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Join us on Capitol Hill, Washington, DC in October 2016 AGC will hold its fifth Contractors Environmental Conference (CEC) on October 5-6, 2016, at the Hyatt Regency Washington on Capitol Hill in Washington, DC. The CEC is a yearly management, leadership and technology-focused conference that zeros in on the most critical environmental issues impacting today’s construction professionals. Past attendees agree that this one-of-a-kind program provides contractors with the information and resources to meet environmental requirements, sustainability initiatives, and remain competitive in the marketplace. Presentation proposals are being accepted online at www.agc.org/enviroCFP through March 1st.

For the first time in over a decade there is a long-term authorization of federal highway and transit programs in place following President Obama signing the five-year $302 billion Fixing America's Surface Transportation (FAST) Act into law on December 4th. The FAST Act also addresses environmental streamlining and congestion mitigation and air quality – two issues of interest to environmental professionals in the construction industry.

In the last full year of the Obama Administration, AGC expects the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and the Army Corps of Engineers (Corps) to take action on the several environmental rules/permits affecting the construction industry. Below is a list of the rules to watch and a handout with more details.

Improvements Needed to Ensure Dust Storms, Wildfires Do Not Cause Clean Air Violations Note: EPA has extended the public comment deadline to Feb. 3, 2016. The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) recently proposed changes to its “Exceptional Events Rule” (EER) that allows the agency to exclude certain air-quality monitoring data – associated with uncontrollable or unpreventable emissions – when determining whether or not an area violates a National Ambient Air Quality Standard (NAAQS). EPA also released a draft version of guidance for states seeking to demonstrate that a wildfire event affected monitored ozone concentrations. This package of documents could be critical for states looking for all possible options to help them attain EPA’s recently tightened ozone NAAQS. EPA will take comment on the proposed rule revisions and draft guidance through Jan. 19, and hold a Dec. 8 public hearing on the effort in Phoenix, AZ.

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has released interim recommendations of standards and ecolabels to help federal buyers green their purchases (updated Nov. 2015). Federal purchasers should use EPA's interim recommendations to select environmentally preferable products and services until EPA’s formal guidelines (currently in draft form) are finalized.

In the Midst of Nationwide Stay, Federal Agencies Work to ‘Improve’ 404 Permit Program The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has posted a statement on its website concerning the litigation over the new “Waters of the U.S.” (WOTUS) rule, acknowledging that the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit has temporarily blocked EPA and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (Corps) from implementing the new rule, pending further action of the court. The statement confirms that the agencies are back to using the prior regulatory definition of WOTUS and applicable guidance (status quo as it existed before the new rule) in making jurisdictional determinations or taking other actions based on the definition of WOTUS. Despite this holding pattern, EPA and the Corps have directed their staff to move ahead with measures to “improve” implementation of the national Clean Water Act (CWA) Section 404 permit program, as promised when the new rule was released.

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) recently announced approximately $13.2 million in supplemental funding through the Revolving Loan Funding (RLF) program for 44 communities to cleanup and redevelop contaminated properties. The agency also has released a new electronic decision tree that helps users explore the feasibility of siting renewable energy projects on formerly contaminated properties and underutilized sites.

Safety professionals aren’t yet aware of all the emerging green building systems. To meet this need in the building industry, AGC of Washington and its AGC Education Foundation partnered with others on a grant to develop a curriculum and a mobile app specific to safety concerns while working on a green building.

Resources are now on the AGC-Supported Construction Industry Compliance Assistance Center! Safety professionals aren’t yet aware of all the emerging green building systems. To meet this need in the building industry, AGC of Washington and its AGC Education Foundation partnered with others on a grant to develop a curriculum and a mobile app specific to safety concerns while working on a green building.

A Step toward a ‘Next Generation Enforcement’ Strategy The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has finalized a nationwide rule that will require construction site operators to submit certain National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System (NPDES) stormwater permit documentation to their permitting authorities using an electronic reporting tool, instead of filing paper. The new rule requires states to share these data with EPA, along with government-administered inspection and enforcement results. EPA currently plans to make these data available to the public through its publicly-accessible Enforcement and Compliance History Online (ECHO) website. Contractors should expect to see new electronic reporting requirements added to their federal/state stormwater permits when they are reissued.