Will the Missouri River be the Next Colorado River?

The Bureau of Reclamation and the seven states that are part of the Colorado River Compact (Arizona, California, Colorado, Nevada, New Mexico, Utah, and Wyoming) announced a proposal for a pipeline to carry water from the Missouri River to the western states.  The very preliminary proposal suggests a pipeline beginning near Leavenworth, Kansas, to Denver, Colorado.  It would take 30 year to build at a price of more than $11 billion, not to mention the energy bills for pumping the water and the constant operational and maintenance costs.

Infrastructure Watch does not abound with opinions as much as do some other blogs, but since we are based in Missouri, you would be right to guess we have an opinion on this.  The states and communities along the Missouri River have enough water resources problems of their own.  They’ve already been battling over use of the river, and the aquifers that have made the Midwest a great producer of grain are already showing signs of overuse.  If we’re teetering on the edge of a water crisis, we don’t have the resources to bail out the West.  Because the lower Mississippi River gets a significant amount of flow from the Missouri River, those states may have a few things to say about it, too.

We don’t mind seeing the west grow.  We just don’t want to be the Owens Valley to their Los Angeles.  If the Bureau of Reclamation has the vision to imagine a spectacular pipeline, maybe they should envision the problems it will cause and its eventual failure.  We need to get real about the water we have, when and where we have it, wherever we are.

Related posts and articles

Book Review: Blue Revolution by Cynthia Barnett (Infrastructure Watch, Nov. 1, 2012)

Drought revives old water wars among states that depend on Missouri, Mississippi rivers (Washington Post [Associated Press], Dec. 6, 2012)

Missouri Comes Out Swinging Over River Diversion Plan (Infrastructure Watch, Oct. 31, 2009)

Missouri, Manitoba Force Bureau of Reclamation to Take “Hard Look” at Project (Infrastructure Watch, Mar. 11, 2010)

Missouri River News Bulletin (Infrastructure Watch, Aug. 20, 2009)

Missouri River pipeline mulled to ease Front Range's water woes (Finley, B., Denver Post, Dec. 5, 2012)

Missouri River Priorities Contested (Infrastructure Watch, Nov. 14, 2011)

More on Missouri River in North Dakota (Infrastructure Watch, Mar. 23, 2010)

Plan for aiding arid West includes idea for major water pipeline from nation’s midsection (Washington Post [Associated Press], Dec. 10, 2012)

Water Piped to Denver Could Ease Stress on River (Berringer, F., New York Times, Dec. 9, 2012)

Gas Taxes

Federal and state fuel taxes are a major source of funding for transportation infrastructure. Declining revenue from these taxes, brought on by increased fuel efficiency and reduced travel due to the weak economy, is prompting lawmakers to take a look at how transportation is funded.

California and Wyoming have already increased gas taxes. Maryland, Minnesota, New Hampshire and Virginia may soon follow.

Of course, people are looking beyond fuel taxes. Some have suggested treating transportation more like a utility. In a sense, a gas tax is something like a utility fee in that gas use is somewhat proportional to miles use. The problems with a fuel tax have been noted, which means the tax rate must increase if it is to continue as a primary funding source. A tire tax might also support a utility-like fee because tire wear is also somewhat proportional to miles driven. Some have even propose a per-mile tax, though this would be more difficult to administer because miles driven would have to be reported by vehicle owners or recorded and submitted by a device, which prompts privacy concerns.

We probably have the means to solve our transportation funding problems. Not all of them are easy, but then what is?

Related posts and articles

The gas tax compromise (Baltimore Sun, Mar. 5, 2013)

Highway Funding (Infrastructure Watch, Jan. 29, 2013)

It's official: Gas tax going up (Horn, J., San Diego Union-Tribune, Feb. 28, 2013)

Md. Gov. O’Malley calls for sales tax on gas, other steps to pay for road and transit projects (Washington Post [Associated Press])

NH panel endorses 15-cent gas tax hike (Seattle Post-Intelligencer, Feb. 21, 2013)

Plan calls for $20 billion in Minnesota tax hikes for roads, transit (Doyle, P., Star Tribune, Nov. 30, 2012)

Richmond’s bad transportation deal (Galuszka, P., Washington Post, Feb. 20, 2013)

Transportation as Utility (Peterson, E. C., Eno Brief)

Wyoming Senate passes fuel tax hike (Billings Gazette [Associated Press], Feb. 14, 2013)

America’s Neglected Infrastructure

Our water, power and transportation infrastructure is vital to the way we live, yet we do not invest in it enough to keep it in the condition we need it to be in.  To learn more about our infrastructure needs, check out the following links.

