LOCAL UPDATE

January 26th Update...
The state Transportation Commission invited a group of engineers to their table Thursday to discuss an open method of determining which road projects will take priority. Lawmakers are seeking ways to reform the department, which has about 5,000 employees, runs a $1.4 billion construction program each year, and spends $416 million on maintaining the state's 41,500 miles of roadway and 8,200 bridges. As part of the shake-up, the commission met to review new ways to make its project selection process more transparent. John Walsh, a deputy state highway engineer with the DOT, and a team of other engineers developed a preliminary system to rank projects according to preservation, safety, congestion, road condition and other criteria. However, the engineers looked to the commissioners to help them determine how to weigh the different categories against each other. The Charleston Post and Courier 1/19

December 22nd Update...
Elizabeth Mabry, executive director of the state Department of Transportation, relinquished her position Tuesday as the agency remains entangled in allegations of millions of dollars in wasted funds and mismanaged money. The Transportation Department's seven-member board of commissioners voted unanimously to grant Mabry early retirement and appoint state highway engineer Tony Chapman as interim executive director. Lawmakers have been calling for an overhaul of the agency since Nov. 14, when a yearlong review by the independent Legislative Audit Council was released that accused the agency of making bad management decisions, breaking state and federal laws, and deceiving the Legislature. House Speaker Bobby Harrell, R-Charleston, said Mabry's retirement will not preclude agency reform. Many lawmakers support moving the agency to the governor's Cabinet as a measure they believe will ensure more accountability. While the transportation department has asked for more state funding, Harrell said lawmakers will not support that request until comprehensive reform is undertaken. Charleston Post and Courier 12/20

NATIONAL UPDATE

ASCE Urges House to Enact Extension of Clean Water Funding
Congress should enact legislation to reauthorize the Clean Water Act State Revolving Loan fund (CWSRF) in order to prevent further deterioration of the nation's sewage treatment plants, ASCE said this week. In testimony prepared for the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee, ASCE said Congress should authorize funding levels of between $1.5 billion and $2 billion annually to cover the national shortfall in infrastructure investment. "The case for increased federal investment immediately is compelling. Needs are large and unprecedented; in many locations, local sources cannot be expected to meet this challenge alone and, because waters are shared across local and state boundaries, the benefits of federal help will accrue to the entire nation," ASCE said. Congress also should enact legislation creating a dedicated trust fund for wastewater infrastructure construction and modernization, ASCE concluded. "Without a permanent dedicated source of revenue, our clean water infrastructure remains vulnerable to conflicting federal budget priorities, which can—and do—change from Congress to Congress and administration to administration," the Society said. The ASCE 2005 Report Card for America's Infrastructure gave the nation's 16,000 publicly owned treatment works a collective grade of D-minus, down from a grade of D in 2001.

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