U.S. EPA Administrator Lisa Jackson appeared before the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee today to discuss the Clean Water Act and EPA's intention to increase efforts to undertake enforcement actions under the Act. In her testimony to the Committee, Administrator Jackson noted that EPA is "reexamining its approach to enforcing the Clean Water Act permit program to address water pollution challenges of this century." Jackson specifically noted that recipients of National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System (NPDES) permits, including construction sites, wastewater treatment plants, mining, manufacturing facilities and additional industries, such as agriculture, would be targets of increased CWA enforcement by EPA. Administrator Jackson also indicated that the EPA formally released their "Clean Water Act Enforcement Plan" which is available on the EPA Web site.Administrator Jackson said about S. 787, the Clean Water Restoration Act, that the Obama Administration believes that Congress can bring more clarity to permitting issues. Chairman Oberstar noted that he had not introduced companion legislation to S.787 yet. Several Committee members expressed concerns about removing the term "navigable" from the Clean Water, which the bill would do.  ÎÚÑ»´«Ã½ has actively opposed this legislation because it would give EPA and the Corps jurisdiction over all wet areas - however remote or intermittent. At a recent hearing before the Small Business Panel on Waters and Wetlands Regulations, ÎÚÑ»´«Ã½ testified that the bill would require construction contractors and project owners to obtain and be regulated by federal Clean Water Act permits far more frequently than is currently required. Administrator Jackson was also asked about the Obama Administration's position on the creation of a Clean Water Trust Fund. Jackson indicated that the Obama Administration did not have a position for or against the "Trust Fund," but acknowledged that there was a major gap in the current investment in clean water infrastructure. ÎÚÑ»´«Ã½ has been involved in direct talks with the EPA's enforcement arm, the Office of Enforcement and Compliance Assistance (OECA), and will continue to engage in discussions with EPA and the T&I Committee to ensure that the construction industry's concerns are heard and that EPA efforts include increased compliance assistance and industry outreach, in addition to increased enforcement actions.To view Administrator Jackson's and other testimony, as well as video of the hearing, click here.
A whole host of training, certification and work practice requirements called for by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's Lead-Based Paint Renovation, Repair and Painting (RRP) Program are slated to take effect in April 2010. By that date, construction firms must apply for and receive EPA certification to disturb paint as part of their work in pre-1978 housing and child-occupied facilities. In addition, all of these jobs must be supervised by certified renovators; specifically, individuals who have completed an EPA-accredited, full-day training course. Plus, other craft workers on such jobsites must be properly trained and equipped to follow the RRP Program's lead-safe work practices when performing their assigned tasks. ÎÚÑ»´«Ã½ members covered by the RRP rule should take steps now to meet the upcoming April 2010 compliance deadline.Â
U.S. EPA's FY2009/2010 Request for Proposals (RFP) for the National Clean Diesel Funding Assistance Program is now online at http://www.epa.gov/air/grants_funding.html. EPA anticipates awarding a total of approximately $64 million under this announcement, subject to the availability of funds and the quality of proposals received. Â
In July, as part of a highly-competitive national grant competition, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) awarded $156 million in clean diesel grants, including $3 million to the Minnesota Environmental Initiative to support voluntary retrofit efforts by members of ÎÚÑ»´«Ã½ of Minnesota and other diesel users throughout the state. The money will be used to retrofit, repower or replace heavy diesel equipment, as authorized by the Diesel Emission Reduction Program and funded under the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009.
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, ÎÚÑ»´«Ã½ of America will hold regional town-hall-style conference calls on environmental issues. The calls are free and open to members of ÎÚÑ»´«Ã½'s Environmental Network and ÎÚÑ»´«Ã½ 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 ÎÚÑ»´«Ã½'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 ÎÚÑ»´«Ã½'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."Â 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.
ÎÚÑ»´«Ã½ 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.ÎÚÑ»´«Ã½ 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. ÎÚÑ»´«Ã½ suggested positive incentives and expressed concerns about any potentially punitive measure; ÎÚÑ»´«Ã½ plans to provide EPA staff with more detailed, written recommendations later this week. In addition, ÎÚÑ»´«Ã½ 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.