans to provide EPA staff with more detailed, written recommendations later this week.  In addition, AGC Chapters and members can help shape the future direction of EPA's national water enforcement program (and comment on EPA's current enforcement efforts) by participating in an online EPA discussion forum by August 28.The stormwater permit program regulates mostly stormwater discharges associated with municipal sewer systems, industrial activities and construction activities. (All facilities that discharge pollutants through a point source into waters of the United States are regulated by EPA and states under this program.)  If your construction activity disturbs one or more acres of land, you most likely need a permit to discharge stormwater runoff from your construction site, available from EPA's stormwater program or the state stormwater permitting authority. Additional information on the federal stormwater requirements is online at http://www.epa.gov/npdes/stormwater. You also can obtain information about state and local stormwater requirements through the Storm Water Resource Locator.Read more at here, or contact Leah Pilconis at (703)837-5332 or pilconisl@agc.org.

For the first time in over 35 years, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has proposed changes to the national ambient air quality standard (NAAQS) for nitrogen dioxide (NO2).  NAAQS define the maximum allowable level of pollutants and drive state air pollution cleanup programs.  EPA has proposed adding a new one-hour standard to the existing annual standard.  EPA also proposes to establish a roadside monitoring network to track peak levels of NO2 along major highways.  AGC is analyzing what a new NAAQS for NO2 may mean for future construction, including new stricter requirements and/or restrictions on diesel engines and their use.EPA must set its final rule for NO2 air quality by January 22, 2010. NO2 serves as the indicator for the entire family of nitrogen oxides; diesel engines emit NOx (mono-nitrogen oxides).  Based on our consultation with diesel experts, a tighter NAAQS for NO2 could impact diesel engine users in the following ways: Trigger federally enforced clean-up measures and additional stress on state and local air quality planning. If EPA ratchets down the standard (allowingless NO2 in the air), many states may need to reduce their sources of NO2 to stay in attainment of the new federal air standards. (Currently, California is the only state that has ever had NO2 nonattainment areas.) States are responsible for preparing and executing state implementation plans (SIPs) to achieve and maintain NAAQS within their borders. As part of the SIP, states may enact and enforce requirements that affect the business of construction. (What is more, states that fail to develop suitable SIPs could be subject to numerous federal sanctions, including emissions caps limiting economic development and the loss of federal highway transportation funds.) Potential for more stringent new diesel engine emission standards for NOx. The proposed rule discusses all the progress made across the board for diesel engines, which seems to suggest that EPA is not thinking about proposinglower NOx standards for diesel engines of any kind. Still, more stringent new diesel engine emission standards for NOx area possible consequence of tighter NO2 standards. (NOTE: If EPA's NO2 proposal goes final, the "official" designations for attainment and non-attainment will not occur until 2012 - with the first compliance dates coming in the year 2022, at the earliest. At that point, a substantial number of the unregulated Tier 0 (high NOx emitting) equipment may be retired.) Establishment of a roadside monitoring network to identify where NO2 levels are the highest and requirements to monitor the effectiveness of control measures. The proposed rule puts a lot of emphasis on "hot-spots" and, in particular, concentrations of NO2 near roadways. EPA is proposing specific minimum requirements to guide placement of new NO2 monitors, including a condition that at least one monitor be located near a major roadway in any urban area with a population greater than or equal to 350,000 people. That could mean more state measures to reduce NOx emissions from in-use diesel vehicles and equipment. This could trigger restrictions on how contractors use and operate their construction equipment, as well as early retirement and/or retrofit requirements. Restrictions on future transportation planning and programs. Transportation and traffic is one of the biggest contributors of NO2, according to environmentalists' reports. If EPA sets new more stringent standards for NO2, it will certainly impact transportation planning and programs in the future. Transportation conformity (a Clean Air Act process that requires coordination of transportation and air quality planning) applies to all ozone, carbon monoxide, particulate matter and NO2 nonattainment and maintenance areas, regardless of classification. When an area is out of conformity, meaning the projected motor vehicle emission in the transportation planning documents (TIP) do not stay within the budgets set by the air quality planning documents (SIP), the funding and implementation of all federal highway/transit projects in the nonattainment area are suspended.For an EPA PowerPoint presentation on NO2 click here.The text of the proposed rule and additional information is on EPA's Web site at http://www.epa.gov/air/nitrogenoxides/. For more information, contact Leah Pilconis at (703)837-5332 or pilconisl@agc.org.

The great irony of building green is that the very concepts intended to enhance a building's performance over its entire lifetime are many of the same things that make a building highly susceptible to moisture and mold problems during its first few years of operation.
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's (EPA) National Clean Diesel Campaign (NCDC) just announced a new "clean diesel helpline."  Get answers to your questions on clean diesel funding and technologies within one business day.
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) recently awarded a total of $156 million in clean diesel grants in an extremely fierce national grant competition authorized by the Diesel Emission Reduction Act (DERA - part of the Energy Policy Act of 2005) and funded by the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA) of 2009.  Surprisingly, this unprecedented disbursement of clean diesel funds will support only 13 percent of the approximately 600 clean diesel project applications that EPA received under the National Clean Diesel Funding Assistance Program.  The Diesel Technology Forum is hosting two live Webinars (no charge) on September 2 -- Lessons Learned - A Closer Look at Recent ARRA Funded DERA Projects -- to take a closer look at the Recover Act round of funding.