Rushing to beat a Dec. 4 deadline, House and Senate negotiators struck an agreement on a $305 billion highway bill that would extend federal transportation funding for five years.
Read MoreMonth: December 2015
It’s Happening FAST
Dec. 1, 2015 – Today, a congressional conference committee signed off on the surface transportation reauthorization conference report, according to the National Stone, Sand and Gravel Association (NSSGA). The new bill is H.R. 22, Fixing America’s Surface Transportation Act (FAST Act), which is slated to provide approximately $281 billion investment over five years in our nation’s surface transportation infrastructure. The U.S.…
Read MoreOctober Construction Spending Inches Up; Highways Higher
The U.S. Census Bureau of the Department of Commerce announced that construction spending during October 2015 was estimated at a seasonally adjusted annual rate of $1,107.4 billion, 1.0 percent (±1.8 percent) above the revised September estimate of $1,096.6 billion. The October figure is 13.0 percent (±2.5 percent) above the October 2014 estimate of $979.6 billion.
Read MoreMartin Marietta Acquires Control of Rock & Rail
On Oct. 9, Martin Marietta Materials Inc. filed a verified notice of exemption to acquire control of Rock & Rail Inc. (RRI), a Class III railroad. On Oct. 23, notice of the exemption was served and published in the Federal Register. The exemption became effective Nov. 8.
Read MoreComing to a Parking Lot Near You: Fast-Draining Concrete
A new and improved variety of permeable pavement developed in the U.K. called Topmix Permeable has been turning heads. This new concrete, from Lafarge Tarmac, could potentially be a very useful tool in combating urban flash flooding from sudden, heavy storms – the type that are likely to become increasingly common because of climate change. In the U.S., stormwater routinely…
Read MoreCommission Need Not Decide on Validity of MSHA’s Penalty Criteria
Commission judges do not need to defer to any element of MSHA’s Part 100 regulations for assessing civil penalties, since the Commission has a Congressional mandate to independently assess penalties after making findings of fact, the Commission ruled in a Sept. 16 decision.
Read More‘Stuff’ Happens
The whole point of a safety and health program is to implement processes and systems that serve to prevent those undesirable events that lead to injuries and damage to property or interruptions. In a perfect world our programmed safety and health initiatives would work flawlessly. No injuries would occur, breakdowns would be eliminated and our production, maintenance and service operations…
Read MoreNew Construction Starts in September Slip 5 Percent
Decreased Activity Was Reported For Both Nonresidential Building And Housing; Highway And Bridge Construction Rose Slightly. The value of new construction starts in September dropped 5 percent from the previous month to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of $523.7 billion, according to Dodge Data & Analytics. Decreased activity was reported for both nonresidential building and housing, while the nonbuilding construction…
Read MoreEPA Finalizes Rule to Modernize Clean Water Act Reporting
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) finalized a rule to modernize Clean Water Act reporting for municipalities, industries and other facilities. The final rule will require regulated entities and state and federal regulators to use existing, available information technology to electronically report data required by the National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System (NPDES) program instead of filing written paper reports.
Read MoreHold ‘Em, Fold ‘Em
Guidelines for Contesting Citations, and When to Use Them. I am often asked for advice on whether or not to contest a citation. The answers are always different, but the principles are all the same. As such, I thought I would take this opportunity to try to lay those out again for everyone to consider, along with a couple of…
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