On Jan. 23, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and U.S. Army Corps of Engineers signed a final rule revising the definition of “waters of the United States,” which are federally regulated under the Clean Water Act. The final rule will go into effect 60 days after publication in the Federal Register.

Construction industry employment grew by 192,000 wage and salary workers to 8.35 million in 2019, according to a new report from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.

On Jan. 6, directed by an act of Congress, the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration launched an online database called the Commercial Driver's License Drug & Alcohol Clearinghouse. Employers that utilize commercial drivers should be aware of the new reporting and query requirements.

Greg Sizemore, ABC’s vice president of health, safety, environment and workforce development and vice chair of the Construction Industry Alliance for Suicide Prevention, spoke on a panel at the Construction Leadership Network Conference last week in Houston to discuss substance abuse and the rise of suicide in the construction industry.

The Council on Environmental Quality issued a proposed rule to update its regulations for implementing the procedural provisions of the National Environmental Policy Act, which has not been updated for more than four decades. The proposal would modernize and clarify the regulations to facilitate more efficient, effective and timely NEPA reviews by federal agencies in connection with proposals for agency action. Learn more about the NEPA proposal here.

The Construction Management Competition is ABC’s hallmark competition promoting careers in construction management. There are 26 colleges and universities com

On Jan. 16, the U.S. Senate approved President Trump’s signature trade deal with Mexico and Canada, the USMCA, in an overwhelmingly bipartisan 89-10 vote. The agreement previously passed the House in December on a similarly bipartisan 385-41 vote and now awaits the president’s signature of the deal into law.

OSHA’s Tracking of Workplace Injuries and Illnesses final rule requires certain establishments to electronically submit information from their OSHA Form 300A for calendar year 2019 by March 2.

On Jan. 15, pursuant to the Federal Civil Penalties Inflation Adjustment Act, the U.S. Department of Labor published a final rule to adjust for inflation the civil monetary penalties assessed or enforced by the department, including the Occupational Safety and Health Administration, for 2020.

Save the date and support the competitors of the 2020 National Craft Championships by volunteering to be a judge.