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tion and Infrastructure Committee that would authorize $13.8 billion over five years for the Clean Water SRF, $2.5 billion in grants for Combined Sewer Overflow improvements and $250 million in grants to promote alternative water source projects. The bill also would establish a Clean Water Trust Fund to provide a dedicated source of revenue for wastewater infrastructure improvements, using a variety of sources to generate revenue and encourage the use of “green infrastructure” to promote water efficiency improvements. The legislation would require that projects are subject to prevailing wage requirements under the Davis-Bacon Act and that they codify the “Buy American” provisions in the Clean Water Act. While this legislation doesn’t stand much of a chance in the current political environment in the House of Representatives, NUCA supported the bill in a letter to author Rep. Tim Bishop (D-NY), stating that “while no ‘silver bullet’ exists to address these challenges, passage of HR 3145 would be a big step toward job creation, economic recovery, enhanced public health and environmental protection.” Infrastructure Bank Legislation Pushed by President Around the middle of the year, the Building and Upgrading Infrastructure for Long-Term Development Act of 2011 (BUILD Act) was introduced by Sens. John Kerry (D-Mass.) and Kay Bailey Hutchinson (R-Texas). The legislation, supported by both the U.S. Chamber of Commerce and the AFL-CIO, would establish an American Infrastructure Financing Authority (AIFA), or National Infrastructure Bank, to complement existing infrastructure funding. Under the bank concept, projects for water, wastewater, transportation and energy infrastructure would be funded by loans and loan guarantees for the most significant and economically viable projects across the country. Initial “seed money” in the amount of $10 billion would be provided from the government, with the stipulation that after that the bank must become self-sustaining. The legislation restricts the payment of government funds to no more than 50 percent of a project’s costs, or just enough to attract private investment. The goal is for the bank to leverage hundreds of billions in private infrastructure funding. It would be publicly-owned but operate independently. A board of directors and chief executive officer would be appointed by the President and members of the Senate. A matter of concern to NUCA is that projects would have to be at least $100 million in size and “of national significance,” which could hurt the chances of water infrastructure projects being eligible. Like so many infrastructure bills in the current political environment, the BUILD Act faces opposition in many congressional circles, although it was included in President Obama’s “American Jobs Act,” introduced earlier this year. Opening the Door to Significant Private Investment Recognizing the need for innovative financing for water and wastewater infrastructure improvements, NUCA has increased the focus of its advocacy efforts to provide more opportunities for public-private partnerships. The use of tax exempt private activity bonds (PABs) encourage significant investment from the private sector, creating jobs and enhancing local economies while rebuilding America’s dilapidated underground water infrastructure. A proven, effective and inexpensive financing tool for water infrastructure projects is the PAB, a form of tax-exempt 14 Utility Contractor | December 2011 NUCA Chairman of the Board Ryan Schmitt (right) testified in front of the House Appropriations Subcommittee on Interior, Environment and Related Agencies in April. Here he meets with Allen West, a Republican U.S. Representative for Florida’s 22nd Congressional District. financing for state and municipal governments looking to partner with a private entity to meet a “public need” such as a wastewater treatment plant. The partnership approach makes infrastructure repair and construction more affordable for municipalities and ultimately for customers. Tax exempt bonds employ private capital in lieu of public debt and, importantly, transfer the risk and long-term debt from the public entity to the private partner. PABs also provide lower-cost financing, which translates into lower cost for the consumer. Unfortunately, federal tax law limits the amount of PAB debt that may be issued annually in a state. The volume limit or “cap” is based on the state’s population. This year the cap is $95 per resident or $277.8 million, whichever is greater. Because of the cap, the “out of sight, out of mind” nature of water infrastructure projects usually lose out to more politically attractive infrastructure projects such as roads, bridges and schools. In 2007, only 1.3 percent of all exempt facility bonds were issued to water and wastewater projects. Eliminating the state volume cap on PABs that fund water and wastewater infrastructure was last estimated by the Joint Committee on Taxation to cost the federal government $354 million over 10 years, but has the potential to generate up to $50 billion over the same period. In the first session of the 112th Congress, NUCA saw remarkable progress on our PAB legislation, gaining almost as many cosponsors on House and Senate versions of the bill as we garnered during the entire previous Congress. Working closely with key lawmakers and their staffs, NUCA, as chair of the Clean Water Council (CWC) and co-chair of the Sustainable Water Infrastructure Coalition (SWIC), led the way in getting 51 co-sponsors on the House bill (HR 1802) and 7 on the Senate version (S 939) in this year alone. NUCA, the CWC and SWIC continue to believe that passage of the PAB legislation will offer an effective, immediate and fiscally responsible way to kick-start struggling water infrastructure markets around the country, and we look forward to leading the way to final passage of the bill.
