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:

• House Approves Energy, Water Spending Bill for FY 2002
• ASCE Member Named Commissioner of the Bureau of Reclamation
• House Subcommittee Holds Hearing on Science of TMDL
• Federal Government Rolls Out New Contracting Notice Web Site
• New Solicitation Response Form Anticipated for Federal Contracting Opportunities
• Strong U.S. Economy Boosts Greenhouse Gas Emissions
• ASCE Congressional Fellow's Report, June 2001

  
1. House Approves Energy, Water Spending Bill for FY 2002
The U.S. House of Representatives approved on June 28, with a vote of 405-15, the Energy and Water Development Appropriations for Fiscal Year 2002 (H.R. 2311). The bill provides a total of $23.7 billion in new discretionary spending authority for the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Civil Works Program and the Department of Interior, including the Bureau of Reclamation, the Department of Energy (DOE), and several independent agencies. The bill is $147.7 million above fiscal year 2001 and $1.187 billion above the President?s budget request.

A controversial amendment by Rep. David Bonior (D-MI) would prohibit funds appropriated in the bill from being spent to issue any permit or lease for the purpose of drilling to extract or explore for oil or gas from the land beneath the water in any of the five Great Lakes, Lake Saint Clair, the St. Mary's River, the Saint Clair River, the Detroit River, the Niagara River or the St. Lawrence River.

The bill includes $376.8 million for renewable energy programs, an increase of $100.2 million over the budget request and $1 million over fiscal year 2001.

Nuclear energy programs are funded at $224.1 million, an increase of $1 million over the budget request and $35.8 million below fiscal year 2001. DOE science programs are funded at $3.166 billion, an increase of $6.5 million over the budget request and $13.9 million below fiscal year 2001.

The Nuclear Waste Fund program to determine the suitability of the Yucca Mountain site in Nevada as a permanent geologic repository for spent nuclear fuel is funded at $443 million, a decrease of $2 million from the request. This amount will keep the program on schedule to prepare the site recommendation report in fiscal year 2002.

The Senate has not yet acted on a bill to fund energy and water resources programs next year.

  
2. ASCE Member Named Commissioner of the Bureau of Reclamation
John W. Keys, III was recently nominated by President Bush to serve at the Commissioner of the Bureau of Reclamation (USBR). ASCE has endorsed Keys' appointment to USBR. The Senate Committee on Energy and Natural Resources held a confirmation hearing on June 27, and it is expected that Keys will easily be confirmed. Keys has 34 years experience with the USBR. As Pacific Northwest regional director from 1986-1998, Mr. Keys managed 24 irrigation projects, 61 major dams, 11 hydroelectric plants and other facilities in Idaho, Washington, Oregon, and portions of Montana and Wyoming. Keys began with USBR as a civil and hydraulic engineer in Utah, North Dakota, Montana and Colorado from 1964 to 1989. He served as Chief of the Colorado River Water Quality Office in Denver from 1976-1979 and worked in Washington, D.C. as Assistant to the Regional Director during 1979-80. A graduate of Sheffield High School in Sheffield, Alabama, Keys received a B.S. from Georgia Tech in 1964 and an M.S. in Civil Engineering from Brigham Young University in 1971.

  
3. House Subcommittee Holds Hearing on Science of TMDL
A National Academy of Sciences (NAS) report examining the scientific basis for using the Total Maximum Daily Load (TMDL) approach to managing water quality was the focus of a Congressional oversight hearing on June 28.

Dr. Kenneth H. Reckhow, chair of the NAS committee that prepared the report, was the sole witness at the hearing before the U.S. House of Representatives? Transportation & Infrastructure Subcommittee on Water Resources and Environment. Dr. Reckhow is Professor of Water Resources, Nicholas School of the Environment, Duke University; and Director of the Water Resources Research Institute.

A TMDL is a calculation of the maximum amount of a pollutant that a water body can receive and still meet water quality standards. The Clean Water Act (CWA), enacted in 1972, establishes the water quality standards and the TMDL programs. Under section 303 of the CWA, states establish water quality standards, which must be approved by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). States are required to develop a prioritized list of impaired waters and to establish TMDLs for each impaired water for each pollutant that is causing the impairment. The impaired waters list and the TMDL for each pollutant must be approved by EPA to be incorporated in the state's water quality management program. If a state fails to act, or if EPA disapproves a state's actions, EPA then must compile the impaired waters list and TMDLs. The continued impairment of many bodies of water and legal actions against EPA for failure to list waters and develop TMDLs have brought focus to the issue in recent years.

