The General Services Administration, National Aeronautical and Space Administration, and U.S. Department of Defense last Thursday issued a notice on the "Use of Products Containing Recovered Materials In Service and Construction Contracts." Click here to see the full text from the Federal Register.

The purpose was to announce a proposed amendment to the Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR) to clarify language within on the use of products containing recovered materials, pursuant to the Resource Conservation and Recovery Act (RCRA) of 1976, and Executive Order 13101, "Greening the Government Through Waste Prevention, Recycling, and Federal Acquisition."  This amendment will formalize the requirement that federal specifiers of service and construction contracts implement the requirements of RCRA for resource recovery and waste minimization. In turn, this ensures the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's preference program is consistently implemented by government agencies in services- and construction-acquisition.

For cement and concrete that means the consideration of fly ash, ground granulated blast furnace slag, etc.  The Portland Cement Association commented on the inclusion of these waste products during the EPA proposed RCRA rule making starting in 1995. 

It should be noted that the RCRA requirement allows federal agencies not to acquire (or require the use of) products containing recovered materials under circumstances. Those circumstances apply if they are not available in a reasonable timeframe, not reasonably priced, or do not meet performance standards.

Contact John Sullivan.

House Holds Hearing on Dams, Levees

The U.S. House subcommittees on Water Resources and Environment and Economic Development, Public Buildings, and Emergency Management (both of the Transportation & Infrastructure Committee) held a joint hearing last Tuesday on the state of the nation's levee and dam safety program. 

Among those providing testimony were the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) and the American Society of Civil Engineers (ASCE).  The Corps and FEMA said they will be releasing new flood maps for the New Orleans communities in the next month.  These maps will provide information regarding problem areas.

The thrust of the hearing focused on the national levee and dam safety programs.  ASCE provided information regarding a 33% increase in the number of deficient dams since 1998.  Two bills, HR 1098 and 1587, have been introduced in the House to address the safety issues. The National Levee Safety Program Act of 2007 (HR 1587) would require the Corps to increase the rate of levee inspections and provide the state’s Governor with an immediate notification of the hazardous condition and advice on the timely remedial measures necessary to mitigate the hazardous condition. 

The Dam Rehabilitation and Repair Act of 2007 (HR 1098) would amend the National Dam Safety Program Act to require FEMA to establish a state grants assistance program for repairing unsafe publicly owned dams that pose an unacceptable risk to the public.

Contact John Sullivan.

Agency Expands Annual Requirements for Dioxin Reporting

A U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Final Rule announced that the agency will expand dioxin and dioxin-like compound reporting requirements to the Toxic Release Inventory (TRI).  The announcement was published in the Federal Register yesterday.

Facilities will be required to report mass quantities of 17 dioxin and dioxin-like compounds listed in the TRI.  The mass data quantity generated from this new rule will be used by EPA to make toxic equivalency (TEQ) computations, which will also be made available to the public. 

Under TEQ analyses, the toxicities for dioxin and dioxin-like chemicals are compared to the most toxic dioxin compound, 2,3,7,8-tetrachlorodibenzo-p-dioxin. 

EPA said it chose the option of computing TEQ data to relieve industry from the burden of tracking toxic equivalencies and calculating such data.

PCA was one of the original industry groups requesting EPA make this change toward expanding dioxin reporting based on the fact that previous reporting requirements failed to account accurately the toxicity of each released chemical.  

Facilities are required under Section 313 of the Emergency Planning & Community Right to Know Act (also known as Title III of the Superfund Amendments and Reauthorization Act or SARA) to report dioxin and dioxin-like compound releases if they exceed the threshold of 0.1 gram or more per year. 

The final rule requires that dioxin information be submitted on a new Form R, Schedule 1 as an adjunct to the existing Form R. 

These requirements take effect July 9 and apply to the reporting year beginning January 1, 2008, for which reports are due July 1, 2009.

