The U.S. Green Building Council (USGBC) has announced the last public comment period, open March 1 through March 31, 2013, on the fourth version of its Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) Green Building Rating System.  USGBC membership will vote on LEED v4 this summer.

If you own or operate a stationary [1] generator, pump, compressor or some other piece of stationary equipment then you probably need to “retrofit” its engine to comply with federal National Emission Standards for Hazardous Air Pollutants (NESHAP) covering stationary reciprocating internal combustion engines (RICE).  Leading engine manufacturers warn that compliance is not going to be cheap, easy, or quick – especially when a limited number of qualified experts have just over two months to meet the nation’s retrofit needs.  Also be aware that the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) recently published amendments to the RICE NESHAP rule, mainly regarding RICE used for emergency or back-up power (78 Fed. Reg. 6674, Jan. 30, 2013).  EPA just announced it will host a series of free webinars in advance of the May 3, 2013, compliance deadline.

The AGC Annual Convention and Constructor Expo is the ideal opportunity to see everything that AGC can do for you and your business, as well as to learn from industry peers and experts on how they are overcoming today’s challenges.  All convention attendees are encouraged to attend the March 6 environmental session – “Stormwater as the New Epicenter of Environmental Action” – to learn about and discuss how stormwater, increasingly, is becoming the new focal point in environmental permitting debates and related litigation and federal enforcement.

If you are performing construction work for pay in a home, apartment, or child-occupied facility built before 1978, you MUST be certified and use lead safe work practices unless you prove through testing that the job will not disturb lead paint. These and other requirements are part of a federal regulatory program called the “Lead Renovation, Repair, and Painting (LRRP)” rule. The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) believes that far too many firms are not complying with the LRRP requirements; a violation could cost you $37,500 per day. EPA recently mailed out “warning postcards” to companies it believes to be operating in violation of LRRP rule’s certification provisions. Click here for AGC’s Fact Sheet on what the LRRP rule requires.

On Jan. 24, 2013, the US Green Building Council (USGBC) announced that a Clean Construction Pilot Credit can be used toward Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) certification.  This optional pilot credit rewards projects that take specific steps to reduce emissions from diesel engines during the construction phase of the project.

Looking ahead, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has committed to an aggressive regulatory agenda and is poised to take action in all program areas—taking up issues like stormwater runoff, fly ash reuse, and the disturbance of lead paint in buildings.  The rulemaking pipeline is full, and the construction and real estate industries are positioned to feel the brunt over the next four years.  Fortunately, AGC is working year round to keep EPA in check and remains closely engaged with the Agency on nearly a dozen pending rules, all projected to have significant impacts on construction jobs and the economy.  AGC will continue to push for sound, fact‐based decision‐making at all levels of government.

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has notified the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit it will not be able to finalize a draft vessel general discharge permit until March 15 (Natural Resources Defense Council Inc. v. EPA, D.C. Cir., No. 09-1089 11/30/12).   EPA’s website states that it expects to issue a final 2013 Vessel General Permit by March 15, 2013, with an effective date of Dec. 19, 2013.

On Jan. 14, AGC hosted representatives from the Office of the Secretary of Defense, Naval Facilities Engineering Command, General Services Administration and Department of Veterans Affairs to participate in a roundtable discussion with industry groups on the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) consideration of new nationwide rules that would expand and strengthen the current federal Lead Renovation, Repair and Painting (LRRP) Program requirements. Specifically, EPA is looking at expanding the LRRP Program to include renovations of both the exteriors and interiors of public and commercial buildings.

Stormwater Flow Rate Is Not a "Surrogate" for Controlling Sediment Runoff AGC is closely examining a landmark court decision rejecting the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) attempt to use stormwater flow rate as a surrogate pollutant in a TMDL (total maximum daily load) case. In this key decision handed down by the Federal District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia, a federal judge ruled that the Clean Water Act (CWA) does not authorize EPA to limit “stormwater flow” [in lieu of regulating sediment discharges] in TMDLs because such flow itself is not a pollutant (Virginia DOT v. EPA, E.D. Va., No. 1:12-cv-775, 1/3/13). Click here to read the court decision.

On Jan. 8, the U.S. Supreme Court unanimously reached a decision in the L.A. County Flood Control District v. Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC) Inc. case that could have had vast consequences for stormwater systems and other water infrastructure across the country (No. 11-460, decided Jan. 8, 2013).  It is a short opinion (9-0, Alito concurring) that focused solely on the determination that water flowing from one part of a waterway to another part of the same waterway cannot result in the discharge of a pollutant (consistent with the Court's prior Miccosukee opinion).  Click here to read the entire opinion.