Environmentalists have opposed construction of the pipeline, and President Obama has said  that he also would oppose any transportation bill that included funding for the pipeline, according to the Transportation Nation report.

However, Shuster is predicting presidential politics would force the President’s hand come the fall — though he acknowledged that for most Americans, transportation wasn’t even in their top five issues, according to the report.

“The plunge in the unemployment rate for former construction workers from 17.8 percent in April 2011 and 21.8 percent two years ago is good news for them,” said Ken Simonson, the association’s chief economist. “Unfortunately, few of them have found jobs in construction, which actually employed 1,000 fewer workers than it did in April 2010.”

Construction started losing jobs in 2006—more than a year before the rest of the economy—and did not touch bottom until February 2011, a year after other sectors, Simonson pointed out. Even in the past year, there have been construction job losses in half the months, he said.

“It is tough to attract and retain workers when employment gains are so spotty,” Simonson observed. “With workers finding jobs in other industries, retiring or returning to school, contractors face a potential shortage of skilled workers in a year or two.”

Simonson noted that the 1.1 percent increase in construction employment over the past year was shared among all sectors of the industry. Employment among residential specialty trade contractors climbed by 33,100 or 2.3 percent, helped by a large increase in multifamily construction. Heavy and civil engineering employment rose by 18,400 (2.2 percent), thanks to work on power, energy and manufacturing projects. Nonresidential building employment increased by 6,000 (0.9 percent), while nonresidential specialty trade contractors added 3,900 employees, as private hospital, higher education, warehouse and transportation work accelerated. Residential building construction, mainly single-family homebuilding, eked out a gain of 700 workers (0.1 percent), he said.

Association officials said that inadequate long-term funding for infrastructure investment is likely to undermine construction employment gains in coming months. They cited the lack of a multiyear federal highway and transit bill as a particular problem, along with shrinking federal funding for a range of construction projects. ]]> http://www.betterroads.com/good-news-bad-news-on-construction-employment-front/feed/ 0 http://www.betterroads.com/nonresidential-construction-spending-down-for-third-consecutive-month/ http://www.betterroads.com/nonresidential-construction-spending-down-for-third-consecutive-month/#comments Wed, 02 May 2012 15:31:11 +0000 Tina Barbaccia http://www.betterroads.com/?p=19996 Associated Builders and Contractors (ABC) reports that total nonresidential construction spending fell for the third month in a row, declining 0.2 percent in March to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of $556.85 billion, according to the May 1 report by the U.S. Commerce Department. However, total nonresidential construction spending is up 5.7 percent from one year ago, ABC says.

Private nonresidential construction spending increased 0.7 percent for the month and is up 15.2 percent year over year. In contrast, public nonresidential construction fell 1.1 percent in March and is down 2.8 percent compared to the same time last year, according to a May 1 ABC report.

ABC Chief Economist Anirban Basu says that while overall nonresidential construction spending dipped in March, the decline in spending was not as severe as reported during the prior two months.

“The past few months generally have been associated with negative news regarding the performance of the U.S. nonresidential construction sector,” Basu says in a construction spending report. However, although the latest data on construction spending was “mixed,” it represents”an improvement over recent data releases.

“State and local government fiscal circumstances remain challenging,” Basu says. “The deceleration in government spending appears to have impacted nonresidential construction spending, as public nonresidential construction spending fell 1.1 percent on a monthly basis, including declines in the public safety, educational and water supply sectors.

“The most positive aspect of today’s [May 2] release was that private construction spending expanded 0.7 percent for the month, with gains registered in lodging, office and the communication sectors,” Basu continues in an ABC report. “Based on a host of leading indicators, private nonresidential construction should continue to rebound during the months ahead, with the presumption being that 2012 will remain a year of economic expansion in America.”

For the full ABC report, click here.

This is a victory for the industry associations that filed a brief in Mingo Logan vs. EPA — which included the American Road & Transportation Builders Association (ARTBA) and the National Stone, Sand & Gravel Association (NSSGA) — all of which urged the court to block EPA’s decision to revoke a valid wetlands permit.

Although the permit in question was for a coal mining operation, ARTBA and NSSGA highlighted in the brief the potential negative effects such action could have on any industry — including transportation construction — that relies on federal wetlands permits.

