Infrastructure News

ENERGY

Missouri DOT Explores Solar Roads

Embed code:

INFRASTRUCTURE

Maps of U.S. Infrastructure

The Washington Post has an online article that includes six informative maps about U.S. infrastructure. We encourage readers to check it out.

TRANSPORTATION

Missouri Gets F for Road Safety

That National Safety Council gave Missouri an F for road safety in its recent State of Safety: A State-by-State Report. Missouri’s low score is a result of the lack of laws relating to child passenger protection, texting while driving, seat belts and other transportation safety issues.

The state received and overall grade of F and was ranked lowest in the country (ranked 51^st out of all states and the District of Columbia and ranked 49^th for road safety) . In addition to road safety, the report considers safety issues in workplaces, homes and communities. You can find the Missouri scorecard here, as well as NSC’s scoring methodology.

Missouri Still Contender for Hyperloop

We previously noted that a Kansas City to St. Louis route was entered into a competition for Hyperloop One as it considers routes for a high-speed, tube magnetic levitation system. Apparently the 240 mile route across Missouri to connect the two Midwestern metropolises is still in the running. You can find more here.

Here is a link to another articles on a potential hyperloop in Missouri:

Proposed Missouri hyperloop would forge 25-minute connection across the state

Missouri Transportation Improvements Stalled

The Columbia Missourian recent published an evaluation of Missouri Governor Eric Greitens’ campaign promise to improve state transportation infrastructure. Though the governor recommended supplemental appropriations for the transportation agency in his fiscal year 2018 budget, he has not proposed new or increased funding sources and generally has opposed increased taxes. Recent bills in the state General Assembly that would increase fuel taxes have also failed to pass.

Here are some additional articles on Missouri’s transportation funding.

Missouri House Strikes Down Proposed Gas Tax Hike

Task force seeks consensus on new source of road funding

Transportation task force considers fuels tax increase

Texting Lanes Coming to Miami

Apparently it is hard for some people to put down their cellular phones and pay attention to something else. The Miami Dade Express Authority has decided it is easier to change the roads than change behavior. It is planning to install to install bumpers on one lane of a highway and designate it for texting use.

Infrastructure Watch usually passes on thing like this without comment, but this seems like a bad idea. It may keep texters from wandering into other lanes, but it seem like they can still get into a lot of other troubles. In addition, it does nothing to address texting while driving in other lanes or on other roads. IW believes there is a role for technology in addressing this issue and that we have to be realistic about human behavior, but on the whole this does not seem like a very expensive way to address just a small part of the problem.

For all of you texters who won’t be driving Florida’s bumpered, baby lanes: STOP IT!

At any rate, you can read more about this here.

Incidentally, Florida got a F for road safety in the NSC State of Safety report, where it ranked 44^th. It’s overall grade was a D, with a rank of 40^th. You can see the Florida scorecard here.

WATER

Philadelphia Unearths Wooden Water Pipe

Recently a construction crew digging in Philadelphia came across segments of wooden water pipe that were probably installed in 1812. Fortunately, Philadelphia is not still using these pipes. When they were installed, they would have carried water from the Schuylkill River that was pumped up by steam engine.  You can read more about it here.

The Poop Engineer: Wastewater Blog

IW welcomes another engineering and environment blog to the web, The Poop Engineer. IW is not associated with The Poop Engineer, though the author worked at the same company for a while. Good luck, Andy.

Water Weirdness

Apparently some UK utilities uses dowsing rods to find water pipes.  IW does not recommend this, but it’s interesting that people cling to it. Here are links to articles on the practice.

Are Indians Turning To The 'Supernatural' In Subterranean Search For Water?

British water utilities admit they use divining rods to find leaks

In 2017, UK water companies still rely on “magic”

Testing Dowsing: The Failure of the Munich Experiments

U.K. Water Companies Sometimes Use Dowsing Rods To Find Pipes

UK water firms admit using divining rods to find leaks and pipes

Water Dowsing

Water firms backtrack on admissions that they use divining rods

Energy, Transportation & Water News

ENERGY

Bill Would Change Electric Ratemaking in Missouri

State Rep. Rocky Miller, who represents parts of Camden and Miller Counties near Osage Beach, introduced the 21^st Century Grid Modernization and Security Act (HB2816). The bill would substantially change the state’s method of regulating electric utility rates. The method is modeled on processes in Illinois and would allow annual adjustments to electric rates.

