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For any members planning to participate in the conference who need assistance in scheduling meetings with Members of Congress, please contact your Association's government affairs representative.

Contact Kerri Leininger.

For assistance in scheduling, contact David Hubbard, Kerri Leininger, or Jerry Voigt.

House Approves Water Resources Bill

The U.S. House of Representatives yesterday overwhelmingly approved the long-overdue Water Resources Development Act of 2007 (WRDA) reauthorization bill (H.R. 1495) by a vote of 394 to 25.  The estimated $14 billion bill authorizes hundreds of Army Corps of Engineers flood control, navigation, environmental restoration, and shoreline protection projects. 

The House-passed bill authorizes rehabilitation projects on the Upper Mississippi River and Illinois Waterway, a provision the Portland Cement Association has long supported.  The legislation also requires peer review of projects that cost more than $50 million.

The House approved several amendments during Floor debate, including one offered by Representative Earl Blumenauer (D-Ore.) that requires the Secretary of the Army to revise and update the Corps “principles and guidelines” used to measure project benefits.  Representative Richard Baker (R-La.), the ranking member of the Water Resources Subcommittee, argued that the Corps regularly updates their Engineering Circulars.  Nonetheless, the amendment was approved by voice vote.

U.S. House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee Chairman Jim Oberstar (D-Minn.) reiterated that new project requests would be considered for inclusion in a second WRDA bill that would be considered following enactment of the current legislation.

Earlier this week, the Administration announced its opposition to the bill mostly over its excessive cost.  The full Senate is expected to consider its WRDA bill during the week of May 7. 

Contact David Hubbard or Robert Sullivan.

Freight Rail Infrastructure Tax Credit Legislation Introduced

Bipartisan legislation was introduced in the Senate this week providing for a 25 percent tax incentive for rail infrastructure expansion projects. 

The Freight Rail Infrastructure Capacity Expansion Act (S. 1125) was introduced by Senators Trent Lott (R-Miss.) and Kent Conrad (D-N.D.), both senior members of the Senate Finance Committee.

Under the legislation, any business investing in new track, intermodal facilities, rail yards, or other rail infrastructure capacity expansion projects would be eligible for a 25 percent tax credit.  As such, cement companies increasing rail facilities at their plants and distribution terminals would be eligible for the tax credit.

Enactment of this legislation is a high priority for the railroad industry.  The U.S. Department of Transportation predicts a 67 percent increase in overall freight traffic by 2020.  PCA has endorsed the legislation.

Companion legislation has not yet been introduced in the House of Representatives.

Contact David Hubbard.

Committee Hears Testimony on Carbon Research Legislation

The Senate Committee on Energy and Natural Resources on Monday held a hearing on the National Carbon Dioxide Storage Capacity Assessment Act of 2007 (S.731) and the Department of Energy Carbon Capture and Storage Research, Development, and Demonstration Act of 2007 (S.962).

The National Carbon Dioxide Storage Capacity Assessment Act would asses the potential for CO2 geological storage, and a scientific methodology to derive storage capacity estimates. 

The Carbon Capture and Storage Research, Development and Demonstration Act of 2007 would expedite and carry out large-scale testing of storage in a range of geologic formations in different parts of the country to provide information on the cost and feasibility of geologic sequestration technologies. 

The panel heard testimony from Mark Myers, PhD., Director of the United States Geological Survey; Tom Shope, Acting Assistant Secretary for Fossil Energy at the Department of Energy; George Guthrie, PhD., Program Director for Fossil Energy and the Environment at the Los Alamos National Laboratory; David Hawkins, Director of Climate Center for the Natural Resources Defense Council; and Kipp Coddington, a partner at the law firm of Alston & Bird, LP.

Director Myers, testifying on behalf of the Administration, agreed with the goals of the bills and stressed the importance of a collaborative inter-agency effort but disagreed with the proposed timeframe in the legislation. 

Secretary Shope outlined the current programs at DOE which are investigating CO2 sequestration and storage, and pointed out a few minor items in the legislation which would need further clarification. 

Dr. Guthrie, referring to specific research on behalf of his laboratory, testified that the bills were critical in demonstrating CO2 capture at power plants as a safe and effective way to reduce global emissions, and also estimate an overall storage capacity. 

Director Hawkins made the argument that CO2 capture and geological disposal (CCS) should be used in all new coal power plants, and although the EPA has the legal authority to write such laws, Congress should act to ensure timeliness for such programs.  Ultimately, he asserts that Congress must set an emissions standard that limits CO2 to make any significant impact on emissions. 

Finally, Coddington pointed out the liability issues from geologically injected CO2, suggesting that the government would need to assume some liability at a fixed date post injection, or at the end of a post-cloture period. 

Contact Jessica Hogle.

NRMCA Supports Change in Definition of Solid Waste

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) recently proposed changes to the definition of solid waste to exclude certain types of hazardous secondary materials from regulation under Subtitle C of the Resource Conservation and Recovery Act, or RCRA. 

Subtitle C delineates a tightly-controlled management system for listing, storage, transportation, and disposal of hazardous waste materials.

The supplemental proposal particularly addresses materials that are generated and reclaimed in a continuous process within the same industry.  Provided the recycling activities are legitimate, the revisions state that materials that are part of a continuous process are not "discarded", and are therefore not regulated under the strict guidelines in Subtitle C of RCRA.

The proposal notes that court decisions have made it clear "that hazardous secondary material that is recycled in a continuous industrial process is not discarded and therefore, not a solid waste."

The National Ready Mixed Concrete Association, a NACA partner, supports changing the definition because the change will promote recycling and reuse activities that help to achieve sustainability.

Contact Tom Harman.

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