Energy, Transportation, Water & Missouri News

ENERGY

U.S. Military Agency Seeks to Protect Grid

The Defense Advanced Research Project Agency (DARPA) has announced plans to develop systems for the protection of critical infrastructure from cyber-attacks. You can find out more in this article or the DARPA Web site. If you’d like to find out more about the vulnerabilities of the U.S. electric grid, you may be interested in Lights Out by Ted Koppel.

TRANSPORTATION

Could You Pay to Name a Missouri Road?

A bill introduced into the Missouri House of Representatives, HB 728, would allow the state Highways and Transportation Commission to sell naming rights to roads and bridges. You can find more about the bill here.

Hyperloop Considers Missouri

Missouri is one of the semifinalists for consideration for the construction of a Hyperloop, a high-speed transportation system that could go from Kansas City to St. Louis in 23 minutes. The Missouri Department of Transportation conceives of it as part of a reconstructed Interstate 70 corridor—the segment of I-70 that crosses Missouri is considered the first completed portion of the interstate system. You can find more about this proposal, about which there remain many questions, here or here.

Missouri Bill: Move Over for Utility Vehicles

A bill recently passed in the Missouri House, HB 85, that would require drivers to pull over or slow down when driving by a utility vehicle that is flashing lights. A similar requirement exists for emergency response vehicles such as fire and police. The bill will move on to the Senate. You can find more here.

Missouri and Illinois Rivers Could be Part of Trump Infrastructure Plan

Though President Donald Trump’s proposed infrastructure plan is not final, locks and dams on the Mississippi and Illinois Rivers could make the list. Seven locks, five on the Upper Mississippi River and two on the Illinois River, aid barge transportation to Chicago and Minneapolis. A proposal to improve the seven locks and undertake related stream and habitat restoration projects was taken up by Congress in 2007, but never received an appropriation. If the project is supported by the Trump administration, it is not certain that the president would support the environmental aspect of the program, which would likely undermine the support it has received from major environmental groups. You can read more about this here.

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WATER

Trump Order Could Roll Back Federal Regulation of Streams

President Trump issued an executive order that lead to rescinding the 2015 Clean Water Rule. It is not clear what rule may replace it, but some suspect it will limit or eliminate federal regulation of intermittent streams.

The 2015 rule, promulgated under the administration of President Barrack Obama, clarified federal jurisdiction over certain waters. Opponents sued claiming that the rule actually extended federal jurisdiction. A federal court ordered federal agencies to not implement while it considered the case.

You can find more about this issue here.

Courts Overturn EPA Rules

Cellulosic Biofuel Mandate

The U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia overturned Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) rules setting quotas for cellulosic biofuels use.  These quotas began after passage of a law in 2007 to encourage “advanced” biofuels.

Production of cellulosic biofuels has been slower than projected.  The American Petroleum Institute, which brought the suit against the EPA, argued that gasoline refiners were required to meet a requirement they had little control over meeting.  The cellulosic biofuel producers were getting all the carrots; the gas producers were getting all the sticks.

The court more or less agreed.  They found that the quota was not consistent with likely Congressional intent.  In addition, the rule differed from other environmental regulation in that the group regulated, refiners, was not the group in control of the technology the agency wanted to develop, producers of cellulosic biofuels.

This is not a complete overturn of quotas for advanced biofuels use.  There are more widely available non-cellulosic biofuels that meet the legal definition of advanced biofuels that the agency can substitute to keep up the quota.

Stormwater Is Not a Pollutant

EPA also lost a case in federal district court related to stormwater discharges.  EPA rules established in 2011 limited stormwater discharges into Accontic Creek, a tributary of the Potomac River.  Virginia sued claiming that EPA only has the authority to limit pollutants, not the discharge of stormwater itself.  The court agreed.

So far, it is not common for EPA to regulate stormwater discharge as a surrogate for setting limits on the pollutants in stormwater.  They have used the strategy only in Virginia and Missouri.

Related posts and articles

Court Overturns E.P.A.’s Biofuels Mandate (Wald, M. L., New York Times, Jan. 25, 2013)

Judge: EPA Can't Treat Stormwater as Pollutant (Honeywell, R., Governing FedWatch blog, Jan. 8, 2013)

Book Review: The Big Thirst by Charles Fishman

More than 1 billion people do not have access to clean drinking water.  Australia has suffered a decade-long, continent-wide drought.  Even seemingly water rich places, like Atlanta, Georgia, can’t get enough water.  Many are talking of a global water crisis.  Except, as Charles Fishman aptly states it in The Big Thirst, “There is no global water crisis, there are a thousand water crises, each distinct.”

