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Learn How to Help Restore Bay Underwater Grasses

Bay Needs Volunteers to Help Restore Underwater Grasses
 
WHAT – The Chesapeake Bay Foundation (CBF) will sponsor workshops to teach citizen volunteers how to grow underwater bay grasses at home for future planting. CBF will provide all necessary instruction and materials; a $40 materials fee will be charged. Later this spring, the grasses will be planted in the James River as part of a larger effort to restore underwater grasses in the Chesapeake Bay watershed. Growing underwater grasses is an easy, interesting way to help restore the Chesapeake Bay and is an excellent activity for families, schools, and businesses. Space in the workshop is limited; those interested in participating should register in advance at www.cbf.org/grasses.
 
WHERE/WHEN
–        Virginia Beach: (Sunday) February 7, 2010, 10:00am – 12:30pm
–        Newport News: (Monday) February 8, 2010, 3:00pm – 4:30pm
–        Portsmouth: (Monday) February 8, 2010, 5:30pm – 7:30pm
 
WHY – Bay grasses are vital to the health of the Chesapeake Bay and its tributaries.  Underwater grasses oxygenate the water, trap sediments, absorb pollution, and provide food and homes for young fish, crabs, waterfowl, and other wildlife. Only about 25 percent of the Bay’s original 200,000-plus acres of underwater grasses remain, however, largely because of water pollution.  Restoration of this vital resource is critical to saving the Bay. Citizens can help by volunteering with CBF to grow underwater grasses and plant them in appropriate areas of our Bay’s rivers.

DOD Releases Important Funding Proposals

DOD Releases Defense Reviews, 2011 Budget Proposal, and 2010 War Funding Supplemental Request  
                President Barack Obama today sent to Congress a proposed defense budget of $708 billion for fiscal 2011. The budget request for the Department of Defense (DoD) includes $549 billion in discretionary budget authority to fund base defense programs and $159 billion to support overseas contingency operations (OCO), primarily in Afghanistan and Iraq. This proposal continues the reform agenda established in last year's DoD budget request and builds on the initiatives identified by the 2010 Quadrennial Defense Review (QDR) and 2010 Ballistic Missile Defense Review (BMDR).
                The QDR examines DoD strategies and priorities. It assesses the threats and challenges that the nation faces and re-balances DoD's strategies, capabilities, and forces to ensure the U.S. military has the flexibility to address today's conflicts and tomorrow's threats.  The BMDR evaluates the ballistic missile threat to the U.S. and its allies and articulates policy. It determines the appropriate role of ballistic missile defense in the country's national security and military strategies.
                "The fiscal 2011 budget request builds on the reforms begun in last year's defense budget," said Defense Secretary Robert Gates. "These substantial changes to allocate defense dollars more wisely and reform the department's processes were broadened and deepened by the analysis and conclusions contained in the Quadrennial Defense Review."
                The fiscal 2011 base budget request represents an increase of $18 billion over the $531 billion enacted for fiscal 2010. This is an increase of 3.4 percent, or 1.8 percent real growth after adjusting for inflation. The DoD needs modest real growth to maintain, train, and equip the forces that sustain our wartime efforts.
                The fiscal 2011 OCO request will provide additional resources needed to sustain U.S. forces in Operation Enduring Freedom – in Afghanistan and elsewhere – and Operation Iraqi Freedom. Included are funds for pay and benefits, logistics and other support, force protection, continuing efforts to counteract improvised explosive devices, as well as funding to fully support the buildup in Afghanistan and to carry out a responsible drawdown in Iraq.
                "The choices made and priorities set in these budget requests and strategic defense reviews reflect America's commitment to succeed in the wars we are in while making the investments necessary to prepare for threats on or beyond the horizon," said Gates. 
                Also accompanying the 2011 budget proposal is a fiscal 2010 supplemental request of $33 billion to support the added costs of the President's new strategy in Afghanistan and strengthen U.S. force levels with approximately 30,000 additional troops. 
                "To make sure we have the resources needed to support our troops deploying to the Afghanistan theater, I will be asking the Congress to enact the supplemental by spring 2010," said Gates.
                Key highlights of the proposed DoD budget are outlined in the attached summary and charts. For more information and to view the entire fiscal 2011 budget proposal, please visit http://www.budget.mil and download the "FY 2011 Budget Request Overview Book." 
                The 2010 QDR and BMDR are available online at www.defense.gov/DefenseReviews. 
                Transcripts from applicable budget and strategic defense review briefings can also be viewed at www.defense.gov/transcripts.
U.S. Department of Defense
Office of the Assistant Secretary of Defense (Public Affairs)

