The 黑料不打烊 Municipal & Utilities Division hosted Mr. Steven Allbee from the EPA Office of Water at 黑料不打烊's 90th Annual Convention in San Diego. Albee a 30-year veteran of the EPA, serving as the primary author of the EPA Clean and Drinking Water Gap Analysis and one of the leaders in establishing the State Revolving Fund Program. He is widely regarded as one of the leading national experts on water infrastructure needs and advanced asset management approaches. Allbee was featured in the 黑料不打烊 funded documentary Liquid Assets: The Story of Our Water Infrastructure.Allbee gave a compelling presentation about the significant challenges facing our aging water infrastructure and the critical role that contractors play in ensuring public health and water quality. His thorough and entertaining presentation was well received by the audience of fifty-plus contractors. Allbee noted that the level of attention and funding for water and wastewater was unprecedented and lauded 黑料不打烊 for its support in raising awareness in Congress and throughout the nation with Liquid Assets.Albee commented that he thought that a Trust Fund for Clean Water would never happen, but was extremely optimistic given recent developments in water infrastructure, including the $7.4 billion contained in the stimulus for clean and drinking water, the recent passage of H.R. 1262, which contains $19.4 billion over five years in authorization of appropriations for wastewater infrastructure projects including $13.8 billion program for the Clean Water State Revolving Fund, and the President's 2010 Budget which called for $3.9 billion for the Safe Drinking and Clean Water State Revolving Loan Fund Programs. Establishment of a of Clean Water Trust Fund is one of 黑料不打烊's top legislative priorities in the 111th Congress and 黑料不打烊 anticipates the introduction of legislation in the coming months.For more information or a copy of Mr. Allbee's presentation, contact Perry Fowler at (703) 837-1983 or fowlerp@agc.org.
This year's Municipal & Utilities Division session on Friday March 6 will feature Mr. Steve Allbee with the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency.聽 Mr. Allbee has been with the EPA for 28 years and is currently the Project Director and principal author聽of聽The Clean Water and Drinking Water Gap Analysis.聽聽The "Gap Analysis" is a comprehensive national-level assesment of published by the EPA and is often cited as the primary source documenting the challenges ahead for America's water and wastewater systems. Mr. Allbee will make a presetnaion on the challenges that face our national water infrastrcure.聽 EPA's 2002聽Gap Analysis 聽outlined needs between $450-600 billion over the next twenty years.The M&U Division session will take place at the San Diego Convention Center on March 6 at 10:00 AM in room 28 A. The M&U Division hopes that you will join us at Convention.聽聽聽Please click here for a list of sessions at the 2009 Convention of particular interest for Municipal & Utility Contractors.If you haven't already registered, there's still time.聽 Visit our convention website and register today!If you've already registered, the we've got something special for you - this year, we're making it even easier for you to plan your trip, organize your agenda and make the most out of your time.Need help planning what sessions to attend? Create your own convention calendar that you can聽download to your PC and sync with your Blackberry, iPhone or other mobile device.Bringing the family? Looking for more to do? Check out our guide to local restaurants and attractions.Bringing your camera to the Convention? Upload and share your Convention Photos.See you in San Diego!For addtional information please contact Perry L. Fowler at fowlerp@agc.org
The Highway and Utilities Contractors Issues Meeting took place Feb 6 and 7. Over 120 contractors came to La Quinta, Calif., for discussion of the issues that affect their particular markets and to hear presentations from some of the leading experts in the field.Topics included materials prices and availability for asphalt and steel, the national implications of the California Air Resources Board's Off-Road Diesel Emissions limits and the political outlook for the economic stimulus package, SAFETEA-LU reauthorization and the Water Trust Fund. Scott Williams and Don Weaver, chair and vice-chair respectively of the Highway & Transportation Division, presided over the first day of activities, which included sessions on worker visibility standards and public works financing troubles. Brad Barringer and Art Daniels, Municipal & Utilities Division Chair and Vice Chair, presided over the second day, which included sessions on ethics and compliance programs, Florida's success with dispute resolutions boards, and OSHA's crane operator standard.For more information, contact Scott Berry at (703) 837-5368 or berrys@agc.org.
The Water Infrastructure Network (WIN) Coalition sent a letter to Senate leaders today asking for inclusion of additional funding for waste water Infrastructure when the package is considered in the Senate.聽
On January 15, the House Democratic Leadership announced details of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act. Details of the $825 billion package were released by the House Appropriations and Ways and Means Committees. The total package consists of $275 billion in economic recovery tax cuts and $550 billion in targeted investments, coupled with several unprecedented accountability measures. 黑料不打烊 estimates that approximately $150 billion of the spending proposed in this bill would benefit the construction industry.
An alliance of utility and construction organizations that 黑料不打烊 helps lead, known as Common Ground Alliance, released new data showing that pipeline safety improved in 2007 over the previous year.聽 The group noted that there were fewer incidents and less damages over the previous year.聽 Much of the credit goes to a greater industry-wide commitment to safety as well as strong promotion of the national 811 鈥淐all Before You Dig鈥 number.
The Contractors Association of West Virginia helped sponsor a December 15 broadcast of the groundbreaking PBS documentary Liquid Assets, which highlights the health and safety threats of our nation鈥檚 long-neglected water infrastructure.聽 After the broadcast, local chapter members pulled together representatives from the EPA, the local water authorities and utility owners for a roundtable discussion on the state鈥檚 water needs.
The Common Ground Alliance (CGA), an organization focused on protecting underground utility lines and the safety of people who dig near them, recently announced findings from its fourth annual Damage Information Reporting Tool (DIRT) Report, which calculated approximately 256,000 underground utility damages for 2007, which is significantly lower than estimates in previous years.Based on this new figure, there were roughly 700 incidents per day nationwide in 2007, compared to more than 1,200 per day during the first three years of the report, representing a 40 percent decline in underground utility damages that have the potential to cause injury or loss of life. Several factors that likely led to the 2007 reduction in damages include stakeholder support and promotion of 811 鈥 the national call-before-you-dig number that launched in May 2007, of which 黑料不打烊 was the first national launch partner 鈥 Regional CGA efforts, implementation of CGA Best Practices and the use of new and proven technologies by excavators and locators. Click here to view the complete 2007 DIRT Report.CGA will host a teleconference on January 7, 2009 providing highlights of the 2007 DIRT report. Registration is free and this is a great opportunity to learn about what the CGA is doing to promote awareness about damage prevention.For more information and to register for the January 7 teleconference please click here.To learn more about 黑料不打烊鈥檚 involvement in CGA and how you can be a part of the damage prevention solution contact Perry Fowler at (703) 837-1983 or fowlerp@agc.org
Bob Kipp, executive director of the Common Ground Alliance, and Vic Weston (Tri-State Road Boring in Baton Rouge), former 黑料不打烊 national treasurer, briefed a federal pipeline safety standards committee and made the case for more effective damage prevention measures.聽 The committee is working to set the federal government鈥檚 pipeline regulatory agenda for 2009, and Misters Kip and Weston made a strong case that states with poor underground infrastructure must make the safety of construction and utility workers a top priority.For more information, contact Perry Fowler at (703) 837-1983 or fowlerp@agc.org.
The national dialogue about infrastructure investment is gaining momentum and one of the challenges our industry faces is educating the public about substantial national and local investment needs.Investment in infrastructure is increasingly viewed as a means of quickly stimulating the economy, and providing good jobs by rehabilitating and replacing aging infrastructure. 黑料不打烊 of America has been a leader in our Advocacy for the inclusion of major funding for all types of infrastructure in the much discussed 2009 stimulus package.