Get ready wind, solar, biomass, and geothermal energy and transportation electrification contractors! On October 7, 2015, California Governor Jerry Brown signed into law the “Clean Energy and Pollution Reduction Act of 2015.” The objectives of the Act are: (1) to increase from 33% to 50% (by December 31, 2030), the procurement…
States that require a person that engages in work requiring a contractor’s or specialty contractor’s license generally include within their licensing law an express provision making it unlawful to advertise for work requiring a contractor’s license unless the person, in fact, is property licensed. Many states’ licensing laws also require a licensed contractor to…
The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit has issued a ruling that EPA’s Clean Water Act (CWA) Vessel General Permit (VGP), which regulates the discharge of ballast water from ships, was promulgated in violation of the Administrative Procedure Act (APA), and must be remanded to the agency. The…
The U.S. District Court for the Southern District of West Virginia has ruled on the government’s motions to dismiss the plaintiffs’ constitutional arguments in a new Clean Water Act (CWA) administrative compliance order matter. The plaintiffs, West Virginia property developers, were alleged to have violated the CWA by illegally discharging…
National Fire Prevention Week commemorates the Great Chicago Fire of 1871. Over the course of two days, the fire reportedly killed more than 250 people, left 100,000 homeless, destroyed more than 17,400 structures and burned more than 2,000 acres. On June 1, the National Fire Protection Association announced “Hear the Beep…
On September 30, 2015, the U.S. District Court for Wyoming granted requests for a preliminary nationwide injunction against the implementation of the Department of the Interior’s (DOI) Bureau Of Land Management (BLM) rules that apply to hydraulic fracturing on Federal and Indian lands. The lead case is State of Wyoming v.…
The Washington State Building Code Council (SBCC) adopted an emergency rule, WAC 51-54A-3800, effective July 1, 2015, to specify requirements amending the International Fire Code dealing with marijuana processing and extraction facilities stemming from these facilities’ use of flammable and combustible liquids for the liquid extraction process. These rules, along with other…
The Washington State Department of Labor & Industries (L&I) has identified common corrections required by electrical inspectors. It reported that out of the 185,878 inspections made for electrical contractors last year 18% required corrections and re-inspections and, in its own words, “remarkably” 20% of all electrical contractors were responsible for 80% of the…
On September 29, 2015, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the DC Circuit issued a unanimous ruling affirming the district court’s rejection of a lawsuit filed by the Sierra Club against the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers in which the Sierra Club argued that the federal government was obliged to conduct a…
As a result of California Senate Bill (SB) 854, all contractors have been required since April 1, 2015, to register with the California Department of Industrial Relations (DIR) to be awarded a public works contract, even if the project did not go out to bid. A mandatory renewal deadline is approaching…