Vision Hampton Roads Released for Comments

From the Hampton Roads Partnership.  VSRA has been directly involved in the drafting of the Vision. Dana Dickens, President of the Partnership amd author of the below, will be our guest speaker on January 19th for our monthly Membership Luncheon.
'The Vision Hampton Roads document (draft) was released Tuesday (1/5). This begins the 30-day public comment period required by the Economic Development Administration (EDA). You can view/download the document, i.e., our regional roadmap, at http://VisionHamptonRoads.com.  We encourage you to take the Public Comment Survey.
During the next 30 days, the plan will appear on the Hampton Roads Partnership's websites. We are encouraging the 17 local governments, 3 partner organizations (i.e., Hampton Roads Planning District Commission, Hampton Roads Economic Development Alliance, and Hampton Roads Research Partnership) and others to post and pass along the link as well. We're depending on your word-of-mouth (and email) to create meaningful public participation in order to promote democracy and civic engagement, build public trust in government and enhance credibility within the community.
The Vision document is the product of over eight months of work, involving over 150 volunteers who served on one or more of the 5 committees/sub-committees established to develop or oversee the plan. Presentations have been and will continue to be made during this period to organizations and local government leaders. News media outlets have already and will continue to post editorials and articles or air interviews focused on Vision Hampton Roads.
A Public Responsiveness Summary will follow the 30-day comment period, showing respondents how their feedback impacts the plan. In early February, the final document will be developed for final review, approval and submission to the EDA.
I look forward to your comments on the draft via the Public Comment Survey and to the opportunities ahead as we align the region’s localities and organizations to embrace and work toward a common, cooperative vision (and goal) for Hampton Roads.
The document is lengthy, but I invite you to read it and offer your feedback. The critical phase of plan implementation will follow this first step in the process. A suggested approach to plan implementation is featured in the Tactical section of the plan. Vision Hampton Roads will define the work of the Partnership going forward. It will also provide Partnership Board members with the opportunity to become more actively engaged through a committee/task force structure that will transform our organization into becoming more Board-driven.
Vision planning has placed Hampton Roads on a path to regional transformation by embedding a working process in all that we do... to think, live and act regionally."

Small Shipyard Assistance Grants - APPLY NOW!

Today, the Maritime Administration (MARAD) announced its grant solicitation for the Small Shipyard Assistance Program, funded by the Consolidated Appropriations Act of 2010 (Minibus) at $14,700,000.

The shipyard facility for which a grant is sought must be in a single geographical location, located in or near a maritime community, and may not have more than 1,200 production employees. The applicant must be the operating company of the shipyard facility. The shipyard facility must construct, repair, or reconfigure vessels 40 ft. in length or greater, for commercial or government use.
Eligible Projects:
Capital and related improvement projects that will be effective in fostering efficiency, competitive operations, and quality ship construction, repair, and reconfiguration; and training projects that will be effective in fostering employee skills and enhancing productivity. For capital improvement projects all items proposed for funding must be new and to be owned by the applicant. For both capital improvement and training projects all project costs, including the recipients share, must be incurred after the date of the grant agreement.

See the Federal Register notice of the Assistance to Small Shipyards Grant Program.

