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:

1. ASCE Urges Congress to Pass Brownfields Renewal Bill
2. Last Chance for the Issues Survey
3. House Passes FY 2002 Transportation Spending Bill
4. House Committee Chair Has Plans for Environmental Streamlining
5. President Announces Science and Technology Nominee
6. State Government Relations Update

   
1. ASCE Urges Congress to Pass Brownfields Renewal Bill
In June 28 testimony to the U.S. House of Representatives' Energy and Commerce Subcommittee on Environment and Hazardous Materials, ASCE strongly encouraged Congress to pass legislation that would assist in the redevelopment of brownfields.

"These lands have effectively been removed from productive capacity due to serious contamination," said Larry Roth, Assistant Executive Director of ASCE. "These sites, left untended, impose significant costs on the entire society. Properly restored, they aid in the revival of blighted areas, promote sustainable development, and invest in the nation's industrial strength."

The General Accounting Office has estimated that there were more than 450,000 brownfield properties across America. Last year, the U.S. Conference of Mayors calculated that redeveloped brownfields could generate 550,000 additional jobs and up to $2.4 billion in new tax revenue for cities nationwide, Roth told the subcommittee. Roth?s testimony is available on ASCE?s Web site at www.asce.org/pressroom/publicpolicy/congtest.cfm.

The current brownfields program was established by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) in 1993 under its general Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation and Liability Act (CERCLA) authority. That program, which has expanded to include more than 300 brownfields assessment grants (most for $200,000 over two years) totaling more than $70 million, needs to be placed on a sound statutory footing in order to ensure its continued progress.

Legislation that passed the Senate in April with ASCE support would provide $1 billion over the next five years to help state and local governments clean up contaminated industrial properties.

   
2. Last Chance for the Issues Survey
The 2002 Issues Survey will close on June 29! If you haven?t completed the survey already, please visit www.asce.org/issuessurvey to fill out the survey on-line. ASCE?s Government Relations Department is asking you, as an important member of our Key Contact Program, to help us set our compass for 2002 on the most important public policy issues for the civil engineering profession at the federal and state/local levels. Your responses to the survey will be compiled into a report for ASCE?s Committee on Government Affairs and Board of Direction to assist in determining our public policy priorities for the second session of the 107th Congress. If you have any questions, please contact the Government Relations Department at govwash@asce.org or (202) 789-2200.

   
3.House Passes FY 2002 Transportation Spending Bill
The U.S. House of Representatives approved legislation on June 26, by a vote of 426 to 1, that would provide a record $59 billion for federally-supported transportation programs. In total, the Fiscal Year 2002 transportation appropriations legislation (H.R. 2299) provides nearly $59.1 billion in total budgetary resources, an increase of $1.1 billion (2 percent) over the FY 2001 enacted level. Among the spending provisions, the bill includes:

• Total highway spending through the Federal Highway Administration amounts to $32.7 billion, an increase of $1.2 billion (4 percent) over the FY 2001 enacted level. The level is consistent with the Transportation Equity Act for the 21st Century (TEA 21). $31.7 billion would go to the core federal aid program, $2 billion more than FY 2001.
• Transit program spending totals $6.7 billion, an increase of $493 million over the FY 2001 enacted level. The transit formula program increases from $3.35 billion to $3.6 billion, an increase of $247 million over last year?s level and the same as the President?s request; transit discretionary grants increase from $2.65 billion to $2.841 billion in FY 2002, the same as the President?s request.
• The Federal Aviation Administration would receive about $13.3 billion, in line with the Aviation Investment and Reform Act for the 21st Century (AIR 21). The level is $690 million (5 percent) over FY 2001 and $12 million below the President?s budget. Funding for the airport improvement program is $3.3 billion, an increase of $100 million over the FY 2001 enacted level and the same as the President?s request.

This transportation spending bill marks the first time since 1995 that the legislation does not prohibit the Transportation Department from increasing fuel efficiency standards for cars, SUVs, and trucks.

   
4.House Committee Chair Has Plans for Environmental Streamliningd
Calling transportation infrastructure the "backbone" of the U.S. economy and traffic congestion an important contributor to the nation's social ills, U.S. House of Representatives? Transportation and Infrastructure Committee Chair Don Young (R-AK) said June 26 he was working to complete a legislative package to streamline environmental regulations on new construction. "If you're sitting still, you can't make progress" as a nation, Young said. "Let's build runways ... let's build high-speed railways. The number-one linchpin in the process is streamlining the process, to make sure we can address congestion."

Young asserted, "I am going to raise [the profile of the] issue so that the president is talking about it, so that the Senate is talking about it...but most of all so that the people are talking about it." Young said streamlining regulations to allow for an expanded transportation infrastructure would help preserve the environment by reducing congestion and energy use.

   
5.President Announces Science and Technology Nominee
President Bush announced on June 25 that he intends to nominate John H. Marburger, III to Director of the Office of Science and Technology. He is currently the Director of the U.S. Department of Energy's Brookhaven National Laboratory and President of Brookhaven Science Associates. He is presently on a leave of absence from the State University of New York at Stony Brook where he served as President and Professor from 1980 to 1994 and as a University Professor of Physics and Electrical Engineering from 1994 to 1997. Marburger served as the Dean of the College of Letters, Arts and Sciences at the University of Southern California from 1976 to 1980. He has been a member of numerous professional, civic and philanthropic organizations including the Universities Research Association, the Advisory Committee to the New York State Senate Committee on Higher Education and the Board of Directors of the Museums at Stony Brook. He is a graduate of Princeton University and received a Ph.D. in Applied Physics from Stanford University.

   
6. State Government Relations Update
ASCE provides updates on individual state government matters affecting civil engineers. For more information on the following item(s), 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.

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. These bills affect the civil engineering profession, but ASCE National has not taken a position on them unless otherwise noted.

Alabama H.B. 35 and S.B. 18 address the Alabama Underground and Aboveground Storage Tank Trust Fund?s responsibilities in the event of a release and increase appropriations to administer the fund.

California S.B. 52 would provide incentives for new construction and retrofitting of certain existing buildings to allow them to store thermal energy.

Colorado House Bill 1153 (HB 1153), which creates an exemption in the Colorado architectural practice act for interior designers, was enacted in Colorado. Governor Bill Owens chose not to sign the bill, but under Colorado law, it automatically became law since the governor did not veto it. The new law includes a detailed scope of practice definition for interior designers and outlines criteria an individual must meet to qualify for the exemption from the current architecture practice act. However, legislators did not include additional regulatory oversight to ensure that the measure's provisions are followed. ASCE opposed this bill as an unnecessary regulatory effort that will cause consumer confusion while not enhancing public health or safety.

New Jersey A.B. 3574 and S.B. 2422 make certain changes to the procedures governing the New Jersey Environmental Infrastructure Trust Financing Program.

A.B. 3706 authorizes municipalities to license home improvement contractors.

Pennsylvania H.B. 1830 provides for the certification of professional engineers and others as sewage treatment plant and waterworks operators.

S.B. 999 establishes the Pennsylvania Public School Construction Task Force and authorizes the issuance of $2.4 billion for the construction, maintenance, and equipping of schools in Pennsylvania.

Rhode Island H.B. 6543 allows recipients of advanced degrees in fields related to engineering to be eligible to be licensed as P.E.s.

Washington H.B. 2277 attempts to provide more flexibility in state procurement and encourage public-private partnerships.