The great irony of building green is that the very concepts intended to enhance a building's performance over its entire lifetime are many of the same things that make a building highly susceptible to moisture and mold problems during its first few years of operation.

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The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's (EPA) National Clean Diesel Campaign (NCDC) just announced a new "clean diesel helpline."  Get answers to your questions on clean diesel funding and technologies within one business day.

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The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) recently awarded a total of $156 million in clean diesel grants in an extremely fierce national grant competition authorized by the Diesel Emission Reduction Act (DERA - part of the Energy Policy Act of 2005) and funded by the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA) of 2009.  Surprisingly, this unprecedented disbursement of clean diesel funds will support only 13 percent of the approximately 600 clean diesel project applications that EPA received under the National Clean Diesel Funding Assistance Program.  The Diesel Technology Forum is hosting two live Webinars (no charge) on September 2 — Lessons Learned - A Closer Look at Recent ARRA Funded DERA Projects – to take a closer look at the Recover Act round of funding. 

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AGC of Kentucky and Constructors Association of Western Pennsylvania (CAWP) have won $2 million and $925,000 respectively in federal grants under the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's (EPA) National Clean Diesel Funding Assistance Program.  In addition, the Chapters have leveraged more than $725,000 in matching and in-kind contributions by pulling together an impressive array of project partners.  Both Chapters will use the funds to cut diesel emissions from construction equipment.

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Construction companies nationwide will suffer significant financial losses and more construction workers will lose their jobs if the federal government allows California to proceed with plans to impose retroactive emissions standards on diesel construction equipment, warned AGC in an August 10 letter to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).

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The second installment of AGC's summary of the American Clean Energy and Security Act of 2009 (H.R. 2454) explains the major provisions of Title II (Energy Efficiency) of interest to the construction industry.

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For the first time in over 35 years, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has proposed changes to the national ambient air quality standard (NAAQS) for nitrogen dioxide (NO2).  NAAQS define the maximum allowable level of pollutants and drive state air pollution cleanup programs.  EPA has proposed adding a new one-hour standard to the existing annual standard.  EPA also proposes to establish a roadside monitoring network to track peak levels of NO2 along major highways.  AGC is analyzing what a new NAAQS for NO2 may mean for future construction, including new stricter requirements and/or restrictions on diesel engines and their use.

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This first installment of AGC's summary of the American Clean Energy and Security Act of 2009 (H.R. 2454) explains the major provisions of Title I (Clean Energy).  There are 10 subtitles described below.

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AGC Invited To Help Shape New Action Plan Aimed at Improving Water Permit Compliance

The U.S. EPA Administrator Lisa Jackson has directed the Office of Enforcement and Compliance Assurance (OECA) to examine its Clean Water Act enforcement program and report back to her in early October with an action plan to strengthen and improve the Agency's enforcement efforts.  This new initiative comes in light of information showing that water quality goals are not being met, there are too many violations in too many places, and the level of EPA enforcement is unacceptably low, according to Administrator Jackson's memo to key Agency officials.

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When Congress reconvenes after Labor Day, the U.S. Senate will resume its work on a comprehensive energy and climate bill.  In part, those deliberations will focus on a companion bill, the America Clean Energy and Security Act, or H.R. 2454, which the U.S. House of Representatives passed on June 26, 2009, by a vote of 219 to 212. This article begins a series of articles that AGC will publish to keep members informed of the ongoing climate change debate in Congress.  These articles will summarize H.R. 2454 in plain English and include AGC's preliminary reactions.

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