Infrastructure Watch

Water News

2012-01-27T12:03:00.002-06:00

Water Rulemaking Anticipated in 2012

The Environmental Protection Agency has tentatively slated two rules for final issuance this year, the Third Unregulated Contaminant Monitoring Rule (UCMR3) in March and the Revised Total Coliform Rule (RTCR) in November.

UCMR3 will apply to some water systems. As the name suggests, it will require monitoring for potential contaminants that are not currently regulated. The rule focuses on 28 contaminants and the monitoring will take place in 2013-2102.

RTCR will apply to all water systems. The rule will be similar to the existing TCR, but the indicator organism will be E. coli rather than total coliform. E. coli is used as an indicator of potential fecal contamination, and its presence in drinking water will trigger public notice and additional monitoring. Where the new rule will differ is that it will require additional monitoring for some systems and will bring more attention to finding and preventing potential bacterial contamination, especially in distribution systems.

Kansas to Take a Look at Fracking

The Kansas Water Office is planning to have a meeting about hydraulic fracturing (fracking) in February. There is a lot of demand for oil and gas exploration in Kansas and the state Division of Water Resources has approve nearly all of the 600 applications for temporary water permits it received in 2011 related to such explorations.

Find more at
Despite Drought, Fracking Causes Spike in Water Permits for Oil, Gas Exploration in Kansas
Fracking in Kan. Pushes Water Permits to New High
Fracking in Kan. Pushes Water Permits to New High
Fracking in Kansas Pushes Water Permits to a New High
Fracking Pushes Water Permits to New High
Water Permits Up Due to Fracking in Kansas

USDA Releases Emergency Funds for Response to Floods, Other Disasters

The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) has announced it will release $300 million in emergency funds to repair farmland and property damaged by the several natural disasters that occurred in the last year. Missouri will be one of the states where significant aid will be provided (about $50 million), mainly in response to extensive damages to farms from flooding.

Find more at
USDA Announces $308 Million for Disaster-Stricken States

Infrastructurist Blog Closes

2012-01-11T11:12:00.001-06:00

The infrastructure blog titled The Infrastructurist has closed as its major contributors have moved on to other opportunities. Infrastructure is an serious issue for our communities that doesn’t get the coverage in the news or blogs that many other issues receive. I’m saddened a little to see an infrastructure blog that was so much more diligent, thorough, and professional than mine close.

Golden Gate Bridge 75 Years Old

2012-01-11T11:11:00.000-06:00

The Golden Gate Bridge will be 75 years old this year. It is one of the most recognizable pieces of civil infrastructure in the world. IW hopes to write a little more about it this year and include links about the bridge and its 75th anniversary. Return to this post for updates.

Golden Gate Bridge 75th anniversary plans announced
Golden Gate Bridge pageant unveiled
San Francisco launches Golden Gate anniversary
San Francisco launches Golden Gate anniversary

Bill Quickies

2012-01-11T11:07:00.001-06:00

The 10 Million Solar Roofs Act (S. 1108) would establish best management practices for solar permitting and provide grants to local governments to implement those practices.

A group of Iowa, Kansas, Missouri, and Nebraska Congressmen sponsored a bill (H.R. 3719) that would make restoration of levees after the 2011 floods the top priority for the Corps of Engineers in its management of the Missouri River.

Congress finally passed an appropriations bill for the rest of fiscal year 2012 (H.R. 2055).

The Hydropower Regulatory Efficiency Act of 2011 (H.R. 3680) would ease the permitting of small hydropower projects and fund workshops, pilot projects, and studies related to hydropower.

The Geothermal Exploration and Technology Act of 2011 (S. 1142) would fund geothermal exploration and the development of related technology.

President Obama signed into law the Pipeline Safety, Regulatory Certainty, and Job Creation Act of 2011 (more information).

Book Review: Water by Steven Solomon

2012-01-04T09:34:00.001-06:00

Solomon, Steven. Water: The Epic Struggle for Wealth, Power, and Civilization. New York: Harper, 2010.

Steven Solomon’s Water is an epic history of civilization from its roots to modern time. Solomon’s thesis is that inventively mastered their water resources have risen and those that have outpaced their available water or innovations have declined. There are lessons in this history for us who live in an age where some nations already experience serious water scarcity and even relatively water rich nations are squandering their natural fortune.

The book generally follows sequences of technology, geography, and politics. In technology, it moves through waters many uses from irrigation to transportation, energy and sanitation. The geographic motion of the book is from east to west, starting the early innovations of Asia, sliding to Europe, then jumping the Atlantic to North America. The political trend begins with ancient, totalitarian hydraulic societies and moves on to gradually democratizing nations and the splintered, competitive, yet surprisingly workable and cooperative, market-oriented Western republics.

In the final chapters of the book, Solomon deals with the threat of water scarcity. Some parts of the world, particularly in Africa and Asia, are already facing water shortages. Those fortunate enough to have other sources of wealth, like oil, are importing virtual water, especially in the form of food. Control of water resources is becoming a matter of international diplomacy, national security, and possible war in much the way oil was in the last century. This is especially true in the arid, populous Middle East and South Asia. Many of the water poor live in lands that are highly populated, arid, unstable politically, and have long-standing enmities with neighboring countries.

Relatively water rich nations, like the United States, have problems, too. Much of it stems from using water inefficiently and for less productive activities. This is especially problematic in the dry western states, where long-standing, vested interests have sought to protect their subsidized access to water while others, sometimes more efficient and high value users, pay great premiums for the limited remaining available water. This isn’t strictly a western problem; eastern cities are also droughts, growing populations, industrialization, intensive agriculture, and aging infrastructure that strain their water resources.

While the problems are serious, Solomon seems hopeful that, as in the past, we may be able to develop technological, organizational, and political solutions to these issues. He objectively discusses national and international efforts to solve the looming water crisis. He seems to have more faith that workable solutions well arise in the more water rich, democratic West, where a combination of government regulation, free markets, substantial local control, and varied regional solutions are giving rise to innovation.

If you’re interested in this book, you may also be interested in
The Ancient Engineers by L. Sprague de Camp
Canals and Their Architecture by Robert Harris
Dreams of Iron and Steel by Deborah Cadbury
Exodus
The Ghost Map by Steven Johnson
The Great Stink by Clare Clark
Steam by Andrea Sutcliffe
Undaunted Courage by Stephen Ambrose
The Victory of Reason by Rodney Stark
Water by Marq de Villiers
When the Rivers Run Dry by Fred Pearce

This review of Water by Steven Solomon appears courtesy of Keenan’s Book Reviews, were you can find reviews of other books about water.

In Congress

2011-11-14T13:18:00.004-06:00

Congress rolls on, after its fashion, even when a blog pauses. Here is a summary of what our senators and representatives have been up to over the last few weeks.

Acronym Mongers Active in Legislature

The Farmers Undertake Environmental Land Stewardship Act (H.R. 3158) would set limitations for rules the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) might implement to control spills at animal feeding operations. Another bill would constrain EPA (S. 1702) would limit the agency’s regulation of emissions from stationary internal combustion engines used for electric power generation or water pumping, though it doesn’t have a clever name.

The Resources and Economic Sustainability, Tourist Opportunities, and Revived Economies of the Gulf Coast Act of 2011 (H.R. 3096) would create a Gulf Coast Restoration Trust Fund to be funded from penalties from the Deepwater Horizon incident. The fund would support restoration efforts in the coastal states on the Gulf of Mexico. The bill would also create five centers for excellence for the study of effects of the spill and the restoration of the Gulf.

Agency Potentially Under the Ax

The EDA Elimination Act of 2011 (H.R. 3090) would repeal the Public Works and Economic Development Act of 1965, which created the Economic Development Agency. The bill has been referred to various committees.

American Jobs Act

The American Jobs Act of 2011 (H.R. 12) rolls together a lot proposals into an omnibus, dare it be spoken, stimulus bill. A significant portion of the bill deals with employment tax relief, other tax reform and supporting education jobs and facilities. Only part of the bill deals with the kind of infrastructure we normally cover at Infrastructure Watch.

-Transportation appropriations. The bill would appropriate $39 billion to air, rail, port and highway transportation programs. In most cases, normal matching requirements would be waived.

-Infrastructure Bank. The bill incorporates the BUILD Act, the main purpose being the creation of a national infrastructure bank.

-Redevelopment. The bill appropriates $15 billion to the Department of Housing and Urban Development to make grants for the redevelopment of abandoned and foreclosed properties.

A version of this bill was also introduced in the Senate (S. 1660). There are several other bills intended to create jobs and stimulate the economy.

The Jobs Through Growth Act (S. 1720) would, among other things, limit EPA’s rulemaking authority and ease the way for energy exploration in the continental shelf. The Rebuild America Jobs Act (S. 1769) would fund transportation projects and create an infrastructure bank, and increase taxes on people with incomes of $500,000 or more (I wish I had that kind of problem).

Appropriations

Appropriations acts, the only thing Congress really has to do every year, are making their way through the process.

-The Continuing Appropriations Act, 2012 (H.R. 2608) passed both houses.
-The Transportation, Housing and Urban Development, and Related Agencies Appropriations Act, 2012 (S. 1596) was introduced to the Senate.

Bill Would Suspend Requirements for Highway Projects

Rep. Randy Forbes (VA) has introduced the 414 Plan Act of 2011 (H.R. 2924). The bill would suspend several federal requirements for federal-aid highway projects and highway safety construction. The suspension would last for five years. It would also repeal several laws relating to biking and pedestrian traffic.

Coal Combustion Product Regulation

The House of Representatives passed the Coal Residuals Reuse and Management Act (H.R. 2273). This bill would put regulation of coal combustion products under Subpart D of the Solid Waste Disposal Act, essentially putting regulation in the hands of the states and heading off a potential determination from EPA that may have brought it under a federal regulatory program.

Congress Passes Bill to Extend Transportation Programs

Both houses have Congress have passed a bill (H.R. 2887) to extend several surface and air transportation programs through March 31, 2012. Long-term reauthorization is underway (S. 1786).

Related posts and articles
Congress of Deadlines
Congress to Take Up Transportation Bill, Infrastructure Bank
House Passes Transportation Bill

Energy Bill Has Unusual Name, Other Energy Proposals

In spite of its name, the Rebuild American Roads Act (H.R. 2983), would expedite plans for energy resource exploration and drilling in the continental shelf, especially in the Gulf of Mexico. The bills was introduced by Rep. Shelly Moore Capito (WV). The POWER Act (H.R. 2360) would make U.S. laws applicable on energy structures on the outer continental shelf.

The Bureau of Reclamation Small Conduit Hydropower Development and Rural Jobs Act of 2011 (H.R. 2842) would smooth the way for the development of hydropower generation projects in Reclamation water conveyances. The Public Lands Renewable Energy Development Act of 2011 (S. 1775) would establish means to permit solar and wind energy projects on public lands and extend existing geothermal development programs.

Missouri River Priorities Contested

Rep. Sam Graves (MO) has introduced a bill (H.R. 2993) that would strike wildlife protection as priority for the Corps of Engineers’ Missouri River management plan and make flood control the top priority. S. 1795 would direct the Corps to address flood control specifically by increasing storage.

National Infrastructure Bank Bill

Sen. Sherrod Brown (OH) has introduced the National Infrastructure Bank Act of 2011 (S. 1550). The bank would be board-governed and make loans and loan guarantees of up to half the project cost to public sponsors of a variety of infrastructure projects. The bill would authorize appropriations of up to $5 billion annually through 2015 to capitalize the bank.

The American Jobs Act of 2011 (S. 1549) also includes an infrastructure bank proposal. That bill would establish the American Infrastructure Finance Authority to make loans and loan guarantees for transportation, water and energy infrastructure projects. This provision appears to be very similar to the BUILD Act.

A version of this bill was also introduced into the House of Representatives (H.R. 3259).

Related posts and articles
Calls for Infrastructure Bank Continue
Congress to Take Up Transportation Bill, Infrastructure Bank
President Proposes New Recovery Plan
President Sends Jobs Plan to Congress

Water Resources Infrastructure Bill Hits Senate

The Senate version of the Water Infrastructure Resiliency and Sustainability Act of 2011 (S. 1669) has been introduced. A similar bill was previously introduced in the House.

Related posts and articles
Water News: Water Resources Resilience Bill Introduced

President Sends Jobs Plan to Congress

2011-09-14T10:56:00.001-05:00

President Barack Obama has submitted his $447 billion jobs plan to Congress. It includes about $50 billion on transportation spending.

Related posts and articles
Obama Gets Specific in His Jobs Bill
Obama Unveils $447 Billion Jobs Plan
Obama’s New $50 Billion Infrastructure Stimulus – Old Wine in New Bottles
President Obama’s American Jobs Act
President Obama’s American Jobs Act Factsheet
President Proposes New Recovery Plan
Texts: “American Jobs Act” and Obama’s Letter to Congress
White House: Obama to Send Jobs Bill to Congress on Monday

House Passes Transportation Bill

2011-09-14T10:55:00.000-05:00

The House of Representatives passed the Surface and Air Transportation Programs Extension Act of 2011 (H.R. 2887). The bill would extend funding of several transportation programs through March 2012.

Related posts and articles
3 Concerns about Extension of Highway & Transit Bill
House Approves Short-Term Extensions
President Calls for Transportation Funding to Stimulate Jobs Growth

News about the American Reinvestment and Recovery Act

2011-09-14T10:53:00.001-05:00

Caldecott Tunnel Edges Forward, Tribute to Stimulus Bill (Elinson, Z., New York Times, September 10, 2011)
DOT’s August Stimulus Payouts Near $700 Million (Boyd, J. D., Journal of Commerce, September 12, 2011)

Could Unspent Stimulus Money Be Used to Fend Off a New Recession? (Grabel, M., ProPublica, August 9, 2011)
DOT Pays $208 Million in Stimulus in Latest Week (Boyd, J. D., Journal of Commerce Online, August 22, 2011)
The End of an ARRA (Center for an Urban Future, August 2011)
The End of ARRA (InfrastructureUSA, August 22, 2011)
Reviewing the Recovery Act (Infrastructure Watch, August 2, 2011)

Recovery Act: Funding Used for Transportation Infrastructure Projects, but Some Requirements Proved Challenging (Government Accountability Office, GAO-11-600, June 2011)
Recovery Act: Funds Supported Many Water Projects, and State and Federal Monitoring Shows Few Compliance Problems (Government Accountability Office, GAO-11-608, June 2011)

Recovery & Stimulus News (Infrastructure Watch, March 25, 2011)

President Proposes New Recovery Plan

2011-09-09T12:44:00.000-05:00

President Barack Obama recently addressed Congress to proposes a $447 billion plan to stimulate the ecomony. He didn’t use the word “stimulus.” He spoke a lot about jobs, though, and is looking to construction as one way to do it. The proposal combines spending and tax breaks. It is bigger than anything the House of Representatives will likely be comfortable passing, but House leaders have indicated there are portions of the proposal they can get behind.

Related posts and articles:
Obama Channels Frustration with $447B Plan
Obama’s Jobs Bill: Heavy on Infrastructure, But Heavy Enough?
Obama Tax Cut Wouldn’t Guarantee Quick Boost, Economists Say

T&I Committee Marks Up, Approves Bills

2011-09-09T12:43:00.001-05:00

The House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee (T&I) approved several legislative measures at a markup session, including bills to prohibit the United States from participating in a European Union (EU) emissions trading scheme, and reauthorize pipeline safety programs.

