The Senate Environment and Public Works Committee last week conducted three days of legislative hearings with over 50 witnesses providing testimony on S. 1733, the Clean Energy Jobs and American Power Act, a bill that would create a "cap and trade" regulatory program to reduce U.S. greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions to address global climate change concerns.  The bill aims to reduce U.S. GHG emissions by 20 percent below 2005 levels by 2020 and 83 percent below 2005 levels by 2050. 

On November 10, 2009, ConsensusDOCS will release the construction industry's first comprehensive standard contract document addressing the unique risks and responsibilities associated with building green projects - the ConsensusDOCS 310 Green Building Addendum. 

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is seeking public comment on its Federal Register proposal to extend by one year the terms of its NPDES (National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System) general permit for stormwater discharges from construction sites - commonly called the 2008 Construction General Permit (CGP).  The extension of the 2008 CGP permit is needed, according to EPA, to allow the Agency sufficient time to develop a new CGP that incorporates the Agency's soon-to-be-finalized national stormwater effluent limits (see more information below).  EPA also has cited a variety of other "high priority" efforts that are competing for the Agency's attention.

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) released a report to Congress this week detailing the health, environmental and economic benefits of the Agency's Diesel Emission Reduction Program. The program, funded at $50 million last year, allowed EPA to fund the purchase or retrofitting of 14,000 diesel-powered vehicles and pieces of equipment.  A copy of the report is available here.

Yesterday, AGC of America and the Clean Air Task Force (CATF) announced that the two organizations have agreed on principles to require reductions in diesel emissions from federally-funded transportation projects via contract change orders that cover 100 percent of the costs to retrofit equipment.  CATF represents leading environmental groups and targets diesel emissions reductions nationwide. 

Recently, there has been an increased focus on black carbon and its potential impact on global warming. Diesel vehicles and equipment are one of the many sources of black carbon emissions.  The Diesel Technology Forum recently published a new paper, "Climate Change, Black Carbon & Clean Diesel," that presents definitions, statistics and facts about black carbon.  The paper explains how the introduction of new "clean diesel" technology is effectively shrinking black carbon emissions from U.S. transportation-related sources.

U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Administrator Lisa Jackson appeared this week before the U.S. House of Representatives Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure to discuss the Clean Water Act's (CWA) permit program and EPA's immediate plans to strengthen its enforcement efforts. Jackson specifically called out construction sites as one of "the biggest threats" to our nation's waters, adding that EPA needs "to target enforcement to the most serious violations and the most significant sources."  To address what she describes as an "unacceptably low" level of enforcement activity, Administrator Jackson announced the release of EPA's new action plan to strengthen federal and state CWA enforcement. 

AGC and the Clean Air Task Force (CATF) today announced that the two organizations have agreed on principles to require reductions in diesel emissions from federally-funded transportation projects via contract change orders that cover 100 percent of the costs to retrofit equipment.  CATF represents leading environmental groups and targets diesel emissions reductions nationwide. Under the set of "Clean Construction Principles," states would first require successful bidders for federally-funded transportation projects to identify the off-road diesel equipment they plan to use on designated projects.  States would give priority to projects located in areas with poor air quality.  After exploring EPA-approved options for reducing diesel emissions, states would issue change orders requiring contractors to pursue the best of those options.   The change orders would entitle contractors to recover 100 percent of their costs. AGC and CATF have been working with Congressman John Hall (D-N.Y.) to turn these principles into a legislative proposal that the Congressman will pursue as an amendment to the surface transportation reauthorization bill.  Funding to cover the cost of the change orders would be designated in the bill. The announcement was covered by Greenwire/New York Times. To view a copy of the "Clean Construction Principles" click here.

AGC and the Clean Air Task force called on Congress to give states the authority to require diesel emissions reductions on federally-funded transportation projects.  The two groups agreed, however, that any such requirement should be made via a contract change order and that the cost of the reductions should be fully covered with federal funds.

AGC's acclaimed Building to LEED-NC: Overview and the Impact on Construction Practices course examines LEED for New Construction with a focus on the means and methods of construction. Attendees will learn about which prerequisites and credits have impacts on construction practices. The course details the ways in which major impact credits will affect decision making related to estimating, scheduling, documentation, contracts, and more. Updates for the new LEED v. 3.0 will be included in this course.