This Week in Washington

This weekly report is written by the American Society of Civil Engineers' Government Relations staff. If you have questions or comments about any items in this report, please contact Brian Pallasch, Michael Charles, Martin Hight, Austin Fulk, or Liz Hermsen by e-mail or at 202/789-2200.

Inside This Week:

• Detroit Mayor Urges Billions for Water Infrastructure, Says 'Cities can't do it alone'
• ASCE's 1998 Report Card for America's Infrastructure Still Cited
• EPA, Corps Delay Effective Date of Dredged Material Definition
• Senator Plans Effort to Overturn Ergonomics Rule
• State Government Update

DETROIT MAYOR URGES BILLIONS FOR WATER INFRASTRUCTURE, SAYS CITIES 'CAN'T DO IT ALONE'
Detroit Mayor Dennis Archer, saying America's cities cannot save their critical wastewater and drinking-water systems by themselves, came to Capitol Hill on February 13 to urge Congress to authorize a multibillion-dollar program to rebuild the nation's crumbling water pipes. "Our cities can't do it alone," Archer said.

Mayor Archer strongly endorsed a report from the Water Infrastructure Network (WIN) that calls for enactment of legislation to provide a five-year, $57 billion authorization for drinking-water and wastewater facilities. The report is available on ASCE's web site . ASCE, one of 28 non-profit professional societies, environmental groups, construction industry organizations and labor unions who are members of WIN, endorsed the report.

House Science Committee Chairman Sherwood Boehlert (R-NY), Energy and Commerce Committee ranking member John Dingell (D-MI), and Sen. George Voinovich (R-OH) also supported the effort to pump billions of federal dollars into the nation's aging water pipes, sewers and treatment facilities. The WIN legislation will be modeled on the Transportation Equity Act for the 21st Century (TEA-21) and the Aviation Investment and Reform for the 21st Century (AIR-21). "WATER-21 is the obvious next chapter in the congressional efforts to repair America's crumbling infrastructure," Boehlert said.

The new push for WATER-21 comes just days after President Bush revealed plans to slow the spending growth of the federal government, a move that will complicate plans to enact any new spending project. Boehlert, Dingell and Archer maintained the funds are necessary to prevent disease and protect the environment. "Water must be treated or it will make people sick," said Archer, the president of the National League of Cities.

Rep. Peter DeFazio (D-OR) said the new spending would be a shot in the arm for the ailing U.S. economy. Americans would get "a heck of a lot more money returned to their pockets [in the form of new jobs] than whatever they would get from a tax cut," he said.

"Our local communities are doing a great job with the assistance they've been provided, but, frankly, they need more to comply with tougher environmental regulations. Passing these costs on to the public would be devastating to many families," said Sen. George Voinovich (R-OH). "With such massive needs nationwide the federal government is really the only entity that can help local communities make the necessary improvements to protect water quality."

ASCE'S 1998 REPORT CARD FOR AMERICA'S INFRASTRUCTURE STILL CITED
Just three weeks before ASCE releases its updated 2001 Report Card for America's Infrastructure, the 1998 Report Card still has life. At a hearing of the Senate Finance Committee on February 14, Senator Tom Harkin (D-IA), commenting on education tax and savings incentives, noted the "F" grade received by the nation's schools in ASCE's 1998 Report Card. He used the report card to support tax credits for local school modernization bonds.

The next day, Senator Hillary Rodham Clinton (D-NY) mentioned the report card during a hearing of the Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor and Pensions. The hearing focused on President Bush's education plan and Senator Clinton used the ASCE report card to push for increases in school construction funding.

The 1998 Report Card for America's Infrastructure is available on ASCE's web site . ASCE will release its 2001 Report Card on March 8, 2001.

EPA, CORPS DELAY EFFECTIVE DATE OF DREDGED MATERIAL DEFINITION
The effective date of a final regulation revising the Clean Water Act regulatory definition of "discharge of dredged material" is being delayed 60 days, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers announced on February 15.

The new effective date will be April 17, 2001. The original effective date was February 16, 2001. The final rule was published in the Federal Register on January 17, 2001. "The temporary 60-day delay is necessary to give EPA and Corps officials the opportunity for further review and consideration of new regulations," the agencies said.

You can browse the Federal Register on the web at http://www.access.gpo.gov/su_docs/aces/aces140.html#frbrowse.

SENATOR PLANS EFFORT TO OVERTURN ERGONOMICS RULE
Senator Mike Enzi (R-WY) announced this week that he will lead an effort in Congress to overturn the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) ergonomics rule. Senator Enzi plans to use the Congressional Review Act which permits Congress to overturn a federal rule within 60-days of being made final. The OSHA rule was effective January 16 and Senator Enzi stated that Congress has until mid-March to overturn the rule. A simple majority of both Houses of Congress is needed to overturn a federal rule.

