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For �鶹��Ƶ’s most recent episode of the ConstructorCast, we sit down with Leah Pilconis, �鶹��Ƶ’s Senior Counsel of Environmental Law, to talk about the complex world of environmental permitting and what �鶹��Ƶ is doing to try to make it easier for construction companies. Our discussion examines the breadth of requirements, the opportunities to streamline regulations and make environmental protection more efficient, and where environmental regulations might be headed in the coming years.

Date: Feb. 28, 2018 - Wednesday Time: 9:00 AM to 4:00 PM Location: Hyatt Regency New Orleans

Latest Update on WOTUS Rule Status

Calls for Congressional Repeal These Agency Policies

�鶹��Ƶ submitted comments November 6 to the Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) supporting its proposal to repeal an Obama-era rule requiring states to measure greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions when planning transportation improvement projects. �鶹��Ƶ joined with 38 other organizations with similar interests in transportation infrastructure enhancements in challenging FHWA’s authority to mandate the measurements pointing out that Congress, in the Fixing America’s Surface Transportation (FAST) Act, called for development of performance measurement standards but specifically limited those measures to safety related issues, pavement and bridge conditions and congestion.

Helps Contractors Meet Green Building Owners’ Requirements

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers have opened a docket to collect written comments on how “Waters of the United State” or WOTUS definition should revised. The agencies have spent the last few months gathering public feedback through a series of listening sessions and an in-person meeting for small entities. �鶹��Ƶ participated in the listening session for construction and transportation and is preparing written recommendations by the Nov. 28, 2017, deadline. It is not too late to participate, see below for information on how.

Mark your calendars. Co-located with its 99th Annual Convention, �鶹��Ƶ will host its latest series of roundtable discussions exclusively for in-house environmental managers at construction firms on Wednesday, February 28, 2018, at the Hyatt Regency New Orleans. This �鶹��Ƶ In-House Environmental Managers Meeting is a day of peer-to-peer learning and information sharing. The meeting is highly interactive and you set the agenda for the discussions to address the top items on your to-do-list or jobsite concerns.

Jenny Grounds, BOUDREAUXThe idea of performing market research can often feel like a burden for small marketing groups. The everyday tasks already on your to-do list can easily fill up a 40-hour work week. Where do you find the time to research, compile, and analyze piles of data on top of everything else? Market research doesn’t have to be complex or require robust, expensive studies to be effective. By breaking it into small, manageable pieces, you can gather information that will directly benefit your A/E/C firm without overtasking your teams.

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Administrator Scott Pruitt signed an agency-wide directive (and accompanying memo) on Oct. 16 that imposes steps to end the practice known as “sue and settle” – which is a quick resolution of citizen suits by environmental groups against the EPA, involving the agency’s failure to comply with statutory deadlines for issuance of regulations. Such agreements are oftentimes reached with little to no public input or transparency, EPA said, calling such a practice “regulation through litigation.” �鶹��Ƶ has long expressed concern that special interest groups are using these lawsuits to force the EPA to issue regulations that advance their interests and priorities. The chief executive officer of �鶹��Ƶ praised EPA for “putting an end to back room agreements ... [and] making sure that all affected parties have an opportunity to contribute to the discussion about measures needed to protect our environment.”