The sad, sorry state of US roads (Read, R., Christian Science Monitor, Oct. 2, 2012)

U.S. Roads Are In Terrible Shape: How Would You Fix Them? (Read, R., The Car Connection, Oct. 2, 2012)

WHY IT MATTERS: Creaky bridges, potholed roads, tricky politics (Washington Post [Associated Press], Oct. 8, 2012)

21 Facts About America’s Decaying Infrastructure That Will Blow Your Mind (Snyder, M., Hawaii News Daily, Sept. 20, 2012)

The Gas Tax Is Running Low. But What Should Replace It? (Totty, M., Sept. 17, 2012)

Nation's water costs rushing higher (McCoy, K., USA Today, Sept. 26, 2012)

New long-term bill for Miami-Dade water and sewer repairs could top $12 billion (Rabin, C., Miami Herald, Sept. 17, 2012)

US Water Infrastructure Needs: The Private Funding Gap (Freedman, J., Environmental Leader, Sept. 11, 2012)

We need long term strategy for investment in our infrastructure (Rendell, E., The Hill’s Congress Blog, Sept. 18, 2012)

A year after Irene, experts say N.J. must strengthen infrastructure before it's too late (Sterling, S., New Jersey Star-Ledger, Aug. 25, 2012)

Bloomingdale floods expose sewer systems strained by development (Samuels, R., Washington Post, Aug. 25, 2012)

Cuts in transportation funding mean worse Pennsylvania roads, bridges (Schmitz, J., Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, Aug. 20, 2012)
Our Neglected Infrastructure (Infrastructure Watch, Aug. 7, 2012)

Urgency rising to fix nation's crumbling bridges (Glor, J., CBS This Morning, Aug. 9, 2012)

GM CEO Akerson: Raise Taxes On Gasoline (Ernst, K., The Car Connection, June 7, 2011)

Obama: Pay As You Drive, Instead of Gas Tax? (Halvorson, B., The Car Connection, May 5, 2011)

Who Wants Higher Gas Taxes? That's Ford. Bill Ford. (Voelcker, J., The Car Connection, May 5, 2009)

Water Bills Rising Quickly in the USA (Deutsch, R., USA Today)

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)

Where Do the Presidential Candidates Stand on Infrastructure?

This posted was amended with additional links on Oct. 23, 2012.

Where do the candidates stand on infrastructure issues?  Diligent journalists and bloggers have been searching for the answers.  The lazy contributor to this blog just compiled a list of links.  We hope you find it useful anyway.

Analysis: Infrastructure and the Election (Adler, B., Architectural Record, Oct. 4, 2012)

Romney’s Goals on Environmental Regulation Would Face Difficult Path (Broder, J. M., New York Times, Oct. 12, 2012)

WHY IT MATTERS: Creaky bridges, potholed roads, tricky politics (Washington Post [Associated Press], Oct. 8, 2012)

6 Energy Policy Highlights from the Democratic Party Platform (Handley, M., U.S. News, Sept. 4, 2012)

An Interview with Mitt Romney (Kudlow, L, National Review Online, Sept. 7, 2012)

Candidates & Infrastructure (Infrastructure Watch, Sept. 13, 2012)

How Obama’s plan for infrastructure bank would work (Plumer, B., Washington Post, Sept. 19, 2012)

President Barack Obama and Mitt Romney talk infrastructure in Plain Dealer interviews (Gomez, H. J., Cleveland Plain Dealer, Sept. 29, 2012)

Dukakis To Transportation Nation: You Were “Dead Wrong” on Romney and Infrastructure (Dellinger, M., Transportation Nation, Aug. 20, 2012)

Candidates and Infrastructure (Infrastructure Watch, July 17, 2012)

Mitt Romney Discusses Transportation Infrastructure in Charleston, SC (investsouthcarolina, YouTube, Dec. 21, 2011)

Mitt Romney: Metro-Friendly Moderate? (Dellinger, M., Transportation Nation, Dec. 21, 2011)

Create a $60 billion bank to fund roads and bridges (PolitiFact)

Alternative Fuels and Energy Resources Articles and Links

Amended March 3, 2015.