Highway Reauthorization Continues to Prove a Hard Sell As an active member of the Transportation Construction Coalition (TCC), NUCA works with 29 national associations and construction unions representing hundreds of thousands of individuals with a direct market interest in federal transportation programs. The TCC, of which NUCA has been an active member since its inception in 1996, works tirelessly toward a multi-year reauthorization of the nation’s surface transportation program. The TCC’s message is clear: Enough with the “kick the can down the road” approach. Pass a multi-year reauthorization bill. Congress has passed almost 10 extensions of current funding since the reauthorization was first set to expire on Oct. 1, 2009. Short-term extensions only mean that states cannot execute plans to fund critical transportation projects, and highway contractors cannot plan for the future because of the continued uncertainty in the market. The highway program is scheduled for funding through March of next year, but the lack of political will for a robust bill does nothing for states and the construction industry in terms of project planning. At press time, NUCA was expecting the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee to act on a $230 billion, sixyear bill for highways, highway safety and transit. That amount would reflect a $56 million reduction from what was included in the last six-year surface transportation bill. The House bill The association’s Washington Summit brings in NUCA troops from across the nation for a day of briefings (pictured) followed by a day of speaking to important decision-makers on Capitol Hill. is expected to consolidate duplicative programs, streamline projects and provide states with needed flexibility to address their transportation priorities, but does not address the revenue shortfall that threatens to undermine the long-term viability of our transportation system. Meanwhile in the Senate, leaders of the Senate Environment and Public Works (EPW) Committee passed a two-year, $109 billion bill that would maintain current spending levels, adjusted for inflation. LightSquared Telecom Proposal Has Construction on Edge NUCA joined dozens of national organizations that make up the Coalition to Save Our GPS, which is working collectively to block efforts by LightSquared Inc. to develop new wireless broadband services that directly threaten to interfere with frequencies used by GPS receivers. The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) conditionally allowed LightSquared to proceed at the beginning of this year pending required testing to determine the extent of the impacts that LightSquared would cause on GPS systems. So far, the testing has only confirmed this threat. The construction industry has much at stake in GPS technology, as it is used to modernize and automate construction sites, equipment and processes. The utility construction and excavation industries would be especially impacted because of their reliance on GPS in efforts to prevent damages to underground facilities during excavation. Earlier this year the House Committee on Science, Space and Technology held a hearing to review the results of recent testing on the impact of the LightSquared network on the GPS signal. Committee members expressed concern that “potential interference could disable the GPS signal used for critical U.S. government services and science missions.” While the vast majority of those involved in the debate are fully opposed to the LightSquared proposal, the issue will continue into next year. REINS Act Allows for Congressional Accountability in Federal Regulating The vast majority of business organizations commonly complain about the extent to which the Obama White House is promulgating federal regulations. The number of pages in the Federal Register (publication where all new rules must be published) jumped 18 percent just last year, and more than 4,200 regulations are now on the federal agenda. The impacts on American small businesses are more than significant. To provide needed relief to American businesses already struggling to stay afloat, Rep. Geoff Davis (R-Ky) introduced the Regulations from the Executive In Need of Scrutiny (REINS) Act (HR 10) earlier this year. It passed the House on a bi-partisan vote of 241 to 184 on Dec. 7. The legislation, which would require an up-or-down vote on every new major federal rule costing more than $100 million, will provide needed relief from federal bureaucracies that continue to overwhelm American businesses with often unnecessary regulatory red tape. In a letter of support thanking Rep. Davis for his leadership, NUCA recognized “the need for reasonable federal oversight and common-sense regulation,” but maintained that “arbitrary regulations that are not backed up by sound science are more than overly burdensome — implementation and compliance costs can serve as another nail in the coffin as American companies struggle to stay afloat.” Any reader of this column knows how valuable NUCA staff considers its dedicated network of grassroots members and chapters. We hope you will continue to stay in the game as we head into an unbelievably important election year. As always, we’re looking forward to doing our part, and we hope you will continue to support the efforts of your association in the months ahead. Eben Wyman is the Vice President of Government Relations at NUCA. December 2011 | Utility Contractor 15
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Page 4: DECEMBER 2011 Contents 16 12 16 Ins
Page 8 and 9: groundbreaking news No Loans = Less
Page 10 and 11: groundbreaking news Father of the B
Page 12 and 13: Inside Washington Special Report Gr
Page 16 and 17: The Next Evolution in Innovation Di
Page 18 and 19: Polarizing Solutions Vermeer Unveil
Page 20 and 21: The Heat Is On Serious Thermal Prod
Page 22 and 23: A Well Balanced Backhoe Loader Enha
Page 24 and 25: Eight Ways to Protect Your Construc
Page 26 and 27: Then There Was Light Utility Contra
Page 28 and 29: N safety management Prevent Deadly
Page 30 and 31: nuca news GUCA Awards Scholarships
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Page 41 and 42: the pipeline For more information g
Page 43 and 44: Don’t Get Left Behind! In the hus

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