I think the story of Atlanta and Lake Lanier, as told recounted by Fishman, is especially instructive.  Lake Lanier on the Chatahoochee River is the source of 75 percent of the water used by Atlanta, 5 million gallons a day.  A drought in 2007-2008 brought the level of the lake dangerously low, prompting downstream states to sue over the amount of water Atlanta was taking.  The federal court declared that Atlanta had been illegally receiving water from the lake and had to find another source.  Atlanta has a lot of resources, barely tapped conservation efforts, reuse, and alternative supplies, but with a lack of political will, leadership, and vision, it leaders threw up their hands in impotent defiance of the court and whined they must have Lake Lanier water.  When the lake was built, Atlanta passed on paying for a piece of it thinking it would never be needed, and now they think they can’t live without it.

Part of the point Fishman makes it that water crises are more often than not political crises.  There is a lack of political will and sense of necessity, even though the problems can be plain and the solutions within reach.  The Big Thirst includes examples from around the world (the United States, India, and especially Australia) where people are facing water problems.  Happily, many of them have taken a more realistic and reasonable approach than Atlanta.

Fishman is going for something deeper, though.  Our political and economic stumbling in the area of water management stems for our cultural relationship with water.  It is obviously necessary for life.  We also consider it beautiful, it is part of our landscape, and in some places it has important religious significance.  Even so, we have difficulty understanding the value of water, comparing one use to another, assigning responsibility for its distribution and quality, acknowledging the infrastructure needed to have water when and where it is needed.  It the West, where for the last century we have enjoyed incredible access to abundant water, we hardly ever think about water unless we have some professional connection to it.

We can’t continue to be mindless of water.  The systems of water abundance we built in the last century aren’t sustainable without major ongoing investment.  In light of climate change, they may be altogether unsustainable.  Even without climate change, much of our water policy dates to a time of unusual water abundance.

Fishman encourages water mindfulness.  We need to reconnect to water.  In part, this reconnecting means understanding what it means to have water in our homes and in our streams.  It is also connecting to how critical water is to food, energy, commerce, health, and almost every aspect of life.  Our decisions about water need to be rooted in reality.

If you’re interested in this book, you may also be interested in

Blue Revolution by Cynthia Barnett

Elixir by Brian Fagan

Water by Marq de Villiers

Water by Steven Solomon

When the Rivers Run Dry by Fred Pearce

I’ve also written about Atlanta and Lake Lanier at Infrastructure Watch:

Courts Could Affect Uses of Lake Lanier

Georgia Appeals Lake Lanier Decision

Georgia Loses Lake Lanier Battle

Judge Winnows Down Central Question in Lake Lanier Case

Fishman, Charles.  The Big Thirst: The Secret Life and Turbulent Future of Water.  New York: Free Press, 2011.

This review of The Big Thirst by Charles Fishman appears courtesy of Keenan’s Book Reviews, were you can find more books about water.

Water Security Act of 2007 Introduced in Senate

Sen. James M. Inhofe (Oklahoma) has introduced the Water Security Act of 2007 (S.1968). This bill would make several grant programs available through the Environmental Protection Agency.

First, grants would be available to state, local and privately owned wastewater treatment works and community water systems to work on vulnerability assessments, security enhancements, emergency response plans, site security plans and mutual aid agreements. These grants could fund up to half of the project costs.

The bill also provides for technical assistance to small water and wastewater systems (serving populations less than 10,000) for vulnerability assessments, emergency response plans, site security plans and security enhancements. This might be done through a grant to one or more nonprofit organizations. Another grant may go to one or more nonprofits to refine the vulnerability assessment methodology.

Finally, the bill provides for training grants. The training is for water and wastewater systems to help them conduct vulnerability assessments, develop emergency response plans and identify security enhancements.

BIBLIOGRAPHY

GUIDE TO WATER CONSERVATION

bibliography

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Beecher, J. A., & Flowers, J. E.  (1999, May).  Water accounting for management and conservation.  Opflow, pp. 6-11.

Crook, J., MacDonald, J. A., & Rhodes, R. R.  (1999).  Potable use of reclaimed water.  Journal AWWA.  91(8): 40-49.

Cuthbert, R. W.  (1989).  Effectiveness of conservation-oriented water rates in Tucson.  Journal AWWA.  81(3): 65-73.

Cuthbert, R. W., & Lemoine, P. R.  (1996).  Conservation-oriented water rates.  Journal AWWA.  88(11): 68-78.

DeOreo, W. B., Dietteman, A., Skeel, T., Mayer, P. W., Lewis, D. M., & Smith, J.  (2001).  Retrofit realities.  Journal AWWA.  93(3): 58-72.

