AGC has joined Municipal Bonds for America, a new coalition designed to educate lawmakers about the municipal bond market and the impact that the tax-exemption that which enables state and local governments to finance vital infrastructure at the lowest cost to their taxpayers. AGC joins a growing membership comprised of bond issuers, regional bond dealers, and state and local government organizations all dedicated to making sure municipal bonds maintain their current status.

Voters in this election approved more than 380 ballot initiatives totaling more than $30 billion in state, local, and school bond measures. With municipal bond yields at some of the lowest rates since the ‘60s, many cities and states decided that this was the year to go for big infrastructure projects. States and municipalities were asking for $37 billion, so their success rate was over 80 percent, higher even than the average success rate for presidential election years (since 1948), which is 76.3 percent. Yet the $37 billion in approval sought was significantly less than the $67 billion sought in 2008.

Forty years ago today, the primary federal law in the United States governing water pollution went into effect. The Federal Water Pollution Control Amendments of 1972, known as the Clean Water Act (CWA), became law after the bill was vetoed by President Nixon.

Rep. Earl Blumenauer (D-Ore.) introduced legislation that would create a trust fund to be used to assess user fees on water users and products that affect the water stream in attempts to generate around $9 billion per year to pay for water infrastructure projects. To generate $9 billion annually, the bill proposes fees at the manufacturer level on bottled beverages, pharmaceuticals, and flushable products (personal hygiene, toiletries, cooking oils, etc.). None of these groups are supportive of the legislation and the bottlers have come out strongly opposed to paying into the fund.

The House Appropriations Committee approved the FY 2013 Interior and Environment Appropriations bill, which includes funding for the Department of the Interior, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), the Forest Service, and various independent and related agencies. In total, the bill cuts of $1.2 billion below last year’s level, with $870 million (or 73 percent) coming in the form of cuts to the State Revolving Funds (SRF) for clean water and drinking water infrastructure.

This week, the House Interior/Environment Appropriations Subcommittee marked up its FY 2013 funding legislation for the Department of the Interior and Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), which also contains the funding for EPA’s State Revolving Funds (SRF) for clean water and drinking water infrastructure.

AGC joined other industry groups this week in sending a letter to members of the House Appropriations Committee making sure State Revolving Fund (SRF) projects are not hampered by harmful Buy American provisions. The House Interior/Environment Appropriations Subcommittee was reportedly working on language that would have applied requirements that the iron, steel, and manufactured goods on SRF projects are domestically sourced.

This week, the House Interior/Environment Appropriations Subcommittee marked up its FY 2013 funding legislation for the Department of the Interior and Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), which also contains the funding for EPA’s State Revolving Funds (SRF) for clean water and drinking water infrastructure.

AGC recently submitted comments on a proposed rule issued by the Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration (PHMSA) that addressed federal enforcement of state damage prevention laws. This proposed rule establishes the criteria for determining the adequacy of state enforcement of pipeline damage prevention laws and proposes a process for federal enforcement under the authority of the Pipeline Inspection, Protection, Safety, and Enforcement (PIPES) Act of 2006.

AGC Submitted comments on a proposed rule issued by the Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration (PHMSA) that addressed federal enforcement of state damage prevention laws. This proposed rule establishes the criteria for determining the adequacy of state enforcement of pipeline damage prevention laws and proposes a process for federal enforcement under the authority of the Pipeline Inspection, Protection, Safety, and Enforcement (PIPES) Act of 2006.