Registration is now open for the 2010 AGC Joint Highway and Utilities Contractors Issues Meeting in Phoenix, Ariz. The meeting is scheduled for November 11-13, 2010 at the Arizona Biltmore hotel. You can register online and also find out more information about the meeting here.This year's meeting will address all of the top issues that impact contractors working in the highway, transportation and utilities market, including:Election 2010: How will the midterm election results impact your market, taxes and business operationsOutlook for transportation reauthorization, SRF reauthorization, and clean water trust fund legislationSelling your company or your project by using social mediaNew OSHA Regulations on Cranes and DerricksCase Studies Using BIM on Transportation and Utility ProjectsCM at Risk - Learn What Works and What Doesn'tIncreasing efficiency in joint highway and utilities projectsOpen-mic Sessions to dialogue with your fellow contractors about conditions across the countrySeparate tracks are again scheduled to address issues unique each of the two market sectors. A speaker from FMI will discuss the latest market outlook for the water and wastewater construction market. Other planned topics include OSHA's forthcoming Confined Space final rule (which is due out in October) and PHMSA's forthcoming proposed rule on Federal Enforcement of State Damage Prevention Programs (which is due out in November).Below is a tentative preliminary meeting schedule:Thursday November 11, 201012:30 - 5:00 PM Ritchie Brothers Golf Tournament5:30 - 7:00 PM Golf Tournament ReceptionFriday November 12, 20107:00 AM - 4:30 PM Highway and Utilities Contractor Issues Meeting Session I6:00 - 7:00 PM Issues Meeting ReceptionSaturday November 13, 20107:00 AM - 12 Noon Highway and Utilities Contractor Issues Meeting Session IIFor more information, contact Scott Berry at (703) 837-5321 or berrys@agc.org.

Despite increased annual appropriations in FY10, and an unprecedented $6 billion investment through the Recovery Act, the Clean Water and Drinking Water State Revolving Loans continue to operate without having been reauthorized in over 20 years, bringing uncertainty to these successful but undercapitalized programs.The Senate bill (S. 1005) authorizes $39.191 billion for EPA water infrastructure programs over the next five years, and includes $20 billion for the Clean Water State Revolving Fund Program, $15 billion for the Drinking Water State Revolving Fund Program and $1.85 billion for Sewer Overflow Grants.The AGC-sponsored WIN Coalition sent a letter to Senate leadership asking for consideration of S. 1005 in the lame duck session of Congress this fall, following the 2010 midterm elections. AGC is hoping for consideration to attempt to break the deadlock on Davis-Bacon provisions based on the passage of H.R. 1262 (the House companion to S. 1005) last year and the overwhelming bipartisan support for the program demonstrated bypassage of H.R. 5320 (the AQUA Act) by voice vote at the end of July. AGC and its WIN Coalition partners hope that this recent vote of confidence in the SRF programs has set the stage for action on the bill after the elections.AGC will continue to monitor action on the bill and push for its consideration by the full Senate. For a copy of the letter sent by the WIN Coalition, click here.For more information, contact Scott Berry at (703) 837-5321 or berrys@agc.org.

The Federal Acquisition Regulation Councils have released the final version of the rule governing the Buy American provisions for direct-federal procurements under the Recovery Act. While this rule does not govern the federally-assisted work done through grants and loans (like those administered by the DOT and the SRFs), it does provide a preview of what to expect from those forthcoming regulations.AGC, in its comments on the interim rule, asked that the federal rule and the federally-assisted rules have the closest possible alignment to minimize the burden on contractors, and the government said "the Councils agree and note that the final rule was developed in close coordination with OMB grant officials." The rule does however concede that the two cannot be completely in sync because the Buy American Act of 1933 (which forms the basis of the rule) does not apply to grants, financial assistance, and loans. Furthermore, trade agreements do not apply uniformly.One clarification that AGC expects to be carried into the OMB guidance is the proclamation that in cases where there are mixed Recovery Act and non-Recovery Act funds, and the Recovery funds are not segregated by line item, the law requires the mixed-fund contracts to be treated as if they were entirely funded by the Recovery Act. AGC will continue to watch for the OMB guidance for federally-assisted work and will analyze and disseminate it when it arrives.Click here to read the final rule for federal contractorsFor more information on the interim rule for federally-assisted work or other AGC analysis on Buy American, visithttp://www.agc.org/buyamerican.For more information, contact Scott Berry at (703) 837-5321 or berrys@agc.org.