The Committee approved the following measures:
-H.R. 2845, the Pipeline Safety, Regulatory Certainty, and Job Creation Act of 2011
-H.R. 2594, the European Union Emissions Trading Scheme Prohibition Act of 2011

H.R. 2845, the Pipeline Safety, Regulatory Certainty, and Job Creation Act of 2011, reauthorizes and strengthens pipeline safety programs. The bill authorizes federal pipeline safety programs through fiscal year 2015. The legislation provides tougher penalties for pipeline operators that violate pipeline safety laws; improves pipeline damage prevention measures; allows the Transportation Secretary to require automatic and remote-controlled shut-off valves on new pipelines; requires the Secretary to evaluate the effectiveness of expanding pipeline Integrity Management and Leak Detection requirements; improves the way Department of Transprotation and pipeline operators provide information to the public and emergency responders; and reforms the process by which pipeline operators notify federal, state and local officials of pipeline accidents.

H.R. 2594, the European Union Emissions Trading Scheme Prohibition Act of 2011, is responds to EU plans to impose a fee on any civil aviation operators landing in or departing from EU airports. Under the scheme, flights into or out of an EU airport, regardless of how long that flight is in EU airspace, would be subject to emissions cap and trade requirements. U.S. airlines would be required to pay an emissions tax to the EU Member State to which they most frequently fly, without any requirements that EU countries even use these fees in emissions reduction efforts. H.R. 2594 directs the Secretary of Transportation to prohibit U.S. aircraft operators from participating in the ETS. The bill also instructs U.S. officials to negotiate or take any action necessary to ensure U.S. aviation operators are not penalized by any unilaterally imposed EU scheme.

For more information on markup, click here. To read the original T&I news release, click here.

Calls for Infrastructure Bank Continue

2011-09-09T12:40:00.000-05:00

IW has been following the development of infrastructure bank proposals. Recently, green writer Ron Pernick addressed the subject. Not everyone loves the idea, and sometimes emotions run high, as seen in this LinkedIn discussion.

Related posts and articles:
A Real National Infrastructure Bank Proposal
The BUILD Act
Congress to Take Up Transportation Bill, Infrastructure Bank
GE CEO Sees Little Support for Infrastructure Bank
In Congress
Infrastructure in the Obama Budget

President Calls for Transportation Funding to Stimulate Jobs Growth

2011-09-09T12:39:00.000-05:00

In a recent speech, President Barack Obama indicated he plans to fund highway and bridge repair and rehabilitation as a way to increase jobs. He has called for this to be implemented legislatively through a six-year highway bill. Representative John Mica (FL), chair of the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee, has indicated his willingness to consider a short-term reauthorization of the current highway bill. The Senate Environment and Public Works Committee has approved a bill to extend Federal-aid highway programs (S. 1525).

The president is not the only one to use the Labor Day holiday as an opportunity to call for infrastructure investment with an eye for increasing jobs. The American Institute of Architects and the Associated General Contractors of America (AGC) released a joint statement calling for investment in a variety of infrastructure. AGC, the American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials, and the American Road and Transportation Builders Association called specifically for a six-year transportation bill.

Related posts and articles:
Another Temporary Extension as House and Senate Confront Their Differences
Boxer Files Highway Trust Fund Extension
Congress of Deadlines
Congress to Take Up Transportation Bill, Infrastructure Bank
GOP Questions Highway Plan
Highway Extension Bill Clears Senate Committee
Highway Fund in Continued Trouble; Empty by August
Oberstar Proposes to Float Loan to Highway Trust Fund
Returning to Dust: Our Aging Infrastructure
Senate EPW Approves Transportation Extension

Bill Would Create Clean Energy Deployment Agency

2011-09-09T12:37:00.000-05:00

Sen. Jeff Bingaman (NM) has introduced the Clean Energy Financing Act of 2011 (S. 1510). The bill would modify the Energy Policy Act of 2005 by moving some of the Department of Energy’s financial assistance programs to a newly created Clean Energy Deployment Agency.

Congress to Take Up Transportation Bill, Infrastructure Bank

2011-09-02T12:04:00.001-05:00

Some are anticipating that Congress will approve an extension of federal transportation programs in the week following Labor Day. Cuts in funding of up to 20 percent may be part of the bill, with some programs getting hit harder than others. An infrastructure bank measure may also be considered.

Related posts and articles
Congress of Deadlines
New Bill Proposed by The House Transportation & Infrastructure Committee
Obama: Jobs, Infrastructure Bank and the Labor Day Weekend

Book Review: Canals and Their Architecture by Robert Harris

2011-09-02T11:58:00.003-05:00

Harris, Robert. Canals and Their Architecture. New York: Frederick A. Praeger, 1969.

Water has always been an important part of human life. Drinking water is a necessity, but that is only the beginning of our uses of it. Water is also an element in agriculture, industry, transportation and commerce.

It is water’s role in transportation and commerce that Robert Harris focused on in Canals and Their Architecture. At times, artificial or modified waterways have been major means of transporting products in bulk.

Harris mentions canals from continental Europe and North America, especially the United States, but his book is mainly about the canals of Britain. This is an appropriate focus because the canal boom in Britain both fed and was fed by the Industrial Revolution that started there.

The boom began with the Duke of Bridgewater’s famous canal, construction of which began in 1760. The duke owned coalmines and wanted a cheaper way get coal to the mills and factories in Manchester. The canal was by no means an easy or inexpensive project, but it was greatly successful and the wealth put into it was regains many times over.

Bridgewater recognized the talents of millwright James Brindley, who went on to become the most prominent canal engineer of his day. Harris discussed the works of several British engineers who were successors of Brindley including Thomas Telford, John Rennie, and William Edwards.

As the title of the book suggests, it is organized mainly by the types of structures found on canals. In addition to the canal cut, Harris wrote about bridges and auqueducts, locks , tunnels, boats, buildings and unique ways of handling elevation changes on a canal route. Early canals followed the contours of the land to avoid the use of expensive and complex equipment and, where needed, were crossed by utilitarian bridges of wood or brick. As canals became straighter, and more lucrative, they added locks and other mechanisms for raising and lowering boats. The materials became more varied and complex, including stone and iron. Spectacular aqueducts carried canals over low lands. Tunnels were well-made features of canals early on because the technology for building them was readily adapted from mining.

The older canals are impressive in that so much was done with manpower and simple tools. As canals aided other industries, the improvements those industries spawned, especially in iron construction and railroads, returned to canals and the way they were made. The construction of modern canals is the work of enormous equipment.

Canals and Their Architecture includes many illustrations and photographs. These are very helpful for the laymen to see the types of structures discussed in the text, though even an engineer familiar with the terms will likely appreciate the images.

If you’re interested in this book, you may also be interested in
The Ancient Engineers by L. Sprague de Camp
Dreams of Iron and Steel by Deborah Cadbury
Water by Marq de Villiers

This review of Canals and Their Architecture by Robert Harris appears courtesy of Keenan’s Book Reviews, we’re you can reviews of other books about engineering.

Congress of Deadlines

2011-08-29T09:55:00.001-05:00

The Congress of deadlines continues procrastinating. Actually, I think sunsets clauses are a good idea, it forces a legislature to revisit a program and makes ending the program the default result of inaction. However, being a creature of procrastination, Congress is once again waiting to the last minute to reconsider an importation issue. This time it is the federal gas tax. States are threatening that expiration of the tax will result in halts in transportation construction. You can find more here.

EPA Mostly Approves Missouri Water Quality Standards

2011-08-29T09:48:00.001-05:00

Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Region 7 issued a series of decisions approving most of the Missouri Department of Natural Resources’ (MoDNR) 2009 Water Quality Standards, acting on a court-ordered deadline. Overall, EPA is approving MoDNR’s proposed designated use changes for 244 Missouri water bodies, and disapproving 23 others. The agencies will continue to work out difference on the remaining water bodies.

EPA’s issuance of a formal decision letter comes in response to water quality standards revisions that were proposed by MoDNR in November 2009. The letter also resolves claims from a federal lawsuit filed in August 2010 by the Missouri Coalition for the Environment, which sought EPA’s action on the standards.

EPA is also approving numeric nutrient criteria for 25 Missouri lakes. The agency is disapproving the remaining portions of MoDNR’s numeric nutrient criteria, finding that the state was unable to demonstrate that the criteria values and the process for establishing the criteria is adequately protective of aquatic life uses, as required by the Clean Water Act.

EPA’s decision letter provides a more detailed description of its review and the basis for this action. The decision letter, including a complete list of approved and disapproved designated use changes for Missouri waters, is available at www.epa.gov/region7/newsevents/legal.

You can read the original EPA news release here.

Water News

2011-08-29T09:45:00.001-05:00

Water Resources Resiliency Bill Introduced

Rep. Lois Capps (CA) has introduced the Water Infrastructure Resiliency and Sustainability Act of 2011 (H.R. 2738). The bill would make grants available from the Environmental Protection Agency for the purpose of helping water systems respond to ongoing or forecasted changes in their hydrologic environment. The term “water system” is used more broadly here than some are used to, and it includes community (drinking) water systems, wastewater treatment works and municipal storm water systems, decentralized domestic wastewater treatment, groundwater storage and replenishment, irrigation and conservation water conveyances, and floodwater controls. The bill would authorize $50 million a year for the program for fiscal years 2012 through 2016.

Governors Call for Focus on Flood Control on Missouri River

Seven governors of states along the Missouri River signed a letter to the Corps of Engineers to make flood control the top priority on the river. This letter was prompted by flooding on the lower Missouri River this year.

States on the upper and lower parts of the river have traditionally disagreed on priorities for the river. Upper reach states have generally been interested in recreational uses and related natural resources protection. Montana’s governor was a notable holdout from the letter on the ground of protecting recreational uses. Lower reach states have typically called for an emphasis on flood control and transportation. In recent years, the Corps has emphasized wildlife protection under pressure from environmental and conservation groups.

Related posts and articles:
7 Missouri River Governors Ask for Better Flood Control
Governors Meet to Avert Another Round of Flooding

Reviewing the Recovery Act

2011-08-02T17:04:00.003-05:00

Infrastructure Watch has been following the American Reinvestment and Recovery Act (ARRA) since it was enacted. While infrastructure accounted for a relatively small amount of the total supplementary appropriations provided by ARRA, tens of billions of dollars is noteworthy in any industry. Much of the money that went to infrastructure has been spent and ARRA will begin a slow wind-down from the perspective of infrastructure. It seems like a good time for a review of the program and it effects so far.

INFASTRUCTURE INVESTMENT

ARRA committed only a fraction of its supplementary appropriations to infrastructure. Even so, the $62 billion appropriated to transportation and water infrastructure was significant considering that federal spending in this area had been declining. In 2009, this resulted in a $6 billion increase in federal infrastructure spending, of which $4 billion was directly from ARRA.

The Congressional Budget Office (CBO) estimates that 90 percent of these funds will be spent by 2013. The Government Accountability Office (GAO) had reported that 90 percent of the highway funds had been obligated by February 2010 and about a quarter of that had been paid out to state transportation programs. The clean water and drinking water state revolving fund (SRF) programs had drawn almost 80 percent of the funds by June 2011.

The author and others working in these industries are already looking for what projects or business lines might have the potential to bring in revenues as the ARRA well runs dry in a few years. The prospects aren’t entirely gloomy. Generally, the federal government accounts for only 25 percent of the spending on transportation and water infrastructure. The rest comes almost entirely from state and local governments.

Though federal funding is a minority of the investment in infrastructure, it is a significant portion of the capital investment, with relatively little going to operations and maintenance. This trend continued with ARRA. Smart Growth America criticized ARRA because to much went the construction of new transportation assets and too little to repairing existing infrastructure. They thought the extra appropriation would have been better spent and had a greater economic stimulus if more of it had been spent on the repair of existing infrastructure.

Maintenance of Effort

Though states are already a significant contributor to spending on transportation efforts, ARRA required states to continue funding transportation at the level they would have without the extra funding. Congress wanted to increase spending on transportation infrastructure, not give states a way to shift money to other areas.

The requirement has proven problematic. States are facing losses of revenue that may have forced them to cut transportation spending anyway. In addition, ARRA didn’t require to report what there level of effort would be until several months after they began to use the funds. States may not have, strictly speaking, circumvented the maintenance of effort requirement, but it has become difficult to say they have continued funding as they would have anyway.

JOBS CREATION

ARRA recipients reported more than 580,000 full time equivalent (FTE) jobs in he last quarter of 2010. The way jobs are reported by recipients makes it difficult to determine the exact impact of ARRA on jobs.

ARRA recipients report work-hours that were paid for out of the ARRA funding. In the case of an infrastructure project, these work hours might involve construction trades, construction management, engineering design and oversight, and other services (legal, environmental, and more). The nature of these jobs means that the people may be working part-time on ARRA projects while working part-time on other projects, or temporarily work full time on an ARRA project. It is easy to add up the hours and calculate an FTE. It is difficult to know if any of these jobs were created ARRA, or if they might have ended except of ARRA, or might not have been affected.

This type of reporting has a built-in decline as ARRA money is spent down and projects end. Reported ARRA-related jobs is already declining in the SRF programs. ARRA-related jobs reported from SRF programs peaked in the Spring of 2010 and have declined since. Some foresaw a post-stimulus jobs drop even as it was just getting off the ground.

The author is an example these features of jobs reporting, ARRA work having accounted of about a quarter of an FTE in relation to him over the last 19 months. It’s impossible to say what, if any, other work the author may have done if not involved in ARRA projects; he’s glad to have good projects from wherever they come. When he transfers his effort to other work, hopefully, over the next year or so, his hours reported for ARRA will decline and end.

In addition, only some of the ARRA-funded programs are required to report jobs. Those that report jobs only have to trace them so far, to primary contractors and their subcontracts. It is a practical impossibility to count the jobs created or retained by such a program.

Even so, CBO made a go at estimating it. They estimate that ARRA increased the number of people employed by between 1.3 million and 3.5 million in the last quarter of 2010.

CONSTRUCTION COSTS

In the years before ARRA, construction costs had been rising more rapidly that prices the rest of the economy. Bucking that trend, GAO reported that many ARRA-funded projects were receiving bids that were lower than expected. The author has heard from water utilities and state revolving fund programs that a similar trend is occurring in drinking water and wastewater projects.

The thought is that the recession has made the environment very competitive and more bidders are going after each job. In response, contractors are taking minimal profits in order to get projects and stay afloat until the economy recovers. The Associate General Contractors of America has even suggested that contractors have bid projects at less than cost for that purpose.

This drop in bid prices is a reflection of the economic environment, not a response to ARRA. The touted “bid savings” that have ostensibly allowed the ARRA dollars to stretch farther have provide the same benefit to all the other money spent on construction.

MACROECONOMICS

CBO estimates that ARRA increased the gross domestic products (GDP) by between 1.1 percent and 3.5 percent in the last quarter of 2010.

FEDERAL DEFICIT

CBO estimates that the ARRA will increase budget deficits by $821 billion between 2009 and 2019. They estimated 70 percent of that, approximately $575 billion, was realized by the end of September 2010.

REFERENCES

The following references were used in the preparation of this review of ARRA.

Congressional Budget Office (CBO). Estimated Impact of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act on Employment and Economic Output from October 2010 Through December 2010. Washington, DC: CBO, 2011.

-----. Public Spending on Transportation and Water Infrastructure. Washington, DC: CBO, 2011.