Specifically, ARTBA warned, “[t]housands of permit holders . . .have been relying on the Army Corps of Engineers’ [wetlands] regulations and predictable processes for decades.  If EPA is allowed to change the game, to interfere in the operation of a longstanding permitting system, it will send shockwaves across the country, adversely impacting amici and all the industry participants that they represent.”

In her ruling, Judge Amy Berman Jackson, who was appointed by President Obama, called EPA’s actions both “illogical” and “impractical” and accused the agency of “magical thinking.”

In an amici curiae brief filed in support of the plaintiff after the EPA published a “Final Determination” that suggested a unilateral modification of  a Clean Water Act permit that had been issued to Mingo Logan by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers four years earlier, industry associations unified to fight against the EPA’s “unprecedented” actions.

In the brief, the associations say that for the first time in the nearly 40-year history of Section 404, the EPA is seeking to “veto” the specification of a disposal site after the permit has been issued. They point out that the “the effect of this action is to revoke a permit that has been validly issued by the Corps…Far beyond this specific action, EPA’s assertion that it has the authority to revoke a valid 404 permit will have wide ranging and deleterious effects on all those individuals and entities that rely on 404 permits.”

If EPA’s action had been allowed to stand, the associations note, any project relying on wetland permits would be in danger of losing its permits not because planners had done anything wrong, but simply because the EPA changed its mind.

“Never before had EPA acted against a Corps permit after it was issued,” the associations noted in the brief. “Now, suddenly, EPA is claiming the power to step in and alter the terms of an existing Corps permit any time it determines that the project’s impacts are ‘unacceptable’ — even when the agency had previously reviewed the permit and assented to its issuance, and even when the permit holder is in full compliance. If EPA has this authority to revise or revoke Corps permits after they issue, over the objections of the Corps and the State, Corps permit holders can no longer be sure that their current or future projects are safe from a similar fate.”

There have been three major legal victories in the last 30 days for the industry. The Mingo Logan decision comes on the heels of two major ARTBA Supreme Court decisions in the cases of PPL Montana, LLC v. Montana, and Sackett v. EPA.  “In both, the Court reigned in EPA attempts to increase the reach of Clean Water Act regulations, removing road blocks that could have needlessly delayed transportation improvements,” ARTBA says in a written statement.

This is a victory for the industry associations that filed a brief in Mingo Logan vs. EPA — which included the American Road & Transportation Builders Association (ARTBA) and the National Stone, Sand & Gravel Association (NSSGA) — all of which urged the court to block EPA’s decision to revoke a valid wetlands permit.

Although the permit in question was for a coal mining operation, ARTBA and NSSGA highlighted in the brief the potential negative effects such action could have on any industry — including transportation construction — that relies on federal wetlands permits.

Specifically, ARTBA warned, “[t]housands of permit holders . . .have been relying on the Army Corps of Engineers’ [wetlands] regulations and predictable processes for decades.  If EPA is allowed to change the game, to interfere in the operation of a longstanding permitting system, it will send shockwaves across the country, adversely impacting amici and all the industry participants that they represent.”

In her ruling, Judge Amy Berman Jackson, who was appointed by President Obama, called EPA’s actions both “illogical” and “impractical” and accused the agency of “magical thinking.”

In an amici curiae brief filed in support of the plaintiff after the EPA published a “Final Determination” that suggested a unilateral modification of  a Clean Water Act permit that had been issued to Mingo Logan by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers four years earlier, industry associations unified to fight against the EPA’s “unprecedented” actions.

In the brief, the associations say that for the first time in the nearly 40-year history of Section 404, the EPA is seeking to “veto” the specification of a disposal site after the permit has been issued. They point out that the “the effect of this action is to revoke a permit that has been validly issued by the Corps…Far beyond this specific action, EPA’s assertion that it has the authority to revoke a valid 404 permit will have wide ranging and deleterious effects on all those individuals and entities that rely on 404 permits.”

If EPA’s action had been allowed to stand, the associations note, any project relying on wetland permits would be in danger of losing its permits not because planners had done anything wrong, but simply because the EPA changed its mind.

“Never before had EPA acted against a Corps permit after it was issued,” the associations noted in the brief. “Now, suddenly, EPA is claiming the power to step in and alter the terms of an existing Corps permit any time it determines that the project’s impacts are ‘unacceptable’ — even when the agency had previously reviewed the permit and assented to its issuance, and even when the permit holder is in full compliance. If EPA has this authority to revise or revoke Corps permits after they issue, over the objections of the Corps and the State, Corps permit holders can no longer be sure that their current or future projects are safe from a similar fate.”

