Negotiations are still underway between Senators Kerry (D-Mass.), Lieberman (I-Conn.) and Graham (R-S.C.) on legislation intended to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. They intend to release the legislation on Monday; however, that time line could be moved back. One of the final issues to be resolved is how to deal with transportation. Discussions have been on-going the past several days about imposing a fee on petroleum that would be passed on to consumers. The so-called "linked-fee" on motor fuels would likely increase the cost of gasoline by approximately 15 cents per gallon.  The Senators drafting the bill seem to be backing away from the "linked fee" concept because it has been portrayed as a gas tax. However, they intend to have a carbon pricing mechanism for transportation.

 AGC and other stakeholders have been visiting Senate offices urging that any revenue from additional fees on transportation motor fuels be directed into the Highway Trust Fund. Please contact your senators to make the same point. AGC is concerned that should a fee be imposed and not directed to the Highway Trust Fund it would undermine efforts to increase trust fund revenues necessary to fund the transportation reauthorization legislation. Contact your senators through AGC's Legislative Action Center by clicking here

AGC this week released a new study evaluating the data used by the California Air Resources Board (CARB) to justify the imposition of requirements on contractors in California to reduce emissions from their off road diesel equipment fleets. The report shows that emissions from California's construction and other off-road diesel equipment are less than 28 percent of what state officials have estimated, and therefore there is no scientific justification for the rule. The new emissions study is based primarily on data assembled by CARB last year, including how many pieces of off-road diesel equipment are in use and how much they run. The study found that there are 157,000 pieces of this equipment in the state, and not the 192,000 that the staff assumed, and 7.5 percent of this equipment is low use. Other new data came from the state Board of Equalization, the U.S. Department of Energy, and records detailing the actual hours worked by equipment operators.

Using this new data, researchers found that state officials have vastly overestimated emissions from the state's off-road diesel fleet. Emissions parallel the consumption of fuel, and in 2009, off-road equipment burned only 164 million gallons of diesel. If the Board's original estimates were correct, that number would have reached 581 million.

AGC has been pressing CARB to rescind or significantly alter its rule. In addition, AGC has been urging EPA to not grant California a waiver to implement these new restrictions. The outcome of California's rule has national implications because other states would be free to adopt these restrictions.

The American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials (AASHTO) this week released a new report, The Road to Livability , which describes how a full range of transportation options - including improvements to roadways, transit, walking, and biking - can improve livability in our communities. According to the report, state DOTs are using every opportunity to tailor transportation projects to the needs of the communities they pass through. States are also focusing their efforts on rapidly expanding options for biking, walking, and transit use, as well as implementing such road-related, livable policies as revitalizing urban centers, building local economies, and preserving historic sites and scenic country roads.

The report was issued to respond to the U.S. Department of Transportation's pronouncements that livability is among the administration's top priorities for future transportation funding. In addition, Congress will soon determine how "livability" will fit into the next multiyear transportation authorization legislation. The House draft reauthorization bill would create an "Office of Livability" within the U.S. DOT. Despite all the discussion of "livability," DOT officials have not been able to define it in response to questions at hearings from senators and representatives.

In releasing the report, AASHTO's Executive Director John Horsley said, "The next authorization bill must take into account the important role played by road-related investments in enhancing communities and improving the convenience of travel and access to services for all citizens. Transportation is a critical link in creating more livable communities, playing an important role in connecting affordable housing, good jobs, a safe and healthy environment, and strong schools."

Highway and Transportation Division Chairman Dean Word, Dean Word Co, New Braunfels, Texas joined Federal Highway Administrator Victor Mendez, New York State and City DOT officials and others at a national event in New York City to kick off Work Zone Awareness week. AGC has been part of the planning committee for this event since it was first initiated in 2000 to bring public attention to dangers in the work zone to construction workers and motorists. This year's theme, "Work Zones Need Your Undivided Attention," emphasized how distracted and impaired driving is made all the more dangerous when it occurs in work zones. Among the speakers at the event were family members of workers who were killed in work zone incidents. AGC chapters around the country joined their state DOTs in holding their own events to commemorate the week and gain attention from the media.

The Senate Environment and Public Works Committee this week held a hearing to address opportunities to improve safety in transportation as part of a series of hearings related to the reauthorization of SAFTEA-LU. At the conclusion of the hearing, Chairman Barbara Boxer (D-Calif.) said that this was the final hearing and the next time the committee meets it will be to mark up a transportation authorization bill. Sen. Boxer said the committee staff will meet over the next several weeks to finish drafting the bill.

AGC submitted testimony that called for inclusion of enhanced work zone safety measures, increased investment to address infrastructure safety issues and opposition to requirements for states to consider Owner Controlled Insurance Programs on large highway projects. Among the witnesses was Ted R. Miller, Ph.D., who reported that more than half of the 43,000 annual U.S. highway fatalities are related to poor roadway conditions at an annual cost of $217 billion. Miller, an internationally-recognized safety economist at the Pacific Institute for Research & Evaluation (PIRE), is the primary author of a July 2009 study, "On a Crash Course: The Dangers and Health Costs of Deficient Roadways" for the Transportation Construction Coalition (TCC).

