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AAES FAST FACTS
September 20, 2002


20 September 2002

Allison Salyer, editor
asalyer@aaes.org

WASHINGTON UPDATE

The Bush administration has begun a broad restructuring of the scientific advisory committees that guide federal policy in areas such as patients' rights and public health, eliminating some committees that were coming to conclusions at odds with the president's views and in other cases replacing members with handpicked choices. In the past few weeks, the Department of Health and Human Services has retired two expert committees before their work was complete. One had recommended that the Food and Drug Administration expand its regulating of the lucrative genetic testing industry, which has so far been free of such oversight. The other committee, which was rethinking federal protections for human research subjects, had drawn the ire of administration supporters on the religious right. A third committee, which had been assessing the effects of environmental chemicals on human health, has been told that nearly all of its members will be replaced. The changes are among the first in a gradual restructuring of the system that funnels expert advice to Health and Human Services Secretary Tommy Thompson. The committees usually work in anonymity, but they are important because their interpretation of scientific data can sway an agency's approach to health risk and regulation. Additional information may be found at www.washingtonpost.com

Congress approved and sent to the President legislation (H.R. 4687) what will enable the government to respond more quickly to building failures and to overcome the problems that plagued the investigation into the collapse of the World Trade Center (WTC). "The National Construction Safety Team Act will also give broader legal authority to the more comprehensive investigation into the WTC, recently launched by the National Institutes of Standards and Technology. Additional information may be found below, or you can go to www.house.gov/science

Astronomers using NASA's most powerful space telescopes have produced an unprecedented time-lapse movie showing the pulsing, still beating heart of a star that exploded a thousand years ago. The movies are expected to serve as real-world tests for theories that attempt to explain how these starts evolve and interact with the surrounding space environment. Additional information may be found at www.washingtonpost.com

The President's Critical Infrastructure Protection Board released in draft form, "The National Strategy to Secure Cyberspace, this week. The draft describes initiatives that seek to secure U.S. information systems against deliberate, malicious disruption and to foster an increased national resiliency. The Strategy is open for comment until November 8, 2002. Additional information may be found at www.whitehouse.gov/pcipb

Association News

AIChE

Where will the chemical security challenges facing the industry take us? How will we integrate Security into existing Process Safety and Reliability challenges? Learn the answers to these questions and more from industry leaders at the 17th Annual CCPS International Conference and Workshop.

Benefits of attending: To view the complete program click here: www.aiche.org/ccps/pdf/iceprogram02.pdf

Featured Speakers Include:

Charles Jeffress, Chief Operating Officer, US Chemical Safety and Hazard Investigation Board

Debbie Dietrich, Director, Chemical Emergency Preparedness Prevention Office, US EPA

Christopher Hart, Assistant Administrator for System Safety, Federal Aviation Administration

Conference Sponsors:

American Chemistry Council

US Chemical Safety and Hazard Investigation Board

European Federation of Chemical Engineers

US EPA/ CEPPO

Health and Safety Executive

European Process Safety Center

OSHA

SOCMA

TNO

ASCE

EXECUTIVE ORDER SEEKS TO ACCELERATE ENVIRONMENTAL REVIEWS FOR TRANSPORTATION PROJECTS

The Bush Administration Wednesday announced a new executive order that will appoint a Cabinet-level task force charged with reducing the amount of time it takes for vital transportation projects to pass through environmental review processes. The task force will be chaired by Transportation Secretary Norman Mineta and will include the Secretaries of the Agriculture, Commerce, Interior and Defense departments as well as the Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), the Chair of the Advisory Council on Historic Preservation and the Chair of the Council on Environmental Quality.

The task force first will develop a list of high priority projects to receive immediate attention for a more efficient review process. Subsequently, the group will identify areas for improvement and outline ëbest practices' for review processes.

The announcement came just one day before the Senate Environment and Public Works committee held a hearing on environmental streamlining for transportation projects.

The executive order also withdraws environmental review and planning regulations proposed during the Clinton Administration that many observers, including ASCE, criticized as lengthening the time required to complete the review process.

CONGRESS SENDS CONSTRUCTION SAFETY TEAM ACT TO PRESIDENT

The House of Representatives on Tuesday gave its final approval of the Construction Safety Team Act (H.R. 4687) and sent it to the president for his signature to become law. The legislation gives the National Institute of Standards and Technology the authority to form investigative teams to analyze future building collapses that result in loss of life. The Act was inspired in part by difficulties encountered by an ASCE-led investigation into the collapse of the World Trade Center towers on September 11, 2001. The ASCE Building Performance Team, partnered with the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), at times lacked authority to access vital pieces of debris from the buildings. That hampered the team's effort to determine the exact chain of events that triggered the collapse of the twin towers. ASCE helped to write the Construction Safety Team Act and was a main supporter of the legislation.

SENATE COMMITTEE APPROVES NSF REAUTHORIZATION

The Senate Commerce, Science and Transportation Committee has approved S. 2817, the National Science Foundation (NSF) Doubling Act. The Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee approved the bill last week. Differences between the two Committee versions must be worked out before the bill can go to the Senate floor. For more information, see last week's issue of This Week in Washington.