Another portion of the bill substantially changes provision related to special electric rates for aluminum smelters. This is largely driven by Noranda, which operates smelter in New Madrid. It seems unlikely that lower or more flexible electric rates will save the company from plummeting aluminum prices.

With the exception of Noranda, large electricity users in Missouri have generally come out against the proposal. Some companies that have expressed opposition to the bill are Purina, Bayer, Ford, General Motors and Procter & Gamble. You can read more about this topic here.

Poop to Power Project Coming to North Carolina

Duke Energy has contracted with Carbon Cycle Energy for the construction and operation of a facility to process animal waste to produce methane gas for fuel. Waste will come from area pig and chicken farms. The gas will be piped to Duke plants as fuel in electric power generation.

North Carolina is the second largest pork producing state in the U.S. Duke is a major electric power producer, particularly in the Carolinas. Carbon Cycle is based in Colorado.

TRANSPORTATION

Barrel Bob Found

Barrel Bob, a character that serves as spokesman for worksite safety for the Missouri Department of Transportation (MoDOT), was found in Columbia on April 1 (no fooling) after he was stolen from his roadside station at highway construction site in Jefferson City on March 19.   The statue, constructed from used orange and reflective white barrels and cones, was previously set on fire by vandals at this location.

This statue was one of seven Barrel Bobs. Each of MoDOT’s districts has one. Bob was scheduled to make appearances at events to promote highway worksite safety beginning April 11, so the agency had resorted to building a new statue before Bob was found. You can find out more here, here and here.

Missourians Could Vote on Fuel Tax Increase

A bill (SB623) is making its way through the Missouri Senate that could increase the state fuel tax from 17 cents per gallon to 22.9 cents per gallon. The tax, if implemented, is expected to bring in $240 million annually. The bill would place a referendum on the November ballot, meaning it would have to be approved directly by voters. Before getting that far, it must complete its path through the General Assembly. The Senate is expected to pass the bill in its final vote in the first full week of April. Afterward it will be considered by the state House of Representatives, where it is not expected to be warmly received. You can read more about this here, here and here.

Significant funding for Missouri roads comes from the federal government (which has its own funding issues). MoDOT is preparing to use cash reserves to match federal grants for transportation projects (more here).

Name a Missouri Highway

An alternative to increased fuel taxes could be the auctioning of naming rights for highways. There is no estimate of how much revenue it could raise, but I’ll go out on a limb to say not enough to persuade the General Assembly to this bill. You can read the bill here. I have the impression the St. Louis Post-Dispatch reporter who covered this story must have chuckled as he typed.

WATER

Antibiotic Resistance Found in Bacteria Downstream of Wastewater Discharge

Researchers studying the biofilm in a Spanish river found antibiotic resistance genes. These genes occurred as far as 1 km (0.6 mile) downstream from the of a wastewater treatment plant. The genes provide resistance to some antibiotics commonly used in hospitals. You can find more here. In response to the issue of pharmaceutical pollution, some chemists are considering biodegradable drugs.

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)

Revisit: Fiscal Cliff, More Trouble for Colo. R., EPA Leadership

Fiscal Cliff Deal & Wind Energy

I posted highlights from the fiscal cliff deal earlier this month.  The law extended several tax credits and program supporting energy, including wind energy.  Here are links to some additional information on wind energy in the fiscal cliff deal.

Infrastructure in the Fiscal Cliff Deal (Infrastructure Watch, Jan. 3, 2013)

U.S. Wind Tax Credit Extended in “Fiscal Cliff” Compromise (Yale Environment 360, Jan. 2, 2013)

Wind Production Tax Credit Extended in Fiscal Cliff Deal (Seigel, R. P., Triple Pundit, Jan 3, 2012)

Senator Viewed Low Mississippi River

Reuter reported that Sen. Dick Durbin (IL) toured the Mississippi River near Thebes, IL, to view efforts to remove rocks and keep the drought-strained river open to barges.

IW has been following the impacts of the drought on the Mississippi River:

Barge Traffic Threatened on Missouri & Mississippi Rivers

Mississippi River

Southwest United States May Be Dryer in Future

Researchers from Columbia University predict a 10 percent decrease in rainfall in areas of the southwest United States.  This would lead to a corresponding reduction of flow in the already critical Colorado River, which may news recently because of the recent release of a federal plan for the river.  Find out a little more in this Los Angeles Times article by Bettina Boxall (here→).

