AGC responded to the amended off-road diesel rule published Friday by the California Air Resources Board, noting that the changes reflect a good-faith effort by the Board to delay and scale back the mandates.

Read AGC's statement here.

AGC and the staff of the California Air Resources Board have reached an agreement on proposed changes to the state's off-road diesel rule designed to give the local construction industry time to recover from the recession while protecting air quality.

As part of the agreement, CARB will delay enforcement of the rule until 2014, ease annual compliance requirements and give contractors greatly flexibility in how they can comply. The proposed changes, which will need approval from the board in December, are the result of AGC's successful efforts to identify significant flaws in the Board's original diesel emissions estimates.

Read the press release here. Listen to the media conference call for details on the agreement.

The news was covered on the front page of the San Francisco Chronicle, and in Engineering News-Record, Bakersfield Californian, San Diego Daily Transcript and the Associated Press.

For more information, contact Mike Kennedy at kennedym@agc.org.

AGC has received reports that its members have received a letter from the U.S. EPA directing them to complete a mandatory survey on construction stormwater management practices within 60 days - or face significant fines and penalties of up to $37,500 per day per violation.

While EPA claims to have not directed this survey to general contractors, several have received it. If you have received a survey, it is imperative that it be completed and returned before the 60-day deadline to avoid steep penalties. However, most contractors need not continue beyond A5, or the first page of the survey. Unless a contractor has an ownership interest in the properties it builds on, it is unnecessary to complete the detailed financial and technical portions of the survey. For details, visit the definitions page and scroll down to owner/developer questionnaires.

EPA has initiated a national rulemaking to reduce stormwater discharges from new development and redevelopment and to strengthen its stormwater program (a.k.a., "post-construction" stormwater rule).  To collect information from entities believed to be owners/developers of residential, non-residential, industrial and commercial sites, EPA mailed out letters (click here for an example) last week to approximately 3,000 companies directing them to complete a lengthy, mandatory questionnaire within 60 days.

For more information on AGC's efforts and the new "post-construction" stormwater runoff rule that EPA is working on, click here.

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

AGC members in California sent hundreds of letters to the California Air Resources Board, urging it to repeal its costly and unnecessary off-road rule, which could be adopted by 32 other states.

AGC showed the board that emissions from off-road construction equipment are far lower than originally thought, and the news is spreading quickly. The North Bay Business Journal further explored the data while nearly 2,000 letters were sent in opposition to the rule to members of the California Air Resources Board last week. Engineering News-Record also covered the issue.

AGC released a study last year showing that as many as 32 other states could adopt California's rule.

For more information, contact Mike Kennedy at kennedym@agc.org.

The California Air Resources Board abandoned its original estimates of off–road diesel emissions, conceding that its “off–road rule” is not needed to meet ambitious goals for the off–road equipment in the construction industry. According to new estimates that the agency staff developed over the summer, off road fleets of diesel equipment will exceed the state’s emission goals for many years to come.

During the earlier rulemaking process, the board staff used the now abandoned estimates to justify an "off-road rule" that would needlessly force contractors across the state to retire, retrofit, repower or replace billions of dollars worth of construction equipment, and all at a time when California's construction industry is still losing jobs. When informed of the state's new forecasts, association officials called on the Board's members to repeal the rule "quickly and completely."

Read AGC's press release here.

The news was covered by the Sacramento Bee and Equipment World, among others.

For more information, contact Mike Kennedy at (703) 837-5335 or kennedym@agc.org.

AGC responded Wednesday to the proposed Senate climate bill, noting that it will make it more difficult to cut pollution and emissions by establishing new regulatory obstacles and robbing transportation funds.

AGC released a statement: "Improving the efficiency of our built environment - including commercial buildings, transportation infrastructure and water systems - presents one of the greatest opportunities to reduce power consumption and cut greenhouse gas emissions."

Read the full statement here, and more details on the bill here.  Read AGC's plan for a green future here.

The news was covered in the Daily Reporter and Today's Trucking, among other publications.

For more information, contact Brian Turmail at (703) 837-5310 or turmailb@agc.org.

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is moving forward with its commitment to propose and take final action by November 2012 on a first-time national rule that would set new standards to control stormwater discharges from developed sites.  As a result of AGC's advocacy work, EPA has decided to not require contractors to respond to a lengthy, mandatory survey that will guide and inform future requirements pertaining to long-term stormwater control practices, recognizing that contractors are not responsible for designing, financing, operating or maintaining post-construction (permanent) stormwater controls.