Cooper, M. Companies pretty up prices to win stimulus projects. New York Times. March 28, 2009.

Farley, R., & Grabell, M. ProPublica and PolitiFact test Obama claims on stimulus. ProPublica. Nov. 10, 2010.

Fields, G. Job cuts loom as stimulus fades. Wall Street Journal. Dec. 1, 2009.

Government Accountability Office (GAO). Recovery Act: Funding Uses for Transportation Infrastructure Projects, but Some Requirements Proved Challenging. Washington, DC: GAO, 2011.

-----. Recovery Act: Funds Supported Many Water Projects, and Federal and State Monitoring Shows Few Compliance Problems. Washington, DC: GAO, 2011.

-----. Recovery Act: One Year Later, States’ and Localities’ Uses of Funds and Opportunities to Strengthen Accountability. Washington, DC: GAO, 2010.

Smart Growth America. Recent Lessons from the Stimulus: Transportation Funding and Jobs Creation. Washington, DC: Smart Growth America, 2011.

The following references are offered for those interested in additional information on ARRA.

Infrastructure Watch (blog). Coverage of infrastructure economic stimulus. May 14, 2009.

-----. Coverage of infrastructure in economic stimulus. Apr. 14, 2009.

-----. Government Accountability Office watches Recovery Act implementation. August 23, 2010.

-----. Infrastructure & recovery news. Oct. 8, 2010.

-----. Infrastructure & stimulus news. June 17, 2010.

-----. Infrastructure economic stimulus in the news. July 1, 2009.

-----. Infrastructure stimulus. Jan. 27, 2011.

-----. Recovery Act and infrastructure in the news. Jan. 26, 2010.

-----. Recovery Act and infrastructure in the news & elsewhere. Aug. 1, 2009.

-----. Recovery Act and infrastructure news. May, 11, 2010.

-----. Recovery & stimulus news. Mar. 25, 2011.

-----. Show me the money: Stimulus & infrastructure news. July 7, 2010.

-----. Summary of transportation stimulus oversight findings. Sept. 27, 2009.

-----. USDOT redirects high-speed rail stimulus away from slow states. Dec. 21, 2010.

McNamar, T. Profiles from the recession. Blueprint America (blog). Sept. 15, 2010.

Returning to Dust: Our Aging Infrastructure

2011-07-27T11:42:00.002-05:00

Our aging infrastructure is getting attention in the news and blogs. Here is a compilation of some recent articles and posts on the subject.

Failure to Act (Our Failing Infrastructure, July 26, 2011)
Failure to Act: The Economic Impact of Current Investment Trends in Surface Transportation Infrastructure (American Society of Civil Engineers, 2011)
Failure to Act: The Economic Impact of Current Investment Trends in Surface Transportation Infrastructure (InfrastructureUSA, July 26, 2011)
The Senate Transportation Bill Lacks Political Momentum (InfrastructureUSA, July 25, 2011)
Water News: Waited Soy Long (Infrastructure Watch, July 8, 2011)

Congress Passes Appropriations (6 Months Late), Gears Up for Next Budget Battle (Infrastructure Watch, Apr. 15, 2011)
Obama Won’t Sacrifice Infrastructure for Deficit (Boyd, J. D., Journal of Commerce, Apr. 19, 2011)
U.S. Infrastructure: Ignore the Need or Take the Lead (InfrastructureUSA, Apr. 11, 2011)

The GOP’s Secret EPA Love (Bravender, R., Politico, March 3, 2011)

Aging Infrastructure (Infrastructure Watch, Feb. 21, 2011)
Danger Pent Up Behind Aging Dams (Fountain, H., New York Times, Feb. 21, 2011)

Water Briefs

2011-07-27T11:39:00.001-05:00

The Corps of Engineers announced it will be reducing flow through dams along the Missouri River. The Corps had been releasing large flows from the reservoirs due to large snowmelt and spring rains in the upper part of the river basin, permitting summer flooding downstream. MORE

New York City is considering bringing in water from New Jersey, to the dismay of some if its citizens. NYC will be shutting down the Delaware Aqueduct, which brings water to the city from upstate New York, for up to a year beginning in 2018 to repair the leaking conveyance. MORE

Hunt Sworn In as Missouri Highway Commissioner

2011-07-26T10:36:00.000-05:00

Joseph Hunt of St. Louis was sworn in as a member of the Missouri Highways and Transportation Commission. Hunt is the general president emeritus of the Ironworkers International and has served as an official in the building and construction trades for more than 40 years. He has served as a board member of the Lambert St. Louis International Airport Commission, as a member of the National Heavy and Highway Alliance, and on the regional committee of the National Infrastructure Alliance. Hunt's term ends March 1, 2017.

The commission is a six-member citizens' panel that governs Missouri Department of Transportation (MoDOT). Members are appointed to staggered six-year terms by the governor and must be confirmed by the senate.

You can read the original post on the MoDOT blog here.

Whatever is unfinished in our system of public credit, cannot be benefited by procrastination

2011-07-26T10:34:00.000-05:00

“Indeed, whatever is unfinished in our system of public credit, cannot be benefited by procrastination; and, as far as may be practicable, we ought to place that credit on grounds which cannot be disturbed, and to prevent that progressive accumulation of debt which must ultimately endanger all governments.”
-George Washington

Our founding fathers were amazingly far sited, as demonstrated by this quote from Washington. Politicians and constituents have for a long time responded to short-term needs or immediate gratification, growing deficits and accumulating debts as if there would never be a price to pay or the revenue would easily materialize when it would be needed. Let us pray that our leaders today will see the folly of that path and put in place policies now that will put us on secure footing for the future.

WEF Makes Selected Papers Available Free Online, Other Free Online Publications

2011-07-26T10:32:00.000-05:00

The Water Environment Federation announced it will allow public access to one article in each issue of Water Environment Research. You can access the free article here.

You can also get free access to the first issue of the Journal of Water, Sanitation, and Hygiene for Development. Check it out here.

Congress Keeps Rolling

2011-07-22T11:07:00.001-05:00

Congress seems stymied in coming us with a budget that doesn’t bankrupt the government, i.e. the one thing it really needs to do. It’s up to a lot of other stuff, though. Here is a taste.

Stare into the Nexus

Sen. Jeff Bingaman (NM) has introduced the Energy and Water Integration Act of 2011 (S. 1343). The bill would

- Commission the National Academy of Sciences to study water use in the energy sector.
- Direct the Secretary of Energy to
-- Study alternative technologies for water efficiency in energy generation.
-- Develop roadmap for the future of energy-water research.
-- Conduct a comprehensive water and energy savings study.
- Direct the Secretary of the Interior to study energy efficiency in Reclamation projects.
- Fund ground water desalination research.
- Provide grants for water and energy conservation demonstration projects.
- Provided technical assistance related to energy and water efficiency to rural drinking water and wastewater utilities.

Popularity Contest

Witnesses favored the surface transportation bill during recent hearings of the Senate Environment and Public Works Committee.

Fossil Energy Nominee Announced

2011-07-22T11:04:00.001-05:00

President Obama as nomitated Charles McConnell to the post of Assistant Secretary for Fossil Energy. McConnell is the Chief Operating Officer in the Office of Fossil Energy at the Department of Energy (DOE). Prior to joining DOE in 2011, Mr. McConnell served as Vice President of Carbon Management at Battelle Energy Technology from 2009-2011, with responsibility for business and technology management. He previously spent 31 years with Praxair, Inc., in various positions in the U.S. and Asia, including as Global Vice President. Mr. McConnell has held a number of advisory positions including chairmanships of the Gasification Technologies Council and the Clean Coal Technology Foundation of Texas. He has served on the FutureGen Advisory Board in Texas, the Gulf Coast Carbon Center, T&P Syngas Company, the Pittsburgh Coal Conference and the Coal Utilization Research Council. Mr. McConnell holds a B.S. in Chemical Engineering from Carnegie-Mellon University and an M.B.A. in Finance from Cleveland State University.

You can read the original DOE news release here.

Book Review: The Essential Engineer by Henry Petroski

2011-07-14T14:06:00.002-05:00

Petroski, Henry. The Essential Engineer: Why Science Alone Will Not Solve Our Global Problems. New York: Vintage, 2010.

Policy makers seem to love science. I can see why. Science provides a sense of specificity, certainty and consensus. It contrasts with the vagueness, variability and competition that policy makers usually have to deal with. That is more like the world engineering.

This interrelation of policy-making, science and engineering, especially the latter two, is the subject of Henry Petroski’s book, The Essential Engineer. In particular, Petroski emphasizes the important, and often overlooked, role of engineering is solving pressing problems.

I doesn’t help that people conflate science and engineering, especially by thinking of engineering as branch or application of science. Petroski is clear about the differences. Science is about increasing knowledge. Engineering is about invention. Sometimes scientists do engineering, especially when they create a devise or process to help them in their work of discovery. Sometimes engineers do science, especially when their engage in research and experimentation to gain a better understanding or problems that are not well understood.

The movement of knowledge from science to engineering practice is well understood. Petroski describes how this became ingrained in American research and development policy. Engineering often precedes science and engineers often must invent solutions in areas that are not well understood by science. Galileo’s improvements to the telescope made possible his advancements in astronomy. The science of thermodynamics grew almost entirely out of the desire to understand steam engines, which engineers had been building and improving in the absence of scientific understanding.

This misunderstanding exacerbated by our culture and education. Policy elites and scientist generally have no education in engineering. As an undergraduate studying engineering, I took science classes with students majoring in the sciences. I took classes in political science, economics and other social science and business-oriented classes with students majoring in those fields. I would have been greatly surprised to find in one of my engineering classes a student who wasn’t majoring in engineering.*

Petroski does not try to bring down science. He’s a civil engineering professor at a sizeable university, so he has probably spent quite a bit of time doing science. He does distinguish how science is helpful, mainly as a warning. Science can help us identify and define problems and assess the risks involve. When we begin to devise solutions to those problems, especially when there is no definitive solution and judgment is needed to way the pros and cons of multiple possible answers, we are moving into engineering.

The Essential Engineer is not a technical book. It for anyone who may have an interest in the role of technology in addressing our problems, especially larger societal problems. Petroski draws illustrations from current events and history (he is a professor of history as well as engineering). The book is enlivened with a storytelling feel.

* There were exceptions. I took a course in food processing that was dual-listed in agricultural engineering and food science. It was a required course for both disciplines. Electrical engineering students almost automatically minored in math, and some clever and ambitious students double-majored in those subjects. With a little better planning, I could have swung a minor in agricultural economics, and I almost wish I had. When I got into wastewater engineering, I wished I had taken more microbiology. My pursuit of additional education lead to a graduate degree in public administration. Government agencies have been employers or clients most of my career. It is common for engineers to get a masters degree in business, especially as they become managers.

Henry Petroski also wrote Paperboy.

If you’re interested in this book, you may also be interested in
The Ancient Engineers by L. Sprague de Camp
The Big Necessity by Rose George
Newton and the Counterfeiter by Thomas Levenson

This review appears courtesy of Keenan’s Book Reviews, where you can find reviews of other books on engineering and science.

Water News

2011-07-08T17:08:00.002-05:00

Rolling in the Deep

The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers got egg on its face when it sent letters to Missouri landowners seeking to by land in the Missouri River for rebuilding of wildlife habitat. Many landowner, especially farmers, didn’t welcome the letter because their land and crops were underwater at least in part because of the Corps’s management of the river. (More here)

This and other flood-related things are big news in Missouri right now. The St. Louis Post Dispatch has a long editorial on river management issues (read it here).

Waited Soy Long

The American Soybean Association is calling on Congress to include the Corps of Engineers’ capital development plan for the upper Mississippi River in the Surface Transportation Reauthorization bill or the Water Resources Development Act. (More here)

Eerie Canal

2011-07-07T17:59:00.001-05:00

The Eerie Canal has a fascinating history because of the related engineering achievements, economic impacts and public-policy innovations. It was the first major publicly-funded, though not federally-funded, infrastructure project in the Unite States. You can find some interesting facts about the canal at InfrastructureUSA.

The BUILD Act

2011-07-07T17:56:00.000-05:00

The BUILD Act is in the news again because it seems like it might be getting some traction in Congress, though some version of the bill has been knocking around since at least 2007. BUILD, which stands for Building and Upgrading Infrastructure for Long-Term Development, would create an infrastructure bank.

The BUIILD Act would create a board-managed bank to make loans and loan guarantees for large transportation, water, and energy infrastructure projects. In this case, large means an anticipated cost $100 million, or $25 million in rural areas. A loan would not exceed half of the project cost, i.e. $50 million.

Related posts and articles:
Bank Plan Would Help Build Bridges, Boost Jobs
Bi-Partisan Kerry, Hutchison, Warner BUILD Act Creates Jobs, Strengthens Competitiveness
Bill Watch - 112th Congress
BUILD Act
The Build Act of 2011 Press Conference, Remarks by Thomas J. Donahue President and CEO, U.S. Chamber of Commerce
In Congress
Kerry, Hutchison, and Warner Introduce New Infrastructure Bank Act
Rebuilding National Infrastructure with the BUILD Act
Three Senators Unveil BUILD Act to Create National Infrastructure Bank

Activity in Congress

2011-07-07T17:52:00.001-05:00

Bill Introduced To Review Impacts of Rules Affecting Energy Production

Rep. John Sullivan (OK) has introduced the Transparency in Regulatory Analysis of Impacts on the Nation Act of 2011 (H.R. 1705). The bill would require a committee to review certain air pollution, waste disposal and other selected regulations and assess their impacts on the nations economy and energy sector.

Bill Would Limit EPA Administrator’s Determinations Related to Water Quality Standards

Rep. John Micah (FL) has introduced the Clean Water Cooperative Federalism Act of 2011 (H.R. 2018). The bill would reduce the powers of the Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency in relation to determinations of water quality standards and permitting in relation to the states.

Bill Would Require Environmental Agency to Consider Regulatory Affects On Jobs

Rep. Shelly Moore Capito (WV) has introduced the Employment Protection Act 2011 (H.R 1872). The bill would require the Environmental Protection Agency to consider the impact of rulemaking or permitting actions on employment in the various states. A version of this bill has also been introduced in the Senate (S. 1292).

Green Infrastructure Bill Introduced

Sen. Tom Udall (NM) has introduced the Green Infrastructure and Clean Water Act of 2010 (S. 1115). The bill would establish three to five centers of excellence in green infrastructure at higher education or research institutions. It would also make green infrastructure grants of up to $200,000 available to communities for planning and implementing green infrastructure projects. Various offices of the Environmental Protection Agency would be tasked with promoting green infrastructure. A version of the bill has also been introduced in the House of Representatives (H.R. 2030).

Hydrokinetics Bill Introduced

Sen. Lisa Murkowski (AK) has introduced the Marine and Hydrokinetic Energy Promotion Act of 2011 (S. 630). The bill would establish funding and programs for hydrokinetics development, mainly by adding hydrokinetics to programs established in the Energy Independence and Security Act of 2007.

Lyons Confirmed for Nuclear Energy Post

2011-04-27T11:11:00.001-05:00

Dr. Peter B. Lyons was confirmed by the Senate as the Department of Energy's (DOE) Assistant Secretary for Nuclear Energy.

As Assistant Secretary, Lyons will serve as the primary policy advisor to the Secretary of Energy on issues involving nuclear energy research, development and demonstration, as well as international nuclear activities. His responsibilities will include managing programs aimed at fulfilling the potential of nuclear power.