BIODIESEL

National Biodiesel Board

US and EU must change biofuel targets to avert food crisis, says Nestlé chief (Vidal, J., Guardian, Sept.  4, 2012)

Re-use, Recycle, Re-fuel (Scott, D., Earth Island Journal, Winter 2013)

BIOFUELS

Algae could replace 17% of US oil imports, study finds (Science Daily, Apr. 14, 2011)

Biofuel crops transform German farming (Evans, S., BBC, Aug. 31, 2012)

Good News: Lotsa Oil from Algae! Bad News: Lotsa Water Could Be Required! (Aquadoc, Apr. 18, 2011)

The era of cheap food may be over (Elliott, L., The Guardian, Sept. 2, 2012)

The Problem With Biofuels (CBS News, July 12, 2008)


ETHANOL

A Bit More Ethanol in the Gas Tank (Wald, M., New York Times, Oct. 13, 2010)

Analysis: U.S. bankers say, love or hate it, ethanol here to stay (Stebbins, C., Reuters, Sept. 5, 2012)

Biofuels: Challenges to the Transportation, Sale, and Use of Intermediate Ethanol Blends (Government Accountability Office, June 2011)

Biofuels May Push 120 Million into Hunger, Qatar’s Shah Says: “The era of low food prices is over” (Romm, J., Think Progress, October 1, 2011)

Congressional Activity (Infrastructure Watch, Aug. 23, 2010)


Drought? What Drought? EPA Refuses To Waive Ethanol Mandate (Lonely Conservative, Nov. 16, 2012)

Drought Withers U.S. Corn Crop, Heats Debate on Ethanol (Schulte, B., National Geographic, Sept. 6, 2012)

EPA's ethanol decision sparks controversy (Mohan, G., Los Angeles Times, Oct. 13, 2010)

Ethanol content of gasoline can be 15%, up from 10% now (Healey, J., USA Today, Oct. 14, 2010)

EPA refuses to waive ethanol mandate (German, B., The Hill, E2 Wire, Nov. 16, 2012)

Ethanol still a lightening rod (Leslie Reed and Joseph Morton, Omaha World-Herald, Aug. 18, 2008)

Ethanol Update (U.S. Fire Administration, Inforgram 26-08, July 10, 2008)

Ethanol Use Strains Food Aid Budget (Associated Press, April 13, 2009)

Ethanol’s Impacts on Our Water Resources (Cho, R., State of the Planet, March 21, 2011)

Food-Based Fuels Are Helping Drive Up Food Prices (Think Progress, July 22, 2011)

Fuel From Food? The Feast Is Over (CBS, Nov. 24, 2008)

Government report looks at ethanol's use of water (Dayton Daily News, Dec. 9, 2009)

Governors Look Beyond Corn-Based Ethanol (CBS News, July 14, 2008)

Hazardous Materials Final Rules: Miscellaneous Amendments (73 Federal Register 4699-4720)

The Impact Of Ethanol On Water Supplies (Biofuel Daily, Apr. 14, 2009)

In spite of drought, EPA turns down requests to waive corn ethanol mandate (Spierling, C., Washington Examiner, Beltway Confidential, Nov. 16, 2012)

The Man Who Dared to Question Ethanol (New York Times, July 13, 2008)

Markus, F. “Whiter lightning: Cellulosic ethanol arrives to save the tattered reputation of corn-mash hooch.” Motor Trend. Dec. 2008: 41.