NOTE: The announcement states that the period for submitting grant applications commenced on December 16, 2009, the day the Minibus was passed. This is due to language in the Minibus that read, "...a qualified shipyard shall submit an application for assistance no later than 60 days after enactment of this Act." In reality, MARAD needed administrative time to prepare the solicitation, leaving a submittal period of just over a month from today, the day it was announced publicly in the Federal Register.

Key Dates: The period for submitting grant applications, as mandated by statute, commenced on December 16, 2009 and will terminate on February 16, 2010. The applications must be received by the Maritime Administration by 5 p.m. EST on February 16, 2010. Applications received later than this time will not be considered. The Maritime Administration intends to award grants no later than April 15, 2010.

Funding Opportunity: Section 54101 of Title 46, United States Code, and the section entitled ``Assistance to Small Shipyards'' in the Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2010 (Pub. L. 111-117), provide that the Maritime Administration shall establish an assistance program for small shipyards. Under this program, there is currently $14,700,000 available for grants for capital and related improvements for qualified shipyard facilities that will be effective in fostering efficiency, competitive operations, and quality ship construction, repair, and reconfiguration. ($300,000 of the $15,000,000 appropriated for the program is reserved for program administration.) Such grants may not be used to construct buildings or other physical facilities or to acquire land unless such use is specifically approved by the Maritime Administration as being consistent with and supplemental to capital and related infrastructure improvements. Grant funds may also be used for maritime training programs to foster technical skills and operational productivity in communities whose economies are related to or dependent upon the maritime industry. Grants for such training programs may only be awarded to ``Eligible Applicants'' as described below but training programs can be established through vendors to such applicants.

FY-11 Standard Items Summary

FY-11 Standard Items-Local Standard Item Change Summary for SERMC Distribution is now available on our Resources and Publications page. Thank you Tecnico for asking us to share this with our memebrs! If you have resources you think would be of value to our member companies, email them to us in pdf format and we will post them. Thanks!

HIGH SPEED RAIL TO HAMPTON ROADS UPDATE

The Federal Railroad Administration (FRA) and the Virginia Department of Rail and Public Transportation (DRPT) have published the Richmond/Hampton Roads Passenger Rail Project Tier 1 Draft Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) for review and comment.
The public hearing in Norfolk has been tentatively scheduled for January 28.  It is anticipated that the date and time will be confirmed soon and ask that you reserve January 28 on your calendars (early evening) in the meantime.
Here are some additional points which briefly summarize where things stand with respect to the region’s effort to secure federal funding for a new High Speed Rail Corridor to Hampton Roads via the Route 460/Norfolk Southern corridor and enhanced intercity passenger rail service to the Peninsula:
§                     High speed passenger rail will be a critical addition to the future United States transportation network offering an efficient, reliable and environmentally-friendly travel alternative linking the major urban centers across the country.
§                     President Obama in April 2009 released a strategic plan entitled Vision for High-Speed Rail in America which proposes the rebuilding of the country’s existing rail infrastructure into a new robust network of high-speed passenger rail corridors comparable to the European High-Speed Passenger Rail System.
§                     The American Reinvestment and Recovery Act of 2009 allocated $8B as a down payment on high speed passenger rail system improvements with an additional $1 billion per year proposed for the next five years for the most qualified high-speed rail projects
§                     Over $100B in applications for high speed rail projects across the county have been submitted for funding consideration.
§                     Updated studies for connecting high speed rail to Hampton Roads are finally reported to be nearing completion after being delayed for a number of years.
§                     Combinations of new and improved passenger rail service options utilizing both the southside (Rt. 460) and peninsula (I-64) existing rail corridors have been studied.
§                     The southside option has its eastern terminus at a proposed new Downtown Norfolk station adjacent to Harbor Park and the peninsula corridor extends the southern terminus of the route from the existing Amtrak station near Mercury Boulevard further south into Downtown Newport News.
§                     The proposed Southside Terminal Passenger Rail Station in Downtown Norfolk will link directly to an enhanced regional public transportation network, including light rail, improved regional bus services, and passenger ferry that will provide superior integration of travel opportunities for passengers.
§                     An approved Final Environmental Impact Statement is necessary for the development of a high speed rail strategy for the Hampton Roads Region and the continued delay in finalizing this work places the region at a significant competitive disadvantage.
§                     The Hampton Roads Transportation Planning Organization in October 2009 acted to designate the Route 460 Corridor as the “High Speed Rail Corridor” to Hampton Roads and also that the I-64 Corridor be considered for enhanced intercity passenger rail service.
§                     The region is in the process of engaging a consultant to assist in the development of a strategic high speed rail development plan for Hampton Roads and new advisory committees to support this process are also being established.
§                     Close attention needs to be paid to the public release of the State Hampton Roads High Speed Rail Study when it occurs so that a broad, strong and consistent regional position is put forward and emphasized.

