The Trump Administration recently issued two executive orders (EO) that focus on supporting economic recovery during the pandemic and recovery that could bring opportunity for environmental regulatory relief as well as risk.

On May 19, 2020, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) proposed a rule to establish consistent requirements and procedures for the issuance of guidance documents. AGC has raised concerns previously with the use of guidance documents as “back-door regulations.” EPA Administrator Andrew Wheeler called the proposal, “…[A] major step toward increasing transparency in EPA processes and ensuring that EPA is not creating new regulatory obligations through guidance.” Comments are due on the proposal by June 22, 2020.

AGC’s Construction Safety, Health & Environmental Conference is the industry’s foremost annual conference to hone in on the most critical safety, health and environmental compliance and risk issues impacting the business of construction. As a leader in construction safety, health and environment, our top priority is the safety and health of our members, attendees, speakers and staff. We have been closely monitoring the progression of the COVID-19 pandemic and, due to phased re-opening restrictions in our host city, Louisville, Kentucky, we will be pivoting to a completely virtual experience for our July 14-16 schedule of events. Join us, wherever you are, for the same superior educational content and peer-to-peer engagement that you have come to expect from AGC.

U.S. The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) proposed extensive updates to the Multi-Sector General Permit, which covers stormwater discharges from industrial activity. Construction companies that perform activities associated with cement or concrete manufacturing, asphalt paving, minerals mining, or landfill operations will all likely be impacted by the changes. AGC has several concerns with the proposed permit and submitted extensive comments with a broad coalition of industry partners on June 1, 2020.

On June 1, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) finalized an AGC-supported rule to update and clarify its regulations on state water quality certifications under the Clean Water Act (CWA). This is welcome news as many AGC members perform construction activities on land and water that require section 401 water quality certification before proceeding, such as work that relies on a federal dredge and fill permit. The new rule refines the scope of the certification review to those water quality concerns at the “point source” and sets timelines to ensure the process does not become overly protracted. These changes will streamline environmental permitting for infrastructure projects.

In a recent U.S. Supreme Court opinion in the Cty. of Maui v. Hawai’i Wildlife Fund (Maui) case, the Court expanded the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) reading of its authority to regulate discharges to groundwater and created a new “functional equivalent” test that now leaves contractors confused about whether their stormwater storage ponds, basins and underground storage will require discharge permitting.

AGC has put safeguards in place so you can register with confidence AGC is moving forward with its annual Construction Safety, Health and Environmental Conference on July 14-16, 2020, in Louisville, Kentucky. As a leader in construction safety, health and environment, our top priority is the safety and health of our members, attendees, speakers and staff. We have been closely monitoring the progression of the COVID-19 pandemic and remain optimistic that we can deliver our in-person event this July. However, should circumstances not improve in the coming months, we are fully prepared to shift to an online format. Whether in-person or online, we are confident that we will be able to provide you with the same superior educational content and peer-to-peer engagement that you are used to from AGC.

U.S. EPA expands enforcement and compliance history online (ECHO) tools The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) provides public access to industry regulatory compliance and enforcement data online. EPA released a new State Clean Air Act Dashboard (State Air Dashboard) that is available to the public via the Enforcement and Compliance History Online (ECHO) Web page. The dashboard, which is focused on stationary sources only, provides information such as how many inspections were performed, how may violations were identified, and how many enforcement actions were taken. EPA plans to update the RCRA, CWA and SDWA dashboards to this new format over the next 6-8 months.

AGC recently participated in a virtual meeting with the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Administrator Andrew Wheeler to discuss the release of the Construction Snapshot, AGC’s participation in the Smart Sectors Program, and top issues for AGC contractors. Importantly, the Smart Sectors’ Construction Snapshot includes a look at the industry’s environmental as well as economic performance over time, using data from different publicly-available sources. AGC took the opportunity to thank U.S. EPA for its leadership in response to COVID-19 (e.g., list of disinfectants and enforcement discretion policy), and to express support of several recent U.S. EPA deregulatory actions. AGC also provided industry-specific insights on where additional implementation guidance is needed to clarify how certain environmental laws will be applied (and enforced) in the field.

In an April 15 ruling on Northern Plains Resource Council, et al. v. Army Corps of Engineers, the U.S. District Court for the District of Montana vacated (voided) the Army Corps of Engineers’ Nationwide Permit (NWP) 12 (in use on the Keystone XL pipeline project) on an Endangered Species Act procedural concern. The court stated, in part: “The Corps should have initiated ESA Section 7(a)(2) consultation before it reissued NWP 12 in 2017.” The court’s order prohibits the Corps from authorizing “any dredge or fill activities under NWP 12 pending completion of the [ESA Section 7] consultation process.”