Obama’s EPA Continues Handouts for Rich Ethanol Farmers on the Backs of Consumers (Horowitz, D., Red State, Nov. 16, 2012)

Perry draws environmentalist support on ethanol stand (Dallas Morning News, July 21, 2008)

The Problem With Biofuels (CBS News, July 12, 2008)

Rice report weighs biofuels and water resources (Gunter, F., Houston Business Journal, June 12, 2009)

Rice University researchers ask if biofuels will lead to a 'drink or drive' (ScienceBlog)

Scientists Make Underwater Biofuel Breakthrough (RTCC, January 20, 2012)

Study: Algae Biofuels Enviro-Impact Worse Than Corn Ethanol (AlterNet, Jan. 25, 2010)

Study: Biofuel Threatens Water Supplies (Live Science, Yahoo, Apr. 10, 2009)

Study: Corn-based Biofuel Costs 50 Gallons of Water per Mile (EP Online, May 5, 2009)

Unlocking Seaweed’s Nex-Gen Crude: Sugar (Garthwaite, J., Green blog at New York Times, January 23, 2012)

U.S. allows more ethanol in gasoline for newer cars (Gardner, T., & Doggett, T., Reuters, Oct. 14., 2010)

U.S. corn ethanol "was not a good policy"-Gore (Wynn, G., Reuters Africa, Nov. 22, 2010)

US drought could trigger repeat of global food crisis, experts warn (Goldenberg, S., Guardian, July 23, 2012)

US Must Stop Promoting Biofuels to Tackle World Hunger, Says Thinktank (Goldenberg, S., The Guardian, October 11, 2011)

Water worries cloud future for US biofuel (Reuters, Apr. 19, 2009)


METHANOL

Buchanan, N. “First K.I.S.S: Keeping It (Our Refueling Infrastructure) Simple.” Motor Trend Aug. 2008: 37.

SOLAR

Renewable energy won’t die from cheap oil: Bloomberg (Johnston, A., CleanTechnica, Feb. 13, 2015)

Seven reasons cheap oil can’t stop renewables now (Randall T., Bloomberg, Jan. 30, 2015)

Solar is getting cheaper, but how far can it go? (Plumer, B., Washington Post Wonkblog, Nov. 7, 2011)

Solar power: States take a shine to alternative energy (Hughes, T., Delaware Online, July 26, 2013)

Wind, Solar, & Storage Could Power Full Electric Grid Cost Effectively 99.9% Of The Time By 2030: Report (Johnston, A., Clean Technica, Dec. 11, 2012)

WIND

New York Aims To Be The Real Windy City (CBS News, Aug. 20, 2008)

Race to build deep-water wind farms is a long one (Clarke Canfield, Associated Press, Dec. 9, 2008)

The rise and fall of the U.S. wind industry, in one chart (Plumer, B., Washington Post Wonkblog, Nov. 26, 2012)

Uneasiness as renewable energy grows (Smith, R., Albany Times-Union, July 20, 2013)

Wind, Solar, & Storage Could Power Full Electric Grid Cost Effectively 99.9% Of The Time By 2030: Report (Johnston, A., Clean Technica, Dec. 11, 2012)

Science Tracer Bullet: Wind Power (Library of Congress)

Wyoming wind energy project officials aggressively set to-do list (Pelzer, J., Wyoming Star-Tribune, Nov. 10, 2010)


MISCELLANEOUS

Interconnected Infrastructure (Infrastructure Watch, Sept. 13, 2012)

T&I Committee Takes Up Infrastructure Issues

During his State of the Union address, President Barack Obama proposed a program of investing in infrastructure, particularly energy and transportation, as a way to create jobs and stimulate the economy.  The House Transportation and Infrastructure (T&I) Committee delved into the issue.

The committee held hearings yesterday the featured proponents from infrastructure advocates, business, and labor. Speakers included

•  Edward G. Rendell, Co-Chair of Building America’s Future and former governor of Pennsylvania,
• Thomas J. Donohue, President and CEO of the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, and
• Terry O’Sullivan, General President of the Laborers’ International Union of North America.

The T&I committee will be looking at three major bills, one to address waterways and ports, one to address railroads, and finally a reauthorization of the surface transportation programs (i.e. highways and related automobile, trucking and transit programs).  The last surface transportation reauthorization was only for two years, rather than the typical five-year plan.  The last Congress punted, largely for lack of will or imagination to deal with the predicted shortfalls in revenues for highway funding, for which they were criticized by departing Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood.