Speculation on Next EPA Administrator

Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Administrator Lisa Jackson announced her plans to resign.  Speculation has begun on who may replace her.  I don’t know if odds-makers are taking bets.  Here are some links that may help you handicap the race.

Chris Gregoire: Lisa Jackson's Replacement at EPA? (Zellar, T., Huffington Post, Jan. 8, 2013)

E.P.A. Chief Set to Leave; Term Fell Shy of Early Hope (Broder, J. M., New York Times, Dec. 27, 2012)

EPA head Lisa P. Jackson to resign post (Eilperin, J., Washington Post, Dec. 27, 2012)

Gov. Chris Gregoire’s office says no word on EPA post (Schrader, J., News Tribune, Jan. 4, 2012)

Gregoire Emerges as Top Contender to Boss EPA (Connelly, J., Seattle Post-Intelligencer, Jan. 4, 2012)

New Congress Gets to Work (Sort of), Other Federal Government News (Infrastructure Watch, Jan. 7, 2012)

Missouri, Manitoba Force Bureau of Reclamation to Take “Hard Look” at Project

Missouri and the Canadian province of Manitoba sued to prevent the transfer of water from Lake Sakakawea of the Missouri River to Minot, ND. They claim that this interbasin transfer would introduce alien species to the waterways effected by the project.

This is the second time Judge Rosemary Collyer (U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia) has ordered the Bureau of Reclamation to take a “hard look” at the project and its environmental effects. Collyer found that the Bureau’s environmental review was too narrow, considering only the anticipated change in lake levels as a result of the transfer.

Portions of the pipeline that is part of the Northwest Area Water Supply Project have already been constructed. The project ran into trouble in 2002 when Manitoba first filed suit.

Relate posts and articles:
Missouri Comes Out Swingin Over River Divserion Plan
Judge Orders Interior to Re-examine Water Pipeline Plan

Federal Infrastructure & Environment Nominees Announced

DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY

Daniel B. Poneman, Deputy Secretary--Since 2001, Poneman has been 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 has served on several federal commissions and advisory panels, and has authored books on nuclear energy policy and on Argentina. He coauthored Going Critical: The First North Korean Nuclear Crisis, which received the 2005 Douglas Dillon Award for Distinguished Writing on American Diplomacy. Poneman received A.B. and J.D. degrees with honors from Harvard, and an M.Litt. in politics from Oxford University. He is an Adjunct Senior Fellow of the Council on Foreign Relations and a member of the Aspen Strategy Group.

DEPARTMENT OF HOUSING AND URBAN DEVELOPMENT

Mercedes Márquez, Assistant Secretary for Community Planning and Development--Márquez assumed her duties as the General Manager of the City of Los Angeles Housing Department (LAHD) in January 2004. Mercedes returned to public service after serving as Vice-President of McCormack Baron Salazar, Inc., a national firm specializing in the development, consultation, and management of urban communities. Márquez oversaw developments throughout the Southwest and California, which included initiating new developments, coordinating the planning process, acting as liaison with joint venture partners, and interfacing with government officials and local community groups. Prior to her time with McCormack Baron Salazer, Inc, she served in the Clinton administration as the Senior Counsel to the Secretary and Deputy General Counsel for Civil Rights and Fair Housing for the United States Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) in Washington, D.C. She was principal advisor to former Secretary Andrew Cuomo on civil rights policy including fair lending and fair housing enforcement, and led investigations and negotiations of housing discrimination cases resulting in landmark settlements. She also advised the Secretary on rural housing and economic development policy, supervised farm worker and Colonias Community Builder specialists in five states, and served as a U.S. delegate to international commissions. From 1992 to 1997, Márquez was a partner at Litt & Márquez, where she specialized in complex public interest litigation including slumlord, fair housing, public housing, sexual harassment, employment discrimination, and constitutional issues cases. Márquez is an Advisory Board Member of The Eleanor Roosevelt Papers & Human Rights Project and the Center for Urban Redevelopment Excellence, a former Trustee of The McAuley Institute, and past national Vice-President of the YWCA of the USA. Márquez has a Bachelor of Arts degree from the University of Southern California and a J.D. and LL.M. from Georgetown University Law Center.