Navy Force Structure Study Released

The Congressional Research Service has released a new report to congress entitled "Navy Force Structure and Shipbuilding Plans: Background and Issues for Congress."  The study's author is Ronald O'Rourke, Specialist in Naval Affairs.

Navy Force Structure and Shipbuilding Plans

Senate Passes Minibus - Including SSAP

The Senate remained in session this past weekend to vote on remaining FY10 appropriations bills. They passed the so-called ‘minibus,’ which included $15 million for the Small Shipyard Assistance Program and $9 million in Title XI funding. The conference report text can be found HERE on Pages 93 and 94. The measure now goes to the White House for the President's signature.

SCA expects MARAD to receive the funding and release a Federal Register grant solicitation in late January/early February. We will keep the membership informed about any developments.

This week the Senate continues debate on health care, while the House takes up the final FY10 appropriations bill, DOD funding, which becomes the vehicle for extending expiring laws and perhaps a new jobs initiative.

SAC Weekly Round-Up ... 12/4/2009

SCA Fall General Membership Meeting
January 18-20, 2010
Miami, Florida
 
The registration form is now available for the SCA Winter General Membership Meeting. The agenda is subject to change depending on the guestspeakers' schedules and we will send out updates as soon as they are available. Please complete the form and return to SCA via fax (202) 347-5464 or e-mail it to Brian Elliott.
 
Hotel information can be found on the registration form and all reservations can be made online HERE.
 
If you have any questions, please contact Brian Elliott.
Reminder: This Upcoming Wednesday!
 
 SCA Member & Staff Informational Conference Call
December 9th, 2009
1:00 - 1:30pm EST
 
Please join the SCA staff for a quick, but comprehensive look at the current issues SCA is working on, including the following updates:
  • Legislative and Policy
  • Commercial
  • Defense
This is a great opportunity for members to discuss industry news with the SCA staff and voice any industry related questions. 
 
We encourage members to participate in this initial SCA staff informational conference call and we look forward to answering any questions you might have.  
 
Call-in Number: 1-800-406-9170
Conference ID: 6530748893
 
If you have any questions, please contact Matt Paxton, Joe Carnevale or Ian Bennitt.  
Contract Helps Offshore Wind Farm Make Critical Progress
 
Cape Wind, the proposed 130-turbine wind farm off the Massachusetts coast, came a step closer yesterday as National Grid agreed to purchase the electricity that Cape Wind will produce.  This is a very positive development for the shipbuilding and maritime industry as more opportunities for servicing these projects become available.
 
Click HERE to read more on the developments.
News from RDML Carnevale…
This month's SEAPOWER magazine has three articles that address ships being built by our shipyards.  In the first, found HERE, VADM William Burke, the Navy's director of the Quadrennial Defense Review, talks about the important role LCS and JHSV have in the Navy's spectrum of multimission platforms.  Next is a story on the LCS Program featuring the INDEPENDENCE (LCS 2).  And finally, there is a story on the SENTINAL, the first of the Fast Response Cutters being built for the Coast Guard.  Just another example of how our shipyards and the ships, vessels and craft that they build are increasing in importance. 

