Va. court sides with farmer: DOT must honor FOIA requests
A farmer in Virginia has been taking on the state government—and winning. The most recent victory was a ruling by the Virginia Supreme Court that the Virginia Department of Transportation could not refuse Raymond Cartwright’s Freedom of Information Act request for a VDOT brochure containing property values of various local pieces of land.
Cartwright requested the brochure during a dispute over the value of land that he owned and was being condemned and forcibly bought by the state for the new U.S. Rte. 17.
Cartwright has dueled with the state before. A court awarded him $2.4 million in a case earlier this year for 13 acres of land for which VDOT initially had offered $110,000. He was awarded another $450,000 in a separate case last month for a 51-acre parcel that VDOT wanted to take by eminent domain for only $47,000.
Cartwright requested the brochure in August 2003, the Hampton Roads Virginian-Pilot reported, but VDOT turned him down. He then filed the request under the state’s Freedom of Information Act (FOIA). VDOT again refused, arguing, among other points, that the information was available to Cartwright through the litigation discovery process, so the agency did not need to provide it. The problem was that the discovery process was slower and much more expensive than the FOIA process—$40,000-$50,000 instead of the $30 FOIA cost of photocopying the brochure.
VDOT eventually mailed Cartwright a copy of the sales brochure and filed a motion to dismiss Cartwright’s Supreme Court appeal, saying there was no longer a need for the court to hear the case.
The Supreme Court disagreed and stated in its ruling that government agencies must honor FOIA requests even if the requester has other ways of obtaining the information, the Washington (D.C.) Examiner reported.
The case was sent back down to the circuit court for a decision on several issues, including fees to be imposed on VDOT.
Court rules in favor of EPA’s general storm water permit
The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit agreed with the Associated General Contractors of America (AGC) that the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) construction storm water permit program is entirely lawful. AGC intervened in the case, in defense of the EPA, to prevent environmental groups from suspending, restricting and perhaps ending all use of the federal Construction General Permit (CGP). The court’s decision protects the integrity of the EPA’s general permitting scheme, upon which most states’ general permits are based.
“This is a major victory for the construction industry and for everyone who depends on it to provide their schools, hospitals, roads, bridges and other infrastructure,” said AGC Chief Executive Officer Stephen E. Sandherr. “It is impractical to hold a public hearing on each and every construction project. If the petitioner had won, the industry would have ground to a halt.”
EPA’s CGP grants property owners and their construction contractors permission to discharge storm water runoff from construction sites. It requires general contractors to file a “notice of intent” to proceed under the agency’s general permit for storm water runoff before starting construction. It also requires the contractor to develop and implement a storm water pollution prevention plan (SWPPP) prior to obtaining permit coverage and to update the SWPPP during the course of construction.
The Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC), one of the petitioners, sought an injunction against any further use of EPA’s CGP.
The court sided with AGC in rejecting NRDC’s claims that the Clean Water Act requires EPA to notify the public of any “notice of intent” to proceed under its CGP and to hold a public hearing on each construction project’s SWPPP before construction may proceed.
The Seventh Circuit also held that the petitioners lacked standing to challenge the general permit’s overall scheme, explaining that the group had no evidence of any harm to the environment and that “the only potential injury to its members is one that could occur in the future should a contractor violate the terms of the General Permit.”
The court also held that EPA’s CGP complies with the Endangered Species Act. In the brief filed by AGC and the National Association of Homebuilders in support of EPA, AGC emphasized that requiring all property owners or their contractors to obtain individual permits to discharge storm water from construction sites would overwhelm EPA and its state counterparts.
Mineta threatens veto—again
Transportation Secretary Norm Mineta restated his argument for passing the next six-year transportation reauthorization bill the way President Bush wants it in a 10-page June letter to House-Senate conferees.
Mineta argued that the $7.9 billion used by the Senate to offset the $11 billion the Senate included above the president’s $283.9 billion proposal actually came not from new revenue but from other parts of the federal budget. The Senate would shift from the Highway Trust Fund to the General Fund responsibility for the cost of making certain motor fuel use tax-exempt. Money from the existing gas-guzzler tax ($625 million) would shift from the General Fund to the Highway Trust Fund. Most of another $1.9 billion would be diverted from the Airport and Airway Trust Fund to highways as a result of changing the tax treatment of kerosene used in aviation. Add another $541 million from a variety of other changes to excise taxes.
Mineta underlined one paragraph: “If the Senate does not recede to the House position on overall funding levels, resulting in a final bill that exceeds these limits, the president’s senior advisors would recommend that he veto the bill.”
Beartooth Highway sees relief
Beartooth Highway, a gateway into Yellowstone National Park, was blocked by mudslides but got a helping hand in June from U.S. Transportation Secretary Norm Mineta, who approved an initial $2 million in emergency relief funds to jump-start repairs.
The money is available immediately to the Montana Department of Transportation to clear debris, shore up embankments and install rockfall prevention measures on parts of the highway. The full cost of the highway’s repair, estimated at about $20 million, will be eligible for federal reimbursement.
Mineta said he has proposed increasing the emergency relief funding level from $100 million to $250 million per year as part of the six-year surface transportation reauthorization bill now before Congress.
SemGroup buys Koch asphalt
SemGroup L.P., Tulsa, Okla., has completed the acquisition of the U.S. and Mexico asphalt operations and assets of Koch Materials Co. The purchase price was not disclosed.
SemGroup said the U.S. assets will operate as SemMaterials L.P., while those in Mexico will be named SemMexico Materials HC, S. de R.L. de C.V. The acquisition includes 47 asphalt terminals in 24 states in the U.S. and 13 asphalt terminals in Mexico; five regional technical centers; 65 worldwide patents; and 10 pending patents.
Frank Panzer has been named president and chief operating officer of SemMaterials. Panzer previously served as SemGroup’s director of commercial development.
Intermat ramping up
Intermat 2006 is set to feature the latest in equipment, machinery and techniques for the construction and building materials industry April 24-29 at the Paris-Nord Exhibition Centre in France. Intermat has already sold 70% of its target 220,000 sq meters of exhibit space.
The construction industry in western Europe totaled just over 1 trillion euros in 2003, with 47% going to residential construction, 31% to nonresidential construction and 22% to civil engineering. Countries spending the most money on construction in 2003 were Germany (201.5 billion euros), Italy (165.3 billion euros), United Kingdom (159.5 billion euros), France (153.3 billion euros) and Spain (133.3 billion euros). The western European construction industry grew almost 2% in 2004.
Intermat expects to see more than 1,500 exhibitors and 200,000 registrants for the 2006 show.
Next year’s trade show will have a new section focusing on components, equipment and accessories.
The introduction of a high-tech showcase will present all the public and private institutes, research centers and technical centers carrying out measurement, friction and resistance tests on materials.
For the first time in 2006, Intermat will provide trade-specific solutions to professionals in the lifting, handling, mining and quarrying sectors, with workshops and talks on specific themes.