DEPARTMENT OF LABOR

Thomasina Rogers, Chairman, Occupational Safety and Health Review Commission--Rogers is a member of the Occupational Safety and Health Review Commission. She was first appointed to the Review Commission by President Clinton in 1998 and served as Chairman from 1999 to 2002; she was then reappointed to the Review Commission in 2003. The agency Chairman is responsible for the administrative operations of the quasi-judicial agency, along with participating with the other Commissioners in case adjudication. Ms. Rogers previously served as Chairman of the Administrative Conference of the United States from 1994 until its dissolution at the end of 1995. Rogers also served for seven years in the Federal Government's Senior Executive Service (SES). During her time in the SES, she served as Legal Counsel to the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission where she had primary responsibility for managing the development of the Americans With Disabilities Act employment regulations. She is a member of the American Bar Association and the National Bar Association. Rogers is a graduate of the Northwestern University School of Journalism and the Columbia University School of Law.

Lorelei Boylan, Administrator of the Wage and Hour Division--Boylan is currently the Director of Strategic Enforcement at the New York State Department of Labor, Labor Standards Division. In this capacity she supervises the Apparel Industry/Fair Wages Task Force, a state-wide specialized unit charged with investigating low-wage industries where workers are at risk of exploitation. Under her leadership, the Task Force has flourished into a groundbreaking investigative unit with a high rate of success in the resolution of wage and hour investigations. The Task Force has developed complex investigations, conducted around-the-clock field work and built coalitions with low wage workers' advocates. Boylan has a wealth of experience in the enforcement field, ranging from private monitoring for retailers with social accountability initiatives to affirmative litigation and field investigative experience. Prior to heading the Task Force, Boylan spearheaded the Bureau of Immigrant Workers' Rights, a newly formed division of the Department of Labor, where she formulated innovative policies to respond to the needs of individuals with Limited English proficiency. She is the recipient of the 2008 Frances Perkins Leadership Award for exceptional leadership in developing the mission of the Department. Boylan practiced law as an Assistant Attorney General in the New York State Attorney General's Office. She was hired under the Honor's Program to represent the State in defensive and affirmative litigation. In this position, Boylan investigated businesses for violations of state and federal labor laws and represented the Department of Health in New York State Supreme Court and the New York Court of Appeals. Prior to becoming an attorney, Boylan worked for several years for a global monitoring company, counseling firms on compliance with state and federal labor laws, OSHA, Immigration and tax laws. She graduated cum laude from Hunter College and received a J.D. from Benjamin N. Cardozo Law School where she was a Writing Competition and Articles Editor of the Cardozo Journal of International and Comparative Law. Boylan speaks Spanish and French fluently and is admitted to practice law in New York State.

You can read the original news releases here and here.

Other recent nominations and appointments:
More Federal Environment and Infrastructure Appointees Announced
New Chief of Natural Resources Conservation Service Named
New Commissioner Appointed to Missouri Highways & Transportation Commission
Nominations for Federal Environmental and Infrastructure Posts Announced
Ray H. LaHood Appointed Secretary of Transportation
Senate Approves Environmental Appointments

Missouri Gets Economics Stimulus Fund for Clean Diesel Projects

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has awarded $1.73 million to the Missouri Department of Natural Resources (MoDNR). The funding can be used to support clean diesel projects and loan programs to address the nation's existing fleet of over 11 million diesel engines.

The funds provided by the American Reinvestment and Recovery Act (ARRA) of 2009 will go to MoDNR’s diesel emissions program, which allocated equal funding to all 50 states and the District of Columbia and an additional pool of money for which states, local governments, tribes and nonprofits can compete. Eligible projects include engine idling reduction and retrofit technologies, engine replacement, vehicle replacement, and clean diesel emerging technologies.

You can read the full EPA news release here.

Pharmaceuticals in Water

Recent reports have highlighted the issue related to pharmaceuticals in water. We’ll be posting links to articles and information on the subject here. We hope this will be a useful resource for you.

Amended July 28, 2013

American Water Works Association White Paper: Pharmaceutical Compounds in Drinking Water

Anti-anxiety drugs leaked into rivers make fish antisocial (Main, D., CBS News, Feb. 15, 2013)

Drinking Water of 41 Million Americans Contaminated with Pharmaceuticals (Natural News, Aug. 22, 2008)

Bill Introduced to Study Pharmaceutical Disposal (Drug Free Water Act of 2008)

Drugs in Our Drinking Water: An Update (Cho, R., State of Our Planet, Nov. 9, 2010)

Environmental Health: Action Needed to Sustain Agencies’ Collaboration on Pharmaceuticals in Drinking Water (GAO, August 2011)

Gillibrand seeks cause behind drugs in water (Heller, M., Watertown Daily Times, May 13, 2009)

Glick, Deanna. “Drugs in Tap Water: How Significant is the Risk?” Drinking Water and Backflow Prevention (Sept. 2008): 14-15.

