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On April 18, the Mine Safety and Health Administration (MSHA) issued its final rule to better protect miners against occupational exposure to respirable crystalline silica. The final rule will not only cover contractors who operate surface mines, but also any contractor who performs construction or maintenance activities at a mine site. After the publication of the Occupational Safety and Health Administration’s (OSHA) final rule addressing exposure to crystalline silica, many surface mine operators established programs that incorporated the OSHA requirements.

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) final rule to regulate certain per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) under the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act (CERCLA or Superfund as it is more commonly known) has cleared the interagency review process. Completion of this step signals that EPA is very close to issuing the new rule. �鶹��Ƶ has long discussed risk exposures for contractors associated with this regulatory approach: where contractors encounter these chemicals in earthmoving or dewatering activities. Most recently, �鶹��Ƶ raised these concerns to the U.S. Senate Committee on Environment and Public Works as they considered possible implications of EPA’s forthcoming rule at a March 2024 hearing. Construction companies, along with several other industries, are at risk of litigation for contamination not originating with them. Many groups, like �鶹��Ƶ, are asking Congress to step in to protect innocent parties from liability---provisions that the law currently does not provide.

The �鶹��Ƶ Contracts & Construction Law page recently added significant new content. Among these updates is a new dispute resolution and mitigation subpage featuring a recent paper by Christoper Brasco of Watt, Tieder LLP entitled Mediation Uncompromised. The paper emphasizes the importance of selecting the right mediator and understanding negotiation paradigms and styles. This article summarizes the mediation best practices outlined in the paper.

The Construction Labor Research Council (CLRC) has released its annual report on Union Labor Costs in Construction. The report is useful for understanding current trends in collectively bargained compensation for union craft workers in the construction industry, providing data analyses by region and trade. It can be a valuable resource when preparing for collective bargaining negotiations, particularly when used in conjunction with CLRC’s latest Settlements Report.

The �鶹��Ƶ Education and Research Foundation is committed to the growth, development, and encouragement of field research initiatives to enhance the education of construction management students. In support of this vision, the �鶹��Ƶ Foundation commissions case studies that will provide today's construction management students the tools to build the industry's future. Cases written by faculty-contractor teams are based on actual experience and provide students with the opportunity to work through issues in a classroom setting.

On April 9, �鶹��Ƶ and its coalition partners responded to a U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (Corps) proposal to revoke its agency-specific procedures (called “Appendix C”) for the protection of historic properties under Section 106 of the National Historic Preservation Act (NHPA) within the Corps’ permitting program. The Corps proposes instead to implement the NHPA through forthcoming guidance. �鶹��Ƶ urges the Corps to retain the longstanding Appendix C process to safeguard public input through notice and comment rulemaking. Appendix C helps to streamline the NHPA and ensures that the scope of the Corps’ review of a project stays within the bounds of its narrow legal jurisdiction.