AGC of Kentucky and Constructors Association of Western Pennsylvania won $2 million and $925,000 respectively in federal grants under EPA's National Clean Diesel Funding Assistance Program, plus collected more than $725,000 in matching and in-kind contributions.

This first installment of AGC's summary of the American Clean Energy and Security Act of 2009 (H.R. 2454) explains the major provisions of Title I (Clean Energy).  There are 10 subtitles described below.

AGC Invited To Help Shape New Action Plan Aimed at Improving Water Permit Compliance The U.S. EPA Administrator Lisa Jackson has directed the Office of Enforcement and Compliance Assurance (OECA) to examine its Clean Water Act enforcement program and report back to her in early October with an action plan to strengthen and improve the Agency's enforcement efforts.  This new initiative comes in light of information showing that water quality goals are not being met, there are too many violations in too many places, and the level of EPA enforcement is unacceptably low, according to Administrator Jackson's memo to key Agency officials.

When Congress reconvenes after Labor Day, the U.S. Senate will resume its work on a comprehensive energy and climate bill.  In part, those deliberations will focus on a companion bill, the America Clean Energy and Security Act, or H.R. 2454, which the U.S. House of Representatives passed on June 26, 2009, by a vote of 219 to 212. This article begins a series of articles that AGC will publish to keep members informed of the ongoing climate change debate in Congress.  These articles will summarize H.R. 2454 in plain English and include AGC's preliminary reactions.

AGC of America estimates that as many as 32 states are closely following California's controversial effort to implement and enforce first-time emission limits for in-use "fleets" of off-road diesel (ORD) equipment.  If these states adopt identical rules, construction companies across the nation will be forced to pay the high cost of installing aftermarket pollution controls on equipment that is currently out in the field, or face replacement and retirement as their only alternatives.  Interested states admit their goal is to reduce off-road emissions of nitrogen oxide (NOx) and fine particulate matter (PM2.5) at a much faster rate than what is required by federal "Tier 1-4 standards," which set pollution limits for newly-manufactured off-road diesel engines and fuel -- but do not mandate any reductions from existing engines.

[caption id="attachment_506" align="alignleft" width="200" caption=" "][/caption] Trey Pebley (center), Vice President of McAllen Construction, Inc., of McAllen, Texas, testified Wednesday before the House Small Business Committee on the impact of federal regulation over water and wetlands on small businesses and family farmers.

Trey Pebley, Vice President of McAllen Construction, Inc., of McAllen, Texas, testified Wednesday before the House Small Business Committee on the impact of federal regulation over water and wetlands on small businesses and family farmers.The Committee conducted the hearing to gather testimony on the impact of legislative efforts to remove the term "navigable waters" from the Clean Water Act. Pebley, an elected Trustee of the McAllen Public Utilities Board, explained to the Committee that such a legislative change would fundamentally expand federal jurisdiction under the Clean Water Act to include all waters and wetlands and would increase the need for federal discharge permits (i.e., Section 404 permits).Pebley also expressed concern that a bill called the Clean Water Restoration Act would also extend federal jurisdiction over groundwater, as well as all surface waters. If the bill were enacted, underground contractors, could be required to obtain a federal permit for every project.Pebley reiterated AGC's commitment to water quality and the protection of public health and welfare as builders. However, he continued that the federal reach over waters and wetlands should have a limit and that states and local governments are best equipped to look after their water and land use. To provide the long sought-after clarity that the construction industry needs to comply with the existing complex regulatory process, the U.S. Corps of Engineers and the Environmental Protection Agency should conduct an administrative rulemaking to define crucial terms to delineate federal jurisdiction, Pebley added.Last month, the Senate Environment and Public Works Committee approved its version of the Clean Water Restoration Act, S. 787, with a so-called "compromise" amendment. As the amended legislation would still fundamentally expand federal jurisdiction over all waters and wetlands, AGC opposes the bill.To contact your Senators to oppose S 787, use AGC’s Legislative Action Center.To view a copy of Pebley’s written statement to the House Small Business Committee, click here.

AGC submitted comments in June to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) on a proposed rule that would require thousands of facilities to monitor their greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions starting in January 2010 and report those emissions to EPA in 2011.  All facilities that produce Portland cement or manufacture lime would be required to report.  Additionally, thousands of small emitters would be scrambling to determine whether their emissions fall within the threshold for reporting or face the risk of high penalties for noncompliance. If finalized, EPA's proposal would require reporting of GHG emissions from all sectors of the economy in very short order.  EPA has identified "source categories" wherein all of the facilities with that source of emissions within their boundaries would be subject to the rule.  These source categories include large operations such as petroleum refineries, power plants, Portland cement plants, landfills, etc.  In addition to these sources, EPA has suggested a threshold of 25,000 metric tons per year of carbon dioxide equivalent (metric tpy CO2e) above which other facilities would be required to report annual GHG emissions from stationary fuel combustion sources (boilers, process heaters, etc.).For more information, click here, or contact Melinda Tomaino at (703) 837-5415 or tomainom@agc.org.

As of June 26, 2009, all new construction and major renovation projects registering to use the Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) Green Building Rating SystemTM need to use the newest version-LEED 2009. The changes to the rating system are part of an over-arching evolution of the LEED system-LEED Version 3.  In this guest article, AGC Environmental Network Steering Committee Chair Thomas Taylor (Vertegy, an Alberici Enterprise) provides a quick look at some of the changes in the new version.To read the full article, click here. For more information, contact Melinda Tomaino at (703) 837-5415 or tomainom@agc.org. 

AGC's new online recycling toolkit will help contractors recycle construction and demolition (C&D) debris and reuse industrial materials in new construction projects.  AGC worked with the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and the Industrial Resources Council (IRC) to make this tool available.For more information, click here, or contact Melinda Tomaino at (703) 837-5415 or tomainom@agc.org.