The Common Ground Alliance has released its report on the 2009 information gathered through the Damage Information Reporting Tool (DIRT) concerning damage to underground utility facilities. Estimated damages and DIRT events have decreased, but for the first time the Data Reporting and Evaluation Committee at CGA is looking at how these decreases may have been affected by the overall decrease in construction activity.Unfortunately the report indicates that the root cause "Excavation Practices Not Sufficient" now makes up the largest group in the data set. However, the report does concede that Natural Gas and Telecommunications stakeholders submit the majority of data, so the resulting data set favors the causes they submit. Among excavators, the root cause most submitted is "Locating Practices Not Sufficient."  In contrast, locators report a low percentage of events involving "Locating Practices Not Sufficient," and a high percentage involving "Excavation Practices Not Sufficient." The report also identifies other reporting stakeholders that select "Locating Practices Not Sufficient," but are overshadowed in the overall dataset, such as Public Works, Private Water, Engineering, Road Builder, Railroad and One Call.Read the report here.For more information, contact Scott Berry at (703) 837-5321 or berrys@agc.org.

August 11, or 8/11, serves as a reminder to everyone of the importance of the 811 "Call Before You Dig" message.  Excavation must be performed safely every time, as striking a buried utility line can have serious, even fatal, consequences.

August 11, or 8/11, serves as an important reminder to everyone of the importance of the 811 "Call Before You Dig" message.  A recent report released by the Common Ground Alliance (CGA), the leading association dedicated to protecting underground utility lines and the safety of the people who dig near them, indicated an underground utility line is damaged during digging projects once every three minutes in the United States. That same report found that 34 percent of underground utility lines are damaged because the free 811 phone call was never made, resulting in more than 60,000 unintentional hits annually.Excavation safety is first and foremost a safety concern, and striking a buried utility line can have serious, even fatal, safety consequences. One free call to 811 can help protect excavators as well as save contractors and their customers time and money. Striking a single line can cause injury, repair costs, fines and inconvenient outages. Every digging project, no matter how large or small, warrants a call to 811. Installing a mailbox, building a deck and planting a tree are all examples of digging projects that need a call to 811 before starting. When calling 811, homeowners and contractors are connected to their local one-call center, which notifies the appropriate utility companies of their intent to dig. Professional locators are then sent to the requested digging site to mark the approximate locations of underground lines with flags, spray paint, or both. The depth of utility lines can vary for a number of reasons, such as erosion, previous digging projects and uneven surfaces. Even when digging only a few inches, the risk of striking an underground utility line still exists.AGC and its stakeholder partners within the Common Ground Alliance have been on the forefront of promoting the Call 811 campaign and its message of excavation safety and underground damage prevention. AGC will continue to set the bar high for all involved in this effort.For more information about 811 or your one-call center, click here.For more information, contact Scott Berry at (703) 837-5368 or berrys@agc.org

The enormous investment gap in water infrastructure has caused many in the private sector and Congress to re-evaluate traditional funding and seek out infrastructure financing alternatives. A recent EPA Clean Water Infrastructure surveyverified EPA estimates exceeding $600 billion over twenty years for clean water and drinking water combined.  AGC of America and the WIN Coalition have been steadfast supporters of the "Trust Fund" concept in H.R. 3202, the "Water Protection and Reinvestment Act of 2009," because it would provide deficit neutral dedicated and sustainable revenues for water infrastructure while continuing to capitalize state SRF programs.  Other legislative efforts, such as removing the cap on Private Activity Bonds, have also been promoted by AGC and others as a way bridge the gap by providing more access to private capital.The GAO recently issued a report to the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee titled "Wastewater Infrastructure Financing: Stakeholder Views on a National Infrastructure Bank and Public-Private Partnerships." AGC was one of 23 national organizations surveyed for the report, which is inconclusive regarding alternative project financing, but demonstrative of the varying views in the water infrastructure community. While the study does not make any specific policy recommendations it is another insightful look at additional water infrastructure financing options.To view the reports please visit http://www.gao.gov/products/GAO-10-728. For more information, contact Scott Berry at (703) 837-5368 or berrys@agc.org.