Contact Tyrone Wilson.

Senate Begins Floor Debate on Water Resources Bill

The U.S. Senate this week began consideration of the long-overdue Water Resources Development Act of 2007 (H.R. 1495).  The $13.9 billion bill authorizes hundreds of Army Corps of Engineers flood control, navigation, environmental restoration, and shoreline protection projects. 

Of particular interest to NACA members, the bill authorizes rehabilitation projects on the Upper Mississippi River and Illinois Waterway.  The legislation also requires peer review of projects that cost more than $50 million.

Several amendments will be offered to the bill including two sponsored by Senator Russ Feingold (D-Wis.) that address climate change and Corps project prioritization.  Senator Feingold's climate change amendment would require the Corps to consider the effects of global warming during the formulation of flood control projects. 

PCA has contacted key Senate offices urging Senators to oppose the amendment.  U.S. Senate Environment and Public Work Committee Chair Barbara Boxer (D. Calif.) will likely vote against the Feingold amendment due to “big four” agreement that they will stand united on what amendments will be accepted for inclusion in the Managers’ amendment.  The “big four” include Boxer, Ranking Republican James Inhofe (R-Okla.), Senator Max Baucus (D-Mt.) and Senator Johnny Isakson (R-Ga.). 

Senator Feingold’s prioritization amendment would restructure how projects are selected.  The "big four" will oppose this amendment as well.

Votes on amendments are expected early next week.  The House overwhelmingly approved its WRDA reauthorization bill last month by a vote of 394 to 25. 

Contact David Hubbard.

Senate Introduces Aviation Bill

The Senate last week introduced a bill reauthorizing the programs of the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA).  The bill, introduced by the bipartisan leaders of the Senate Commerce, Science and Transportation Committee, would authorize $64.3 billion over fiscal years 2008-2011.

The legislation largely maintains the status quo by not instituting any sweeping user fee system or increasing the Passenger Facility Charge that funds infrastructure projects at eligible airports.  Funding of the Airport Improvement Program (AIP), the FAA's principal construction program, is authorized at $3.8 billion in FY 2008 and increasing by $100 million each fiscal year through 2011. 

The committee plans to mark up S. 1300 on May 16.  The House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee, meanwhile, is currently drafting its FAA reauthorization legislation. 

Contact David Hubbard, John Sullivan, or Gary Mitchell.

Bipartisan legislation was introduced in the House of Representatives last week providing for a 25 percent tax incentive for rail infrastructure expansion projects.  The Freight Rail Infrastructure Act of 2007 (H.R. 2116) was introduced by Representatives Kendrick Meek (D-Fla.) and Eric Cantor (R-VA).

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 (S. 1125) was recently introduced by Senators Trent Lott (R-Miss.) and Kent Conrad (D-N.D.).

Contact David Hubbard.

House Subcommittee Eyes Green Transportation Infrastructure

Members of the Science & Technology Committee’s Technology & Innovation Subcommittee yesterday considered programs to help alleviate water pollution caused by runoff from developed lands, including streets and parking lots. 

During the hearing, "Green Transportation Infrastructure: Challenges to Access and Implementation," Subcommittee Chairman David Wu (D-Ore.) led Members in examining existing programs in this arena and how they can be implemented more widely.

"Our challenge today is not the development of new technologies. It is to get people to start using the technologies we've got," Chairman Wu said.

Green transportation infrastructure involves the use of materials and methods to minimize the impact that roads and highways have on the environment. Stormwater runoff from developed lands is a major contributor to water pollution.  

" On paper, these technologies look like no-brainers," said Wu. "So why don't we see them used more often? While there are certain technical and research issues that need to be addressed, their biggest impediments are state and federal regulations."

NRMCA's Dan Huffman, an industry representative on the witness panel, testified that the concrete industry was doing its part to promote pervious concrete as a leading edge infiltration technology.  

Contact Robert Sullivan.

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