Lyons previously served as the Acting Assistant Secretary for Nuclear Energy since November 2010, and as the Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary of the Office of Nuclear Energy. Prior to this appointment, he served as a Commissioner of the Nuclear Regulatory Commission from 2005 until his term ended in 2009. From 2003 to 2005, he served as an advisor on the staff of Senator Pete Domenici and the Committee on Energy and Natural Resources, where he focused on military and civilian uses of nuclear technology, national science policy, and nuclear non-proliferation.

Lyons is a Fellow of both the American Nuclear Society and the American Physical Society. He received his Ph.D. in Nuclear Astrophysics from the California Institute of Technology and his undergraduate degree in Physics and Mathematics from the University of Arizona.

You can read the complete DOE news release here.

Shake it Out on April 28

2011-04-27T11:10:00.000-05:00

The Great Central U.S. Shakeout will be April 28. This event highlights earthquake preparedness. You can find out more about the event here.

Additional links
"Show-Me Earthquake Safety" video contest winners promote multi-state earthquake drill

Congress Passes Appropriations (6 Months Late), Gears Up for Next Budget Battle

2011-04-15T11:54:00.002-05:00

Congress finally agreed on an appropriations bill for fiscal year 2011—half way into the budget year that began in October—after sliding along on a series of continuing resolutions. Since the appropriations bill are ostensibly the only thing Congress must pass every year, IW humbly proposes a rule that disallows the consideration of any other bill in the House of Representatives, where appropriations must originate, until after an appropriations bill has passed in that chamber. A similar restriction would apply to the Senate once it received the bill for consideration. Enough crazy speculation about how I think things ought to be.

The appropriations included $38 million in cuts for this fiscal year. They were across the board and hit environmental and infrastructure programs. Here are some links from more diligent writers for our more diligent readers.

Budget deal cuts clean water, hurts communities and economy (Public Works, April 15, 2011)

Congress passes budget bill that Yarmuth and Paul oppose (Bailey, P. M., WFPL, April 14, 2011)

Congress passes budget cuts (Felkins, J., DeKalb County Journal-Times, April 14, 2011)

Congress passes spending bill, averting shutdown (Condon, S., & Montopoli, B., CBS News, April 14, 2011)

Obama’s high-speed rail gets $1.5 billion slashed in budget deal (Stein, S., Huffington Post, April 11, 2011)

Thought 2011 budget battle was messy? Wait for the next round (Lightman, D., Talev, M., & Douglas, W., McClatchy Newspapers, April 14, 2011)

Slow Down, Dammit!

2011-04-11T16:27:00.001-05:00

It’s construction season again. Slow down and pay attention, especially in work zones.

And to the kid who squeals his tire tearing down my dead-end street at high speed, beware. You may not fear me, but I know who you’re visiting. If I tell his mom, you will wish you were never born.

Recovery & Stimulus News

2011-03-25T11:28:00.003-05:00

Colo. No. 25 for ARRA Jobs (Hicks, L. W., Denver Business Journal, March 25, 2011)
DOT’s Stimulus Payout Reaches $26.7 Billion (Boyd, J., Journal of Commerce, March 23, 2011)
GDOT: Stimulus Program a “Tremendous” Success (Dacula Patch, March 23, 2011)
Mo. Auditor: Oversight Lacking on Stimulus Funds (Jefferson City News Tribune [Associated Press], March 24, 2011)
Rebuilding Green: The American Reinvestment and Recover Act and the Green Economy (Infrastructure USA, March 14, 2011)

$590 million in federal passenger rail funding (Snohomish Times, Feb. 28, 2011)
House Passes Appropriations Bill (Infrastructure Watch, Feb. 21, 2011)
New report reveals smart transportation spending creates jobs, grows the economy (Smart Growth America, Feb. 4, 2011)
Recent Lessons from the Stimulus: Transportation Funding and Job Creation (InfrastructureUSA, Feb. 7, 2011)
Rejected Florida money now could be used for Washington State Railways (NCWTV, Feb. 16, 2011)

Infrastructure Stimulus (Infrastructure Watch, Jan. 27, 2011)

On a personal note, a (hopefully very short) hold on an ARRA-funded project could mean IW may have more time for blogging next week. Bloggingd doesn't pay the bills, so keep your fingers crossed that the project gets moving again,

Bill Would Make Water Project Financing More Affordable

2011-03-25T11:11:00.001-05:00

The Clean Water Affordability Act of 2011 (H.R. 1189) has been referred to the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee. The bill would modify the Clean Water State Revolving Fund (CWSRF). These changes include

-Requiring states to use 15 percent of the capitalization grant they receive to finance projects for municipalities with a population of fewer than 10,000 that meet affordability criteria established by the states.

-Allow the CWSF loans terms of up to 30 years (the current limit is 20 years).

-Allow states to use up to 30 percent of the capitalization grant to provide additional subsidization to borrowers that meet affordability criteria, including principal forgiveness and negative interest loans.

Related posts and articles
EPA Budget Proposal Focuses on Air and Climate, Cuts Water Grants
Infrastructure in the Obama Budget
Obama Budget Hikes Transportation But Cuts Other Construction Programs

In Congress

2011-03-17T10:23:00.001-05:00

The Airport and Airway Extension Act of 2011 (H.R. 1079) has been referred to the House Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure (T&I) and the Ways and Means Committee. The bill would extend the Airport and Airway Trust Fund and related taxes and programs.

The Energy Tax Prevention Act of 2011 (H.R. 910) has been ordered reported out of committee. The bill would prevent the Environmental Protection Agency from issuing rules to relating to the emission of greenhouse gases to address climate change.

The TIFIA Expansion Act of 2011 (H.R. 1123) has been referred to the House T&I Committee. The act would change provisions of the Transportation Infrastructure Finance and Innovation Act and extend authorization to 2015.

The Hill is reporting that Sen. John Kerry (MA) plans to introduce the BUILD Act to create a national infrastructure bank. The bill would create an authority to oversee a $10 billion fund and make loans and guarantees for large infrastructure projects.

Related posts and articles
Bill Watch - 112th Congress
Bill Would Require Public Employee Inspection of Federally-Funded Transportation Projects
BUILD Act
Energy Bills Introduced
Kerry, Hutchison Propose National Infrastructure Bank
Kerry to Introduce Bipartisan Infrastructure Bank Bill

Energy Bills Introduced

2011-03-14T16:17:00.000-05:00

Rep. Brad Miller (NC) has introduced the Energy Critical Elements Renewal Act of 2011 (H.R. 952). The purpose of the bill is to increase the supply of materials that are needed for the production of new energy technologies, especially rare earth materials. Some of the major provisions of the bill are the creation of a Energy Critical Elements Program in the Department of Energy, at the authorization of loan guarantees to improve the production and processing of rare earth materials.

Rep. Sam Graves (MO) has introduced the Streamlining America’s Various Energy Needs Act (H.R. 945). The bill would create a task force of representatives of various agencies to expedite projects that would increase the production, transmission or conservation of energy.

Related posts and articles
Bill Watch - 112th Congress

National Ground Water Awareness Week March 6-12

2011-03-10T11:08:00.000-06:00

As usual, IW is a little slow on the “weeks” thing. Find out more about National Ground Water Week and this important resource here.

Federal Activity

2011-03-10T11:05:00.002-06:00

Georgia Appeals Lake Lanier Decision

Infrastructure Watch has been loosely following the Lake Lanier case. A federal judge ruled that the Corp of Engineers could no longer divert water from the lake to supply water to the City of Atlanta. Georgia recently appealed the decision.

Related posts and articles:
Courts Could Affect Uses of Lake Lanier
Georgia Loses Lake Lanier Battle
Judge Winnows Down Central Question in Lake Lanier Case
Most Important Case for Georgia in Decades

Bill Would Authorized Reimbursement to States for International Water Projects

Rep. Ruben Hinojosa (TX) has introduced a bill (H.R. 947) that would authorized the International Boundary and Water Commission to reimburse the States of Arizona, California, New Mexico, and Texas for the costs of water projects undertaken under the jurisdiction of the Commission.

Environment & Infrastructure Bills Introduced in Congress

2011-03-07T11:06:00.001-06:00

Rep. Raul Grijalva (AZ) has introduced the Grand Canyon Watersheds Protection Act of 2011 (H.R. 855). The bill would make more than 1 million acres of federally-owned land unavailable for disposal, mining, and mineral and geothermal leasing. Existing rights on these lands would continue until they are relinquished or otherwise acquired by the federal government.

Rep. Dave Camp (MI) introduced the Stop Asian Carp Act (H.R. 892). The bill would direct the Corp of Engineers to study the feasibility of separating the Great Lakes basin from the Mississippi River basin. A similar bill has been introduced in the Senate (S. 471).

Missouri Transportation Commission Elects New Chair

2011-03-07T11:04:00.000-06:00

The Missouri Highways and Transportation Commission recently elected Grace Nichols to serve a one-year term as chair. Nichols has been a member of the commission since March 2008. Prior to her appointment to the board, Nichols served as mayor of St. Charles and as a judge in St. Charles County.

Related posts and articles
Changing of the Chair
Ex-St. Charles Mayor Chairs MoDOT Governing Board

Engineers Week Lagniappe

2011-02-24T16:38:00.000-06:00

IW posted links about National Engineers Week back on Monday. Here is a little something extra:

Video: Bill Nye the Science Guy Plays with Fire during National Engineers Week Presentation at Epcot’s “Innoventions” in Walt Disney World (Nye is an engineer, by the way)
Celebrating Engineers
Engineering Expo Commemorates 100 Year Anniversary
Engineers Build the (Air) Force

Continuing Resolution Moves to Senate

2011-02-24T16:36:00.000-06:00

Earlier this week, IW posted a note about the continuing resolution recently passed by the House of Representatives. The bill cuts total appropriations by $61 billion compared to 2010, including significant cuts to several infrastructure programs.

Senate leaders have attacked the House plan. (The Senate is controlled by Democrats, the House by Republicans.) Even so, some cut are anticipated for the plan to be worked out by the entire Congress. Senators may propose short-term (about a month at a time) resolutions to keep the government funded until a deal can be worked out.

Related posts and articles
House Bill Would Slash Construction Programs
House Passes Appropriations Bill

Blizzard Costs Missouri $7.7 Million in Highway Clearing

2011-02-24T16:34:00.002-06:00

As the wintery mix falls outside the “offices” of Infrastructure Watch, the Missouri Department of Transportation has updated its estimate of the cost to clear road during the recent blizzard to $7.7 million. The cost includes 90,000 man-hours and 1.1 million miles logged on snowplows. This does not include local government costs for clearing snow from the roads they maintain.

Related posts and articles
MoDOT: Blizzard Cost Millions
Record Snow Cost MoDOT $7.7 Million

National Engineers Week

2011-02-21T14:05:00.000-06:00

February 20-26 is National Engineers Week. You can find many posts related to engineering on Infrastructure Watch. A lot of great information can be found through these links, too.

Discover Engineering
Future City Competition
Let’s Celebrate Engineers
National Engineers Week Foundation
Popsicle Stick Bridge Contest

House Passes Appropriations Bill

2011-02-21T14:04:00.000-06:00

The House of Representatives has passed a continuing appropriations bill (H.R. 1) to cover the rest of the current fiscal year. In addition to providing appropriations for all agencies, it modifies stimulus funding that was provided by the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA). All ARRA funds not obligated by February 11, 2011, would be rescinded except for those related to accountability. ARRA funds would no longer be available for signage indentifying ARRA projects.

Aging Infrastructure

2011-02-21T14:00:00.001-06:00

America’s aging infrastructure is getting attention in the news and blogs. Here is a compilation of some recent articles and posts on the subject.

Growth and Renewal in the United States: Retooling America’s Economic Engine (McKinsey & Company, Feb. 2011)
Infrastructure in the Obama Budget (Infrastructure Watch, Feb. 17, 2011)
New Report: America’s Poor Infrastructure is Holding Back Economic Growth (The Infrastructurist, Feb. 18, 2011)
Oklahoma TV: Crumbling Infrastructure Around the World (InfrastructureUSA, Feb. 4, 2011)
Welcome to the Pothole Nation (Selway, W., Bloomberg Businessweek, Feb. 10, 2011)

Aging sewer systems will cost millions to fix (Jones, T., Berkshire Eagle, Jan. 16, 2011)
America's other deficit (Klein, E., Washington Post, Jan. 2, 2011)
Minding the Gap: Deficit Spending and Transportation (Peppard, C., Switchboard [Natural Resources Defense Council], Jan 4., 2011)

Is America’s Aging Infrastructure a Recipe for Disaster? (Jaffe, E., The Infrastructurist, Dec. 17, 2010)

America has Huge Need for Water Infrastructure Improvements (Infrastructure Watch, May 4, 2010)

Infrastructure in the Obama Budget

2011-02-17T13:50:00.002-06:00

In his State of the Union address, President Barack Obama emphasized infrastructure funding. His budget proposal includes increases for transportation, especially for high-speed rail, but cuts other infrastructure programs.

Unfortunately, Infrastructure Watch doesn’t have the time to dig through the budget and analyze it. Fortunately, professional journalists, paid bloggers, and big stakeholders do. Here is a compilation of some articles from these diligent folks.

Education, Infrastructure Win in Obama Budget (Gramlich, J., Stateline, Feb. 15, 2011)

EPA Budget Proposal Focuses on Air and Climate, Cuts Water Grants (Nelson, G., & Chemnick, J., New York Times, Feb. 14, 2011)

Geithner: Infrastructure Bank Would End Bridges to Nowhere (Wall Street Journal, Feb. 9, 2011)

Grading Obama’s Budget Proposal for Food, Water and Fish (Food and Water Watch, Feb., 16, 2011)

Obama Budget has $5 Billion for Infrastructure Bank (Lambert, L., Reuters UK, Feb. 17, 2011)

Obama Budget has $556 Billion , Six-Year Transporation Plan (Crawley, J., & Lambert, L., Reuters, Feb. 14, 2011)

Obama Budget Hikes Transportation But Cuts Other Construction Programs (Ichniowski, T., & Hunter, P., Engineering News-Record, Feb. 16, 2011)

Obama’s $3.7 Trillion Budget Sets Fight in Congress (Runningen, R., & Faler, B., Bloomberg, Feb. 14, 2011)

Reconnecting America Releases Analysis of Obama Budget Proposal

Tax Hikes May Outweigh Obama Budget (Hoover, K., Portland Business Journal, Feb. 16, 2011)

Congressional News

2011-02-11T11:51:00.001-06:00

Senate Environment & Public Works Committee Announces New Communications Director

Mary Kerr has been named Communications Director for the Senate Environment and Public Works Committee. Kerr previously worked for the House Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure, where she served as Majority Press Secretary since 2007. From 1995 through 2007, she was the Communications Director in Rep. Jim Oberstar's (MN) personal office.

In addition, Kate Gilman has been promoted to Deputy Communications Director. Nathan McCray has been promoted to Press Assistant.

You can read the original news release here.

Florida Transportation Director Joins House Committee Staff

Outgoing Florida Department of Transportation (FDOT) Secretary Stephanie Kopelousos has been mad a senior advisor to the House Transportation Committee, which is chaired by Florida Congressman John Mica. Kopelousos will be responsible for coordinating with state and local officials.