There have been three major legal victories in the last 30 days for the industry. The Mingo Logan decision comes on the heels of two major ARTBA Supreme Court decisions in the cases of PPL Montana, LLC v. Montana, and Sackett v. EPA.  “In both, the Court reigned in EPA attempts to increase the reach of Clean Water Act regulations, removing road blocks that could have needlessly delayed transportation improvements,” ARTBA says in a written statement.

Barbara Boxer speaking at Rally for the Roads in Washington, D.C., on March 20

In an overwhelming show of support, the U.S. Senate on March 14 voted to pass a two-year transportation bill valued at $109 billion.

The Moving Ahead for Progress in the 21^st Century (MAP-21) Act, passed in a generally bipartisan 74-22 vote, reauthorizes federal highway and transit programs for fiscal years 2012 and 2013 at the 2011 investment level. This follows extensive lobbying efforts by construction industry groups, including the American Road & Transportation Builders Association (ARTBA).

Following the Senate’s action, ARTBA attention shifts to the House of Representatives, where up for vote will be H.R. 7, the American Energy and Infrastructure Jobs Act, to reauthorize surface transportation programs for five years. This legislation would make a number of policy and procurement reforms contained in the Senate’s MAP-21 Act and would authorize $260 billion in total investment.

However, despite pressure from the White House and congressional Democrats, the House will not take up the Senate’s $109 billion transportation bill, the chairman of the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee said on March 20, according to a report from The Hill transportation blog.

Rep. John Mica (R-Fla.) said the lower chamber will pass a short-term extension of the current funding bill for road and transit projects, which will be the ninth short-term extension of legislation that expired in 2009, according to The Hill.

Transportation and Infrastructure Committee Chairman Rep. John Mica (R-Fla.) said the lower chamber will pass a short-term extension of the current funding bill for road and transit projects, which will be the ninth short-term extension of legislation that expired in 2009, according to The Hill.

Mica says he will introduce a three-month extension of highway and transit programs.  The extension will not include changes to current transportation policy.

He said in a written statement that on March 22 he introduce a short-term extension through June 30 to ensure continuity of current programs while “I and House Republicans continue to work toward a responsible transportation bill that provides long-term certainty, reduces the size of government, eliminates earmarks, and is fully paid for. We continue to believe that linking energy and infrastructure is the responsible thing to do in order to meet our long-term needs.”

At the Second Annual Rally for the Roads transportation rally in Washington, D.C., held on March 20, Barbara Boxer (D-Calif.) said: “No great country can exist when our roads are falling down around us…,” reported Therese Dunphy, Editor-in-Chief of Aggregates Manager, a sister publication to Better Roads. “It’s not the time for partisanship or experimentation. I ask the House to pick up the Senate bill. They need to pass it. The president has said he will sign it. Tip O’Neill counted to 218 votes and he didn’t care if it was a Democratic or Republican vote. That’s what we need from Speaker Boehner… Put aside the fights and do something good for America.”

Better Roads Executive Editor Tina Grady Barbaccia contributed to this report.

The announcement is in keeping with the Federal Highway Administration’s “Every Day Counts” initiative, designed to shorten the time for highway project delivery, enhance roadway safety and protect the environment, the agency says.

“In todays climate of tight budgets, it is essential that we do everything we can to help states get the most out of their transportation dollars to deliver safe and reliable roads and bridges for all communities,” said U.S. Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood in a written statement. “We look forward to seeing the results of these alternative methods, in hopes of helping states make the most of their federal funding.”

FHWA’s approvals are the latest in an ongoing testing and evaluation program designed to encourage states to find alternatives, or improvements, to conventional highway grant funding strategies. By sharing successful approaches that some states have taken, the program will help all state departments of transportation pursue new financial flexibilities.

When Tropical Storm Irene devastated parts of Vermont last August, it required numerous unplanned road and bridge repair projects and that added new costs to the Vermont Agency of Transportation’s (VTrans) ongoing administrative budget. Typically, states are required to develop a complex “indirect cost allocation plan” (ICAP) to use federal funds for overhead costs, but in this case, the FHWA approved an application by VTrans to use federal funding for costs associated with administration and oversight of federally funded emergency relief projects. With this approval, VTrans can begin billing FHWA for these additional administrative costs sooner.

