AGC July 6 responded to an Advance Notice of Proposed Rulemaking by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to expand the Agency's Lead Renovation, Repair and Painting Program (RRP) requirements to cover work performed in commercial and public buildings.The ANPR includes no proposed language.  Rather, the public was invited to respond to over 100 detailed questions and data requests.  Currently there are no limits on the potential scope of regulated commercial and public buildings. Other unresolved questions include: What renovation and repair work should be covered? What activities create the most risk? Should exposure pathways be broadened to include nearby properties?  AGC invited members to help shape the future lead paint rule and solicited input on a variety of important industry-specific issues currently under consideration at EPA.AGC CommentsAs part of a coalition with 15 other organizations, AGC filed comments [insert PDF file] with EPA maintaining that the Agency lacks the legal authority to adopt requirements for Lead RRP activities in public and commercial buildings.  In the comments, the coalition pointed out that the statute under which EPA would issue the rule grants it the authority to issue guidelines for work practice standards, but not the authority to promulgate such regulations for RRP in public and commercial buildings.For more detail on AGC's comments on the EPA's ANPR and background on the Lead Paint Renovation, Repair, and Painting Program, please click here.

July 22, 2010 | 2:00p.m. - 3:30p.m. ET ConsensusDOCS has dozens of administrative forms to help you manage your construction projects, both large and small.Learn about the ConsensusDOCS administrative forms using the 700 Series as a baseline for examples.  Learn how to use these administrative documents to manage your projects more efficiently starting with the ConsensusDOCS 705 Invitation to Bid/Sub-Bid Proposal all the way through to the 782 Certificate of Final Completion.  Documents to be reviewed include:Invitation to Bid, RFI's and Qualifications StatementsBond FormsMaterials StorageChange OrdersPurchase and Payment FormsCertificates of CompletionRegister today! Registration is free but limited to the first 500 respondants.For more information, contact Megan McGarvey at (703) 837-5369 or mcgarveym@agc.org.

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) recently finalized new stormwater requirements that will impact nearly every construction and development project in the United States.  Penalties for violating these "Construction and Development Effluent Limitations Guidelines" (C&D ELG) may reach $37,500 per day per violation.  Are you prepared?  Click here for an in-depth Q&A analysis, prepared by AGC.The new federal C&D ELG requirements impose an enforceable numeric limit on stormwater discharges from sites disturbing 10 acres or more at any one time, require monitoring to ensure compliance with the numeric limit, and require nearly all construction sites to implement a range of prescriptive erosion and sediment controls and pollution prevention measures.  The new ELG requirements will directly apply to individual construction sites via incorporation in individual and general National Pollutant Discharges Elimination System (NPDES) construction stormwater permits.  EPA will include the ELG requirements in its federal Construction General Permit when it is reauthorized by July 2011.  States are required by EPA to include the new ELG requirements into their permits the next time they are renewed (or earlier if the states so choose). EPA was under a court ordered deadline to develop the new C&D ELG by December 1, 2009.  The rule took effect on Feb. 1, 2010, and will be phased in over four years.  EPA estimates that the new rule will reduce the amount of sediment discharged from construction sites by about 4 billion pounds each year (for a monetized benefit of $368.9 million), at an annual cost of about $953 million, once fully implemented.  See 74 Fed. Reg. 62,996 (Dec. 1, 2009).AGC has prepared an in-depth Q&A analysis to explore what the new federal C&D ELG requirements mean to construction companies (and their workers).  AGC answers the following questions:What Specifically Are the New Federal Requirements?Are State Stormwater Programs Affected by This Rule?Do Permitting Authorities Have Flexibility in Applying the ELG Rule to Construction Sites in Their State? What Technology Can Contractors Use To Meet The 280 NTU Limit?What Are The Monitoring Requirements?What Happens If My Average Discharge Exceeds 280 NTU?What Can Contractors Do To Avoid The Numeric Limit?What is the Impact to the Regulated Community?Have There Been Any Legal Challenges to EPA's Rule?How Can I Prepare?The full text of the ELG rule, EPA's fact sheet and related materials are available online at http://www.epa.gov/waterscience/guide/construction.  See also an AGC's Environmental Observer article, posted Nov. 30, 2009.For more information, contact Leah Pilconis at pilconisl@agc.org.

Recent upgrades to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's (EPA) new "Rulemaking Gateway" offers small businesses "an easy way" to track most rulemakings, according to the Agency.  This website provides an overview of EPA's priority rulemakings that are currently under development. It also serves as a portal to more in-depth information on other federal websites such as Regulations.gov.  AGC previously reported in the Observer on the launch of these websites, along with other tools to help contractors stay informed and involved with policymaking decisions at EPA and other federal government agencies.The Rulemaking Gateway (www.epa.gov/rulemaking/) does not cover every rule, just EPA's "priority rulemakings."  (See a definition of "priority rulemaking" here.)  If a small business stakeholder doesn't have the time to visit the Gateway on a regular basis, he or she can now sign up for "RSS feeds" that send electronic notifications out when information is added or changed (e.g., a new rulemaking is added to the Gateway), according to EPA's Tracy Westfield, Regulatory Management Division, EPA's Office of Policy, Economics & Innovation. EPA recently added a Get Alerts page where users can sign up for regular notifications on priority rulemakings that are likely to affect small businesses.  An RSS feed is available for each of the effects displayed on the Sort by Effects page.  Another key feature is the "small entities filter" page that lists those rulemakings that are likely to have an adverse economic impact on small entities.  Other recent upgrades to the Rulemaking Gateway include hyperlinks to documents published in the Federal Register and users can see a list of rules added to the Rulemaking Gateway in the last 30 days on the Newly Added Rules page. Information on the Rulemaking Gateway is updated on a monthly basis.As a general matter, every new rulemaking that EPA starts working on in a given month (whether it's a priority rulemaking or not) is announced on EPA's Action Initiation List (AIL) (www.epa.gov/lawsregs/search/ail.html).  After a rule appears in the AIL, a small business stakeholder can track it in 1) the Rulemaking Gateway (if it is a priority rulemaking), which is updated on a monthly basis or 2) the Regulatory Agenda, which is updated every six months.  During July 2010, EPA is hosting a Discussion Forum (http://blog.epa.gov/rulegateway/) to gather your suggestions for ways to continue to improve the Rulemaking Gateway.Final rules, EPA guidance and compliance assistance tools are also available on EPA's website at http://www.epa.gov.  In addition, AGC of America has worked extensively with EPA to provide online compliance information tailored to the construction industry, available at the Construction Industry Compliance Assistance Center, http://www.cicacenter.org.