Kopelousos has served for four years as FDOT Secretary under Governor Charlie Crist. She also previously served as FDOT chief of staff during the final year of the Jeb Bush administration, after serving in the Governor’s Washington, DC office.

She will remain with the Committee until assuming a position she has already accepted as County Manager for Clay County, Florida.

You can read the original news release here.

Missouri Water Finance Plan Available for Comment

2011-02-08T11:04:00.000-06:00

The Missouri Department of Natural Resources announced that its Clean Water State Revolving Fund (CWSRF) Intended Use Plan (IUP) is available. The IUP describes how the department intends to use state and federal funds in the CWSRF to make loans for wastewater system improvements and other purposes. You can find a copy of the IUP and information on commenting here.

In addition, the Missouri Clean Water Commission will hold a public meeting on the plan on March 2, 2011, at 9 AM a the Lewis and Clark State Office Building, 1101 Riverside Drive, Jefferson City. In order to present comments at the meeting, inform the commission secretary in writing at Missouri Clean Water Commission, P.O. Box 176, Jefferson City, MO 65102-0176, before 5 PM, February 18, 2011. Other written comments may be submitted to the same address before 5 PM, March 9, 2011.

Infrastructure Stimulus

2011-01-27T14:40:00.000-06:00

AGC sees US construction unemployment above 20% (Sleight, C., International Construction, Jan. 7, 2011)
Bill Watch - 112th Congress (Infrastructure Watch, amended Jan. 27, 2011)
Still Trying to Axe the Plaques (Infrastructure Watch, Jan. 27, 2011)

USDOT Redirects High-Speed Rail Stimulus Away from Slow States (Infrastructure Watch, Dec. 21, 2010)
Work underway on most of GSA's stimulus-funded construction (Medici, A., Federal Times, Dec. 16, 2010)

Bill Would Rescind Unobligated Stimulus Funds (Infrastructure Watch, Nov. 19, 2010)
LaHood to states: Proceed with rail projects or give up stimulus funds (Kastenbaum, S., CNN, Nov. 17, 2010)
ProPublica and PolitiFact Test Obama Claims on Stimulus (Farley, R., & Grabell, M., ProPublica, Nov. 10, 2010)
Stimulus Bashing Governors Issue Hundreds Of Millions Of Dollars In Stimulus Funded Bonds (Garofalo, P., ThinkProgress, Nov. 5, 2010)

Infrastructure & Recovery News (Infrastructure Watch, Oct. 8, 2010)

Still Trying to Axe the Plaques

2011-01-27T14:31:00.000-06:00

Rep. Aaron Schock (IL) has introduced the End the Stimulus Advertisement Act (H.R. 389). The bill would end funding of signage that indicates a project was funded by the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act. It would recover funds previously spent on such signage from affected agencies by reducing their appropriations for 2012 and 2013.

A Real National Infrastructure Bank Proposal

2011-01-27T14:27:00.001-06:00

Rep. Rosa DeLauro (CT) has introduced a bill (H.R. 402) to create a board-managed, national infrastructure bank capable of financing projects in a variety of areas. The bill would authorize capitalization of up to $5 billion annually for five years. The bank would sunset after 15 years.

Related posts and articles
GE CEO Sees Little Support for Infrastructure Bank
Water Groups: Include Water in Infrastructure Bank

Bill Watch - 112th Congress

2011-01-20T11:51:00.013-06:00

Amended January 11, 2012

H.R. 1—Full Year Continuing Appropriations Act, 2011
Continuing Resolution Moves to Senate
House Passes Appropriations Bill

H.R. 328 - Safety, Efficiency, and Accountability in Transportation Projects Through Public Inspection Act of 2011
Bill Would Require Public Employee Inspection of Federally-Funded Transportation Projects

H.R. 389 - End the Stimulus Advertisement Act
Still Trying to Axe the Plaques

H.R. 855 – Grand Canyon Watersheds Protection Act of 2011
Environment & Infrastructure Bills Introduced in Congress

H.R. 892 – Stop Asian Carp Act
Environment & Infrastructure Bills Introduced in Congress

H.R. 910 - Energy Tax Prevention Act of 2011
In Congress

H.R. 945 - Streamlining America’s Various Energy Needs Act
Energy Bills Introduced

H.R. 947
Bill Would Authorized Reimbursement to States for International Water Projects

H.R. 952 - Energy Critical Elements Renewal Act of 2011
Energy Bills Introduced

H.R. 1079 - Airport and Airway Extension Act of 2011
In Congress

H.R. 1123 - TIFIA Expansion Act of 2011
In Congress

H.R. 1189 – Clean Water Affordability Act of 2011
Bill Would Make Water Project Financing More Affordable

H.R. 1705 - Transparency in Regulatory Analysis of Impacts on the Nation Act of 2011
Activity in Congress

H.R 1872 - Employment Protection Act 2011
Activity in Congress
In Congress

H.R. 2018 - Clean Water Cooperative Federalism Act of 2011
Activity in Congress

H.R. 2055 – Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2012
Bill Quickies

H.R. 2594 - European Union Emissions Trading Scheme Prohibition Act of 2011T&I Committee Marks Up, Approves Bills

H.R. 2738 - Water Infrastructure Resiliency and Sustainability Act of 2011
Water News

H.R. 2845 - Pipeline Safety, Regulatory Certainty, and Job Creation Act of 2011
T&I Committee Marks Up, Approves Bills

H.R. 2887 - Surface and Air Transportation Programs Extension Act of 2011
Congress Passes Bill to Extend Transportation Programs
House Passes Transportation Bill

H.R. 2924 – 414 Plan Act of 2011
Bill Would Suspend Requirements for Highway Projects

H.R. 3259 - National Infrastructure Bank Act of 2011
National Infrastructure Bank Bill

H.R. 3638 – Act for the 99%
Bill Quickies

H.R. 3680 - Hydropower Regulatory Efficiency Act of 2011
Bill Quickies

S. 402 – National Infrastructure Development Bank Act of 2011
A Real National Infrastructure Bank Proposal

S. 471 – Stop Asian Carp Act
Environment & Infrastructure Bills Introduced in Congress

S. 630 - Marine and Hydrokinetic Energy Promotion Act of 2011
Activity in Congress

S. 652 – Building and Upgrading Infrastructure for Long-Term Development
The BUILD Act
In Congress

S. 1108 - 10 Million Solar Roofs Act
Bill Quickies

S. 1115 - Green Infrastructure and Clean Water Act of 2010
Activity in Congress

S. 1142 - Geothermal Exploration and Technology Act of 2011
Bill Quickies

S. 1292 - Employment Protection Act 2011
Activity in Congress
In Congress

S. 1343 - Energy and Water Integration Act of 2011
Congress Keeps Rolling

S. 1510 - Clean Energy Financing Act of 2011
Bill Would Create Clean Energy Deployment Agency

S. 1525 – An original bill to extend Federal-aid highway programsPresident Calls for Transportation Funding to Stimulate Jobs Growth

S. 1549 – American Jobs Act of 2011
American Jobs Act

S. 1550 – National Infrastructure Bank Act of 2011
National Infrastructure Bank Bill

S. 1720 – Jobs Through Growth Act
American Jobs Act

S. 1775 - Public Lands Renewable Energy Development Act of 2011
Energy Bill Has Unusual Name, Other Energy Proposals

S. 1786 – Long-Term Surface Transportation Enhancement Act of 2011
Congress Passes Bill to Extend Transportation Programs

S. 1795 – A bill related to Missouri River management
Missouri River Priorities Contested

Bill Watch—111th Congress

Bill Would Require Public Employee Inspection of Federally-Funded Transportation Projects

2011-01-20T11:49:00.000-06:00

Rep. Bob Filner (CA) introduced the Safety, Efficiency, and Accountability in Transportation Projects Through Public Inspection Act of 2011 (H.R. 328). The bill would require public employees to carry out construction inspections for all surface transportation projects that receive federal funding.

GE CEO Sees Little Support for Infrastructure Bank

2011-01-19T11:21:00.000-06:00

Reuters reported that General Electric CEO Jeffrey Immelt stated that moves to create a national infrastructure bank are unlikely to be successful. He sited as reasons the large national debt and the increasing availability of financing from private sources.

Kansas Ag Director Appointed Advisor to EPA Regional Administrator

2011-01-18T10:42:00.001-06:00

Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Region 7 Administrator Karl Brooks announced the selection of Josh Svaty, recent Secretary of the Kansas Department of Agriculture, to be his senior adviser. As secretary, Svaty managed a $27 million budget, a 380-employee workforce and statutory duties for 17 programs.

He is the fifth-generation of his family to farm in Ellsworth County, KS. Svaty served as the State Representative of the 108th District in Kansas for seven years. His committee assignments included the committees for Energy and Utilities, Agriculture and Natural Resources and the joint committee on Energy and Environmental Policy. Svaty has testified before the U.S. Congress on agriculture, energy and water policy issues. He holds a B.A. from Sterling College in Sterling, KS.

You can read the original EPA news release here.

Micah Chairs Transportation and Infrastructure Committee

2011-01-12T15:58:00.002-06:00

Rep. John L. Micah (FL) has been elected to the chairmanship of the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee. He has served on the committee since his election to Congress in 1992.

The other Republican members of the committee:

Lou Barletta (PA)
Larry Bucshon (IN)
Chip Cravaack (MN)
Rick Crawford (AR)
Jeff Denham (CA)
Blake Farenthold (TX)
Stephen Fincher (TN)
Bob Gibbs (OH)
Frank Guinta (NH)
Richard Hanna (NY)
Andy Harris (MD)
Jaime Herrera (WA)
Randy Hultgren (IL)
Jeff Landry (LA)
James Lankford (OK)
Billy Long (MO)
Tom Reed (NY)
Jim Renacci (OH)
Tim Scott (SC)
Daniel Webster (FL).

Related posts and articles
More Quick Hits

Sarah Parker Pauley Nominated to Direct Missouri Department of Natural Resources

2011-01-05T16:26:00.001-06:00

Sara Parker Pauley has been nominated to the position of Director of the Missouri Department of Natural Resources by Governor Jay Nixon. The department has not faired well under Nixon’s previous appointee, so Pauley faces rebuilding a damaged enterprise. She will also need to repair the agency’s relationship with the General Assembly.

Pauley previously served at the department as a deputy director during the administration of Governor Bob Holden. She must be confirmed by the state Senate, where tough confirmation hearings are expected, but will serve as director during the process.

Book Review: On Becoming a Leader by Warren Bennis

2011-01-05T16:15:00.003-06:00

I wrote this for a class in public administration back in 1997. You can tell it’s for a class because it’s longer than the reviews I’d normally write for this blog. I have the sense from reading it that the assignment must have involve answering particular questions about the book. I got an A-. The hyperlinks are added, but I haven’t changed it otherwise from what I wrote the first time.

Bennis, Warren. On Becoming a Leader. New York: Addison-Wesley, 1994.

Bennis’ premise is that leadership comes out of the state of being of the leader. Leadership starts with a leader’s capacity for self-invention, to shape himself with learning and reflection as opposed to being shaped by circumstances. In Bennis’ words, “No leader sets out to be a leader. People set out to live their lives, expressing themselves fully. When that expression is of value, they become leaders.”

Bennis’ process of self-invention begins with self-knowledge. He proposes four lessons to gaining self-knowledge. First, “you are your own best teacher”; learning is essential. Second is to accept responsibility for your own education. Third, “you can learn anything you want to learn.” Finally, reflection is necessary to develop understanding and a leader must question his experience to learn. Leaders innovate and learn from experience without fear of mistakes. According to Bennis’ definition, a leader is someone in the front, doing things others have not done.

A leader must add knowledge of the world to self-knowledge. Bennis says that a leader should learn about the world through participation rather than reaction. One learns by trying to change something as well as experiencing it as it is. The conscious learner seeks broad experience, learns from others and from mistakes.

A leader must trust his instincts. Bennis uses Emerson’s term “blessed impulse.” Blessed impulse is a tool for making decisions in a world to complex to be completely understood.

Leaders must deploy themselves. By this Bennis means a leader must practice self-expression. Deploying oneself is offset against being deployed by others or the voices of others on one’s head.

Leaders must “get people on their side.” Bennis prescribes constancy, congruity of words and action, reliability and integrity.

Bennis also speaks more generally about the characteristics and roles of leaders. These are similar to what might be found in other books on leadership.

Bennis calls the organization the primary form in American society. He challenges leaders to shape their organizations, and shape society, to make them work in a rapidly changing world. He encourages executives to empower junior leaders in their organizations to teach them leadership through experience.

Throughout, Bennis uses the experience of twelve leaders gleaned from interviews. Bennis includes a brief biography of each leader at the end.

At first, it seems that Bennis says that one becomes a leader by being a leader. This is what he says, but he does not leave the reader hanging. Bennis’ perspective is what is unique about the book. Leadership is the expression of the character, qualities, values and personality of a leader. His is not a direct call for us to become leaders, but for us to become ourselves. Leadership will follow.

This may be a difficult lesson. Buyers of books on leadership are probably more interested in learning the skills of leadership and management to help them in their current situations. Bennis says express yourself. If you are doing what you think you ought to do, if others deploy you, you will not be a leader. Self-expression may take you to something different.

The first step to leadership is self-knowledge. A useful tool is self-evaluation, what Bennis calls “tests and measures.” Bennis offers a set of four tests—really four statements. One could apply the tests with pencil and paper, making lists in response to each statement. Of all the tools and suggestions in the book, this set of tests is the most clear and immediately applicable. A reader wanting to apply Bennis’ lessons would do well to start here.

Little else can be used immediately. Changes in point of view and lifestyle take time. One might argue that only a few Bennis’ suggested activities are specific to developing leadership. To me, much of it sounds fun and interesting. That is the point Bennis is trying to make: leadership comes out of broad experience, education, perspective, desire, mastery of one’s discipline and synthesis of ideas.

My own experience validates this. I am as proud of my single published poem as I am of my accomplishments as an engineer or public servant. The skills and abilities exercised by writing are different from those exercised by engineering. I am persuaded that, though seemingly unrelated, one improves the other in me.

Bennis’ somewhat artificial distinction between managers and leaders is a shortcoming. He makes a manager sound like something one would not want to be. He list skills and characteristics developed from the “education” of a leader and the “training” of a manager. All seemingly undesirable things are on the manager side. On might argue tat several management skills, like deduction and common sense, would be useful to a leader.

Most of the interviews are businessmen, but some come from public service agencies and professions. In may seem that businessmen are more susceptible to “surrendering to the context”—the bottom line, the corporate culture, the style of a boss to be pleased—but public service leaders must face their own context. A public servant may readily accept his organization’s view of the way things should be or done, what is important and who to involve without ever considering his own vision, ability and desire.

It may be more important for public section leadership to use self-expression. While a business leader may have the satisfaction of bringing a product to market, making a profit, even gaining notoriety, a public leader may never see his vision achieved. A public leaders’ satisfaction may have to come from living the life he wants to live.

A particular item addressed by Bennis that may be of use to one in public service is getting people on your side. A public leader may have little to rely on besides his integrity and “voice”—an ability to change the climate of his organization and shape it to work more effectively. As important as it is, Bennis can offer little on the subject except constancy, congruity, reliability and integrity. He says to be someone others might follow. He offers no lessons on persuasion, though if persuasion can be taught, it may be of little benefit to those who lake those characteristics.

