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ARTBA Regional Meetings: Hotel Deadlines Fast Approaching! See page 2 for more information. ARTBA Washington Newsline OCTOBER 17, 2011 Newsline Washington “Hit the Reset Button” on Transportation, ARTBA Chief Says President Expedites Six Transportation Improvements The Obama Administration October 11 announced the selection of six transportation projects to receive expedited permitting and environmental reviews in an effort to move forward high priority infrastructure projects. The projects are: Tappan Zee Bridge in New York; Crenshaw/LAX extension in California; Whittier Jobs Council Calls For Infrastructure Investment Continued on page 2 Continued on page 4 President Obama’s independent Council on Jobs and Competitiveness October 11 recommended several steps designed to support the economy through reforms relevant to the transportation construction and design industry, including: increased investment in a multi-year surface transportation bill; expanding the use of public- private partnerships; creating Your company could be featured here! Contact ARTBA’s Peter Embrey for information on advertising in the Washington Newsline. ADVERTISEMENT America’s transportation funding needs have been caught in a political vortex, ARTBA President & CEO Pete Ruane said October 14 at the “Washington Post” Live conference, “Fixing America’s Foundation: Rebuilding Transportation Infrastructure.” “We need to hit the reset button…we have to define what the federal purpose is and then going about doing it, accomplishing it,” Ruane told the audience inside the “Washington Post” Auditorium in Downtown D.C. Also participating in the panel discussion were: Elliot “Lee” Sander, group chief executive, global transportation, AECOM, Richard Sarles, general manager and CEO, Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority, and Janet Kavinoky, executive director, congressional and public affairs division at the U.S. Chamber of Commerce. View Ruane’s full remarks.

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ARTBA Digital "Washington Newsline," October 17

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Page 1: 10_17_News

ARTBA Regional Meetings: Hotel Deadlines Fast Approaching! See page 2 for more information.

ARTBA Washington Newsline

O C T O B E R 1 7 , 2 0 1 1

NewslineWashington

“Hit the Reset Button” on Transportation, ARTBA Chief Says

President Expedites Six Transportation ImprovementsThe Obama Administration October 11 announced the selection of six transportation projects to receive expedited permitting and environmental reviews in an effort to move forward high priority infrastructure projects. The projects are: Tappan Zee Bridge in New York; Crenshaw/LAX extension in California; Whittier

Jobs Council Calls For Infrastructure Investment

Continued on page 2

Continued on page 4

President Obama’s independent Council on Jobs and Competitiveness October 11 recommended several steps designed to support the economy through reforms relevant to the transportation construction and design industry, including: increased investment in a multi-year surface transportation bill; expanding the use of public-private partnerships; creating

Your company could be featured here!Contact ARTBA’s Peter Embrey for information on advertising in the Washington Newsline.

A D V E R T I S E M E N T

America’s transportation funding needs have been caught in a political vortex, ARTBA President & CEO Pete Ruane said October 14 at the “Washington Post” Live conference, “Fixing America’s Foundation: Rebuilding Transportation Infrastructure.”

“We need to hit the reset

button…we have to define what the federal purpose is and then going about doing it, accomplishing it,” Ruane told the audience inside the “Washington Post” Auditorium in Downtown D.C.

Also participating in the panel discussion were: Elliot “Lee” Sander, group chief

executive, global transportation, AECOM, Richard Sarles, general manager and CEO, Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority, and Janet Kavinoky, executive director, congressional and public affairs division at the U.S. Chamber of Commerce.

View Ruane’s full remarks.

Page 2: 10_17_News

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ARTBA Washington Newsline

Upcoming EventsVisit our Events Page for more information.

2011P3 ConferenceNovember 14–16 Washington, D.C. [Add to Calendar]

Northeastern Regional Meeting November 28–29 New York, N.Y.[Add to Calendar]

Southern Regional MeetingNovember 30–December 1 Tampa, Fla.[Add to Calendar]

Western Regional MeetingDecember 5–6 Los Angeles, Calif.[Add to Calendar]

Central Regional MeetingDecember 7–8Chicago, Ill.[Add to Calendar]

2012Federal Issues Program & TCC Fly-InMay 22–24 Washington, D.C.

Young Executive Development ProgramMay 22–25 Washington, D.C.

National ConventionSeptember 11–14 Memphis, Tenn.

White House ExpeditesSix Transportation Projects

Upcoming Hotel Deadlines: ARTBA Regional Meetings

Bridge in Massachusetts; Provo Westside Connector highway in Utah; Baltimore Red Line rail transit in Maryland; and a Federal Aviation Administration Next Generation pilot project in Texas.

ARTBA President & CEO Pete Ruane said, “ARTBA has worked for over a decade to try to remedy the burdensome approval process. To that end, we support the President’s decision and hope his efforts to improve efficiency of federal reviews can be applied to other projects in the future.”