Is the commercial real estate crash still waiting to happen, or did the market escape the same fate its residential counterpart succumbed to?  According to Fortune, there are two opposing fields of thought that have answers to this question.  The Congressional Oversight Panel still predicted a crash that would cause a "downward spiral of economic contraction," but many commercial investors believe otherwise. Investors in the commercial market predict that the market will in fact hit a bottom, but that a crash is not inevitable.  Rather, a peristant effort to work through the commercial real estate sector's rough areas will eventually see it through to a stabler market.  Some investors have followed a trend of buying back their debt and restructuring it, while other portfolios are being auctioned off at a portion of the value.  This breathes a little more life into these properties, allowing for more flexibility on loans.This slight optimism is echoed in the Real Estate Roundtable's Second Quarter Sentiment Index.  Though the majority of the senior executives surveyed think the current market is an improvement on last year's conditions, they are still wary about the future, citing the need for available equity and more jobs creation.

December 15-17, 2010 | The Palace Hotel | San Francisco, Calif. The 25th Annual Construction SuperConference will bring to the forefront new insights into the legal, business and economic challenges and opportunities in today's construction industry.  The agenda features panel discussions comprised of some of the top legal, consulting and construction experts who will delve deep into some of the most challenging issues with sharp insight and practical solutions.  All participants will walk away with invaluable information and resources that will assist them in meeting today's challenges.AGC Members receive a 15% discount.  Early Bird registration ends September 10.  Use Code- A2G3C3 at https://secure2.rhq.com/vendome/csc10/attreg/index.cgi?source=AGC.For more information or questions, please contact Carrie Ciliberto at cilibertoc@agc.org or 703-837-5367.

According to Bloomberg, 2010's first quarter saw an overall decline in commercial property values.  Though the general economy expanded slightly during this period and property sales increased, many commercial sectors did not fare well.  Office vacancies grew by 17 percent, and rents dropped by almost 1 percent.  Apartment and industrial real estate values rose in the first quarter, but overall the Moody's/REAL Commercial Property Prince Index fell .5 percent in March, down 25 percent from the previous year.For the complete analysis from Bloomberg, please click here.

According to the Wall Street Journal, the government's new Lead Renovation, Repair, and Paint Program (covered by AGC's Environmental Observer) could add a significant cost burden to the already weakened construction industry.  The cost of employee certification, as well as new equipment, clothing, and other safety materials could be a hefty expense for many small businesses.  These businesses will have a tough time justifying increased costs to property owners, who are already investing less in home renovations. On the other hand, there is the possibility that increased awareness of the harmful effects of lead will increase business for renovation companies.  The Home Star Energy Retrofit Act, if passed by the Senate, would offer incentives to homeowners who make their homes more energy-efficient. Small businesses hope that the incentive to renovate, coupled with lead aweness, will encourage more renovation investment.For the complete article, please click here.

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's (EPA) Lead Renovation, Repair, and Painting Program (RRP) rule was fully implemented on April 22, 2010.  Adding to the already complex regulatory regime, EPA has just taken three new actions that widen the rule's potential impact on the construction industry.  Most notably, EPA is also exploring whether or not to impose the RRP requirements to the exteriors - and possibly even the interiors - of all public and commercial buildings. AGC has distributed news articles that explain the legal requirements and a contractor's responsibilities under EPA's RRP rule, and has more information on the EPA's most recent actions here.  AGC urges construction professionals to remain aware of these changing standards and take appropriate action to assure compliance with all lead-based paint rules.  AGC will continue to monitor and report on any new developments in AGC's Environmental Observer online at http://newsletters.agc.org/environment.For more information, please contact Leah Pilconis at (703) 837-5332 or pilconisl@agc.org.

July 14-16, 2010 | Cincinnati, OH Construction safety and health is vital for the success of the industry. Join more than 150 industry professionals and participate in the development of regulatory and legislative activity on both a national and local level, assist in the development and creation of new safety training programs and products and hear the latest initiatives from OSHA and other industry experts.The latest updates to regulations and OSHA activitiesGet the latest updates on congressional activities directly affecting construction safety and health.Participate on subcommittee and taskforce meetings on government, education and performance. Take an active role in improving safety and health in the construction industry.Don't miss the July 15th Evening Reception at the Newport Aquarium hosted by AGC of Ohio Divisions.  All aquarium exhibits will be open for this exclusive event and food and beverages will be available. The Reception starts at 6:00 pm and ends at 9:30 pm. Transportation to and from the hotel will be provided.Please follow the link below for registration and more details: http://www.agc.org/cs/event_details?eventId=1946.