If you’re interested in this book, you may also be interested in
The 21 Irrefutable Laws of Leadership Tested by Time by James L. Garlow
Blink by Malcolm Gladwell
Developing the Leader Within by John C. Maxwell
The Difference Maker by John C. Maxwell
Winning with People by John C. Maxwell

This review of On Becoming a Leader by Warren Bennis appears courtesy of Keenan’s Book Reviews, a book review blog that features nonfiction.

Virginia Transportation Infrastructure Bank

2010-12-23T10:24:00.000-06:00

A lot of federal infrastructure bank proposals have been tossed around. Virginia is forming an infrastructure bank to finance local transportation projects.

Book Review: Paperboy by Henry Petroski

2010-12-23T10:16:00.003-06:00

Petroski, Henry. Paperboy: Confessions of a Future Engineer. New York: Knopf, 2002.

Henry Petroski is an engineering professor who is well known for his books on engineering and technology. Paperboy is a memoir of his boyhood.

This memoir is a reflection of the times, the 1950s, as well as the author’s life. It shows a microcosm of a nation recovering from World War II and gearing up for the space race. The paperboys of New York weren’t interested in reading the newspapers they delivered, so they weren’t consciously aware of the social forces at work around them. (Even so, Petroski uses headlines from the Long Island Press to show what was going on at the time.) A boy with Petroski’s talents might have gone into any number of things, but with Sputnik overhead, government policy and watchful teachers nudged him into engineering. It was a good fit.

Petroski doesn’t leave technology completely out of the picture. As a paperboy, he had to master the art of folding and flipping papers. He assembled and maintained his own bicycle. He watched his orderly uncle, an accountant, put together exactly what he needed to build an attic closet with no waist.

Young Petroski had many traits that would have made engineering attractive to him: curiosity about how things work, mechanical aptitude, facility with mathematics, some perfectionism, more pragmatism, ability to think both concretely and abstractly, appreciate that things are made and making involves choosing. I have known and worked with many engineers in my career in that profession and nearly all of them share at least a few of these traits with Petroski.

A particular part of Petroski’s school experience stands out to me because it illustrates how real life is different from a story. His high school algebra teacher, Mr. Duncan, took an immediate dislike to him, apparently because it picked up on algebra so easily. Duncan began to call Petroski “Herman Peterson,” provoked him and sent him out into the hall. The budding engineer sat in the hall, following the lessons through the door, and remaining the leading student in the class. This hardship continued until Petroski advanced into upper-class math courses. A story probably would have had some satisfying resolution, but real life experience involved just moving on.

In one section of his memoir, Petroski discusses newspaper titles. It’s the kind of list-making thing many engineers are prone to do. The weekly paper in my hometown was the Bloomfield Vindicator. I have never heard a name for newspaper that was cooler than Vindicator. I’m reminded by it of those show that were popular in the 1980s about a nameless stranger who comes into town to bring justice to oppressors of the downtrodden like The Equalizer, Stingray, and The Pretender (which may have been from the 1990s). A syndicate combined the Vindicator with another publication and given it the unimaginative title of North Stoddard Countian.

If you’re interested in this book, you may also be interested in
Copernicus’ Secret by Jack Repcheck
Descarte’s Secret Notebook by Amir D. Aczel
The Invention of Air by Steven Johnson
Newton and the Counterfeiter by Thomas Levenson
The Science of Leonardo by Fritjof Capra

This review of Paperboy by Henry Petroski appears courtesy of Keenan’s Book Reviews, a book review blog that features nonfiction.

Obama Nominates Lyons to Nuclear Energy Post

2010-12-21T17:02:00.001-06:00

President Barack Obama nominated Dr. Peter Lyons for the post of Assistant Secretary for Nuclear Energy. Dr. Lyons is currently the Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary of the Office of Nuclear Energy at the Department of Energy (2009-present).

Previous to this appointment, Dr. Lyons served as a Commissioner of the Nuclear Regulatory Commission from 2005 until his term ended in 2009. From 2003 to 2005, Dr. Lyons served as Science Advisor on the staff of Senator Pete Domenici and the Senate Committee on Energy and Natural Resources, where he focused on military and civilian uses of nuclear technology, national science policy, and nuclear non-proliferation. From 1997 to 2003, Dr. Lyons was assigned by the Los Alamos National Laboratory to serve as Science Advisor on the staff of U.S. Senator Pete Domenici and the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee, where he focused on military and civilian uses of nuclear technology, national science policy, and nuclear non-proliferation. From 1969 to 1996, Dr. Lyons held several positions at the Los Alamos National Laboratory including: Director for Industrial Partnerships, Deputy Associate Director for Energy and Environment, and Deputy Associate Director-Defense Research and Applications. Dr. Lyons has published more than 100 technical papers, holds three patents related to fiber optics and plasma diagnostics, and served as chairman of the NATO Nuclear Effects Task Group for five years.

Dr. Lyons is a Fellow of the American Nuclear Society, and a Fellow of the American Physical Society. He received his Ph.D. in Nuclear Astrophysics from the California Institute of Technology (1969) and his undergraduate degree in Physics and Mathematics from the University of Arizona (1964).

You can read the original Department of Energy news release here.

Related posts and articles:
Federal Energy Nominations
Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy Advisory Committee Created

111th Congress Wrapping Up

2010-12-21T17:00:00.000-06:00

Congress Wants Noisier Hybrids

Congress has passed the Pedestrian Safety Enhancement Act of 2010 (S. 841). The bill requires the Secretary of Transportation to issue rules that would require hybrid and electric cars to create enough noise to alert blind pedestrians of their presence. The bill must be signed by the president to become law.

Bill Introduced to Extend Hours of Service Rules to Yardmaster Employees

Outgoing Transportation and Infrastructure Chairman James Oberstar introduced the Railroad Hours of Service Act of 2010 (H.R. 6519). The act would extend hours of service rules for railroad employees to yardmaster employees.

House Votes to Reauthorize Transportation Program for One Year

Earlier this month, the House of Representatives passed a continuing resolution that would authorize continued spending on transportation programs at the current level through the end of the fiscal year. It will be up to the incoming Congress to work out a new transportation bill.

Related posts and articles
Bill Watch—111th Congress

USDOT Redirects High-Speed Rail Stimulus Away from Slow States

2010-12-21T16:57:00.001-06:00

Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood announced that $1.195 billion in high-speed rail funds originally designated for Wisconsin and Ohio will be redirected to other states. Wisconsin has suspended work under its existing high-speed rail agreement and the incoming Governors in Wisconsin and Ohio have both indicated that they will not move forward to use high-speed rail money received under the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA).

ARRA included $8 billion to launch a national high-speed rail program. High-speed rail grants announced under ARRA can be used only for high-speed rail projects and not for other transportation projects.

The Federal Railroad Administration originally announced $810 million for Wisconsin’s Milwaukee-Madison corridor and $400 million for Ohio’s Cincinnati-Columbus-Cleveland “3C” route. The Federal Railroad Administration will redirect $810 million from Wisconsin and $385 million from Ohio, and will work with these states to determine whether they have already spent money under their contracts that should be reimbursed.

The $1.195 billion originally designated for those high-speed rail projects in Wisconsin and Ohio will be used to support projects in the following states:

California: up to $624 million
Florida: up to $342.3 million
Washington State: up to $161.5 million
Illinois: up to $42.3 million
New York: up to $7.3 million
Maine: up to $3.3 million
Massachusetts: up to $2.8 million
Vermont: up to $2.7 million
Missouri: up to $2.2 million
Wisconsin: up to $2 million for the Hiawatha line
Oregon: up to $1.6 million
North Carolina: up to $1.5 million
Iowa: up to $309,080
Indiana: up to $364,980

You can read the original Department of Transportation statement here.

Related posts and articles
Federal News in Brief
Federal Officials Discuss High-Speed Rail with State Officials
Infrastructure Economic Stimulus in the News
Transportation Department Releases Guidelines for Stimulus Funding of High-Speed Rail

November 19: World Toilet Day

2010-11-19T10:12:00.000-06:00

I almost missed World Toilet Day. Here are links to some who were more on the ball.

Celebrate sanitation at World Toilet Day
For World Toilet Day, a serious look at poop
Get Off the Pot and Celebrate World Toilet Day!
It's Not A Joke, It's World Toilet Day
On World Toilet Day: New NRDC Report Calls for U.S. Action to Solve the Global Sanitation Crisis
Restoring Russian Greatness One Toilet At A Time
We don't honor God when 4,500 children die every day
World Toilet Day?
World Toilet Day Bringing attention to sanitation World Toilet Day: Squat to Save Lives?

Bill Would Rescind Unobligated Stimulus Funds

2010-11-19T10:11:00.000-06:00

Rep. Jerry Lewis (CA) has introduced American Recovery and Reinvestment Rescissions Act (H.R. 6403). The bill would rescind all unobligated, discretionary funds from Division A of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA). It would also eliminate further funding of ARRA signage (some congressmen have been after those signs from the start).

Related posts and articles:
Infrastructure & Recovery News

Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy Advisory Committee Created

2010-11-15T09:57:00.003-06:00

The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) announced the establishment of the Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy Advisory Committee (ERAC). ERAC is a federal advisory committee whose members will report directly to the Secretary of Energy with advice on the portfolio of the Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy (EERE). The 19 members selected have experience in a variety of sectors and will bring a range of technical expertise and perspectives to the committee.

ERAC will periodically review EERE's portfolio and provide advice to the Secretary of Energy on a variety of areas including: completion of long-range plans, priorities and strategies; program funding; and any issues of specific concern expressed by the Secretary or the Assistant Secretary for EERE. ERAC is expected to meet twice a year; the meetings will be open to the public. The Committee is being established in accordance with the Federal Advisory Committee Act (FACA). DOE also expects to organize various subcommittees under ERAC.

The members ERAC are:

Yet-Ming Chiang - Kyocera Professor of Ceramics, Massachusetts Institute of Technology
Lonnie Edelheit - Senior Vice President, Research & Development, General Electric Company (Retired)
Ira Ehrenpreis - General Partner, Technology Partners
Philip Giudice - Commissioner, Massachusetts Department of Energy Resources
Hal Harvey - CEO, ClimateWorks Foundation
Mark Jacobson - Professor of Civil and Environmental Engineering and Director, Atmosphere/Energy Program, Stanford University
Jay Keasling - CEO, Joint BioEnergy Institute and Professor, University of California, Berkeley
Neal Lane - The Malcolm Gillis University Professor, Rice University
Ed Lazowska - Bill & Melinda Gates Chair in Computer Science & Engineering, University of Washington
Richard Lester - Japan Steel Industry Professor, Head of the Department of Nuclear Science and Engineering, and faculty co-chair and founding Director of the Industrial Performance Center, Massachusetts Institute of Technology
Kathleen McGinty - Operating Partner, Element LLC
Arati Prabhakar - Partner, U.S. Venture Partners
Stanley Pruss - Partner, 5 Lakes Energy LLC
Burton Richter - Paul Pigott Professor in the Physical Sciences Emeritus, Senior Fellow Freeman Spogli Institute of International Studies, Stanford University; and Director Emeritus, Stanford Linear Accelerator Center
Arthur Rosenfeld - Distinguished Scientist Emeritus, Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory
Janette Sadik-Khan - Commissioner, New York City Department of Transportation
Subir Sanyal - President and Manager of Reservoir Engineering Services, GeothermEx, Inc.
Maxine Savitz - General Manager, Honeywell/AlliedSignal (Retired)
Mark Stoering - Vice President, Portfolio Strategy & Business Development, Xcel Energy

You can read the original DOE news release here.

Our Infrastructure is Getting Old, What are We Going to Do About It?

2010-11-15T09:51:00.001-06:00

The decline of our infrastructure in the United States seems to be outpacing our investment in it. I haven’t fully digested the subject, but a lot of people are writing about it. Here are links to some recent items from the news and blogs.

10 Tips to Learn About the Infrastructure Problems in the USA
50 Must-See Report Cards, Studies and Infographics on America’s Crumbling Infrastructure
America's Aging Infrastructure: What to Fix, and Who Will Pay?
Two senators eye gas tax hike to pay for highways and bridges

Infrastructure News Breaks into TV Fiction

2010-11-12T10:20:00.001-06:00

According to the 30 Rock episode I saw last night, Halliburton is subtly corrupting the world like Sauron’s gathering evil in Middle-Earth. CSI: exposed the potential dangers of fracking in the context of a police procedural. This morning, I came across this at The Hill (though it was posted a couple of days before these shows aired). I’m beginning to suspect that the shows I like may be written by geeks.

More Quick Hits

2010-11-09T10:54:00.001-06:00

Transportation Measures Mostly Successful

IW previously noted that infrastructure initiatives, referendums and bonds mostly passed during the last election. The American Road and Transportation Builders Association breaks it down.

View of Likely Transportation and Infrastructure Chair

We also noted that the new Congress will see a new head of the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee, likely Florida Republican Rep. John Micah. The Transport Politic and Tampa Bay Online have analyzed his views on transportation issues, especially high speed rail.

Quick Hits

2010-11-08T16:34:00.002-06:00

My blogging in IW has been pretty lazy lately. It’s going to be that way today, too. There is just too much interesting stuff going on in the world of infrastructure to wait until I have time to write about it, so here are some quick hits.

Oberstar Leaving House

Longtime Democratic Representative Jim Oberstar, of Minnesota, lost his bid for reelection last week. He chaired the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee, so his departure could mean a change in the direction in federal infrastructure priorities, though the ranking Republican committeeman indicates that infrastructure is an investment he and his party can support.

8th District: Cravaack rode GOP wave past Oberstar
Mica Statement on Midterm Elections and the 112th Congress
Oberstar Says Goodbye, Mica Promises Rail and a Long-Term Bill
Oberstar says the people have spoken, bids goodbye
Transportation Lobbyists Vow They’ll Work with the Winners

Infrastructure Measures Did Well On Ballots

We previously mentioned that many infrastructure-related measures were on the ballot in various states and municipalities. It looks like most of them were successful.

2010 Ballot Measures
Big Construction Bonds at Stake this Election
Proposition 1, the Transportation Bond, Approved in Austin
The Silver Lining: 73 Percent of Transportation Ballot Measures Win

Water Groups: Include Water in Infrastructure Bank

Infrastructure bank proposals are still rolling around, but none are likely to pass in the last couple of months of the 111th Congress. Water groups want to make sure that water infrastructure isn’t overlooked in infrastructure bank proposals that might be taken up by the next Congress. There may even be public support for improving aging (and expensive) water infrastructure.

Aging water infrastructure wastes 1.7 trillion gallons a year
Bill Watch--111th Congress
Can We Save America’s Crumbling Water System?
The Corrosion of America
EPA to Survey Community Water Systems to Estimate Capital Investment Needs
Groups Urge Inclusion of Water in Proposed Infrastructure Bank
ITT's Value of Water Survey Reveals That Americans Are Ready to Fix Our Nation's Crumbling Water Infrastructure
The New Oil
Saving U.S. Water and Sewer Systems Would Be Costly
The Value of Water

Missouri: New Transportation Director, High-Speed Rail Funding

The Missouri Highways and Transportation Commissions has appointed Keith Kevin as Director of the Department of Transportation (MODOT). Kevin is a department veteran who served as chief engineer and has been the interim director for the last few months. MODOT also announced it received $4.1 million from the Federal Railroad Administration for high-speed rail projects.