Continued from page 1

ARTBA’s Regional Meetings provide attendees with real world updates from the public and private sectors in the transportation design and construction industry. In one intensive day, you will gather key information on transportation investment on the state and federal level, environmental and regulatory issues, and public-private partnerships. Each meeting will also include ample time for networking and business development discussions with your industry peers. More information: www.artba.org/regionalmeetings.

NortheasternNovember 28-29Radisson Martinique on BroadwayNew York, N.Y. 212.736.3800Hotel Deadline: October 28Room rate: $229*

SouthernNovember 30 – December 1Renaissance Tampa International Plaza HotelTampa, Fla. 813.877.9200Hotel Deadline: October 31Room rate: $169*

WesternDecember 5-6The Westin Los Angeles Airport HotelLos Angeles, Calif. 310.216.5858Hotel Deadline: November 16Room rate: $119*

CentralDecember 7-8Hyatt Regency O’HareChicago, Ill. 847.696.1234Hotel Deadline: November 18Room rate: $184*

*Be sure to mention ARTBA to receive the discounted rate. New York’s Tappan Zee Bridge

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ARTBA Washington Newsline

House Passes Bipartisan ARTBA-Supported Coal Ash Bill

Products & ServicesAdvertise in the 2012 ARTBA Membership Directory & Buyers’ Guide!

This is the definitive book of “who’s who” in the transportation design and construction industry. It contains nearly 400 pages of information describing ARTBA and its mission, a transportation industry buyers’ guide, and a comprehensive listing of ARTBA member companies and individuals along with contact information for each listing.

The directory will mail to our 6,300 members in late December 2011.

Contact Peter Embrey for advertising options.

To learn more about other products and services available, visit the ARTBA Store today!

MEMBERSHIP DIRECTORY & BUYERS’ GUIDE

2011MDBG_2011_FINAL.indd 1 10/27/2010 9:48:30 AM

2011 ARTBA P3s in Transportation ConferenceNovember 14-16 | Mayflower® Renaissance Hotel | Washington, D.C.

Featured sessions include:

• Status update on the federal surface transportation reauthorization bill and how it could impact the P3 market;

• Progress in the P3 procurement process and strategies for success with the FHWA Office of Innovative Program Delivery;

• Developments in State P3 Programs – California, Virginia, Georgia, North Caro-lina, Texas, Florida, Arizona, Ohio, Indiana, Illinois, and Puerto Rico;

• Implementation challenges and solutions in one of the nation’s largest P3 proj-ects—the I-495 Capital Beltway HOT Lanes; and

• An optional tour of the Capital Beltway HOT Lanes project site and operations center (pre-registration required).

Confirmed public-sector speakers include:

Register : www.artbap3.org

• Regina McElroy, Federal Highway Administration’s Office of Innovative Program Delivery

• Tony Kinn, Virginia Office of Transpor-tation Public Private Partnerships

• Steve DeWitt, North Carolina Turnpike Authority

• Kome Ajise, Caltrans• Gerald Ross, Georgia Department of

Transportation• James Barna, Ohio Department of

Transportation

• Roger Moliere, L.A. County Metropoli-tan Transportation Authority

• Mary Peters, Former U.S. Secretary of Transportation

• Amanda Farrell, Partnerships British Columbia

• Matthew Kattapuram, Infrastructure Ontario

• Robert Poole, Reason Foundation

The U.S. House of Representatives October 14 voted 267-144 to pass H.R. 2273, the “Coal Residuals Reuse and Management Act.” The ARTBA-supported legislation would both set federal standards for responsible storage of coal ash, a product used in cement production, while also prohibiting the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) from designating coal ash as a “hazardous” substance. The Obama Administration October 12 issued a statement in opposition to H.R. 2273, but stopped short of threatening a veto.

ARTBA participated in an October 13

briefing for House staff on H.R. 2273, visited nearly 100 member offices, urged all House members to support the bill and signed multiple coalition letters. Further, ARTBA released a study in September finding a “hazardous” designation from EPA would add $104.6 billion in cumulative costs to transportation construction projects over the next 20 years.

Copies of all of ARTBA’s material on the issue of coal ash regulation can be found in the “regulatory advocacy” section of www.artba.org.

The Economic Impacts of Prohibiting Coal Fly Ash Use in Transportation Infrastructure Construction

September 2011

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“Do what President Reagan did, work with an opposition party and put friends and neighbors to work... If you look at what happened after Congress passed [the 1982 transportation bill], the economy started to recover.”

U.S. Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood urging Congress to put politics aside and pass a multi-year transportation bill at an October 14 “Washington Post“Live event.

“We must use every responsible mechanism possible to move projects and expand our capacity to finance infrastructure maintenance and improvements, but a National Infrastructure Bank is dead on arrival in Congress.”

U.S. Rep. John Mica (R-Fla.), Chairman of the Transportation and Infrastructure Committee, during the October 12 hearing on the proposed National Infrastructure Bank.