Depperschmidt, A.  (2010).  Denver Water uses laughs for serious conservation.  Journal AWWA.  102(2): 81-83.

Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).  (1995).  A Guide to Clean Water Through Conservation.  EPA 841-B-95-002.  Washington, DC: EPA

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-----.  (1999).  Funding Water Conservation and Reuse with the Clean Water State Revolving Fund.  EPA 832-F-99-050.  Washington, DC: EPA

-----.  (2002b).  Funding Water Efficiency Through State Revolving Fund Programs.  Washington, DC: EPA.

-----.  (2003).  Irrigation Controllers: Timers for the Homeowner: Recommended Water Saving Features.  EPA 832-K-03-001.  Washington, DC: EPA.

-----.  (1992).  Manual: Guidelines for Water Reuse.  Washington, DC: EPA.

-----.  (2000).  Using Water Efficiently: Ideas for Communities.  EPA 832-F-99-083.  Washington, DC: EPA.

Gregg, T. T., Strub, D., & Gross, D.  (2007).  Water efficiency in Austin, Texas, 1983-2005: A historical perspective.  Journal AWWA.  99(2): 76-86.

Grisham, A., & Fleming, W. M.  (1989).  Long-term options for municipal water conservation.  Journal AWWA.  81(3): 43-47.

Hunter, M., Donmoyer, K., Chelius, J., & Naumick, G. (2011, May).  Declining residential water use presents challenges, opportunities.  Opflow, pp. 18-20.

Jordan, J. L. (2002, June).  Rates—consider conservation pricing.  Opflow, pp. 13, 16.

Levin, E. R., Maddaus, W. O., Sandkulla, N. M., & Pohl, H.  (2006).  Forecasting wholesale water demand and conservation savings.  Journal AWWA.  98(2): 102-111.

Luo, S.  (2010).  Achieving water conservation and energy efficiency with tankless water heaters.  Journal AWWA.  102(2): 84-85.

Macy, P. P., & Maddaus, W. O.  (1989).  Cost-benefit analysis of conservation program.  Journal AWWA.  81(3): 48-51.

Maddaus, W. O.  (1990).  Integrating Water conservation into total water management.  Journal AWWA.  82(#): 12-13.

Manzione, M., Jordan, B., & Maddaus, W. O.  (1991).  California industries cut water use.  Journal AWWA.  83(10): 65-73.

Maxwell, S.  (2010).  The concept of virtual water: Understanding our real water use.  Journal AWWA.  102(12): 88-90.

Multihousing common laundry facilities are a significant source of water conservation.  (2004).  Journal AWWA.  96(4): 37-38.

Platt, J. L., & Delforge, M. C.  (2001).  The cost-effectiveness of water conservation.  Journal AWWA.  93(3): 73-83.

Ploeser, J. H., Pike, C. W., Kobrick, J. D.  (1992).  Nonresidential water conservation:  A good investment.  Journal AWWA.  83(10): 65-73.

Nero, W.  (1995, Mar.).  Seven steps to successful water savings.  Opflow, pp. 8-10.

Pape, T. E.  (2010).  New codes are making it easier to get green.  Journal AWWA.  102(2): 57-60.

Rashid, M. M., Maddaus, W. O., & Maddaus, M. L.  (2010).  Progress in U.S. water conservation planning and implementation—1999-2009.  Journal AWWA.  102(6): 86-99.

Richard, G. L., Johnson, J. C., & Barfuss, S. L.  (2008).  Metering secondary water in residential irrigation systems.  Journal AWWA.  100(6): 112-121.

Rose, B., & Katz, S.  (2010).  Conservation:  A way of life in San Diego County.  Journal AWWA.  102(2): 70-73.

Shah, A. R., & Ploeser, J. H. (1999).  Reusing rinse water at a semiconductor plant.  Journal AWWA.  91(8): 58-65.

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Teodoro, M.  (2010).  The institutional politics of water conservation.  Journal AWWA.  102(2): 98-111.

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<Table of Contents

The BUILD Act

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

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.

Congressional News

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.

Book Review: Copernicus’ Secret by Jack Repcheck

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

Energy Appointments Confirmed

The Senate confirmed six Department of Energy (DOE) nominees, including Deputy Secretary Daniel Poneman, Under Secretary for Energy Kristina Johnson, and Under Secretary for Science Steven Koonin. Also confirmed this week were Scott Blake Harris, General Counsel; David Sandalow, Assistant Secretary for Policy and International Affairs; and Ines Triay, Assistant Secretary for Environmental Management.