In 1999, EPA proposed to revise its TMDL regulations. However, the cost estimates and the accuracy of the science supporting the rules proved controversial and Congress prohibited EPA from using FY 2000 or 2001 funds to implement the rules. Congress also directed EPA to contract with NAS to review the quality of science used to develop and implement TMDLs. The report, released on June 15, 2001, makes many recommendations for significant changes to the TMDL program to allow better use of science. The not-yet-published report is available on NAS' Web site at http://www.nap.edu/catalog/10146.html.

  
4. Federal Government Rolls Out New Contracting Notice Web Site
The Commerce Business Daily (CBD) has been the federal government's sole source for contracting notices for decades. That is about to change as the government charges fully into the digital era with a new contracting Web site.

Starting October 1, 2001, all federal agencies will be required to post notices of contracting opportunities on a single government Web site: Federal Business Opportunities (FedBizOpps) www.fedbizopps.gov. To allow vendors time for transition to the new Web site, agencies will continue to post notices in the CBD until January 1, 2002. However, after January 1, agencies may stop posting notices in the CBD and solely use the new Web site.

FedBizOpps will allow prospective contractors to target their searches better by allowing them to automatically receive electronic notice of procurement opportunities by "solicitation number, selected organizations, and product service classification. Vendors can also [use the Web site to] search procurements by solicitation number, date, procurement classification code, and agency for active or archived solicitations."

Use of the new technology will also allow agencies to enhance their official contracting notices with supplemental information that may assist prospective offerors in preparing their responses.

The General Services Administration (GSA) is seeking private-sector vendor comments on the new Web site. They are interested in your suggestions regarding organization and usability of the site. For more information, see the May 16, 2001, edition of the Federal Register (pp. 27407-27414) at www.gpo.gov. Comments may be submitted by July 16 directly to the Federal Acquisition Regulation Secretariat at: General Services Administration, FAR Secretariat (MVP), Attn: Ms. Laurie Duarte, 1800 F Street, NW, Room 4035, Washington DC 20405, or by e-mail to farcase.1997-304@gsa.gov. The GSA requests that you cite "FAC 97-26, FAR case 1997-304" in your correspondence. If you do comment on FedBizOpps, please send a copy to Brian Pallasch, ASCE?s Director of Government Relations at govwash@asce.org; 1015 15th St NW Ste 600, Washington, DC 20005; or fax (202) 289-6797.

  
5. New Solicitation Response Form Anticipated for Federal Contracting Opportunities
Architects and engineers (A/E) have used the Standard Forms 254/255 for decades to respond to solicitation notices for federal contracting opportunities. For the past three years, a federal interdepartmental task force has been working to develop a new single form to streamline the process. This new form, SF 330, is close to being finalized.

According to a briefing conducted by the General Services Administration (GSA) and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, a draft should be published in the Federal Register for public comment by August 2001. If the schedule goes forward as anticipated, the final version of SF 330 should be available in early 2002 with agencies starting to use the form by the end of 2002. This schedule is dependent upon confirmation of President Bush's nominees for key positions.

It is expected that SF 330 will be familiar to current users of SF 254/255 because many of the fields will be similar. The biggest change is that the form will be printed in "portrait" rather than "landscape" format on a standard business-size sheet. SF 330 mainly eliminates duplicative fields in the current form while leaving much of the vital information intact. The new structure should also facilitate electronic submissions of qualifications and credentials.

In addition, the new structure seeks to level the playing field between single-discipline firms, multi-disciplinary firms, and multi-firm teams responding to the same solicitation. The form highlights the working relationship between the team members regardless of whether they are in the same firm or in separate firms responding jointly. This parity is made all the more important by the increased use of bundled and indefinite-delivery contracts by federal agencies.

SF 330 is expected to simplify contracting procedures for private-sector firms and for government agencies. By eliminating duplicative and unnecessary information and by allowing the government to limit the length of submissions, the form should make it less expensive and less time consuming for firms to develop their responses.

