Over the last few years, EPA has consistently tightened its national ambient air quality standards (NAAQS) for particulate matter (PM), ozone and nitrogen dioxide (see related stories in the January issue of the Environmental Observer).  AGC has closely tracked and weighed in on these rulemaking actions with an eye to what they may mean for future construction, including stricter requirements and/or restrictions on diesel engines and their use. 

Follow AGC's action by reading the entire Environmental Observer article here.  For more information, contact Leah Pilconis at pilconisl@agc.org.

March 2, 2010, 1:00-3:30 p.m. ET

Prepare now for first-time nationwide numeric discharge limits and monitoring requirements.  These new limits, called Construction and Development Effluent Limitations Guidelines (C&D ELG), strictly enforce the amount of sediment allowed to run off any construction site disturbing 10 or more acres of land at any one time (whether contiguous or not).  This new rule, issued by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency in December 2009, also specifies the exact types of erosion and sediment controls that contractors must use, at a bare minimum, to control stormwater runoff on all construction sites that disturb one or more acres of land.   To find out what this means for contractors - sign up for AGC's March 2 webinar, 1:30 -3:00 pm ET.

All AGC chapters and members are encouraged to participate in this March 2 webinar to learn about these new federal requirements that are certain to change the way contractors manage stormwater on their projects! Click here to register.

Background

The C&D ELG rule takes effect in February 2010 and phases in over four years.   The new ELG requirements will be incorporated into all federal and state individual and general National Pollutant Discharges Elimination System (NPDES) stormwater construction permits upon their next reissuance.  Click here to see when your state's construction general stormwater permit is scheduled to expire and be re-issued.  For more information on what the new C&D ELG rule requires, see a detailed article that ran in the January 8, 2010, issue of AGC's Environmental Observer newsletter - click here.

For more information, contact Leah Pilconis, senior environmental advisor to AGC, at pilconisl@agc.org.

February 25, 2010 | 2:00 - 3:30 p.m. ET

2010 promises to be a most challenging year for commercial contractors. Backlogs are down, in years, bid lists are way up, and margins are practically non-existent. What do you need to know to survive the current downturn, turn things around, and re-emerge whole and healthy for the future?

Join hosts Rick Jefcoat and Wayne Rivers of CEO Performance Roundtable Program to find out about today's construction landmines - and how to avoid the missteps that could cause your company's downfall. Register here!

Unit 2: BIM Technology, the second course in the AGC Building Information Modeling (BIM) Education Program, is now available. BIM Technology covers the common characteristics and differences of BIM applications in use today and specific processes for planning, organizing and deploying BIM tools throughout the life of a project.

Developing a solid understanding of the available BIM solutions, their functionality and how they relate to the various construction phases before purchasing software will significantly aide contractors with overall BIM implementation efforts and increase return on investment.

AGC BIM Education Program courses are offered by AGC Chapters around the country. Interested individuals can visit the AGC national course calendar for information on upcoming BIM Technology course offerings at www.agc.org/BIMEP or contact Amy Fields at (703) 837-5360 or curriculum@agc.org.

The past year has been full of challenges and opportunities for the construction industry.  Each day, AGC of America has been working hard to represent Building Contractors.  Whether through the AGC Building Division, advocacy, safety and health, environment, labor and workforce, education and training or contract documents…AGC is focused on protecting your interests, helping your business, and improving your industry.

Please click here to review a summary of some of the major AGC of America activities of the past year on behalf of Building Contractors.  For more information, please contact Mike Stark, Senior Director, Building Division at starkm@agc.org.

Unveiled at the recent Building Contractors Conference, the AGC Lean Construction Forum is an inclusive and collaborative community that is open to anyone with an interest in lean construction processes.  The Forum is focused on facilitating dialogue and information sharing through its Web site (www.agcleanforum.org) and developing a curriculum and learning opportunities on the use of Lean principles in the construction industry.  

Anyone with an interest in Lean Construction can "join" the Forum at www.agcleanforum.org.  AGC members with a Username and Password for www.agc.org can use that same information to log-in to the Forum Web site.  If you do not have that information you can simply create a profile and join the Forum.  This is a brand new Web site and improvements are still being made.  Please share any comments or questions about the Forum and/or the Web site at starkm@agc.org.

The Forum will hold a two hour session at the AGC Annual Convention on March 17, which will provide a brief overview of Lean Construction and highlight AGC of America's current and future efforts related to this exciting topic.  The Forum will also meet at the AGC Building Contractors Conference in Midway, Utah, on June 10, 2010.

