Â鶹ÊÓƵ used the start of the annual Work Zone Awareness campaign to call for increased police presence at highway and transit construction sites nationwide to cut the hundreds of work zone fatalities that take place every year.
The Senate Environment and Public Works Committee this week held a hearing to address opportunities to improve safety in transportation as part of a series of hearings related to the reauthorization of SAFTEA-LU. At the conclusion of the hearing, Chairman Barbara Boxer (D-Calif.) said that this was the final hearing and the next time the committee meets it will be to mark up a transportation authorization bill. Sen. Boxer said the committee staff will meet over the next several weeks to finish drafting the bill.Â鶹ÊÓƵ submitted testimony that called for inclusion of enhanced work zone safety measures, increased investment to address infrastructure safety issues and opposition to requirements for states to consider Owner Controlled Insurance Programs on large highway projects. Among the witnesses was Ted R. Miller, Ph.D., who reported that more than half of the 43,000 annual U.S. highway fatalities are related to poor roadway conditions at an annual cost of $217 billion. Miller, an internationally-recognized safety economist at the Pacific Institute for Research & Evaluation (PIRE), is the primary author of a July 2009 study, "On a Crash Course: The Dangers and Health Costs of Deficient Roadways" for the Transportation Construction Coalition (TCC).
Â鶹ÊÓƵ member Jon Cloud testified before the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency to explain how California's plan to require construction contractors to install emissions reduction kits on their off-road diesel equipment is unnecessary, will endanger workers and force job cuts. Joining Cloud in asking EPA to deny or delay a decision to allow the state to proceed with its off-road diesel rule at the hearing was Guy Prescott, a representative of the International Union of Operating Engineers also expressed concern for workers pointing out that the large filters and new exhaust pipes that are part of many emissions reduction kits can impair visibility and greatly increase the risk of burns. The hearing was scheduled to consider the California Air Resources Board's (CARB) request for a waiver to allow it to begin enforcing its off-road diesel equipment rule. The rule was originally scheduled to go into effect on March 1, 2010 but EPA never granted approval to CARB to move ahead with enforcement. This EPA action follows closely on the heels of a public hearing held by CARB on March 11 on the question of whether the off-road regulations should be further modified to account for the down economy and subsequent emissions reductions. Â鶹ÊÓƵ presented CARB with substantial empirical data demonstrating that the downturn in California's economic conditions and the resulting drop in construction activity have made the rule unnecessary. Â鶹ÊÓƵ has pointed out that California's own inventory data makes clear that off-road equipment operators will be well under the state's aggressive diesel emissions limits for years to come without this rule. Â鶹ÊÓƵ will make similar recommendations at the upcoming EPA hearing.Unless blocked, the CARB rule will require California's contractors to retrofit, repower, retire and/or replace much of their off-road equipment. The Federal Clean Air Act grants unique authority to California to adopt its own clean air rules, including an off road diesel emissions rule. Other states are prohibited from developing their own regulations but may adopt California's rules once EPA has approved them. Â鶹ÊÓƵ joined with the Â鶹ÊÓƵ of California and San Diego Â鶹ÊÓƵ Chapter in a collective effort to stop the rule or significantly modify it.
It is widely anticipated that Senators John Kerry (D-Mass.), Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.), and Joe Lieberman (I-Conn.) will introduce climate change legislation before the end of the month. Although a draft of the bill has not been released, the Senators have announced plans to limit carbon emissions through the inclusion of a fee on motor fuels based on the price of carbon dioxide under a cap-and-trade system. This fee would act similar to a gas tax but it is unclear how much /if any of the revenue generated from this fee would be treated as a user fee and dedicated to the Highway Trust Fund.  Â鶹ÊÓƵ has been meeting with Senate offices working to ensure that any money from this linked fee be deposited into the Highway Trust Fund and used to finance a multi-year surface transportation bill. Support this effort by sending a letter through Â鶹ÊÓƵ's Legislative Action Center.
House T&I Subcommittee on Highways and Transit held a hearing this week on "Using Innovative Financing to Deliver Highway and Transit Projects." Witnesses agreed on the need to continue the basic user-fee program to provide the bulk of highway trust fund revenues, and on the need to continue to utilize existing "innovative" approaches to stretch existing transportation dollars. Witnesses discussed successes with various existing loan and credit programs such as Garvee bonds and TIFIA loans and discussed the Administration's proposal for a National Infrastructure Innovation and Finance Fund (NIIFF). Â Subcommittee Chairman Peter DeFazio (D-Ore.) wondered why the administration is pushing a new approach when the TIFIA program is very popular and over-subscribed. No new ideas for increasing Highway trust Fund revenue were out forth.