Since 2001, Daniel B. Poneman was a Principal of The Scowcroft Group, an international business advisory firm based in Washington, D.C. Prior to that he was a partner in the law firm of Hogan & Hartson. From 1993 through 1996, Poneman served as Special Assistant to the President and Senior Director for Nonproliferation and Export Controls at the National Security Council. He joined the NSC staff in 1990 as Director of Defense Policy and Arms Control, after serving as a White House Fellow in the Department of Energy. Poneman coauthored Going Critical: The First North Korean Nuclear Crisis, which received the 2005 Douglas Dillon Award for Distinguished Writing on American Diplomacy. He received A.B. and J.D. degrees with honors from Harvard, and an M.Litt. in politics from Oxford University.

Kristina M. Johnson was previously the provost and senior vice president for academic affairs of Johns Hopkins University. Prior to that, Johnson served as the Dean of Duke University's Pratt School of Engineering from 1999-2007 where she helped to set up interdisciplinary efforts in photonics, bioengineering and biologically inspired materials, and energy and the environment. Before that she was on the faculty of the University of Colorado, Boulder from 1985-1999 where she led an NSF Engineering Research Center and involved engineers, mathematicians, physicists, chemists and psychologists in working to make computers faster and better connected. Johnson is an electrical engineer with more than 129 US and foreign patents or patents pending.

Dr. Steven E. Koonin was previously Chief Scientist for BP, plc, where he was responsible for guiding the company's long-range technology strategy, particularly in alternative and renewable energy sources. Koonin joined BP in 2004 following a 29-year career at the California Institute of Technology as a Professor of Theoretical Physics, including a 9-year term as the Institute's Provost. He has served on numerous advisory bodies for the National Science Foundation, the Department of Defense, and the Department of Energy and its various national laboratories. Koonin's research interests have included theoretical and computational physics, as well as global environmental science. He did his undergraduate work at Caltech and has a PhD from MIT.

Scott Blake Harris was Managing Partner of Harris, Wiltshire & Grannis LLP, a Washington, D.C. law firm with nationally known telecommunications, litigation, and appellate practices. From 1994 to 1996, Mr. Harris served as the first chief of the International Bureau at the Federal Communications Commission. Before joining the Commission, he was Chief Counsel for Export Administration at the U.S. Department of Commerce. Prior to government service, Mr. Harris was a partner at the law firm of Williams & Connolly. Mr. Harris is a magna cum laude graduate of both Brown University and Harvard Law School.

David Sandalow was most recently Energy & Environment Scholar and a senior fellow in the Foreign Policy Studies Program of the Brookings Institution. He is the author of Freedom from Oil (2008) and has written widely on energy and environmental policy. Previously, Sandalow served as Assistant Secretary of State for Oceans, Environment & Science; Senior Director for Environmental Affairs, National Security Council; Associate Director for the Global Environment, White House Council on Environmental Quality, and Executive Vice President, World Wildlife Fund-US. Sandalow is a graduate of Yale College (BA Philosophy) and the University of Michigan Law School (JD).

Dr. Ines Triay spent 14 years at the Los Alamos National Laboratory in New Mexico before moving to the Department of Energy, first in the Carlsbad field office and then in the Washington, DC headquarters. In 2005, Triay became the Chief Operating Officer for Environmental Management, and she was named to the top career position there in October, 2007. In this capacity, she served as the acting Assistant Secretary for Environmental Management since November, 2008. Triay was born in Cuba and came to the US when she was 3 years old. Raised in Puerto Rico, she earned her Ph.D. in chemistry from the University of Miami, Florida and conducted her post-doctoral studies at Los Alamos.

You can read the original news release here.

More Federal Environment and Infrastructure Appointees Announced

Several additional nominations to federal environment and infrastructure posts were announced. Some are described below.

DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE

Jonathan S. Adelstein, Administrator for the Rural Utilities Service - Jonathan S. Adelstein is currently a Commissioner of the Federal Communications Commission, where he has served since 2002, and was confirmed to a second term in 2004, where he led efforts to improve rural telecommunications and broadband. Previously, he served for fifteen years as a staff member in the US Senate, including his final seven years with Senate Majority Leader Tom Daschle (D-SD), advising him on telecommunications, financial services, housing, transportation and other key issues. Prior to that, he served as Professional Staff Member to Senate Special Committee on Aging Chairman David Pryor (D-AR), including an assignment as a special liaison to Senator Harry Reid (D-NV), and earlier as a Legislative Assistant to Senator Donald W. Riegle, Jr. (D-MI). Before his service in the Senate, he was a Teaching Fellow in the Department of History, Harvard University, while studying at the Kennedy School of Government, and a Teaching Assistant in the Department of History, Stanford University, and as a Communications Consultant to the Stanford Graduate School of Business. He received an M.A. in History and a B.A. with Distinction in Political Science from Stanford University. Born and raised in Rapid City, South Dakota, he and his wife, Karen, have two children, Adam and Lexi.

DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE

Lawrence E. Strickling, Assistant Secretary for Communications and Information - Lawrence E. Strickling is a technology policy expert with more than two decades of experience in the public and private sectors. As Policy Coordinator for Obama for America, Strickling oversaw two dozen domestic policy committees and was responsible for technology and telecommunications issues. Prior to joining the campaign, Strickling was Chief Regulatory and Chief Compliance Officer at Broadwing Communications for three years. His private sector experience also includes serving in senior roles at Allegiance Telecom and CoreExpress, Inc. and as a member of the Board of Directors of Network Plus. In government, Strickling served at the Federal Communications Commission as Chief of the Common Carrier Bureau from 1998 to 2000. Prior to that, Strickling was Associate General Counsel and Chief of the FCC's Competition Division. During his tenure at the FCC, Strickling developed and enforced rules to foster competition and protect consumers in the telecommunications marketplace. Prior to joining the FCC, Strickling was Vice President, Public Policy at Ameritech. Before Ameritech, he was a litigation partner at the Chicago law firm of Kirkland & Ellis. Strickling earned his J.D. from Harvard Law School and is a Phi Beta Kappa graduate of the University of Maryland with a degree in economics. He serves on the Board of Visitors at the University of Maryland School of Public Policy, as Chairman of the Board of Trustees at the University of Chicago's Court Theatre, and on the Board of Directors of Music of the Baroque in Chicago.

DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY

Cathy Zoi, Assistant Secretary for Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy - In January 2007, Cathy Zoi joined the Alliance for Climate Protection as its founding CEO. Established and chaired by former Vice President Al Gore, the Alliance is a non-profit organization spearheading a multi-year, multimillion dollar effort aimed at persuading Americans of both the urgency and solvability of global warming. From 2003 until joining the Alliance, Zoi served as Group Executive Director at the Bayard Group. The firm, recently renamed Landis+Gyr Holdings, is a world leader in energy measurement technologies and systems, with operations in 30 countries and revenues in excess of $1.2 billion. Her work focused on the key role of smart metering to improving energy efficiency in markets in North America, Europe, India, China , Brazil and Australia. Prior to joining Bayard, Cathy was Assistant Director General of the New South Wales EPA in Sydney, Australia. She was also the founding CEO of the NSW Sustainable Energy Development Authority, a $50 million fund to commercialize greenhouse-friendly technology, from 1996-1999. Under her leadership, SEDA launched the world’s first nationwide Green Power program (1997) and the world¹s largest solar-powered suburb (1998). Cathy has served on boards and advisory committees of a variety of companies in the clean technology sector. Cathy was Chief of Staff in the White House Office on Environmental Policy in the Clinton-Gore administration, where she managed the team working on environmental and energy issues (1993-95). She was also a manager at the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency where she pioneered the Energy Star Program. Ms. Zoi earned a B.S. in Geology from Duke University and an M.S. in Engineering from Dartmouth College.

Dr. Steven E. Koonin, Under Secretary for Science - Dr. Steven E. Koonin is currently Chief Scientist for BP, plc, where he is responsible for guiding the company's long-range technology strategy, particularly in alternative and renewable energy sources. Koonin joined BP in 2004 following a 29-year career at the California Institute of Technology as a Professor of Theoretical Physics, including a 9-year term as the Institute's Provost. He has served on numerous advisory bodies for the National Science Foundation, the Department of Defense, and the Department of Energy and its various national laboratories. Koonin's research interests have included theoretical and computational physics, as well as global environmental science. He did his undergraduate work at Caltech and has a PhD from MIT.

David Sandalow, Assistant Secretary for Policy and International Affairs - David Sandalow is Energy & Environment Scholar and a senior fellow in the Foreign Policy Studies Program of the Brookings Institution. He is the author of Freedom from Oil (2008) and has written widely on energy and environmental policy. Sandalow is a senior advisor to Good Energies, Inc. and has served as Chair of the Energy & Climate Working Group of the Clinton Global Initiative. Previously, Sandalow served as Assistant Secretary of State for Oceans, Environment & Science; Senior Director for Environmental Affairs, National Security Council; Associate Director for the Global Environment, White House Council on Environmental Quality, and Executive Vice President, World Wildlife Fund-US. Sandalow is a graduate of Yale College (BA Philosophy) and the University of Michigan Law School (JD).

DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION

J. Randolph Babbitt, Administrator, Federal Aviation Administration - J. Randolph Babbitt, known as Randy, is a partner in the worldwide aviation consultancy of Oliver Wyman. He was the former Chairman and CEO of Eclat Consulting until they were acquired by Oliver Wyman in 2007. Babbitt is internationally recognized as a leader in the field of aviation safety and policy, and labor relations with almost 40 years of experience in the industry. Babbitt began his aviation career as a pilot for Eastern Airlines and flew for more than 25 years. He served as President and CEO for US ALPA, the world’s largest professional organization of airline pilots. In 1993 he served as a Presidential appointee on the National Commission to Ensure a Strong Competitive Airline Industry. In 2008 Babbitt was named by the Secretary of Transportation to an independent review team of aviation and safety experts tasked with evaluating and crafting recommendations to improve the FAA's implementation of the aviation safety system and its culture of safety. Babbitt attended both the University of Georgia and the University of Miami.

You can read the original news releases here and here.

Other recent nominations:Nominations for Federal Environmental and Infrastructure Posts Announced
Ray H. LaHood Appointed Secretary of Transportation
Senate Approves Environmental Appointments

Nominations for Federal Environmental and Infrastructure Posts Announced

President Barack Obama recently announced his nominees for several posts at agencies with responsibilities for infrastructure or the environment.

DEPARTMENT OF ENERGYScott Blake Harris for General Counsel. Harris is Managing Partner of Harris, Wiltshire & Grannis LLP, a Washington, D.C. law firm with nationally known telecommunications, litigation, and appellate practices. From 1994 to 1996, Mr. Harris served as the first chief of the International Bureau at the Federal Communications Commission. Before joining the Commission, he was Chief Counsel for Export Administration at the U.S. Department of Commerce. Prior to government service, Mr. Harris was a partner at the law firm of Williams & Connolly. Mr. Harris is a magna cum laude graduate of both Brown University and Harvard Law School.

Kristina M. Johnson Under Secretary of Energy. Johnson is currently the provost and senior vice president for academic affairs of Johns Hopkins University. Previously, Johnson served as the Dean of Duke University's Pratt School of Engineering from 1999-2007 where she helped to set up interdisciplinary efforts in photonics, bioengineering and biologically inspired materials, and energy and the environment. Before that she was on the faculty of the University of Colorado, Boulder from 1985-1999 where she led an NSF Engineering Research Center and involved engineers, mathematicians, physicists, chemists and psychologists in working to make computers faster and better connected. Johnson is an electrical engineer with more than 129 US and foreign patents or patents pending. These inventions include pioneering work on liquid crystal on silicon (LCOS) microdisplays and their integration into demonstration and commercial systems such as heads-up automotive displays (HUD); pattern recognition systems for cancer prescreening, object tracking and document processing; HDTV and 3D projection displays; and 3D holographic memories. She has co-founded several companies and is the author of 142 peer reviewed publications. Johnson has received several awards including the John Fritz Medal, widely considered the highest award in the engineering profession. She earned degrees from Stanford University including a Ph.D. in 1984 and both a bachelor's and a master's degree in electrical engineering in 1981.


DEPARTMENT OF INTERIORMichael L. Connor for Director, Bureau of Reclamation. Connor has more than 15 years of experience in the public sector including serving as the Counsel to the U.S. Senate and Natural Resources Committee since May 2001. As Counsel, he has negotiated and managed legislation related to water reclamation, Indian lands and energy issues. Connor also directed the Water & Power Subcommittee which has legislative oversight of the Bureau of Reclamation and the US Geological Survey. From 1993 to 2001, Connor served at the Department of the Interior as deputy director and then director of the Secretary's Indian Water Rights Office. Connor received his J.D. from the University of Colorado School of Law, and is admitted to the bars of Colorado and New Mexico. He has a B.S. in Chemical Engineering from New Mexico State University.

DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATIONJoseph C. Szabo for Administrator, Federal Railroad Administration. Szabo is currently the Illinois State Legislative Director for the United Transportation Union. As State Director Joe has provided vision and direction to rail safety and regulatory issues and worked with business and civic leaders in the advancement of freight and passenger rail service. Joe also serves on the Federal Railroad Administration's Rail Safety Advisory Committee participating in the development of federal regulations on rail safety. Prior to this Joe served as the Mayor of the Village of Riverdale where he managed over 100 employees and budget of $9 Million serving 15,000 residents. Joe was elected Mayor after serving ten years as a Village Trustee

ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCYMichelle J. DePass for Assistant Administrator for International Affairs. DePass is currently a program officer at the Ford Foundation where she manages the foundation's initiative on Environmental Justice and Healthy Communities. Her work concentrates on the environmental and social justice intersections in the United States and supporting transnational linkages that support environmental justice policies and practices. She taught federal environmental law and policy at the City University of New York, developed and administered a bi-state workforce development training program for disadvantaged youth on superfund waste sites, and served as executive director of the New York City Environmental Justice Alliance. In this position, she assisted communities and community organizations in their negotiations with government agencies, implemented advocacy campaigns and co-organized the Northeast Environmental Justice Network. Subsequently, she served as Assistant to the City Manager of San Jose, California, advising on environmental policy matters, and served as an Environmental Compliance Manager for the City of San Jose. After completing a term with the Center for Constitutional Rights in New York as a William Kunstler Racial Justice Fellow, Michelle joined the New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection where she was Senior Policy Advisor to the Commissioner. In this position, she developed a framework for an Environmental Justice Order that required the use of public health data to identify communities for priority compliance, enforcement, remediation, siting and permitting action. She received a B.A. in Political Science from Tufts University, a law degree from Fordham University School of Law, and a Master of Public Administration degree from Baruch College School of Public Affairs.

Cynthia J. Giles for Assistant Administrator for Enforcement and Compliance Assurance. Giles is Vice President and Director of Conservation Law Foundation's Rhode Island Advocacy Center, where she has focused on state and regional advocacy to combat climate change. From 2001 to 2005, Cynthia served as head of the Bureau of Resource Protection at the Massachusetts Department of Environmental Protection. Giles worked for the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency in a variety of capacities from 1991 to 1997. From 1995-1997, she was Enforcement Director for Region 3 and developed a "results-targeted" approach to enforcement, which she has since published in a paper written for OECA. Her responsibilities included overseeing enforcement of federal laws regulating toxics and protecting air, drinking water and surface water. She also chaired a regional ozone compliance initiative, developing strategies for reducing smog-causing emissions from stationary sources. Prior to joining EPA, Giles was an Assistant United States Attorney, where she prosecuted violations of federal environmental laws. She holds a BA from Cornell University, as well as a JD from the University of California at Berkeley and an MPA from the Harvard University Kennedy School of Government. She is admitted to the bar in the State of Rhode Island, U.S. District Court for the District of Rhode Island and State of Pennsylvania.

Gina McCarthy for Assistant Administrator for Air and Radiation. McCarthy is currently the Commissioner of the Connecticut Department of Environmental Protection (DEP). McCarthy came to the Connecticut DEP from the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, where she worked on environmental issues at the state and local level for 25 years in a variety of high-ranking positions. Just prior to joining the Connecticut DEP, she served as the Deputy Secretary of Operations for the Massachusetts Office of Commonwealth Development, a "Super Secretariat" that coordinates policies and programs of that state's environmental, transportation, energy and housing agencies. In 1990, Governor Dukakis appointed McCarthy as Chair of the Council to oversee the review of a proposed hazardous waste incinerator in the Boston area.

You can read the original news releases here and here.

Water Resources News

Aging Water Infrastructure and Maintenance Act Reported Out of Committee

The Aging Water Infrastructure and Maintenance Act (S. 2842), sponsored by Sen. Harry Reid (Nevada), has been reported out of committed and placed on the Senate calendar. The act would require the Department of Interior to inspect reclamation projects that could threaten public safety if they failed. In some cases it would provide for financing of improvements needed to insure a facility is safe. The Congressional Budget Office (CBO) estimates the program would cost $189 million over the period of 2009 through 2013.

Cooperative Watershed Management Act of 2008 Reported Out of Committee

The Cooperative Watershed Management Act of 2008 (S. 3085), sponsored by Sen. Jon Tester (Montana), has been reported out of committee and placed on the Senate calendar. The bill would create a grant program, operated through the Department of Interior, to form and expand watershed groups and fund watershed restoration projects by those groups. The bill authorizes appropriations beginning at $2 million annually and rising to $20 million annually in 2012 through 2020. The CBO estimates the program will cost $43 million over the period of 2009-2013.

