EPA issues construction erosion rules...
Producer Price Index picture refocused...
Major trouble facing a tunnel dig...
And CONEXPO wraps up a big success...
That and more on Construction News Tracker brought to you by Caterpillar and produced by ForConstructionPros.com...
The Environmental Protection Agency has adopted its best practices rules governing numeric limits for turbidity - stormwater runoff at construction sites. No major changes are cited in the best practices requirement that apply only to construction in progress. Further, an AASHTO request that requires permit holders be responsible for only runoff in immediate stormwater discharge areas was also adopted. It takes effect May 5th.
ARTBA Hails Victory As EPA Withdraws 'One-Size-Fits-All' Stormwater Regulations?
In an effort to become more relevant, the U.S. Labor Department has changed the way it measures the Producer Price Index to include construction and services, encompassing those purchased by the government or exported. Future tracking charges by manufacturers and farmers, the agency said, will mean a better measure of the costs ultimately passed on to consumers.
Producer price index being reworked for more complete picture of economy
What to do about a broken tunnel drill? Washington State DOT officials have dismantled Bertha's drill head after it was damaged in December, meaning the massive Highway 99 tunnel project in Seattle sits idle until at least September. Construction work is being focused on related ramp and foundation work now, while some workers have been laid off. It's unclear if there will be enough work to sustain all the jobs through summer or if it can meet a 2015 completion date.
After learning the Hoover Dam was built in five years, and the Empire State Building went up in 13 months, lawmakers have voted to adopt the RAPID Act, which stands for responsibly and professionally invigorating development in the U.S. Also seen as a boom for job creation, the RAPID Act is part of the larger national environmental policy act that now imposes an 18 month deadline for environmental assessment and 36 month environmental impact statement with a 180 day limit on lawsuits covering permitting decision on public works projects.
House votes to limit environmental reviews
A resounding success is the word from AEM as it tallies up the numbers from CONEXPO 2014. One-hundred twenty-nine thousand visited the Las Vegas Convention Center for the show; 31,000 from outside the U.S. ForConstructionPros.com carried a livestream from the show floor, and Editor Larry Stewart says this year's focus was on telematics.
CONEXPO 2014 Reflects a Construction Economy Flexing its Muscle
Twenty-four hundred exhibitors covered over two million square feet of space during CONEXPO - the best turnout since 2008.
Finally, life does not require us to make good; it asks only that we give our best at each level of experience.