As indicated, the exact schedule for transition from SF 254/255 to SF 330 has not been established. ASCE is closely monitoring the form's development and will alert members as soon as the new form is noticed for review. If you would like more information on government contracting issues and policies, please contact Brian Pallasch, ASCE's Director of Government Relations at govwash@ase.org or (202) 789-2200.

  
6. Strong U.S. Economy Boosts Greenhouse Gas Emissions
U.S. carbon dioxide emissions from burning fossil fuels rose by 2.7 percent in 2000, according to preliminary estimates from the U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA) in the Department of Energy. The 2000 growth rate of 2.7 percent was the highest since 1996, when it was 3.6 percent.

"The large growth in energy-related carbon dioxide emissions in 2000 can be attributed to a return to more normal weather, decreased hydroelectric power generation that was replaced by fossil-fuel power generation, and strong economic growth, which at 5 percent represents the highest annual growth rate experienced during the 1992-2000 economic expansion," the EIA said.

Carbon dioxide emissions account for over 80 percent of U.S. greenhouse gas emissions and are a good indicator of the change that can be expected in total U.S. greenhouse gas emissions.

Preliminary data indicate that carbon dioxide emissions in the residential and commercial sectors rose by 3.2 and 3.9 percent, respectively, as a return to more normal weather in 2000 translated into higher fossil fuel use for heating purposes. Transportation-related carbon dioxide emissions, which account for about a third of total carbon dioxide emissions, increased by 2.6 percent in 2000 as a strong economy led to increased demand for travel.

Industrial emissions, which showed no growth in 1999, increased by 1.8 percent in 2000, the greatest growth since 1996. Despite a slowing of the economy in the fourth quarter of 2000, overall economic growth helped to push emissions higher as the Gross Domestic Product (GDP) expanded by 5 percent and manufacturing grew by 6.1 percent.

The preliminary estimates are on EIA's web site at: http://www.eia.doe.gov/oiaf/1605/flash/sld001.htm.

  
7. ASCE Congressional Fellow's Report, June 2001
The Senate has been buzzing with activity as a result of the recent switch in power. On June 6th, Sen. Strom Thurmond (R-SC) officially passed the President Pro Tempore baton to Sen. Robert Byrd (D-WV). Currently, the Senators are being shuffled about and reassigned to Committees. Staffers are losing jobs, scrambling for better jobs, or sometimes, looking to fill any position. One thing is for sure -- in order to survive on the Hill, one must remain flexible and well connected.

The Senate passed, with many amendments, the Better Education for Students and Teachers Act (S1; BEST), which amends and authorizes the Elementary and Secondary Education Act (ESEA). The Senate added millions of dollars for K-12 science and math education.

I participated in a four-day K-12 earth science education workshop sponsored by TERC (Cambridge, MA) and funded by the NSF. In addition, we had many meetings and briefings involving: the National Academies on natural disasters, energy and climate change; Pentagon; American Dietetic Association; transatlantic relations with the European Union; emerging wildlife diseases by the U.S. Geological Survey; genetic testing by the AAAS; Office of Management and Budget; non-profit research companies such as OAI; USGS in Golden, CO and so on. We reevaluated our earlier appropriations requests and resubmitted our increased recommendations in response to the shift in power. We wrote many press releases on Massachusetts' Interior appropriations.

The Big Dig project price tag continues to soar: another $150 million cost overrun was announced in June. At the same time, engineers are all consumed with complex technical details and major milestones are being met. On our recent tour, we learned that all excavations will be completed by next month. This should narrow the future cost uncertainties. We visited the bridge (completed in May) and the tunnel at Fort Point Channel (completed in June). The six precast concrete tunnel box sections, weighing in at about 50,000 tons each, were floated, winched, and sunk into their final locations using GPS.

The American Association for the Advancement of Science hosted a fellows lunch to inquire about our experiences and impressions of Congress. The feedback ranged from those suffering from Potomac fever (i.e., infected by the Hill bug and can?t pry them loose from DC) to those suffering from a fatal overdose of the omnipresent adrenaline junkies addicted to power. These latter fellows have either quit the fellowship or are in constant pain from overexposure. For the curious, I fall somewhere in the middle -- I'm awe struck by the influential, overloaded with information, but am too "seasoned" (i.e., old) to keep up this rapid fire pace.

Respectfully submitted,

Yumei Wang, P.E.
2000-2001 Fellow for Senator Ted Kennedy (D-MA)