On Sept. 14, the Obama administration released a report to Congress providing a first guess at how they will implement $1.2 trillion in automatic budget cuts—called sequestration—slated to begin on Jan. 2, 2013. This sequestration process comes as a result of the debt ceiling deal –enacted under the Budget Control Act of 2011 (BCA) — in the wake of the failure of the so-called Supercommittee to come up with adequate deficit reduction plan on its own. Half of the sequestration amount is to come from defense and national security programs, while the other half is to come from all other government programs. According to the report, if Congress and the president cannot reach a deal to avert sequestration after the election, many direct federal construction accounts could see anywhere from a 7.6 to 9.4 percent cut from “budgetary resources” in FY 2013.
ѻý and the Oregon Columbia Chapter are cooperating with FHWA on a workshop on Civil Integration Management (CIM). CIM is the collection, organization, and managed accessibility to accurate data and information related to a highway facility. The concept may be used by all affected parties for a wide range of purposes, including planning, environmental, surveying, construction, maintenance, asset management, and risk assessment. The workshop is for designers, owners, contractors, subcontractors, consultants, and utilities owners to learn the principles of CIM, see technologies and tools that are available today to assist, and review project examples where CIM has worked.
ѻý testified at a hearing this week called by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to consider California’s request for permission to implement it’s off-road diesel engine emissions reduction plan. ѻý has in the past submitted over 550 pages of comments to EPA opposing the California rule. At the same time ѻý was working with the California Air Resources Board (CARB) pointing out that in developing the rule it had overestimated emissions from off-road diesel construction equipment by at least 340 percent. That miscalculation was one among several “significant errors” that would have been very costly to construction employers if adopted.
The House is expected to approve a continuing resolution (CR) for FY 2013 today that would fund federal government programs for six months at the same level as FY 2012 with a slight increase of .612 percent. This action is necessary because Congress has failed to pass any of the 12 appropriations bills for FY 2013 whci begins on Oct. 1, 2012. The Senate is expected to take up and pass the CR later this week.
The U.S. Department of Transportation (DOT) on Sept. 6, 2012, issued a Notice of Proposed Rulemaking asking for comment on significant changes it is proposing in its Disadvantaged Business Enterprise (DBE) rules. Comments are due by Nov. 5, 2012. The proposal suggests a series of changes in the bidding process, counting DBE participation and documenting good faith efforts for compliance. The proposed rule also would tighten down on the certification process that determines whether or not a firm qualifies as a DBE.
The Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) has released a schedule for a series of Summits to be held this fall to promote implementation of its Every Day Counts II (EDC2) initiatives. EDC is a priority initiative championed by Federal Highway Administrator Victor Mendez to speed the delivery of transportation projects and accelerate the use of innovative technologies.
Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood announced this week the formation of a policy group created to improve the condition and performance of the nation's freight network. The group was formed to begin implementation of MAP-21 requirement to develop a National Freight Strategic Plan. The new Freight Policy Council, will be chaired by Deputy Transportation Secretary John Porcari and include Administration representatives covering highways, rail, ports, and airports, as well as economic and policy experts. States will be asked to offer input to improve the freight system in their regions, while the freight and logistics industries, consumers, and other stakeholders will serve in an advisory capacity to the council. ѻý will provide input to the Council.
The Obama Administration announced that it is making over $473 million in highway funds available for states to use immediately. The funds come from unspent earmarks that were included in the Department of Transportation’s appropriations legislation for fiscal years 2003-2006. The unused earmarked funds will go to the states originally designated to receive the funds. Every state except Wyoming has such unused funds. Click here to view the chart showing the available funding.
Legislation to prevent U.S. EPA from regulating coal ash disposal and instead allow states to manage oversight of the waste has been introduced by a bipartisan group of senators. Senators Max Baucus (D-Mont.), John Hoeven (R-ND) and Kent Conrad (D-ND) were joined by over a dozen other co-sponsors for H.R. 2273, “The Coal Residual Reuse and Management Act.”
Georgia voters on Tuesday largely rejected a 10-year, 1 percent sales tax that would have provided nearly $19 billion in revenue for transportation investments over that time. While the referendum was statewide, the votes were regional with the state divided into 12 separate regions. Each region voted separately whether to tax themselves to support transportation projects within that region.