Â鶹ÊÓƵ along with other transportation industry groups sent a letter to Senators John Kerry (D-MA), Lindsey Graham (R-SC), and Joe Lieberman (I-CT) with a clear message that the climate and energy legislation they are currently drafting must place any revenue collected from a "carbon tax" on gasoline into the Highway Trust Fund. It is widely anticipated that their bill will include such a tax that could be passed on to drivers when they purchase motor fuels. Â鶹ÊÓƵ will continue to work with the Senators to ensure that any new fees placed on transportation fuels be dedicated to the Highway Trust Fund to improve U.S. highway and public transportation systems and to congestion reduction. The letter also noted that diverting fuel tax revenue to non-transportation purposes would severely hamper efforts to meet the investment goals proposed in the next multi-year surface transportation reauthorization bill.
The US Environmental Protection Agency has scheduled a hearing for April 14 in Washington to consider the California Air Resources Board's (CARB) request for a waiver to allow it to begin enforcing its off-road diesel equipment rule. The rule was originally scheduled to go into effect on March 1, 2010 but EPA never granted approval to CARB to move ahead with enforcement. Â鶹ÊÓƵ is preparing expert witness testimony asking EPA to deny California's request.This EPA action follows closely on the heels of a public hearing held by CARB on March 11 on the question of whether the off-road regulations should be further modified to account for the down economy and subsequent emissions reductions. Â鶹ÊÓƵ presented CARB with substantial empirical data demonstrating that the downturn in California's economic conditions and the resulting drop in construction activity have made the rule unnecessary. Â鶹ÊÓƵ has pointed out that California's own inventory data makes clear that off-road equipment operators will be well under the state's aggressive diesel emissions limits for years to come without this rule. Â鶹ÊÓƵ will make similar recommendations at the upcoming EPA hearing. Unless blocked, the CARB rule will require California's contractors to retrofit, repower, retire and/or replace much of their off-road equipment. The Federal Clean Air Act grants unique authority to California to adopt its own clean air rules, including an off road diesel emissions rule. Other states are prohibited from developing their own regulations but may adopt California's rules once EPA has approved them.  A study conducted by Â鶹ÊÓƵ shows that 32 states, including Arizona, Georgia, Illinois, Maryland, New York, Pennsylvania and Texas, are poised to use the California requirements. Because of the impact on contractor's nationwide, Â鶹ÊÓƵ joined with the Â鶹ÊÓƵ of California and San Diego Â鶹ÊÓƵ Chapter in a collective effort to stop the rule or significantly modify it.
The Senate this week passed legislation to reauthorize Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) programs and funding for two years. Included in the legislation is $8.1 billion for the Airport improvement Program (AIP), the primary source of federal funding for airport capital projects, $4 billion in FY 2010 and $4.1 billion in 2011. The program is currently funded at $3.5 billion. The bill would also allow six airports (to be determined in the future) to raise the passenger facility charge (PFC) on airline flights from its current permissible level of $4.50 to $7.00. The House passed a four year authorization in July 2009. The House bill includes a total of $16.2 billion for AIP grant funding and also allows all airports to increase the PFC from $4.50 to $7.00, which is estimated to generate $1billion per year in additional revenue for airport infrastructure investment. Â鶹ÊÓƵ is working in support of allowing the PFC ceiling to increase for all airports to $7.00. The Senate bill will now be sent to the House where it can be accepted as is, amended and sent back to the Senate, or, the most likely outcome, a conference committee would be established to work out the differences in the two bills. The most recent multi-year authorization of the FAA expired on September 30, 2007. The programs have been operating under a series of short-term extensions, now totaling eleven, since that time. The current short term extension expires on March 31 and Congress will be in recess for the Easter/Passover break starting next week. Last week, the House passed a bill (H.R. 4853) to extend FAA authorization until July 31, 2010. H.R. 4853 also makes a change in the recently enacted surface transportation extension included in the "Jobs" bill to change the way that $745 million in highway funding under the Projects of National and Regional Significance and Corridor programs will be apportioned to states. This provision enacts an agreement between House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee Chairman Jim Oberstar (D-Minn.) and Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) that allowed the "Jobs" bill to move forward in the House.
National Work Zone Awareness week is scheduled for April 19 - 23, 2010, and the theme is  "Work Zones Need Your Undivided Attention." As in the past, the purpose of the week is to bring to the attention of motorists, contractors, construction workers and the media the special dangers that are present in highway work zones. Â鶹ÊÓƵ of America's Highway and Transportation Division Chairman Dean Word will participate in a media event in New York City on April 19 to help focus national media attention on the issues surrounding work zone safety. Â鶹ÊÓƵ Chapters will also participate in state and local events to help raise awareness.
The 2010 Â鶹ÊÓƵ Federal Contractors Conference will be held April 26-29, 2010, at The Mayflower Hotel in Washington, D.C. This meeting is the only national event where contractors and federal agency personnel can meet in a collaborative forum to review federal construction contracting issues and trends from around the country. This year, Â鶹ÊÓƵ's Federal Contractors Conference will include a track with Department of Transportation agencies, including Federal Highway Administration, Federal Aviation Administration, Federal Transit Administration and Federal Railroad Administration. This is an opportunity to hear from and discuss with the top leaders in these Federal agencies about issues that impact construction in your market. To learn more about the conference, download the conference brochure and register, visit www.agc.org/fedcon.