SCHOOL CONSTRUCTION FUNDING

The FY 2003 Labor-HHS appropriations bill was pulled from the floor of the House of Representatives prior to a vote last week by the Republican leadership. When it appeared that an amendment by Reps. Charles Rangel (D-NY) and Nancy Johnson (R-CT) to provide funding for school construction had enough support to pass, the Republican leadership decided to delay consideration of the measure indefinitely. The amendment would have provided $25.2 billion over 2 years for school construction bonds. The provision would have put the cost of the bill over limits set by Republican leaders.

STATE LEGISLATIVE UPDATE

The following bill was recently introduced in the Michigan state legislature. If you have any questions, please contact Austin Fulk. The bill affects the civil engineering profession, but ASCE National has not taken a position on it.

H.B. 6266, a measure designed to assist in brownfields remediation, provides for the establishment of plant rehabilitation districts to encourage the rehabilitation of unused industrial areas.

NSPE

1. National Science Foundation (NSF) Funding: Legislation (S. 2817) to authorize a doubling of funding for the National Science Foundation over the next five years cleared the Senate Commerce, Science and Transportation Committee this week. The Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee approved S. 2817 last week. Before the Senate can consider the legislation, the two versions of the bill will have to be reconciled. The House approved its version of the NSF reauthorization bill (H.R. 4664) in June 2002. The House version would reauthorize the National Science Foundation (NSF) through fiscal 2005. It would authorize $5.5 billion for the agency for fiscal 2003 and increase that amount by another 15 percent annually over the next two years. NSPE continues to support doubling of the NSF budget.

2. Progress Continues on Comprehensive Energy Bill: House and Senate conferees continue to make slow progress on crafting a compromised energy bill. This week conferees agreed on changes to the corporate average fuel economy standards (CAFE) for auto manufacturers. The changes would require automakers to improve the fuel efficiency of minivans, sport utility vehicles and light trucks between 2006 and 2012. The conferees will next turn to the contentious issue of electric industry restructuring. The conferees have yet to tackle the issue of oil exploration in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge (ANWR).

3. President Issues Executive Order to Streamline Environmental Review of Transportation Projects: The Bush Administration issued an executive order this week to establish a Cabinet-level task force to expedite the consideration of transportation projects by streamlining the environmental review process. The task force will include the Departments of Agriculture, Commerce, Defense, Transportation, and the Environmental Protection Agency, the Advisory Council on Historic Preservation and the President's Council on Environmental Quality.

4. Senate Committee Clears Nanotechnology Legislation: The Senate Commerce, Science and Transportation Committee this week approved legislation (S. 2945) to promote nanotechnology research and development. The bill would require the administration to coordinate nanoscience and engineering among federal agencies, academia and the private sector. The legislation authorizes $476 million in fiscal year (FY) 2003 and $547 million in funding for FY 04 for these programs.

5. House Passes "National Safety Team Act": The House cleared legislation (H.R. 4687) this week that would give the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) primary jurisdiction in cases of non-criminal catastrophic building failures. NIST would serve a coordination role and would be required to deploy National Construction Safety Teams with 48 hours of the collapse of a building that resulted in the substantial loss of life. The bill now goes to the president for his signature.

6. Homeland Security Legislation Moves Forward: The Senate continues to slog its way through its consideration of legislation (H.R. 5005) to create a new Department of Homeland Security. It appears that a compromise may have been reached over the two most contentious issues holding up consideration of the bill, granting the administration flexibility over personnel and budget allocations. The compromise would give the president less flexibility over the budget than he had sought, but would give the president flexibility over personnel practices.

7. Tech Bills Riding the Homeland Security Wave: The National Journal reported this week that long-stalled technology bills in Congress are riding the crest of concern over homeland security and being attached to the Homeland Security Department bill (H.R. 5005) and appropriations legislation. For example, legislation that would provide an exemption from the Freedom of Information Act to companies that voluntarily warn the government of vulnerabilities in their computers and other critical infrastructure has been added to H.R. 5005. Other freestanding bills that have been added to the homeland security legislation include those to allow the government greater procurement flexibility and to create voluntary teams of science and engineering advisors in emergencies.

8. House Panel Debates Increase in Federal Gasoline Taxes: The House Highways and Transit Subcommittee this week held a hearing to take a preliminary look at issues surrounding the reauthorization of federal highway and transit programs. Among the most contentious issues was a proposal by the American Road and Transportation Builders Association (ARTBA) proposing a 2-cents per-gallon increase in the federal gasoline tax over six years. The Bush administration is already on record as opposing such an increase. NSPE's Legislative and Government Affairs Committee will be considering a motion to support the ARTBA proposal at its upcoming fall meeting.

AROUND THE AGENCIES - The Federal Register can be accessed at www.access.gpo/su-docs/aces/fr-cont

1. Emissions Standards for Non-Road Engines: Emissions from engines used in snowmobiles, forklifts and other machines not used on public roads will be subject to federal regulation for the first time under a rule signed by Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Administrator Christine Todd Whitman. When fully implemented, the rule will reduce airborne pollutants by up to two million tons per year and lower health care costs by $8 billion annually, according to the agency. The rule would apply to large industrial spark-ignition engines, recreational vehicles, and diesel engines over 50 horsepower in recreational vehicles.