On Thursday, July 29, the House passed H.R. 5320, the Assistance, Quality, and Affordability (AQUA) Act of 2010 by a voice vote.  This legislation amends the Safe Drinking Water Act to reauthorize and increase funding for the drinking water state revolving fund (SRF) for FY2011-FY2013. H.R, 5320 authorizes $4.8 billion over three years for the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's Safe Drinking Water State Revolving Loan Fund (SRF) Program, which provides federal financial assistance to states for the construction of drinking water infrastructure. This is a key development in AGC's and the WIN Coalition's efforts to reauthorize the EPA SRF programs.AGC of America sent a letter to Congress supporting the overall bill withstanding the inclusion of the Recovery Act "Buy American" requirements. Key changes to current policy in the legislation in addition to higher authorization levels include policies applied to EPA Stimulus funds including "Buy American" requirements for iron, steel and manufactured goods, and application of Davis Bacon prevailing wages. Another key change in the legislation includes applying requirements for qualifications based selection criteria (QBS) for Architecture and Engineering services with an exemption for communities of 10,000 people or less.Other policy changes include:Revising provisions concerning state intended use plans for SRF funds, including by requiring plans to give priority for the use of such funds to public water systems affected by a new national primary drinking water standard and serving disadvantaged communities.Providing guidance, tools, methodologies or computer software to assist small systems in undertaking measures to improve the system's management, financial stability and efficiency or to reduce the system's environmental impact.Prohibiting the use of lead pipes, solder and flux do not apply to pipes, pipe and plumbing fittings, and fixtures (pipes) that are used exclusively for non-potable services.Revising the definition of "lead free" to mean not containing more than 0.2 percent lead when used with respect to solder and flux and no more than a weighted average of 0.25 percent when used with respect to the wetted surfaces of pipes.AGC of America and the WIN Coalition continue to work with key Senate stakeholders to get companion legislation S.1005, which authorizes $39.191 billion for the Clean Water and Drinking Water SRF program over five years, to the floor of the Senate for a vote before the 111th Congress finishes the legislative session.For more information, contact Scott Berry at (703)837-5368 or berrys@agc.org

AGC sponsored and participated in a briefing on Capitol Hill in an effort to educate staffers on the Clean Water Trust Fund (H.R. 3202). A Clean Water Trust Fund will protect vital sources of drinking water and fragile watersheds, including the nation's great water bodies, enhancing the health and security of citizens nationwide. EPA's most recent needs surveys estimates nationwide needs for drinking water and wastewater improvements at over $600 billion. With a rate of 28,500 jobs per billion spent, projects across the country would spur economic growth, create jobs and improve the environment and public health.In a packed room of over 100 staffers, Shirley Franklin, former mayor of Atlanta that was also feature in Liquid Assets, explained the challenges faced by big cities that need to service large numbers of people with outdated and aging water systems. The audience also heard about the challenges faced by small towns forced to shoulder the debt burden from the mayor of Buhl, Idaho, Tom McCauley. They heard about the state of the construction and equipment industries from AGC and United Rentals and the environmental benefits from the National Wildlife Foundation. Finally, staffers heard an impassioned appeal for water and wastewater infrastructure from the D.C. Water and Sewer Authority.AGC has been on the forefront of advocating for a Clean Water Trust Fund that would be deficit-neutral, financed by user fees, and help counteract the steady decline in federal investment in water and wastewater infrastructure. AGC will continue to garner support in the House for this important legislation.For more information, contact Scott Berry at (703) 837-5368 or berrys@agc.org.

AGC has compiled a new resource for all things Buy American on its website. The new page describes the differences between "Buy American," "Buy America," and the Recovery Act Buy American provisions.The page also catalogues AGC's standing policy of opposition to expansion of the Buy American Act, a description of the Recovery Act rules and regulations governing the Recovery Act Buy American provisions (both for direct-federal and federal-aid work), AGC's analysis of several key provisions of the rules and regulations, and a catalogue of waivers guidance from agencies that have construction portfolios. This valuable new comprehensive resource is located at www.agc.org/buyamerican and will be updated on an ongoing basis as new information is released from the agencies.For more information, contact Scott Berry at (703)837-5368 or berrys@agc.org.