EPA has initiated a national rulemaking to establish a program to reduce stormwater discharges from new development and redevelopment and make other regulatory improvements to strengthen its stormwater program.  In October 2009, EPA published a Federal Register notice announcing its intent to submit an Information Collection Request (ICR) to the White House Office of Management and Budget (OMB) to get approval to distribute a questionnaire to owners, operators, developers, and contractors of developed sites ("Industry Questionnaire"), as well as two other surveys directed at municipalities and states.  Acting on AGC's recommendations, EPA has significantly revised its mandatory questionnaires and is now proposing six separate questionnaires (that are focused on gathering data about current stormwater management practices from specific groups); however, none of the revised surveys are directed at general contractors.  AGC's work is sure to save the industry both time and money, as many members estimated that it would have taken a construction firm between 120 to 150 hours to complete the EPA survey.

As previously reported in AGC's Environmental Observer, late last year, EPA requested the construction industry's feedback on a draft of an "Industry Questionnaire" that the Agency had planned to distribute this spring to collect detailed financial and technical information to guide and inform a new stormwater runoff rulemaking. The proposed Industry Questionnaire would have required certain general contractors (i.e., those selected by EPA to complete it) to provide detailed technical information for up to 10 projects completed in 2009, including project type/size, stormwater management controls and associated costs, discharge permit forms, as well as company-wide financial information spanning the last five years.  Construction companies would have spent significant time, energy and money completing the survey.

AGC provided extensive comments explaining to EPA that the proposed Information Collection Request was: premature and unauthorized by law, as it presumes regulatory authority that does not exist; overly burdensome and misdirected, as it misapprehends the role that contractor's play in the real estate development process; and  ineffective in gathering data EPA believes it requires.

AGC met with EPA staff in early January to discuss the most efficient method for the Agency to obtain the information it deems necessary to perform its function. As the newly proposed ICR documents show, and as a result of AGC's input and outreach, EPA has correctly determined that general contractors should not be subject to future information collection requests associated with post-construction issues.  EPA is accepting public comment until June 9 - Docket ID No. EPA-HQ-OW-2009-0817 - at http://www.regulations.gov.

Stakeholder Input on Stormwater Rulemaking

In related news, EPA recently held five listening sessions in January 2010 in select cities to inform the public and solicit feedback on upcoming rules to strengthen the national stormwater program.  Many AGC members "listened in" to these sessions and a few gave 3-minute statements; AGC helped to coordinate industry's message and submitted a written statement on Feb. 26.  AGC's statement explained the following points:

• The construction contractor's role in real estate development;
• The construction contractor's role in post-construction stormwater management;
• Post-construction stormwater management does not fit in current NPDES construction general permit program;
• Existing regulatory programs adequately control post-construction discharges; and
• Post-construction discharges are best addressed by local authorities.

More information is on EPA's website.

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

AGC of Washington’s David D’Hondt and Doug Moore of member company McKinstry take media through the firm’s new Green Innovation Center during the release of AGC’s “Building a Green Future” report.

The nation's buildings and infrastructure will become more efficient, significantly reducing greenhouse gas emissions and cutting energy consumption, according to a new green construction plan released Thursday by AGC. The plan outlines measures designed to stimulate demand for green construction projects, boost infrastructure capacity, and improve building efficiency and green construction practices.

Read AGC's plan here, and the press release here.

The news was covered by the Seattle Daily Journal of Commerce, Daily Commercial News, and Mother Nature Network, among others.

For more information, contact Brian Turmail at (703) 837-5310 or turmailb@agc.org.

Gary Janco of member company CC Myers Inc. telling reporters about how CARB’s new off-road diesel emissions rule is hurting his business, forcing layoffs.

Emissions from California's construction and other off-road diesel equipment are less than 28 percent of what state officials have estimated, AGC announced Wednesday. As a result, the California Air Resources Board has no scientific justification for sticking to a new rule requiring construction contractors to spend billions of dollars on their existing equipment.

Read AGC's release and supporting materials here.

The news was covered by the Associated Press, San Diego Daily Transcript, and Fresno Bee, among others.

For more information, contact Brian Turmail at (703) 837-5310 or turmailb@agc.org.

AGC issued a statement in response to the California Air Resources Board's decision to delay enforcement of its off-road diesel emissions rule, but to proceed with the off-road diesel rule as soon as is legally permissible.

Read AGC's statement here. The news was covered by Roads and Bridges, San Diego Daily Transcript, Central Valley Business Journal, and Occupational Health and Safety.

For more information, contact Mike Kennedy at (703) 837-5335 or kennedym@agc.org.