Related posts and articles

At hearing on nation’s crumbling infrastructure, money is the theme (Halsey, A., Washington Post, Feb. 13, 2013)

The Federal Role in Infrastructure (Macheska, C., Save America’s Infrastructure, Feb. 14, 2013)

Hearing Highlights Federal Role in Infrastructure and Economic Importance of Transportation System (House T&I Committee news release, Feb. 13, 2013)

No easy funding fix for U.S. transportation woes –lawmaker (Palmer, D., Reuters, Feb. 13, 2013)

The State of the Union... and our Highways (Jones, P. D., Huffington Post, Feb. 13, 2013)

Infrastructure & Engineering News Roundup

Engineering Week

We’re in the middle of Engineers Week 2013. Unfortunately, it is not uncommon for IW to miss taking not of this week. We encourage you to visit the Web site of the National Engineers Week Foundation. We’ve been tweeting about Engineers Week, and if you use Twitter you can also promote the profession this week with an #EWeek2013 hashtag.

Mayors Support Texas Water Resources Development Plan

The Texas Legislature is considering a proposal to spend $2 billion from the state rainy day fund to pay for projects in the state water resources plan. The mayors of Dallas, Mesquite, Midland, and San Antonio expressed support for the bill (find about this in the Dallas Morning News and the Houston Chronicle).

NAE Honors Engineers

The National Academy of Engineering recognized several engineers with prizes for their contributions to the profession, engineering achievements, and advancements in engineering education. The Draper Prize is especially prestigious, and is sometimes called the “Nobel Prize of engineering.” The Washington Post web site has a very good blog post about the prizes and winners.

National Infrastructure Bank Proposed

Another infrastructure bank proposal has been introduced. This one comes from Rep. John Delaney (MD). His bill would create an Office of Infrastructure Investment in the Department of Treasury. The office would oversee an American Infrastructure Fund and act something like a bank, loaning money to states and guaranteeing state and local bonds. The new release from Rep. Delaney’s office suggests that public-private partnerships will be encouraged by the office, but provides no specifics about how this would work.

Our Neglected Infrastructure

Usually it takes me months to compile 10 or so articles about America's problem with aging infrastructure.  I think this list came together in about a week.  Is infrastructure a trending topic for you?

Aging U.S. power grid also vulnerable as demand grows (Halsey, A., Washington Post, Aug. 2, 2012)

Investing in the grid: When the going gets tough, the tough get … creative (Fitzpatrick, R., Grist, Aug. 5, 2012)

Water infrastructure a phantom menace to economy if left unmaintained, experts say (Caroom, E., New Jersey Start Ledger, Aug. 5, 2012)

1 City + 671 Sewage Floods = $250+M Tab (Paint Square, July 19, 2012)

Infographic: Is the World Thirsty for Water Management? (IBM)

Mayors Group Wants More Infrastructure Investment (Walters, P., Associated Press, July 19, 2012)

N.J. water infrastructure work could cost billions (Racioppi, NewJersey.com, July 22, 2012)

Ohio’s Roads, Bridges and Utilities Need Billions of Dollars, National Expert Says (Breckenridge, T., Cleveland Plain Dealer, July 31, 2012)

One Damning Report (Gerard, L. W., Huffington Post, July 30, 2012)

Repair bill over $1 billion to fix crumbling Miami-Dade water, sewage system, report says (Rabin, C., Miami Herald, July 24, 2014)

Water Utilities Prepare for Changing Future (Schuster, L. A., Civil Engineering, July 17, 2012)

Our Aging Infrastructure (Infrastructure Watch, July 18, 2012)

Why Pleas to Increase Infrastructure Spending Fall on Deaf Ears (Orski, K., Infrastructure USA, Feb. 6, 2012)

Gina McCarthy Nominated to Lead Environmental Protection Agency

We previously posted that President Barack Obama nominated Gina McCarthy for the post of Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). Given the president’s recent reemphasis on climate change, it makes sense that he might pick the director of EPA’s Office of Air and Radiation.

