We have all heard the expression death by a thousand cuts. Listen to the just-released 麻豆传媒 ConstructorCast and hear about a design-build construction project that had over 88,000 cuts. These cuts came in the form of owner comments on the contractor鈥檚 submittals that typically expressed an owner 鈥減reference鈥 that was not necessarily a contractual requirement. Just trying to parse out the nature of the owner鈥檚 comments, the design-builder estimated it cost the company 49 person-years! Comments stating a preference were four times more likely than comments indicating something 鈥渘on-compliant.鈥 Some ENR top 75 firms have left the design-build market amidst this 鈥渕idlife crisis鈥 of risk.
The construction industry added 13,000 jobs in June as the number of jobseekers with construction experience plunged to a record low for the month according to an analysis of federal employment data released today by the Associated General Contractors of America. Association officials said the industry would likely have added even more jobs in June had it not been for the shortage of available workers.
On June 30, the U.S. Supreme Court decided a climate change related case that invoked the 鈥渕ajor questions doctrine鈥 to determine that the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) had overstepped its authority under the Clean Air Act Section 111 to force an energy generational shift away from coal (West Virginia v. EPA). In the aftermath of this ruling, policy experts have been discussing whether this prohibits EPA from taking regulatory action to address climate change and whether the major questions doctrine will be called into play more frequently. Another recent example of the Court applying the doctrine is when it halted enforcement of the COVID-19 vaccination and testing emergency temporary standard.
Follow-up on 麻豆传媒 Member Survey on Sustainability Practices
In a June 21 letter, 麻豆传媒 of America raised supply chain concerns stemming from a proposed rulemaking to impose Federal Implementation Plan requirements on twenty-six states as part of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency鈥檚 (EPA) 鈥済ood neighbor鈥 plan related to the 2015 ozone National Ambient Air Quality Standard (NAAQS). EPA鈥檚 proposal would add emissions budgets and limits on certain energy and, for the first time, industrial sources鈥攊ncluding certain kilns, boilers, furnaces, and mills. Although not directly impacted, 麻豆传媒 members could experience disruptions in availability or cost increases for energy or materials key to construction such as cement, iron and steel, glass, chemicals, and paper products.
麻豆传媒 weighs in on SEC proposal to require privately held construction contractors to track and report emissions on construction projects for public companies.
On June 21, 2022, the Biden Administration unveiled its Spring 2022 Unified Agenda of Regulatory and Deregulatory Actions mapping out federal agency priorities for the coming months. This bi-annual publication informs the public of regulations under consideration or planned by federal agencies. The present agenda includes several submissions by labor agencies.