Kevin Keith Named Director of MoDOT
Missouri Gets Another $4.1 Million for High Speed Rail Development
MoDOT Veteran Named New Director

P.S. IW previously mentioned that a St. Louis-area project was in the running for recognition from the American Society of State Highway and Transportation Officials. It won the grand prize.

A Winning Team
Missouri Transportation Infrastructure Draws Attention

Federal News in Brief

2010-10-28T12:47:00.001-05:00

High Speed Rail Project Announced

Fifty-four high-speed rail projects in 23 states will share in $2.4 billion to continue developing America’s first nationwide program of high-speed intercity passenger rail service. The Federal Railroad Administration received 132 applications from 32 states totaling $8.8 billion, more than three times the $2.4 billion available. During the first round of awards in the fall of 2009, applicants submitted more than $55 billion in project proposals for the initial $8 billion from the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA). Funding comes from the U.S. Department of Transportation’s (DOT) 2009 and 2010 appropriations as well as ARRA. (See the original DOT news release here.)

Emissions Standards Proposed for Trucks, Buses

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration announced national standards to reduce greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions and improve fuel efficiency of heavy-duty trucks and buses. This comprehensive national program is projected to reduce GHG emissions by nearly 250 million metric tons in the program’s first five years. The proposal and information about how to submit comments is at: http://www.epa.gov/otaq/climate/regulations.htm and http://www.nhtsa.gov/fuel-economy . (See the original DOT news release here.)

Water News Tidbits

2010-10-28T12:45:00.000-05:00

-A Midwestern drilling company had a hand in rescuing the Chilean miners.

-Arizona cities face big water and sewer rate hikes.

-Canoers take on the Big Muddy in Clean Water Race.

-The North Dakota oil boom has potential to strain water resources.

Big Construction Bonds at Stake this Election

2010-10-22T09:12:00.000-05:00

Bond issues in 12 states will decide the fate of a potential $4.8 billion in bonds for construction. Bonds of this type may not find a welcoming market as bond investors are becoming more concerned that rating agencies are not adequately considering water availability in their evaluations.

Related posts and articles:
Bonds on The Ballots
Government Accountability Office Issues Report on Tax-Exempt Bonds
Water Scarcity a Bond Risk, Study Warns

Vegas Hotel Bakes Guests Poolside

2010-10-18T15:04:00.000-05:00

On another blog, I posted links to several stories about the Vdara, a hotel in Las Vegas. It has a curved, reflective surface that concentrates heat in an area by the pool. It greatly discomforts the unfortunate guest it lands on. IW concentrates on civil infrastructure rather than architecture, but the story can be a reminder to even engineers that design decisions can have unanticipated results and unintended consequences, so the links are repeated below.

-Hot Architecture: Vegas 'Death Ray' Singes Tourists
-Is new Vegas hotel too hot?
-Sunbather Singed by Shiny Hotel’s Reflected “Death Rays”
-Vdara visitor: Death ray scorched hair

Infrastructure & Recovery News

2010-10-08T09:57:00.002-05:00

Did the White House Meet its Stimulus Goal? (Weise, K., & Grabell, M., ProPublica, Oct. 1, 2010)
Report gives stimulus package high marks (Montgomery, L., Washington Post, Oct. 1, 2010)

Hard times then, hard times now as another stimulus is in the works (McNamara, T., Blueprint America, Sept. 15, 2010)

First Stimulus Project to Begin Construction Opens (Infrastructure Watch, Aug. 23, 2010)
Government Accountability Office Watches Recovery Act Implementation (Infrastructure Watch, Aug. 23, 2010)
ODOT's stimulus money creates jobs, funds about 300 projects (Off, G., Tulsa World, Aug. 24, 2010)

$800 Million in Stimulus Will Expand Broadband (New York Times [Reuters], July 2, 2010)
More jobs 'saved or created' by stimulus, White House says (USA Today [Associated Press], July 14, 2010)
Show Me the Money: Stimulus & Infrastructure News (Infrastructure Watch, July 7, 2010)
Signs of the Stimulus (Karl, J., & Simmons, G., ABC News, July 14, 2010)

National News

2010-09-29T10:48:00.001-05:00

Airport Improvement Program Extension Passes Congress

A bill to extend the Airport Improvement Program (H.R. 6190) and the taxes that fund it passes both the House of Representatives and the Senate. The bill awaits presidential signature.

Bill Would Alot Additional SRF Funds to Smart Growth States

Rep. Frank Kratovil (MD) has introduced a bill (H.R. 6182) that would provide additional capitalization grants to the clean water state revolving fund (SRF) in states that adopt smart growth principles. The additional appropriation would be 5 percent of the appropriation for the normal capitalization grants.

Infrastructure Bank Proponents

Infrastructure bank proposals have found advocates in Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa and the Treasury Department’s Assistant Secretary for Economic Policy Alan Krueger.

Missouri Transportation Infrastructure Draws Attention

2010-09-20T15:23:00.001-05:00

The state capital isn’t the only Missouri location getting attention. The I-64 corridor project in St. Louis is a finalist for the America’s Transportation Award from the American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials. In addition to being a finalist for the grand prize, the project is eligible for the “People’s Choice Award.” If you’d like to be a people who makes this choice for the I-64 project, vote here. (Find more at the Missouri Department of Transportation [MODOT] news release here.)

Missouri made other improvements in transportation infrastructure. In the latest highway report from the Reason Foundation, Missouri leapt to 8th place from its previous ranking at 24th place. (See more from the MODOT news release here.)

National Infrastructure Bank Proposal

2010-09-20T15:18:00.001-05:00

It may seem hard to believe, but I’m a little tired of writing about infrastructure bank proposals. Maybe I’m just feeling lazy after my vacation. At any rate, if you’re interested in learning more about President Obama’s proposal, check out these posts, articles and commentaries.

Assessing Obama's Infrastructure Plan (Madigan, T., National Journal)
The Case for an Infrastructure Bank (Rohatyn, F., Wall Street Journal)
What is the National Infrastructure Bank? (Itkowitz, C., Morning Call)
Would a National Infrastructure Bank Help? (Indiviglio, D., The Atlantic)

Jefferson City, MO, Part of Greening America’s Capitals Program

2010-09-20T15:12:00.003-05:00

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has selected Jefferson City, MO, (home of Infrastructure Watch) for green design assistance that includes cleaning up and recycling vacant lands, providing greater housing and transportation choices, reducing energy costs and improving waterways. Through its new Greening America’s Capitals program, EPA will fund private sector experts to provide sustainable design assistance to Jefferson City, Boston, MA; Hartford, CT; Charleston, WV.; and Little Rock, AR.

Greening Americas Capitals is a new project of the Partnership for Sustainable Communities, an agreement between EPA, the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD), and the U.S. Department of Transportation (DOT) to coordinate federal housing, transportation, and environmental investments; protect public health and the environment; promote equitable development; and help address the challenges of climate change. HUD and DOT were involved in the review and selection process and will provide technical expertise on relevant portions of each project.

Jefferson City and the four other state capitals were selected from a total of 38 cities that responded to a solicitation of interest. EPA will now organize teams of urban planners and landscape architects to provide direct, customized technical assistance as requested by Jefferson City officials. Greening America’s Capitals provides direct technical assistance to communities by working with private sector experts and leveraging partnerships, such as with HUD and DOT, to consider implementation options.

Jefferson City’s primary area of focus is bounded on the west by U.S. Highways 63/54, on the north by the Missouri River, on the south by U.S. Highways 50/63, and by the Capitol Building on the east. Wears Creek and vacant properties within the area provide the greatest opportunity for reconnecting nearby residents in the Southside neighborhood to the riverfront. Wears Creek can serve as an important connection to planned bike and pedestrian greenways.

EPA‘s support of the Jefferson City project is also undertaken to advance EPA’s Urban Waters focus, which seeks to support communities in their efforts to access, improve, and benefit from their urban waters and surrounding lands. EPA’s Urban Waters efforts place particular emphasis on engaging underserved neighborhoods and on providing equitable access to urban waters through well-planned community revitalization leading to improved urban water quality. EPA’s assistance to Jefferson City will integrate the goals of both the agency’s urban waters and livability efforts.

Partners on this project include: Governor Jay “Boondoggle Bridge” Nixon, State Senator Carl Vogel, Jefferson City Mayor John Landwehr, Missouri Department of Natural Resources, Missouri Department of Transportation, Missouri State Office of Administration Jefferson City Council, Jefferson City Housing Authority & Land Clearance Authority, Jefferson City Environmental Quality Commission, Jefferson City Planning & Zoning Commission, Jefferson City Parks & Recreation Department (tangentially, they have an adult kickball league), Historic Jefferson City, Old Town Revitalization Company, Downtown Association, Convention & Visitors Bureau, and the Jefferson City Area Chamber of Commerce.

Book Review: How to Write & Present Technical Information by Charles H. Sides

2010-09-20T15:07:00.002-05:00

Sides, Charles H. How to Write & Present Technical Information. 2nd ed. Phoenix, AZ: Oryx, 1991.

How to Write & Present Technical Information is a brief, informal, informative guide to communicating technical information in a variety of formats. It’s for anyone who writes or presents technical information as part of their work, including, but not limited to, technical writers. Its main audience is workers in high-tech industries, but the principles are applicable to most technical information.

This book differs from some other guides to technical writing in its emphasis on audience analysis. It devotes a chapter to the subject and revisits it several times throughout. Using the recommended questions, one can profile an audience and decide what should be included or left out of a document or presentation and how to present it.

Organization is also a major issue in the books and several ways of organizing technical information are presented. Many of the chapters apply organizing principles to particular types of documents.

A variety of documents is covered in this short book. These include technical documentation, user guides, papers, articles, memos, specifications, procedures, proposals, reports, and product descriptions. It also covers the use of graphics in written documents and visual aids in presentations.

The importance of grammar is discussed, but only a few common grammatical problems are discussed. If readers are looking for a detailed guide to issues of grammar and punctuation, they’ll need to turn to a stylebook.

Though grammar and punctuation is glossed over, editing is covered in some detail. The author recommends a process of editing in layers beginning with the organizational logic (do the ideas flow and make sense?). From there, an editor moves in order to the mechanical development of topics (is the structure of parts, paragraphs and sentences correct, and does it work?), style (is it appropriate and varied?), and manuscript quality (is it orderly and clear, with enough good headings?). Proofreading is tackled last because there is a temptation to think that all the editing is done when the proofreading is done, but proofreading alone may overlook larger problems with a manuscript.

The author draws on his own experience as a technical writer and teacher of technical communications. His experience is the source of several examples and illustrations.

As you might expect from a book that is almost a decade old, some of the references to technology and software are dated. However, the principles of clear communication are the same, which makes this book hold up as a reference.

If you’re interested in this book, you may also be interested in
The Elements of Technical Writing by Gary Blake and Robert W. Bly

First Stimulus Project to Begin Construction Opens

2010-08-23T17:00:00.000-05:00

Missouri rushed to be the first state to begin construction on a project funded by the American Recover and Reinvestment Act. Construction on the bridge over the Osage River near the rural town of Tuscumbia, which replaces an older bridge, began about 18 months ago and it was opened to traffic earlier this month. You can find out a little more from the Missouri Department of Transportation news release and blog.

Congressional Activity

2010-08-23T16:55:00.003-05:00

BILLS INTRODUCED

S. 3736, introduced by Sen. James Inhofe (OK), would allow states to opt out of the corn ethanol portion of the renewable fuel standards of the Clean Air Act.

The Small-Scale Hydropower Enhancement Act of 2010 (H.R. 5922), introduced by Rep. Adrian Smith (NE), would exempt small hydroelectric projects (1.5 megawatts or less) from the requirements of the Federal Power Act.

BILLS REFERED TO COMMITTEE

A Roadmap for America’s Energy Future (H.R. 5899) was referred to the House Subcommittee on Water Resources and Environment. The bill would set policy related the management of mineral energy resources and investment in other energy resources.

BILLS SCHEDULED FOR DEBATE

The Economic Revitalization and Innovation Act of 2010 (H.R. 5897), makes various revisions to the Public Works and Economic Development Act of 1965.

The Water Resources Development Act of 2010 (H.R 5892), deals with the authorization for a host of Corp of Engineers projects and studies.

CONGRESSIONAL AGENCIES RELEASE REPORTS

Water Infrastructure Financing: Stakeholder Views on a National Infrastructure Bank and Public-Private Partnerships (Government Accountability Office, GAO-10-728)

Using Biofuel Tax Credits to Achieve Energy and Environmental Policy Goals (Congressional Budget Office)

Government Accountability Office Watches Recovery Act Implementation

2010-08-23T16:49:00.002-05:00

The Government Accountability Office (GAO) has monitored the implementation of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA)and issued several reports. Some of the issues raised by the GAO are summarized below.

Jobs Reporting

ARRA requires assistance recipients to report on jobs created and retained by their projects. GAO found that there were inconsistencies in guidance and the calculation of full time equivalents (FTEs) that might affect the reported figures and the aggregation of jobs. They believed that recipients were making a good faith effort to report correctly.

Federal Requirements Effect Project Timing, Selection, Starts

GAO found that federal agencies and states reported that federal requirements related to ARRA affected the timing, selection, and starts of projects. The requirements that seemed to have the most effect were Davis-Bacon and Buy American.

The Davis-Bacon Act requires contractors on federal projects to pay local prevailing wages to laborers and mechanics. Generally, it applies to direct contracts with the federal government. It applies to all projects that are funded with ARRA funds. Timing of some projects was effected by this requirement. It seems likely that this is because these requirements are new to 40 programs because of the attachment of the requirement to ARRA funds.

The ARRA Buy American requirements are new to all the affected programs. The selection and start of some projects were effected by this requirement.

Though some projects were affected by federal requirements, it appears they have caused few significant problems for overall program implementation. Only a few agencies surveyed by GAO reported major problems.

The information for this post was draw from these GAO reports:
Officials’ Views Vary on Impacts of Davis-Bacon Act Prevailing Wage Provision (
GAO-10-421)
Project Selection and Starts Are Influenced by Certain Federal Requirements and Other Factors (GAO-10-383)
Recipient Reported Jobs Data Provide Some Insight into Use of Recovery Act Funding, but Data Quality and Reporting Issues Need Attention (GAO-10-223)

GAO has also issued these reports on ARRA:
One Year Later, States’ and Localities’ Uses of Funds and Opportunities to Strengthen Accountability (GAO-10-437)
California’s Use of Funds and Efforts to Ensure Accountability (GAO-10-467T)
Clean Water Projects Are Underway, but Procedures May Not Be in Place to Ensure Adequate Oversight (GAO-10-761T)
Contracting Approaches and Oversight Used by Selected Federal Agencies and States (GAO-10-809)
Factors Affecting the Department of Energy's Program Implementation (GAO-10-497T)
Increasing the Public’s Understanding of What Funds Are Being Spent on and What Outcomes Are Expected (GAO-10-581)
Recipient Reported Jobs Data Provide Some Insight into Use of Recovery Act Funding, but Data Quality and Reporting Issues Need Attention (GAO-10-224T)
States’ and Localities’ Uses of Funds and Actions Needed to Address Implementation Challenges and Bolster Accountability (GAO-10-604)
States’ Use of Highway and Transit Funds and Efforts to Meet the Act’s Requirements (GAO-10-312T)

Check out these posts and articles for additional information on ARRA:
Infrastructure & Stimulus News
Recovery Act and Infrastructure in the News
Recovery Act and Infrastructure News
Show Me the Money: Stimulus & Infrastructure News
States Obligate All Highway Stimulus Funds
What’s Up in Congress

Show Me the Money: Stimulus & Infrastructure News

2010-07-07T11:01:00.002-05:00

What’s Up in Congress (Infrastructure Watch, July 7, 2010)

Denali Park to get new waste treatment plant (Fairbanks Daily News-Miner, June 4, 2010)
Infrastructure & Stimulus News (Infrastructure Watch, June 17, 2010)
KDOT Secretary Says Stimulus is Working (KSAL, June 22, 2010)
LaHood: “$500-600 billion” need for road, bridge improvements (Blume, B., KMOX, June 7, 2010)
State's last highway stimulus project doesn't mean end of impact (Dresser, M., Baltimore Sun, June 17, 2010)

New Investigations of Stimulus Waste, Fraud and Abuse (Grabell, M., ProPublica, March 22, 2010)

Contractor had red flags (Lewis, R., Sacramento Bee, Jan. 26, 2010)

State controller puts hold on $7M stimulus project (Lovett, K., New York Daily News, Aug. 25, 2009)

I-10 stimulus contract questioned (Holstege, S., Arizona Republic, July 22, 2009)

What’s Up in Congress

2010-07-07T10:54:00.003-05:00

Axe the Plaque is Back

Rep. Aaron Schock (IL) has introduced the End the Stimulus Advertisement Act (H.R. 5679), which would prohibit funds from the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 (ARRA) from being used to pay for signs indicating the project is ARRA funded. The bill would also reduce appropriations for administration of ARRA-funded agencies to recover the funds already spent on signs.

