What civil engineers are reading this week

• Can public agencies bind contractors legally to their erroneous underbids?

  Federal contracts typically give a contractor an “out” if it can prove its bid was erroneous, but not necessarily at the state and local level. Read what happened in a West Virginia case.

• FEMA’s $1B BRIC relaunch prioritizes shovel-ready projects

  The Building Resilient Infrastructure and Communities program will have “a renewed focus on infrastructure-related hazard mitigation projects and empowering state and local leaders.”

• New satellite to capture first images of Earth’s protective magnetosphere

  The SMILE mission will spend three years studying how our planet's magnetosphere interacts with solar weather.

• EPA move to rewrite PFAS drinking water rules not without controversy

  While the agency frames the move as building more durable protections, some say it amounts to a significant rollback of existing standards, with serious legal and public health implications.

• House committee agrees to $580B surface transportation legislation

  Party leaders of the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee propose electric vehicle registration fees and continued funding for Amtrak and public transportation.

• How can civil engineers better protect critical infrastructure from cyber threats?

  Physical assets are more connected than ever, leaving them vulnerable to digital attacks. Discover the security risks you must navigate in a rapidly changing landscape.