Emily Badger at The Atlantic Cities reminds us that McCarthy also had a connection to Mitt Romney. She was involved in the Massachusetts Office of Commonwealth Development, which promoted smart growth in the state during Romney’s governorship. So while picking a nominee with climate change credentials, he is also picking someone with a background in smart growth and land use.

Related posts and articles

Gina McCarthy, EPA’s air chief, nominated to head agency (Eilperin, J., Washington Post, Mar. 4, 2013)

News Brief (Infrastructure Watch, Mar. 5, 2013)

Reviewing the Recovery Act

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.

Roundup of Recent News

Construction

Roman Cement Studied

One could argue that the durable cement developed by the ancient Romans helped them build a lasting civilization because they could build lasting structures. Scientists have recreated the mix and studied its properties. You can find the report in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences or a summary in the Washington Post.

Engineering

Be An Engineer Web Site Features Women Engineers

BeAnEngineer.com has profiles of notable engineers, many of them women. Here are links to some of the profiles:

Patricia Galloway, first woman president of the American Society of Civil Engineers

Margaret Petersen, hydraulic engineer

Marilyn Jorgenson Reece, highway engineer and first woman registered civil engineer in California

Ellen Swallows Richards, sanitary engineer and founder of home economics

Engineers are Human, Too

Check out former ASCE president Patricia Galloway’s TED talk about the profession of engineering. Engineers care about solving real problems that help real people.

You can see Galloway’s speech here.

Safety

New Reporting Requirements Take Effect January 1

The Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) has updated it rules related to injury reporting. Though many employers will not be affected by the rule change, it will not be required that all employers report all work-related in-patient hospitalizations, amputations and loss of an eye within 24 hours to OSHA.

Find out more here.

Transportation

Investing in Transportation Good for the Economy

A recent study by the Transportation Construction Coalition touted the benefits of investing in surface transportation infrastructure. These benefits include more jobs, increased incomes, and increased government revenues without tax increases.

You can read the report here, or find a summary at Fleet Owner.

60 Minutes Looks at Crumbling Infrastructure

60 Minutes ran a story on America’s aging and slowly failing transportation infrastructure. You can see the story here.

Wonders in the Sky

Slate named the U.S. Aviation Control System one of its seven wonders of the modern world. America’s airspace is one of the busiest and one of the safest.

Read more about it at Slate.

Water

New York’s Wonderful Water

Slate named the New York City water system one of the seven wonders of the modern world. It is a massive engineered system for a massive undertaking.

Read Daniel Glass’ appreciation of the system here.

Sewers Have Limits: Can’t Handle Grease

I’ve seen shelves of congealed grease on the walls of sewage pump stations. Yes, it is gross. WAMU posted a story of the grease problem in the Washington DC sewers.

Don’t Fear the Nexus

Our infrastructure for water, energy, transportation, and food is all interconnected.  Changes to one has consequences in the others.  Below are links to several articles that explore these interconnections.

Energy & Water

2013: Year of the Water-Energy Nexus? (Tweed, K., Greentechmedia.com, Dec. 18, 2012)

A startup that squeezes electricity out of city water (Wang, U., Washington Post, Nov. 28, 2012)

Waste Wattage: Cities Aim to Flush Heat Energy Out of Sewers (Kaufman, R., National Geographic, Dec. 11, 2012)

North America leads shift in global energy balance, IEA says in latest World Energy Outlook (International Energy Agency, Nov. 12, 2012)

US drought could trigger repeat of global food crisis, experts warn (Goldenberg, S., Guardian, July 23, 2012)

What’s on the Mind of Utilities? Water (Kanellos, M., Greentechmedia.com, June 13, 2011)

Food & Water

Drought expands, concerns mount about wheat and rivers (Gillam, C., Reuters, Dec. 6, 2012)

Water Pollution and the Farm Economy (Gillis, G., New York Times Green blog, Dec. 11, 2012)

365 Trillion Gallons of Water Thrown Away With Our Food Every Year (Ichenseher, T., National Geographic, Sept.  9, 2010)

Other

It's All Connected (Infrastructure Watch, Nov. 29, 2012)