Definitive waters rule rises in wake of Obama EPA ambiguity

With the backdrop of the 2020 National Association of Home Builders International Builders’ Show in Las Vegas, Environmental Protection Agency Administrator Andrew Wheeler and Assistant Secretary of the Army for Civil Works R.D. James announced the Navigable Waters Protection Rule. Clearly defining “waters of the United States,” it lays to rest one of the most contentious EPA actions—a 2015 Clean Water Act reinterpretation expanding federal authority over bodies of water small and large—attempted under the Obama administration. The new definition will see fewer residential and commercial building development projects subject to federal Clean Water Act (CWA) permits.

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PCA: Higher building standards align with Obama Climate Action Plan

Sources: Portland Cement Association, Washington, D.C.; CP staff

PCA and other concrete industry interests are urging enactment of H.R. 2241, the Disaster Savings and Resilient Construction Act of 2013, providing $25,000 and $3,000 tax credits, respectively, to business or home owners who rebuild in declared federal disaster areas.

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Obama talks transportation funding, Jobs Act at Hilltop Concrete

Sources: White House press staff; National Ready Mixed Concrete Association, Silver Spring, Md.; Hilltop Basic Resources, Cincinnati; CP staff

With a rickety, steel trestle bridge as a backdrop, President Obama told a September 22 gathering at Hilltop Concrete’s downtown Cincinnati plant, “We used to have the best infrastructure in the world. We’re the country that built the Intercontinental Railroad, Interstate Highway System, Hoover Dam [and] Grand Central Station.”

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