| Utility Locator
Has Record Call Volume
An underground utility locator in Illinois has
recently announced that it received a record number of calls in 2005.
Joliet-based
JULIE Inc. announced that it received 1.22 million underground utility locate
requests from excavators in 2005. In addition, the notification system
reached
another milestone by distributing more than 7.94 million requests
to its 1,700
utility members during the same period.
Compared to the previous year,
these totals represent approximate increases
of 2 and 3 percent, respectively.
Since
its inception in 1974, JULIE - of the Joint Utility Locating Information for Excavators
- has logged more than 16.6 million calls and its annual call volume makes it
one of the largest industry one-call systems in the United States.
Building Security Council To Assign Security Ratings The
effort to improve the security of federal buildings against terrorism is
under
way, but more than 85 percent of nonresidential buildings are
neither owned
nor leased by the federal government.
To fill that gap in security planning,
the Building Security Council was
formed in Reston, Va.
Led by the
American Society of Civil Engineers Architectural Engineering Institute,
also
in Reston, the BSC is dedicated to enhancing public safety by promoting
building
security.
The council will administer and maintain voluntary rating systems
that enable
building owners to evaluate and improve the security of their
facilities. For a fee, building owners will voluntarily apply for a security rating
from the BSC by
submitting detailed information on the design and operation
of their buildings.
A group of reviewers will then evaluate the building
against standardized
rating criteria.
As it is impossible to separate
physical from other aspects of building security and still address occupant safety
effectively, the BSC rating systems will consider all components of security,
including physical and personnel issues.
The BSC will focus on establishing
an industry-wide decision-making tool, which uses existing guidelines like the
Federal Emergency Management Agency's Risk Management Series.
Stan Caldwell,
vice president of Dallas-based Halff Associates Inc., will lead
the board
of directors.
Civil Engineers Urge Levee Inspection The Reston, Va.-based American Society
of Civil Engineers has announced
support for the National Levee Inspection
and Safety Program, a bill which will
include creation of a national inventory
of levees, particularly those that protect
large, heavily populated urban
areas.
"As we saw in New Orleans during Hurricane Katrina, a levee
failure can result in severe loss of life, economic disaster and extensive environmental
damage,"
said ASCE President Dennis Martenson.
The legislation
would require the following:
Regular safety inspections of all levee
systems in the United States.
A national levee safety review board,
which would have the power to monitor the implementation of the levee safety program.
An interagency committee on levee safety of federal executive branch heads to
oversee levee safety programs.
Training for state levee safety staff
and inspectors by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers at the request of any state
that has, or intends to develop, a state levee safety program.
A strategic
plan -- developed by the USACE -- which would establish goals, priorities and
target dates for improving levee safety and providing cooperation and coordination
with, and assistance to, interested state governmental entities.
Support
for the development and maintenance of the information resource systems needed
to support managing dam safety, and for initiatives to guide development of effective
public policies and advancements in dam safety engineering, security and management.
The
bill also gives the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers the authority to establish a
national inventory of levees built, funded or maintained by any federal, state
or
local agency or levee district.
$5.4 Billion Bill Aimed at Protecting Against Floods Congress has moved
to increase the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Civil Works program by approving
the $5.4 billion appropriation for 2006.
The appropriation is $1.2 billion
more than the Bush administration's 2006 proposal.
It is also the largest
appropriation of funds for the Civil Works program in years.
The Civil
Works program provides for transportation of goods on the nation's water highway
but also protects communities in the event of flooding or storms and
provides
much-needed hydropower, water supply, industrial cooling and recreation.
Some
contractors consider increased investment in the nation's Civil Works
program
a major priority for Congress.
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