The Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) will announce in tomorrow’s Federal Register that it will indefinitely suspend portions of a rule requiring states to develop performance measurements for tracking Greenhouse Gas (GHG) emissions for federal-aid highway projects. The suspension of the rule is a significant victory for ż and our industry allies who fought the GHG rule that was issued in the waning days of the Obama Administration.
Per the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) request, ż provided 30 pages of comprehensive and detailed recommendations for EPA’s regulatory evaluation in line with recent executive orders and presidential initiatives. In its submissions, ż highlights the regulatory burden the construction industry bears and offers specific program modifications and solutions relating to water issues, oil spills prevention and preparedness, air and climate issues, lead-based paint issues, contaminated sites and liability, as well as compliance and enforcement initiatives. To view the complete set of ż submissions to EPA, click here, here and here.
ż’s head of Environmental Law and Policy Leah Pilconis testified before the Senate Committee on Environment and Public Works at a hearing entitled “Infrastructure Project Streamlining and Efficiency: Achieving Faster, Better, and Cheaper Results.” ż took the opportunity to discuss many of the ideas in its new document “Reforms for Improving Federal Environmental Review and Permitting,” which were well received.
Kathy Nanowski, Fuss & O'Neill
Along with many of you, I receive many marketing journals and articles about the newest trends in managing marketing and business development processes. I bring most of these articles home and highlight what might be relevant to me and my firm. Of course, if I did half the things I highlighted, I would run around frantically, driving senior leadership crazy.
Unfortunately, what many people do instead of selectively committing to some of the work is do none of it. What is the best process or metric or program that will give you the biggest return on your investment? Because let’s face it, any new program will require an investment of time and money, both of which are very precious.
There are numerous marketing and business development metrics out there. Some of the most popular include: total sales, sales dollars spent versus winning rates, hit rates, and the list goes on. I measure more than seven different sales metrics on a monthly and YTD basis.
Knowing that the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has issued the most and the costliest regulations over the last decade, President Donald Trump’s focus on rolling back federal agency rules appears to be hitting EPA the hardest. Many of Trump’s executive orders during his first 100 days have focused on environmental matters; such as those that seek to expedite environmental reviews and permitting for infrastructure work and others that direct agencies to review (and then revise or repeal) key Obama-era rulemakings and practices (e.g., “Waters of the United States” definition, Clean Power Plan, mitigation policies and practices under the Endangered Species Act).
Come join us September 13-14, 2017 in Crystal City, Virginia!
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) announced that it is seeking public input on its evaluation of existing rules pursuant to President Trump's government-wide Executive Order 13777 on Enforcing the Regulatory Agenda and Executive Order 13771 that directs agencies to “identify” at least two existing regulations for elimination whenever any new rule is proposed or issued (the 2-for-1 EO, Reducing Regulation and Controlling Regulatory Costs).
Whether you work on horizontal or vertical construction projects, public and private owners alike are interested in sustainability. Some construction firms along with other industries have responded with developing sustainability programs for their firms. Contractors sustainability plans often demonstrate their expertise in meeting owners’ goals and their own commitment to sustainable practices. Some firms publish annual reports that showcase their progress and achievements. This Earth Day, ż of America researched existing sustainability reports and gathered some of the common elements. We also pulled out ideas for goals that you may want to consider when developing a sustainability program for your construction firm.