FHWA also negotiated an agreement with the California Department of Transportation (Caltrans) to eliminate the ICAP needed to use federal funding over the next three years for nine engineer positions dedicated to overseeing local public agency (LPA)-managed highway projects. LPAs deliver a significant percent of California’s federal-aid highway program, and ensuring proper oversight of such projects is a FHWA priority.

If successful, these strategies could serve as a template for other states seeking to use federal funding for certain indirect costs without developing an ICAP, as well as to shorten highway project delivery and improve the safety of the traveling public.

“Adding flexibility for states’ use of federal funds to meet local needs is key to helping them deliver projects more quickly,” said Mendez in the written statement. “Innovations like these should become standard practice, and I encourage all states to help us find new ways of making every day count.”

State departments of transportation typically receive federal funds for the direct costs of highway projects, such as construction, materials and labor. Since 1998, states have had the option to use federal funds for overhead costs, provided they develop an ICAP. Without such a rate structure in place, indirect costs – such as those related to overseeing emergency relief contracts and reviews to ensure that LPAs comply with federal regulations – have not been eligible for federal funding.

For more information on FHWA’s “Every Day Counts” initiative, go to http://www.fhwa.dot.gov/everydaycounts/.

Despite their efforts to modify their own driving, and the fact that overall fatalities have declined in recent years, older motorists are still involved in a disproportionately high share of traffic fatalities. In 2010, there were 5,750 fatalities in crashes involving at least one driver 65 or older. And although drivers 65 and older account for eight percent of all miles driven, they comprise 17 percent of all traffic fatalities. Data for each state can be found in the report’s appendix.

According to the TRIP report, the population of Americans 65 and older will grow by 60 percent by 2025, at which time one in every five drivers will be over the age of 65. Because of good nutrition, improved health care, better education and higher incomes, new generations of older Americans will be more mobile, healthy and active for a longer portion of their lives than those just a few decades ago. For those 65 and older, 90 percent of travel takes place in a private vehicle.

“The growing ranks of older Americans will far outpace previous generations with their level of mobility and activity. Serving their needs will require a transportation system that includes safer roads, safer vehicles, safer drivers and improved choices,” said Will Wilkins, executive director of TRIP. “Congress can help not only older drivers, but all drivers by passing long-term federal surface transportation legislation now.”

The TRIP report offers a set of recommendations to improve the mobility and safety of older Americans. Since many of these recommendations are designed to reduce the consequences of driving errors, they would make roads safer for all Americans. These recommendations include the following:

• SAFER ROADS: clearer, brighter and simpler signage with large lettering; brighter street markings, particularly at intersections; widening or adding left-turn lanes and extending the length of merge or exit lanes; adding rumble strips.
• SAFER DRIVERS: promoting education and training programs for older drivers; evaluating and monitoring “at risk” older motorists through appropriate licensing requirements.
• SAFER VEHICLES: improving vehicles to help withstand and avoid crashes.
• IMPROVED CHOICES: ensuring public transit routes, vehicles, facilities and stops are easily accessible and accommodating to older or disabled passengers; and expanding non-traditional approaches tailored to the needs of older adults.

The current nation is currently operating under an extension of Safe, Accountable, Flexible, Efficient Transportation Equity Act: A Legacy for Users (SAFETEA-LU), the surface transportation bill enacted by George W. Bush on Aug. 10, 2005. The bill originally expired on Sept. 30, 2009, has undergone a series of extensions since then. The latest extension is set to expire on March 31, 2012.

On Feb. 1, the T&I Committee began consideration of the American Energy & Infrastructure Jobs Act, a bill introduced in the House by Transportation Committee Chairman John L. Mica (R-Fla.) and Highways and Transit Subcommittee Chairman John J. Duncan Jr. (R-Tenn.). The legislation was approved early this morning.

“No other bill this Congress will create jobs, lower energy costs or improve our deteriorating infrastructure as effectively as this legislation,” Mica said in a written press statement. “With millions out of work, particularly in the construction industry, Americans deserve a long-term transportation, energy and jobs bill from Congress.

“The American Energy & Infrastructure Jobs Act will be the most significant reform of transportation programs in decades,” Mica continued in the written statement. “This bill will cut red tape, reduce the federal bureaucracy, move major infrastructure projects forward, attract more private sector participation, and give states the flexibility they need to address their most critical transportation needs.

A year ago, the Committee began holding bipartisan hearings and meetings around the country to gather input from state and local officials for a bill to reform and improve federal transportation programs, Mica said.