More than 120 attendees participated in the AGC Building Contractors Conference on January 20-22, 2010 in San Juan, Puerto Rico.  The Conference included the debut of the AGC Lean Construction Forum, which featured 7+ hours of educational sessions, interactive demonstrations and open discussion.  Additional programs included a presentation and break-out discussion on the "business of safety" and sessions focused on green construction risks, federal legislative & regulatory issues, and contractor surety Issues.  Conference presentations can be found here.

Save the date for the next AGC Building Contractors Conference, June 9-12, 2010, Zermatt Resort, Midway, Utah.  Information and registration will be available soon.

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is currently considering whether or not to expand and strengthen requirements of the 2008 Lead Renovation, Repair and Painting (RRP) rule to cover renovations of both the exteriors and the interiors of all public and commercial buildings.  EPA's anticipated action is required by a legal settlement it reached in August 2009 with environmental and health advocacy groups that had challenged the RRP rule.  The current RRP requirements, which will take full effect on April 22, 2010, require paid contractors and maintenance professionals to be trained and certified on certain mandated lead-safe work practices before renovating or repairing housing and facilities for children built before 1978.

EPA is considering extending the lead RRP requirements to all commercial buildings.  This action results from a legally-binding "agreement" EPA reached with environmental groups to settle a lawsuit that Sierra Club and others filed in the Federal Court of Appeals against the Agency concerning its RRP rule.  Under the settlement agreement, EPA is required to reconsider certain provisions of the RRP regulations and issue a series of rulemakings.  Specifically, EPA has agreed to the following:

• By April 22, 2010, EPA will issue an ANPR (advance notice of proposed rulemaking) discussing its intention to propose work practice requirements for renovations on the EXTERIORS of public and commercial buildings other than child-occupied facilities (schools and child care centers already covered by the final RRP rule); and to evaluate whether renovations in the INTERIORS of these buildings create lead-based paint hazards, and, if so, propose work practice requirements for those renovations.

• By December 15, 2011, EPA will issue a proposed rule to establish work practice requirements for renovations on the EXTERIOR of public and commercial buildings other than child-occupied facilities. EPA must take final action on the EXTERIOR proposal by July 15, 2013.

• By September 30, 2011, EPA will consult with the EPA Science Advisory Board (SAB) on a risk assessment methodology to evaluate the hazards posed by renovations in the INTERIOR of public and commercial buildings not covered by the final RRP rule. Eighteen months after receiving the SAB report, EPA must either issue a proposed rule to establish work practice requirements for INTERIOR renovations in public and commercial buildings or conclude that they do not create lead-based paint hazards. The proposal must include, if necessary, new hazard standards for these buildings. EPA must take final action on the proposed rule within 18 months of publication.

All future EPA rulemakings will be available for public comment.

First Round of Proposed Changes to RRP

Back in October 2009, EPA proposed a first set of revisions to the 2008 Lead Renovation, Repair, and Painting rule that would eliminate what EPA refers to as the "opt-out" provision.

That provision allows renovators to opt out, or be exempted from, the training and work requirements of the rule. (Firms can be exempted if they obtained a certification from the owner that no child under 6 and no pregnant woman resided in the residence.)  The Agency also is proposing to increase recordkeeping requirements and changes affecting training.  EPA also would require renovation firms to provide the owner and occupant with records documenting compliance with the rule. 74 Fed. Reg. 55506, Oct. 28, 2009.

In related news, EPA is also currently working with the Department of Housing and Urban Development to modify the definition of lead-based paint in its regulations.

For more information, please contact Leah Pilconis at pilconisl@agc.org or (703) 837-5332.

An updated version of the popular Contactor's Guide to BIM. This new edition includes up-to-date information on the process of incorporating BIM into your company, collaborating with other stakeholders as well as a detailed matrix of the varied types of software tools that comprise building information modeling.

Topics Include:

• Intro to BIM concepts
• Managing the BIM process
• Contracts and legal issues
• Selecting and implementing BIM tools and resources
• Criteria for selecting BIM consultants

Item No. 2928 Retail Price: $75.00 Member Price: $50.00

To order go to www.agc.org/bookstore or call 1-800-244-1767.

Only $1.7 billion of the $11 billion dollars allocated for school construction bonds have been used, according to the News & Observer.  The school bonds were created in the stimulus package and a recent provision passed in the House would allow any unused bond allocations to be rolled over to the following year. This might allow states more time to find companies willing to purchase school bonds.

Read the entire article here.