The Steering Committee of the AGC M&U Division met on May 19, 2009 at AGC’s Capitol Hill Legislative Headquarters in Washington, DC to discuss future activities and priorities of the division.

M&U Chairman Art Daniel presided over the meeting. In addition to conducting internal planning, the Steering Committee met with a top official from the EPA Office of Drinking and Groundwater Protection to discuss EPA’s progress on implementation of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act.  AGC members also participated a legislative briefing on the prospects of Water Trust Fund Legislation.

The Municipal and Utilities Division is also pleased to announce the selection of four new regional representatives who will each serve two year terms on the newly formed Steering Committee.  We are honored to announce the appointment of the following individuals:

Mr. Jason Dennis

Assistant Manager / Underground Division, Griffith Company

Brea, California

Chapter Affiliation - AGC of California

Mr. Keith R. Swerdfeger

Chairman, K R Swerdfeger Construction Inc.

Pueblo, Colorado

Chapter Affiliation – Colorado Contractors Association

Mr. Dan Wright

President, Diamond Construction Company

Little Rock, Arkansas

Chapter Affiliation – Arkansas Chapter AGC

Mr. Richard Smailes

President FAMCO Inc

Huntington, WV

Chapter Affiliation - Contractors Association of West Virginia

For additional information please contact Perry L. Fowler at fowlerp@agc.org or (703) 837-5321.

On May 14, 2009, the Senate Environment and Public Works Committee passed S.1005, the Water Infrastructure Financing Act of 2009 with a strong bipartisan vote of 17-2. The bill authorizes $38.9 billion for EPA water infrastructure programs over the next five years, and includes $20 billion for the Clean Water State Revolving Fund Program, $15 billion for the Drinking Water State Revolving Fund Program and $1.85 billion for Sewer Overflow Grants.  AGC supports this substantial increase in funding for our nation’s water infrastructure.

Several amendments were adopted during the markup process, including adding Davis-Bacon prevailing wages, updating EPA affordability guidance, and authorizing a study on the presence of pharmaceuticals and personal care products in waters of the United States. Largely due to the diligence of AGC and our WIN Coalition colleagues, the bill does not include any Buy American provisions, unlike companion legislation passed by the House of Representatives.

AGC and the Water Infrastructure Network (WIN) Coalition will be working to raise awareness and garner support for passage by the full Senate and will be calling on AGC members to contact their Senators and urge support. This is companion legislation to H.R. 1262, the Water Quality Investment Act of 2009, which authorized $19.4 billion over five years in of appropriations for wastewater infrastructure projects, including $13.8 billion for the Clean Water State Revolving Loan Fund (SRF). 

For additional information please  contact Perry L. Fowler at (703) 837-5321 or fowlerp@agc.org.

ARRA highlights for individual Agency Programs that may be of interest for M&U Contractors. 

U.S. Environmental Protection Agency

EPA has released over $3 billion dollars to states for Clean and Drinking Water State Revolving Programs and Water Quality Management Program Grants.  These states should be in the process of applying funds to specific projects according to individual State’s Intended Use Plans. For a listing of State agencies responsible for administering Clean Water SRF funds click here. For a list of State agencies administering Drinking Water SRF funds click here. To view a spreadsheet with State and regional funding outlays click here.

Additionally on April 28, 2009 EPA released its final guidance to Water Management Divisions on implementation of “Buy American” requirements in ARRA including how the waiver process for projects will work.  For a complete copy of the 16 page document click here.

For additional information visit the EPA Recovery Website.

USDA Rural Utility Service

On April 28, 2009 Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack announced the selection of more than $615.8 million in water and environmental projects that are being funded immediately with federal funds provided through the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act. The projects will help provide safe drinking water and improved wastewater treatment systems for rural towns and communities in 34 states. This represents approximately half of USDA’s funding for rural water projects.  USDA anticipates leveraging ARRA funds to finance almost $2.9 billion in projects.  For a list of projects click here and scroll down to the bottom of the page.A more detailed list of projects may be obtained by contacting Perry L. Fowler at fowlerp@agc.org.

In addition to funding water projects the USDA will be administering ARRA funds for rural facilities construction, flood control, watershed projects, rural electricity, and broadband  projects. AGC members and Chapters interested in learning more about potential construction opportunities in these programs should contact their state Rural Development Authority.  To view a list by state click here.

Department of Interior

The U.S. Department of the Interior has published its complete project list which represents $750 million in Stimulus funds.  Projects include but are not limited to new buildings, to HVAC upgrades, energy efficiency projects, wastewater systems, hiking trails, fencing, photovoltaic systems, pipeline replacement, paving and roadwork. Agencies under the jurisdiction of Interior include the Bureau of Reclamation, Bureau of Land Management, Bureau of Indian Affairs, U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service and the National Park Service.

For a complete listing of projects by State please visit http://recovery.doi.gov/docs/nps/nps_state_projects.pdf.

U.S. Army Corps of Engineers

The Army Corps of Engineers has released its list of Civil Works, Construction and O&M projects to be funded by the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009. The $4.6 billion is distributed in the following program accounts: Operation and Maintenance, Construction, Mississippi River and Tributaries, Formerly Utilized Sites Remedial Action Program, and Investigations.  

The full list of projects, which is quite lengthy, is not attached here but can be accessed via the following website:  http://www.usace.army.mil/recovery/Pages/Projects.aspx

For additional information  please contact Perry L. Fowler at (703) 837-5321 or fowlerp@agc.org.

OMB & FAR Coucil seeking industry input on interim rules for ARRA projects.

On March 31, 2009, the FAR Councils issued a series of interim rules amending the Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR) in order to implement several key provisions set forth in the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009.

On a finding of "urgent and compelling reasons," the interim rules were issued without any opportunity for prior public comment.  The FAR Councils will, however, take into consideration public comments submitted on or before June 1, 2009 in formulation of the final rule.

In order to facilitate a dialogue between AGC members and the government, AGC has set up a special portal located at the AGC Legislative Action Center and highlighted the key issues that must be addressed:

Recovery Act - Buy American Requirements for Construction Material

Recovery Act - Publicizing Contract Actions

Recovery Act - Reporting Requirements

Recovery Act - Whistleblower Protections

Recovery Act - GAO/IG Access 

The Office of Management and Budget (OMB) also issued its own guidance on April 23 establishing Government-wide guidance and standard award terms for agencies to include in financial assistance awards which will impact USDOT and EPA SRF programs(namely, grants, cooperative agreements, and loans) as part of their implementation of the Recovery Act. Public comments are due by June 22:

Recovery Act - OMB Interim Guidance

AGC is soliciting comments from members and is preparing to submit comments on behalf of the entire association by the June 1 deadline.

For more information on FAR comments for Federal Contracting please contact Marco Giamberardino at giamberm@agc.org or (703) 837-5325.

For more information OMB comments regarding federally assisted programs please contact Perry L. Fowler at fowlerp@agc.org or (703) 837-5321.