DOL Regulatory Agenda Released

The Department of Labor has released its latest regulatory agenda, which you can find in its entirety here: www.dol.gov/asp/regs/agenda.htm. The regulatory agenda is a listing of all the regulations the Department of Labor expects to have under active consideration for promulgation, proposal, or review during the coming one-year period. Below you can find some of OSHA's priorities taken from the OSHA fact sheet released today. SCA will continue to keep you updated on rulemaking developments as they happen.

OSHA’s Fall 2009 Regulatory Priorities
The Secretary’s vision of Good Jobs for Everyone requires a safe and healthy workplace for all workers. OSHA’s regulatory program is designed to help workers and employers identify and control hazards in the workplace and prevent injuries, illnesses and fatalities. OSHA’s current regulatory program demonstrates a renewed commitment to worker protection.

Occupational Injury and Illness Recording and Reporting Requirements
(Musculoskeletal Disorders)
OSHA is proposing to revise its regulation on Recording and Reporting Occupational Injuries and Illnesses (Recordkeeping) to restore a column on the OSHA 300 Injury and Illness Log that employers will check when recording work-related musculoskeletal disorders (MSDs).  The MSD data from the column will help about 750,000 employers and 40 million workers track injuries at individual workplaces, and improve the Nation’s occupational injury and illness information data published by the Bureau of Labor Statistics. The MSD column was removed from the OSHA 300 Log in 2003. The Agency will issue a proposed rule in January 2010.

Combustible Dust
Combustible dust can cause catastrophic explosions like the 2008 disaster at the Imperial Sugar refinery that killed 14 workers and seriously injured dozens more. Deadly combustible dust fires and explosions can be caused by a wide array of materials and processes in a large number of industries. Materials that may form combustible dust include wood, coal, plastics, spice, starch, flour, feed, grain, fertilizer, tobacco, paper, soap, rubber, drugs, dyes, certain textiles, and metals. While a number of OSHA standards address aspects of this hazard, the Agency does not have a comprehensive standard that addresses combustible dust. OSHA is engaged in the early stages of rulemaking to develop a combustible dust standard for general industry. OSHA published an Advance Notice of Proposed Rulemaking in October 2009 and is preparing to hold stakeholder meetings in December 2009.

Hazard Communication Standard – Global Harmonization System of Classification and Labeling of Chemicals
OSHA and other U.S. agencies have been involved in a long-term project to negotiate a globally harmonized approach to informing workers about chemical hazards. The result is the Globally Harmonized System of Classification and Labeling of Chemicals (GHS). OSHA is revising its
Hazard Communication Standard to make it consistent with the GHS. The new standard will include more specific requirements for hazard classification, as well as standardized label components which will provide consistent information and definitions for hazardous chemicals
and a standard approach to conveying information on material safety data sheets. On September 30, OSHA published the proposal and is preparing for hearings in March 2010.

Beryllium
Beryllium is a lightweight metal that has a wide variety of applications, including aerospace, telecommunications and defense applications. Chronic beryllium disease occurs when people inhale beryllium dust or fumes and can take anywhere from a few months to 30 years to
develop. The disease is caused by an immune system reaction to beryllium metal, and causes symptoms such as persistent coughing, difficulty breathing upon physical exertion, fatigue, chest and joint pain, weight loss, and fevers. OSHA is developing a rule that would update the Permissible Exposure Limit and establish additional provisions to protect exposed workers. Currently, the Agency is preparing to conduct a peer review of the health effects and risk assessments and plans on initiating the peer review in March 2010.

Walking / Working Surfaces – Subparts D & I
This proposed standard will update OSHA’s rules covering slip, trip and fall hazards and establish requirements for personal fall protection systems. The rule affects almost every non-construction worker in the United States. This is an important rulemaking because it
addresses hazards that result in numerous deaths and thousands of injuries every year. The proposal is expected to prevent 20 workplace fatalities per year and over 3,500 injuries serious enough to result in days away from work. The Agency plans to issue a proposal in March 2010