Senate Bill Calls for Study of Mississippi River-Great Lakes Separation

Sen. Debbie Stabenow (MI) introduced the Permanent Prevention of Asian Carp Act of 2010 (S. 3553). The bill calls for a study by the Corp of Engineers to study the feasibility of hydrologic separation of the basins of the Mississippi River and the Great Lakes in order to prevent the spread of aquatic nuisance species

Senate Bill Would Establish Green Infrastructure Program, Centers

Sen. Tom Udall (NM) introduced the Green Infrastructure for Clean Water Act of 2010 (S. 3561). The bill would establish centers for excellence in green infrastructure throughout the United States and create a green infrastructure program in the Environmental Protection Agency.

Related posts and articles

Bill Watch—111th Congress
Bill Would Axe Stimulus Plaques
Green Infrastructure Bill Introduced
Infrastructure & Stimulus News

Infrastructure & Stimulus News

2010-06-17T11:43:00.001-05:00

County plans paving projects using recovery act funds (The Progress, June 4, 2010)
Madison Suburban Utility District to be upgraded (Humbles, A., The Tennessean, June 8, 2010)
State recognized for efficient use of ARRA funds for water projects (Huntington News, June 8, 2010)

$1.5 Million Waldron Dam Work To Start (Times Record, May 18, 2010)
ARRA funds play key role in putting Americans to work, report stays (The Trucker, May 11, 2010)
Highway Paint Is in Short Supply: Outages reduced supply of key ingredient as stimulus work kicked up demand (Parsons, J., Engineering News-Record, May 26, 2010)
Maryland’s Largest ARRA Transportation Project Gets Started (GovMonitor, May 18, 2010)
Missouri communities have put out for bid, awarded and started construction of projects totaling 100% of the state's allocation (Daily Dunklin Democrat, May 21, 2010)
Missouri Top State in Wastewater Stimulus Funding Use (Infrastructure Watch, May 28, 2009)
Recovery Act and Infrastructure News (Infrastructure Watch, May 11, 2010)

Corps of Engineers Begins New Missouri River Plan

2010-06-10T10:48:00.001-05:00

The U.S. Corps of Engineers has started a new round of planning for its management of the Missouri River with public hearings in Missouri. The new 5-year study begins on the heels of a recently completed 15-year Corps study, which passed last year in spite of the objection of the Missouri’s entire congressional delegation.

Related posts and articles:
Corps collects river recommendations
Meetings about the future of Missouri River to be held
Missouri River News Bulletin

Missouri Top State in Wastewater Stimulus Funding Use

2010-05-28T11:48:00.001-05:00

The House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee recently recognized Missouri as the state that has most aggressively moved wastewater projects funded by the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA) through the Clean Water State Revolving Fund (CWSRF). This is very good news considering that Missouri was the last state in the Environmental Protection Agency’s Region 7 to be awarded ARRA funds for the CWSRF.

You can read a news release from the Missouri governor’s office here.

Related posts and articles
Missouri Receives Stimulus Funds for Drinking Water and Wastewater

Kansas City to Improve Sewers, Decrease Overflows

2010-05-28T11:45:00.004-05:00

The City of Kansas City, MO, agreed to make extensive improvements to its sewer systems, at a cost of more than $2.5 billion over 25 years, to eliminate unauthorized overflows of untreated raw sewage and to reduce pollution levels in urban stormwater. A consent decree filed with the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Missouri requires the city to implement an overflow control plan.

When completed, the sewer system will be able to capture and convey combined stormwater and sewage to the city’s treatment plants. This will keep untreated sewage from reaching surface waters.

Under the agreement, Kansas City will pay a civil penalty of $600,000 to the federal government, in addition to the $2.5 billion it will spend to repair, modify and rebuild its sewer system. As part of the agreement, the city will spend $1.6 million on a supplemental environmental project to implement a voluntary sewer connection and septic tank closure program for income-eligible residential property owners who elect to close their septic tanks and connect to the public sewer.

Kansas City’s, sewer system collects and receives domestic, commercial and industrial wastewater from a population of approximately 650,000 people in the city and 27 neighboring satellite communities, including a portion of Johnson County, KS. The system covers more than 420 square miles, and includes seven wastewater treatment plants, 38 pumping stations and more than 2,800 miles of sewer lines, making it one of the nation’s largest.

Of the 420 square miles covered by the system, 58 square miles mostly within the city’s urban core are presently served by combined sewers, which carry both stormwater and wastewater, and the remainder of the system is served by separated sewers. Under the consent decree, Kansas City has agreed to expedite certain projects that are expected to provide more immediate relief to residences and other properties situated in under-served areas of the city.

Since 2002, Kansas City has experienced approximately 1,294 illegal sewer overflows, including at least 138 unpermitted combined sewer overflows, 390 sanitary sewer overflows, and 766 backups in buildings and private properties. The overflows are in violation of the federal Clean Water Act and the terms of the city’s National Pollution Discharge Elimination System (NPDES) permits for operation of its sewer system.

The settlement is subject to a 30-day public comment period and approval by the federal court. A copy of the consent decree is available on the Justice Department Web site and on the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Region 7 Web site.

You can read the original EPA news release here.

Book Review: Copernicus’ Secret by Jack Repcheck

2010-05-28T11:42:00.002-05:00

Repcheck, Jack. Copernicus’ Secret. New York: Simon & Schuster, 2007.

Copernicus is famous for kicking off the scientific revolution by proclaiming his heliocentric (sun-centered) theory of the universe. Someone who reads much about the scientific revolution that came about in the 15th and 16th centuries will come across his name. Even so, there are many misconceptions regarding the astronomer.

The main misconception is that Copernicus was prosecuted for his heliocentric theory. Though his book on the subject was eventually banned by the Roman Catholic Church for about two centuries, he was an official of the church who had taken first orders and he was mostly well received in both the scientific and religious communities of his day. His primary book on the subject wasn’t even published until the very end of his life.

Copernicus had his share of troubles. One he brought on himself by keeping a mistress. His ordination included a vow of celibacy. The other came from being an official of Catholic government in a territory surrounded by recently converted Lutheran countries.

Oddly enough, it was Lutheran mathematics professor who helped the Catholic astronomer prepare is book for publication. Joachim Rheticus was educated at Wittenberg where he taught astronomy and astrology (astrology was widely accepted at the time and practiced by almost all astronomers). He was given a leave of absence, which he stretched out for three years before returning to his duties, and took it upon himself to find Copernicus and become his student.

This was a dangerous situation for Rheticus, Lutherans were banned from Copernicus’ home territory of Warmia, and doubly so for Copernicus because of his role as a church and civil official. That he housed a Lutheran seemed to have been tolerated better than his long affair with a woman.

Copernicus’ Secret is an interesting look at the astronomer’s professional life and its development. It touches on his personal life, especially his long-term relationship with the mistress who lived with him until he was forced to break off the relationship, but this part is much weaker. This may be because Copernicus was a private person. Even so, Repcheck show’s that trouble Copernicus faced had more to do with his personal life and the political tensions of the day than with his proposal of a heliocentric universe.

If you’re interested in this book, you may also be interested in
The Unfinished Game by Keith Devlin

Book Review: The Elements of Technical Writing by Gary Blake and Robert W. Bly

2010-05-28T11:39:00.002-05:00

Blake, Gary, & Robert W. Bly. The Elements of Technical Writing. New York: McMillan, 1993.

I read many technical documents and wrote a few. Most could be better.

I admit it can be difficult to write documents that are correct and detailed that are also succinct and clear. Blake and Bly offer a lot of advice on good technical writing. Their pointers are applicable to reports, articles, manuals, specifications and proposals.

In addition to providing instruction on technical writing, the book is also a reference. Technical writers or the technical professionals who are writing could use it as a stylebook. Since it focuses on technical writing, it is shorter than most general stylebooks.

The Elements of Technical Writing is a model of good technical writing. The authors use of the principles they espouse. In particular, the book is very well organized. Readers who are seeking direction on a particular issue will be able to quickly find it by referring to the table of contents, the index or even a quick flip through the chapters.

Technology changes, so the chapter on software writing aids is probably outdated. However, the principles of good writing and the needs of people to understand technology have not changed, so the rest of the book remains useful.

Book Review: The Brooklyn Bridge by Judith St. George

2010-05-28T11:37:00.001-05:00

St. George, Judith. The Brooklyn Bridge: They Said It Couldn’t Be Built. New York: Putnam, 1982.

Published shortly before the centennial of the Brooklyn Bridge, this book is a short history of bridge. The story of the bridge is necessarily the story of the Roeblings, the family responsible for designing the bridge and overseeing its construction.

When the builders completed the bridge in 1883, it was at the end of 14 years of construction. The plan for the bridge went back further to 1857 when engineer and German immigrant John Roebling first proposed a bridge across the East River to connect New York to Brooklyn. At the time, the only communication across the river was by ferry. Roebling was the leading suspension bridge engineer in the United States.

The bridge would not get needed support until after the Civil War. In the mean time, Roebling’s son Washington would be come a skilled engineer in own right, studying Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, getting a practical education working with his father and studying bridge-building techniques in Europe in the company of his wife, Emily. He also was trained in leadership, having risen to the rank of colonel in the Army during the Civil War.

The bridge took a great toll on the Roeblings. John was killed by tetanus early in the development of the project. Washington’s health was ruined by caisson’s disease (the bends) and for many years Emily acted as his hand, feet, eyes and ears on the bridge project.

St. George’s brief book is a quick read, but for its brevity still a good overview of the bridges development and construction. It includes several photos and illustrations. It seems suitable for younger readers, but is not too simplistic for an adult reader who wants a quick introduction to the bridge and its early history.

If you’re interested in this book, you may also be interested in
Dreams of Iron and Steel by Deborah Cadbury

Book Review: The Numbers Game by Michael Blastland & Andrew Dilnot

2010-05-28T11:34:00.002-05:00

Blastland, Michael, & Andrew Dilnot. The Numbers Game. New York: Gotham, 2009.

The media is full of numbers that purport to tell us something important about our health, government programs and other things affecting life. These numbers can be confusing. Too often, they are misleading or meaningless.

The authors of The Numbers Game uncover the weakness and occasional strengths of the numbers in the news as they did on their BBC television series More or Less. However, the book is not an exposé. It’s a guide to making sense of these numbers. They provide perspective and pointers to make the numbers less confusing.

The perspective on numbers is that counting people and things related to their behavior is very difficult. People don’t fit tidily into neat categories, they move, change their minds, experience misfortunes and luck and sometimes even lie. The people who count people can have problems of their own like bias, poor methods and plain wrongheadedness. Even well meaning people and organizations call fall prey to logical fallacies. Blastland and Dilnot want you to have a healthy skepticism, but not to become cynical about the whole affair. Careful counting by people aware and respectful of the limitations of numbers can produce very useful information.

When you see numbers in the news, you can turn to the pointers to make sense of them. For instance, keep things on a human scale. When you see the huge cost of a government program, what does it cost per person or per unit of whatever is to be increased or decrease? On that scale, is it reasonable and realistic? Another tip is to remember that correlation is not causality. That two things rise and fall together (or inversely) doesn’t necessarily mean one causes the other, something else my influence both. In addition, though it seems unlikely, improbable things happen all the time.

Each of the pointers on how to understand numbers can be turned around. The people that count, make decisions based on numbers and report on numbers can do a better job by keeping numbers in perspective and making them more understandable.

If you’re interested in this book, you may also be interested in
The Unfinished Game by Keith Devlin

National Infrastructure Bank Proposals Keep Coming

2010-05-11T10:56:00.000-05:00

Many in Congress think the President Obama’s I-Fund proposal falls short of what they’d like to see in a national infrastructure bank. (The I-Fund isn’t really a bank, but more of a competitive grant for transportation infrastructure.) Lawmakers from Connecticut in particular are pushing for a bank that would be capitalized by the government and run by an independent board. The bank would be authorized to finance a variety of infrastructure projects in addition to transportation. They’d like to see a bill pass this year.

Related posts and articles:
Another National Infrastructure Bank Bill Proposed
As Geithner Touts Infrastructure, Skepticism Persists on $4B ‘I-Fund’ Plan
Budget Proposal Includes Something Like a Transportation Infrastructure Bank
DeLauro Pushes Alternative to ‘Disappointing’ White House I-Fund
Dodd and DeLauro Vow to Get Infrastructure Bank Done This Year
Infrastructure “Bank” Proposals Continue to Get Attention
LaHood Talks Budget: “Very Bright” Future for Infrastructure Fund

Recovery Act and Infrastructure News

2010-05-11T10:53:00.001-05:00

Contractors add 14,000 jobs in April (Haughey, J., Reed Construction Data, May 7, 2010)
It Is Time to Get Ready for the Construction Recovery (Haughey, J., Reed Construction Data, May 3, 2010)
Stimulus aids few Georgia bridges (Redmon, J., et al, Atlanta Journal-Constitution, May 9, 2010)
Stimulus recipients report high job creation during first quarter (Brodsky, R., Government Executive, May 3, 2010)

Highway work expected to fuel demand for cement (Sullivan, A., Seattle Daily Journal of Commerce, April 30, 2010)

States Obligate All Highway Stimulus Funds (Infrastructure Watch, March 10, 2010)
Stimulus funds target infrastructure (Showley, R., San Diego Union-Tribune, March 10, 2010)

Agencies find errors in Recovery Act spending reports (Brodsky, R., Government Executive, Feb. 11, 2010)
Missouri Environment & Infrastructure Roundup (Infrastructure Watch, Feb. 1, 2010)
Report finds federal regulations have delayed stimulus projects (Brodsky, R., Government Executive, Feb. 19, 2010)

Massive New Study Confirms Stimulus Spending On Road Construction Does Nothing To Lower Unemployment (Business Insiders, Jan. 11, 2010)
Recovery Act and Infrastructure in the News (Infrastructure Watch, Jan. 26, 2010)