Here are some other bills we’ve been watching:
Clean Water Affordability Act (S. 3443)
Climate Change Drinking Water Adaptation Research Act (S. 2970)
Drug Free Water Act of 2008(H.R. 6451)
Perchlorate Monitoring and Right-to-Know Act of 2007 (S. 24)
Protecting Pregnant Women and Children from Perchlorate Act of 2007 (S. 150)
Sewage Overflow Right-to-Know Act (S. 2080)—House version passed
Small Community Drinking Water Funding Act (S. 1933) (additional post)
Twenty-First Century Water Commission Act of 2008 (S. 2728) (additional post)
Water Essential Storage To Enhance Regions in Need Act (S. 2873)
Water Security Act of 2007 (S.1968)

Recent water resources posts and articles:
More Attention for 21st Century Water Act

Previous water resources news:
Links to Infrastructure-Related Organizations
McCain’s Comments on Water Policy: Additional Resources
Water Resources News (Aug. 19, 2008)
Water Resources News (Aug. 27, 2008)

Federal Activity on Water Issues

Safe Drinking Water Act Amendments to be Debated in Senate
The Senate has scheduled debate on the Perchlorate Monitoring and Right-to-Know Act of 2007 (S. 24) and the Protecting Pregnant Women and Children from Perchlorate Act of 2007 (S. 150). It is also taking up the Toxic Chemical Expose (TCE) Reduction Act of 2007 (S. 1911).The bills would modify the Safe Drinking Water Act to require specific monitoring and reporting related to perchlorate and trichloroethylene with the stated intention of protecting infants, pregnant women and other susceptible groups.

The Small Community Drinking Water Funding Act (S. 1933) is also scheduled for debates. The bill provides programs and funding for financial assistance to small drinking water systems.

Related posts:
Congressional Budget Estimates Cost of Small Water Systems Program

Senate to Debate Sewer Overflow Bill
The Senate has scheduled debate on the Sewage Overflow Right-to-Know Act (S. 2080). The bill would require wastewater systems to notify the public within 24 hours of a sanitary sewer overflow. A similar bill has passed the House of Representatives.

Senate to Debate Climate Bill

The Senate has placed on its calendar for debate the Lieberman-Warner Climate Security Act of 2007 (S. 2191). The bill would govern greenhouse gas emissions through a cap and trade system. Emission caps will be reduced from 2012 through 2050. The bill would distribute emissions allowances to a variety of entities that could sold to raise revenues for allowed activities. (In a sense, it creates a tax market where credits that might be used for greenhouse gas emissions compliance are distributed to beneficiaries, which they can sell in a government-managed market to entities who need to comply with emissions caps or want to retire, or even speculate on, the credits).

Bill Introduced to Make Federal Disaster Aid Available to Private Energy Utilities

Representative Charlie Melancon (Louisiana) has introduced “Ratepayer Recovery Act of 2007” (H.R. 6013). The bill would allow private and invester-owned natural gas and electrical utilities to receive federal aid to repair disaster-damaged transmission and distribution infrastructure.

Bill Introduced to Create Infrastructure Study Commission

Representative Earl Blumenauer (Oregon) has introduced a bill (H.R. 5976) that would create the United States Commission on Rebuilding America for the 21st Century. Over the course of a year, the commission would study and create a report on the status of U.S. infrastructure and related issues.

We have mentioned similar bills in other posts including these:
Bill Introduced to Create Twenty-First Century Water Commission
National Infrastructure Improvement Act of 2007 Passes Senate

Legislation Introduced in Congress to Protect Pedestrians from Quiet Cars

This is, at best, tangentially related to the type of infrastructure subjects we normally address in this blog. We’ll refrain from further commentary, though the fact that this is a bill in Congress may say something about the state of that institution.

Representatives Edolphus Towns (New York) and Cliff Stearns (Florida) have introduced a bill that would require the Department of Transportation to promulgate safety standards for hybrids and other very quiet cars in order to protect pedestrians, particularly the blind who rely on hearing to determine when it is safe to cross a road.

Additional Information
Towns’ news release
www.cbsnews.com/stories/2008/04/08/tech/main4002670.shtml?source=RSSattr=SciTech_4002670
http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2007/10/03/tech/main3324895.shtml?source=related_story

National Transportation Safety Board Not to Hold Hearings on Minnesota Bridge Collapse

The collapse of the I-35 bridge in Minneapolis, Minnesota, last year was one of the things that inspired us to start a blog on infrastructure issues. We mentioned it in our first post.

Recently, the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) has decided it will not hold public hearings. The NTSB holds hearings on only a few of its investigations; it had none in 2007. The decision of was not unanimous and it has draw heat from some in Congress.

You can find NTSB documents on the investigation here. They anticipate issuing a final report later this year.

President Signs Energy Bill Into Law

President Bush has signed the Energy Independence and Security Act of 2007 (H.R. 6). We hope to post some highlights of the new act in the next few days, especially those related to the fuels infrastructure and green buildings.

We previously posted on the energy bill here.