“Since then, we have worked to incorporate as many ideas from our Republican and Democratic colleagues as possible,” he said. “With today’s extensive and open debate, we have adopted many amendments, including 21 Democratic amendments, and we will continue to work with our colleagues as this bill moves forward.”

He likens this step forward to the progress that has been made on a long-term Federal Aviation Aviation (FAA) bill. “Some thought our committee would never complete a long-term FAA bill, but we have reached a bipartisan bicameral agreement on that critical measure,” Mica noted. “The President also recently signed a bipartisan pipeline safety bill that we sent him. We can also find common ground on this essential legislation to move our country and economy forward.”

Duncan points out that job creation is the No. 1 priority for voters across the United States, and he says this bill gives state governments a long-term funding stream that will put Americans back to work by improving our Nation’s highway and transit systems.

“In the last Congress, the President and Democratic leaders were unable to bring their reauthorization proposal to the floor,” Duncan said in the written statement from Mica’s office. “Their proposals for funding the bill were unrealistic.  I can assure you that this bill is realistic and will ensure that the Highway Trust Fund does not go broke.”

The American Energy & Infrastructure Jobs Act authorizes approximately $260 billion over five years to fund federal highway, transit and safety programs, consistent with current funding levels. This will provide long-term stability for states to undertake major infrastructure projects. The bill also includes provisions to improve programs for freight and passenger rail transportation, and calls for funds collected for maintaining the nation’s harbors to be invested for that purpose – not redirected for other unrelated government expenditures.

In addition, this legislation contains no earmarks. The last surface transportation law approved by Congress in 2005 contained over 6,300 earmarks.

The House is expected to consider H.R. 7 later this month.

According to Mica’s office, The American Energy & Infrastructure Jobs Act improves transportation programs in a number of ways, including the following:

Program Reform & Consolidation

Currently, there are more than 100 federal surface transportation programs, many of which were created during the last 50 years to expand the scope of the original programmatic goals. Many of these programs are duplicative or do not serve a national interest, according to Mica.

The American Energy & Infrastructure Jobs Act reforms surface transportation programs by consolidating or eliminating about 70 programs that are duplicative or do not serve a federal purpose.

Increased State Flexibility

The American Energy & Infrastructure Jobs Act eliminates a number of mandates that prevent states from being able to fund their most critical infrastructure needs.  The bill ensures that states will no longer be required to spend highway funding on non-highway activities, although they will be permitted to fund such activities if deemed to be priorities. The bill also delegates more project approval authority to states.

Cutting Red Tape & Streamlining Project Delivery

Due to the federal bureaucracy and red tape, the project approval and permitting process creates needless infrastructure delays and cost increases. According to the Federal Highway Administration (FHWA), highway projects can take up to 15 years to complete, and a lengthy project approval process accounts for a majority of these delays.

The American Energy & Infrastructure Jobs Act streamlines and condenses the project review process by cutting bureaucratic red tape, allowing federal agencies to review transportation projects concurrently, and setting hard deadlines for federal agencies to approve projects, in addition to providing states with more approval authority.

More information from the markup of H.R.7 can be accessed here, including information regarding amendments.

(For a PDF of the American Energy and Infrastructure Jobs Act, click here.)

(For the 14-page summary of the American Energy and Infrastructure Jobs Act in a downloadable PDF format, click here.)

Click here for the report, Federal Surface Transportation Reauthorization:Moving Beyond SAFETEA-LU, by Joung H. Lee, associate director for finance and business development, American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials (AASHTO) and deputy director, AASHTO Center for Excellence in Project Finance.

The current extension of the nation’s surface transportation bill — The Safe, Accountable, Flexible, Efficient Transportation Equity Act: A Legacy for Users (SAFETEA-LU) — expires on March 31. It was signed into law on Aug. 10, 2005, by President George W. Bush, and originally expired Sept. 31, 2009.

The organization says the key policy legislative language is expected to be released by the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee on Jan. 30 or Jan. 31, followed by a committee meeting the morning of Feb. 2 to consider amendments and vote on the bill, the “American Energy & Infrastructure Jobs Act.”

State transportation department executives were briefed on the measure the evening of Jan. 27 by House Transportation & Infrastructure (T&I) Committee staff during a conference call organized by AASHTO officials. Two draft bill summaries circulating on Capitol Hill indicate the House measure will include many provisions for which state Departments of Transportation have been asking, the organization says.