91视频

By Chuck Slothower and Ethan Duran
91视频

The incoming Trump administration will have the opportunity to loosen environmental regulations affecting construction and real estate development, including draft rules not finalized by President Joe Biden before leaving office.听

Environmental regulation receded to the background of the 2024 election, overshadowed by top voter concerns such as the economy and inflation, immigration and social issues. But industry insiders expect a looser regulatory environment in the second Trump administration, which will bring both positives and potential negatives, consultants said.听

Construction executives and superintendents are watching for action on the Occupational Safety and Health Administration’s proposed heat rule. In July, OSHA proposed a rule to protect 36 million workers at risk of heat injury, illness or death in the workplace. It has not gone into law.听

鈥淲orking in the heat is a big consideration for construction workers,鈥� said Christopher Ward, a construction risk management consultant for K2 Integrity in New York City. 鈥淚t’s hard for them to take breaks 鈥� they have schedules and deadlines.鈥�听

While business groups generally favor lighter regulation, Ward said whipsawing federal rules can prove to be a larger problem.听

鈥淧articularly in construction, a lot of these projects they take a long time to plan, a long time to design, a long time to engage with stake holders,鈥� Ward said.听

He pointed to the Gateway rail program linking New York and New Jersey, which soon will reach into its fourth presidential administration.听

Consistent standards help contractors price their bids, Ward added. 鈥淚 think it’s hard, then, when things change a lot,鈥� he said.听

The OSHA heat rule was devised in collaboration with industry stakeholders, Ward said. 鈥淪eeing that emerge was encouraging,鈥� he said.听

President-elect Trump is widely expected to roll back the heat rule.

鈥淕iven the anti-regulatory orientation of a second Trump administration OSHA, we anticipate OSHA bringing the heat illness rule-making process to a screeching halt,鈥� wrote Seyfarth Shaw LLP attorneys Matthew A. Sloan, Daniel R. Birnbaum and Adam R. Young in a December blog post.听

The proposed rule would require employers to develop an injury and illness prevention plan to mitigate excessive heat hazards. Employers would be required to evaluate heat risks and, when necessary, implement requirements for drinking water, breaks and control of indoor heat. It would also require a plan to protect new or returning workers unaccustomed to working in high heat.听

The rule would be triggered when employees are exposed to temperatures of 80 degrees or more for more than 15 minutes in any given 60-minute period.听

The proposed rule comes as summers grow hotter. Scientists expect 2024 will be the hottest year on record globally, and intense heat has come to more unlikely regions, including the 2021 heat dome in the Pacific Northwest that shattered records, caused at least two highways to buckle and shut down Portland’s TriMet MAX train system.听

The public comment period for the heat rule ended Dec. 30, and Biden may not have time to publish the rule before Trump takes office on Jan. 20, 2025, the Seyfarth Shaw attorneys wrote.听

More broadly, the construction industry is optimistic about accelerating pre-construction environmental reviews, including remediation projects, said Brian Turmail, the vice president of public affairs and workforce for the Associated General Contractors of America.听

鈥淭he Biden administration made some historic investments in infrastructure and construction projects,鈥� Turmail said. 鈥淭he irony is a lot of those projects won’t begin until the Trump administration, because the administration didn’t act on some of the environmental streamlining measures that Congress enacted during the Biden administration.鈥�听

The measures wouldn’t have changed the standard for what passed environmental reviews but would have moved plans along faster, Turmail noted.听

While the Biden administration made many funding announcements for highway and bridge projects, those jobs will likely be stuck in red tape for the next year or two, Turmail said. He pointed to the Brent Spence bridge between Cincinnati and Northern Kentucky, still under the review process.听

鈥淲hen I worked at the Department of Transportation we were doing news conferences in front of the Brent Spence bridge in 2004 about the need to replace it,鈥� Turmail said recently. 鈥淗ere we are, it’s almost 2025.鈥�听

Energy efficiency programs, such as Energy Star, are likely to endure, said Chris Fisher, a managing principal at consultant Ducker Carlisle.听

鈥�(Programs) are multiyear in development,鈥� Fisher said. 鈥淚t would be very difficult for the new administration to come in and drastically change something. It wouldn’t create a more favorable environment. And the process of improving environmental outcomes in the construction industry often takes time, because you’re trying to create change of either buyer behavior, design behaviors, specification or installation behaviors. All of which takes significant amounts of education, testing and training.鈥