STATE GOVERNMENT UPDATE
ASCE provides updates on individual state government matters affecting civil engineers. For more information on the following items, or any other state government relations matters, please contact Austin Fulk, ASCE's Manager of State Government Relations, at (202) 789-2200 or via email at afulk@asce.org.

Proposed Ballot Initiative in Washington State
Under a ballot initiative filed in Washington, that state's 6.5 percent sales tax would be increased by 0.1 percent to pay for a variety of clean water projects. The tax hike would generate an estimated $1 billion over the next 10 years to pay for improvements in systems handling sewage, stormwater runoff, water quality, and habitats for endangered species. The initiative's supporters must now gather enough petition signatures to place the initiative on the November election ballot.

Proposal to Undermine QBS Still Alive in Virginia
Despite the defeat of two bills in the Virginia legislature that would have undermined the state's qualification-based selection (QBS) laws, the proposal remains alive in the state's budget bill. The proposal, which would allow the state's Department of Transportation to discuss price before issuing requests for proposals, remains as part of the budget bill being negotiated by a conference committee of the Senate and House of Delegates. Any final budget bill would have to be approved by both chambers of the legislature. ASCE is encouraging all members who live in Virginia to contact their legislators to express opposition to this proposal. Also, many thanks to those ASCE members in Virginia who have already done so and let ASCE know about their actions:

Jack Rinker
Charles Bolyard
Gene Cress
Dennis Clark
Harold McKittrick
Bo Strickland

Brownfields Cleanup in Ohio
In his State of the State speech, Ohio Governor Bob Taft proposed a tax credit for the voluntary cleanup of brownfield sites in the state. The proposal would allow for tax credits of up 10 percent of cleanup costs, to a maximum of $1 million per site cleaned.

State Legislative Update
The following bills were recently introduced in state legislatures across the country. If you have questions about particular legislation, please contact Austin Fulk, ASCE's Manager of State Government Relations

California:
S.B. 136 extends the sunset date for the Board for Professional Engineers and Land Surveyors by two years, to 2004.

Colorado:
H.B. 1296, the "Colorado Construction Consumer Fair Remedy Act," requires the standard of clear and convincing evidence to apply for most suits against designers and builders for damages stemming from construction.

H.B. 1329 would allow the state to retain state surpluses for use for use to build multi-modal capital transportation projects.

Connecticut:
S.B. 1074 standardizes the educational requirements for engineers and engineers-in-training.

Illinois:
S.B. 94 sets up a system to help manage and mitigate stormwater management in a number of counties in the state.

Maine:
H.P. 379 would establish the Dam Repair and Reconstruction Fund.

Maryland:
S.B. 416 adjusts requirements for renewing a land surveyor's license.

Michigan:
H.B. 4087 modifies building code standards for schools.

Montana:
S.B. 369 requires third-party inspections of public works projects when the project's architect or engineer has a business relationship with the contractor on the project.

New Mexico:
H.B. 511 exempts an architect who volunteers professional services at a disaster site from most tort liability.

New York:
A.B. 2849 allows the City of New York to administratively sanction design professionals for misconduct with respect to applications and other documents submitted to the department.

A.B. 3160 and S.B. 1799 allow design professionals to form professional service corporations in which non-professionals own less than 25 percent of the corporation's shares.

A.B. 3497 extends the statute of limitations for filing most lawsuits against design professionals for damages arising out of a construction project.

Oklahoma:
S.B. 198 establishes a licensing program for home inspectors.

Oregon:
H.B. 2684 adds land surveyors to the category of parties allowed to place a lien on property for nonpayment for services.

S.B. 447 would exempt engineering geologists from statutes governing the practice of engineering.

Pennsylvania:
S.B. 209 establishes a program in the state's Department of Education to help engineering schools purchase equipment.

South Carolina:
S.B. 260 authorizes land surveyors to enter private property for the purpose of carrying out necessary surveying work.

Tennessee:
H.B. 436 and S.B. 280 allow the formation of professional service corporations.

S.B. 1486 standardizes the educational requirements for engineers and engineers in training.

Texas:
H.B. 1012 establishes and regulates the practice of geoscience.

H.B. 1027 encourages the cleanup of contaminated property.

S.B. 510 authorizes municipalities to use design-build for public procurement.

Washington:
H.B. 1680 would allow the use of design-build procurement for transportation projects costing over $10 million.

Wyoming:
S.B. 130 encourages the voluntary remediation of contaminated sites.