AGC member Jon Cloud testified before the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency to explain how California's plan to require construction contractors to install emissions reduction kits on their off-road diesel equipment is unnecessary, will endanger workers and force job cuts. Joining Cloud in asking EPA to deny or delay a decision to allow the state to proceed with its off-road diesel rule at the hearing was Guy Prescott, a representative of the International Union of Operating Engineers also expressed concern for workers pointing out that the large filters and new exhaust pipes that are part of many emissions reduction kits can impair visibility and greatly increase the risk of burns. 

The hearing was scheduled to consider the California Air Resources Board's (CARB) request for a waiver to allow it to begin enforcing its off-road diesel equipment rule. The rule was originally scheduled to go into effect on March 1, 2010 but EPA never granted approval to CARB to move ahead with enforcement. This EPA action follows closely on the heels of a public hearing held by CARB on March 11 on the question of whether the off-road regulations should be further modified to account for the down economy and subsequent emissions reductions. AGC presented CARB with substantial empirical data demonstrating that the downturn in California's economic conditions and the resulting drop in construction activity have made the rule unnecessary. AGC has pointed out that California's own inventory data makes clear that off-road equipment operators will be well under the state's aggressive diesel emissions limits for years to come without this rule.  AGC will make similar recommendations at the upcoming EPA hearing.

Unless blocked, the CARB rule will require California's contractors to retrofit, repower, retire and/or replace much of their off-road equipment. The Federal Clean Air Act grants unique authority to California to adopt its own clean air rules, including an off road diesel emissions rule. Other states are prohibited from developing their own regulations but may adopt California's rules once EPA has approved them.  AGC joined with the AGC of California and San Diego AGC Chapter in a collective effort to stop the rule or significantly modify it.

It is widely anticipated that Senators John Kerry (D-Mass.), Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.), and Joe Lieberman (I-Conn.) will introduce climate change legislation before the end of the month.  Although a draft of the bill has not been released, the Senators have announced plans to limit carbon emissions through the inclusion of a fee on motor fuels based on the price of carbon dioxide under a cap-and-trade system.  This fee would act similar to a gas tax but it is unclear how much /if any of the revenue generated from this fee would be treated as a user fee and dedicated to the Highway Trust Fund. 

AGC has been meeting with Senate offices working to ensure that any money from this linked fee be deposited into the Highway Trust Fund and used to finance a multi-year surface transportation bill.  Support this effort by sending a letter through AGC's Legislative Action Center.

House T&I Subcommittee on Highways and Transit held a hearing this week on "Using Innovative Financing to Deliver Highway and Transit Projects." Witnesses agreed on the need to continue the basic user-fee program to provide the bulk of highway trust fund revenues, and on the need to continue to utilize existing "innovative" approaches to stretch existing transportation dollars. Witnesses discussed successes with various existing loan and credit programs such as Garvee bonds and TIFIA loans and discussed the Administration's proposal for a National Infrastructure Innovation and Finance Fund (NIIFF).  Subcommittee Chairman Peter DeFazio (D-Ore.) wondered why the administration is pushing a new approach when the TIFIA program is very popular and over-subscribed. No new ideas for increasing Highway trust Fund revenue were out forth.

AGC along with other transportation industry groups sent a letter to Senators John Kerry (D-MA), Lindsey Graham (R-SC), and Joe Lieberman (I-CT) with a clear message that the climate and energy legislation they are currently drafting must place any revenue collected from a "carbon tax" on gasoline into the Highway Trust Fund.  It is widely anticipated that their bill will include such a tax that could be passed on to drivers when they purchase motor fuels. AGC will continue to work with the Senators to ensure that any new fees placed on transportation fuels be dedicated to the Highway Trust Fund to improve U.S. highway and public transportation systems and to congestion reduction. The letter also noted that diverting fuel tax revenue to non-transportation purposes would severely hamper efforts to meet the investment goals proposed in the next multi-year surface transportation reauthorization bill.

The US Environmental Protection Agency has scheduled a hearing for April 14 in Washington to consider the California Air Resources Board's (CARB) request for a waiver to allow it to begin enforcing its off-road diesel equipment rule. The rule was originally scheduled to go into effect on March 1, 2010 but EPA never granted approval to CARB to move ahead with enforcement. AGC is preparing expert witness testimony asking EPA to deny California's request.

This EPA action follows closely on the heels of a public hearing held by CARB on March 11 on the question of whether the off-road regulations should be further modified to account for the down economy and subsequent emissions reductions. AGC presented CARB with substantial empirical data demonstrating that the downturn in California's economic conditions and the resulting drop in construction activity have made the rule unnecessary. AGC has pointed out that California's own inventory data makes clear that off-road equipment operators will be well under the state's aggressive diesel emissions limits for years to come without this rule.  AGC will make similar recommendations at the upcoming EPA hearing.

 Unless blocked, the CARB rule will require California's contractors to retrofit, repower, retire and/or replace much of their off-road equipment. The Federal Clean Air Act grants unique authority to California to adopt its own clean air rules, including an off road diesel emissions rule. Other states are prohibited from developing their own regulations but may adopt California's rules once EPA has approved them.  A study conducted by AGC shows that 32 states, including Arizona, Georgia, Illinois, Maryland, New York, Pennsylvania and Texas, are poised to use the California requirements. Because of the impact on contractor's nationwide, AGC joined with the AGC of California and San Diego AGC Chapter in a collective effort to stop the rule or significantly modify it.