Overheard“ ”

TRB Newsletter: October 11, 2011ARTBA is pleased to make available another service for members that highlights new research, technologies, industry best practices and information resources available to the transportation design and construction industry. This material comes from the Transportation Research Board. Read the most recent newsletter.

Fostering Innovation

Continued from page 1

Jobs Council Calls For Infrastructure Investment

Legislative & Regulatory News

a national infrastructure bank for large, intermodal projects; increased use of toll financing; and streamlining the permitting and approval process for transportation improvements. The interim report marks the latest in a long line of independent panels to make the need for increased transportation investment a critical step to improving the nation’s economy.

ARTBA, Allies File Brief in Clean Water Act Litigation

ARTBA, as part of a coalition of 15 industry trade associations, filed a “friend of the court” brief with a federal court October 13 in the case of Ecological Rights Foundation (ERF) v. Pacific Gas and Electric Co and Pacific Bell Telephone Co. ERF argues the companies must obtain federal Clean Water Act (CWA) and solid waste disposal permits in order to use wood utility poles treated with a federally registered preservative. The case could expand the definition of “point sources” of pollution under the CWA to encompass any building or construction (including transportation construction) materials that can release chemicals into the environment during their intended use.

House Panel Approves Three Percent Withholding Repeal

The House Ways and Means Committee October 13 approved unanimously H.R. 674, a bipartisan bill to repeal a provision which will, beginning January 1, 2013, require government agencies at the federal, state, and local levels to withhold three percent of nearly all contract for goods and services, including those related to the delivery of transportation improvements. ARTBA wrote members of the Ways and Means Committee October 7 urging support for H.R. 674 as the withholding provision will place an undue burden on the ability of transportation design and construction firms to invest in personnel and equipment and restrict the ability to submit bids on new project opportunities.

The Ways and Means Committee also approved legislation, H.R. 1576, that would generate $13 billion in healthcare savings presumably to offset the lost revenue from repealing the three percent rule. This action could complicate the

outlook for a multi-year surface transportation bill, as both the House and Senate are searching for resources to support highway and transit investment.

Senate Rejects Jobs Act, LaHood Suggests Acting on Transportation Components

The U.S. Senate October 11 rejected in a procedural vote further action on S. 1660, the “American Jobs Act” (AJA) proposed last month by President Obama. The legislation would, among other things, include a $50 billion stand alone investment in transportation infrastructure and establish a $10 billion infrastructure bank to leverage private investment in water, energy, and transportation improvements. Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid is reportedly looking for opportunities to move components of the AJA as separate measures. U.S. Secretary of Transportation Ray LaHood weighed in October 13 recommending Congress pass the transportation investment components of the measure.

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5ARTBA Washington Newsline

Download a PDF copy of the digital “Washington Newsline.”

Transportation Hearing Critiques National Infrastructure Bank

The House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee October 12 held a hearing exploring the merits of establishing a national infrastructure bank. The majority of the witnesses, including past ARTBA Public-Private Partnerships Division President Geoff Yarema of Nossaman, LLP in Los Angeles, Calif., told committee members a national infrastructure bank that includes transportation with other types of infrastructure projects would likely be redundant as the U.S. Department of Transportation (DOT) has its own loan and credit assistance program, the Transportation Infrastructure Finance and Innovation Act (TIFIA). Yarema recommended instead increasing the resources for TIFIA to meet the backlog of projects currently under consideration for loans from DOT. Read Yarema’s full testimony.

Several infrastructure bank proposals have been offered in the past few years, but much of the hearing focused on the recent bank proposal by Senators Kay Bailey Hutchison (R-Texas) and John Kerry (D-Mass.) and incorporated by President Obama into his “American Jobs Act.”

The American Road and Transportation Builders Association recognized transportation design and construction industry leaders October 4 with awards during the 2011 ARTBA National Convention, held in Monterey, Calif. The association announced the following honorees:

NELLO L. TEER, JR. AWARD Bill Cox, Corman Construction

GUY KELCEY AWARDBob Close, Parsons Brinckerhoff

JOHN “JAKE” LANDEN MEMO-RIAL HIGHWAY SAFETY AWARDOwen Denman, retired president and CEO of Barrier Systems.

ARTBA-TRANSPORTATION DEVELOPMENT FOUNDATION/CNA “CONTRACTOR SAFETY AWARDS”

Not pictured: Robert Hull, recipient of the John “Jake” Landen Memorial Highway Safety Award, Dr. Melissa Tooley, recipient of the S.S. Steinberg Award, and Larry Russell, recipient of the Distinguished Leadership Award.

Bruce & Merrilees Electric Co., “500,000 or less” Category

Blythe Construction, Inc., “500,000–1,000,000” Category (tie)

C.F. Jordan Construction LLC, “500,000–1,000,000” Category (tie)

Granite Construction Company, “Over 1,000,001” Category