Mason, Margie. (2009 Jan. 25). World’s highest drug levels entering India stream. Associated Press. http://www.google.com/hostednews/ap/article/ALeqM5jl0ROaU73P3_j0f0IODVN8A2YTEAD95UBNLO0, accessed 2009 Feb. 18.

Missouri scientists say grassy buffers provide protection against animal antibiotics (Columbia Missourian [AP], Feb. 15, 2010)

Pelligerno, E. (2009 Apr. 13). New UA lab researches medicines in water supply. Arizona Daily Star.

Plants ease antibiotics’ risk to farms (Gustin, G., NewsOK, Feb. 16, 2010)

Polluting The Water With Toothpaste, Shampoo, And Drugs (Profita, C., Investigate West, Sept. 12, 2012)

New Yorkers Asked to Keep Drugs Out of Drinking Water. (Aug. 11, 2008). Environmental News Service.

Oppenheimer et al., Emerging Contaminants, Opflow, May 2008

Pontius, Fred. “Tap Water Pharmaceuticals: Back to the Future.” Journal AWWA June 2008: 16-28.

Senate hearing sounds alarm on pharmaceuticals

Senate panel considers study of drugs in water (Donn, J., Associate Press, May 12, 2009)

Sewage lagoons remove most - but not all – pharmaceuticals (Coombs, C. B., University of Illinois News Bureau, Feb. 14, 2013)

Sewage Lagoons Remove Most -- But Not All – Pharmaceuticals (Science Daily, Feb. 13, 2013)

Statement of Barbara Boxer

Statement of Dr. Shane Snyder, Southern Nevada Water Authority before the Senate Subcommittee on Transportation Safety, Infrastructure Security, and Water Quality on Pharmaceuticals in the Nation’s Water: Assessing Potential Risks and Actions to Address the Issue--April 15, 2008

STATEMENT OF DR. ROBERT M. HIRSCH, ASSOCIATE DIRECTOR FOR WATER U.S. GEOLOGICAL SURVEY, U.S. DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR, BEFORE THE COMMITTEE ON ENVIRONMENT AND PUBLIC WORKS SUBCOMMITTEE ON TRANSPORTATION SAFETY, INFRASTRUCTURE SECURITY AND WATER QUALITY--April 15, 2008

Study: Over Half Of Americans Medicated

Study: Plants ease antibiotic risk on farms (Capital Press [AP], Feb. 17, 2010)

Subcommittee on Transportation Safety, Infrastructure Security, and Water Quality hearing entitled, “Pharmaceuticals in the Nation’s Water: Assessing Potential Risks and Actions to Address the Issue.”

TESTIMONY OF BENJAMIN H. GRUMBLES ASSISTANT ADMINISTRATOR FOR WATER ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY BEFORE THE TRANSPORTATION SAFETY, INFRASTRUCTURE SECURITY AND WATER QUALITY SUBCOMMITTEE OF THE ENVIRONMENT AND PUBLIC WORKS COMMITTEE UNITED STATES SENATE April 15, 2008

Testimony of David Pringle Campaign Director New Jersey Environmental Federation On Behalf of: New Jersey Environmental Federation and Clean Water Action

TESTIMONY OF JENNIFER SASS, Ph. D., SENIOR SCIENTIST, NATURAL RESOURCES DEFENSE COUNCIL

Tests find antibiotic, other contaminants in Tampa's drinking water (Wade, C., Tampa Tribune, Jan. 5, 2010)

Tipsy Fish: When Anti-Anxiety Meds Get Into Rivers (Greenwood, V., Time, Feb. 15, 2013)

Tons of released drugs taint U.S. water (Donn, J., Mendoza, M., & Pritchard, J., Associated Press, Apr. 19, 2009)

US senator calls for EPA to study meds-in-water (Water Technology Online, May 13, 2009)

Waste Water Analysis Reveals for the First Time Real Time Information Regarding Drug Consumption in 19 European Cities (Science Daily, July 26, 2012)

Will CERCLA allow water entities to recover response costs from pharmaceutical companies? (Brownstein Hyatt Farber Schreck, Journal AWWA, May 2009, pp. 18-20)