Peripheral Canal Urged to Save the Bay Delta

The Public Policy Institute of California released a study that reports that the best way to supply water to Southern California and protect wildlife habitats is to build a "peripheral canal" around the delta. According to Dan Walters of the Sacramento Bee, one of the key findings was that

Pulling water from the Delta interferes with natural flows and degrades water quality, thereby damaging wildlife habitat. While stopping exports would, perhaps, solve that problem, it would deprive California of its largest source of water.

Another finding was

"To be viable," the PPIC team said, "a long-term solution must include governance, regulatory and financial arrangements to ensure that various goals are well served, including water supply, environmental management, and the state's local interests in the Delta. It is unlikely that local and regional stakeholders can negotiate such arrangements on their own in a timely way, given the complexity of the problem and its innumerable stakeholders. Pursuit of a grand consensus solution for the Delta's many issues is likely only to continue the deteriorating status quo."

However farmers in the from the Delta and environmentalists that are opposed to the pipeline. Farmers are hurt by the lack of fresh water and environmentalists argue that the diversion of the water around the delta will hurt the ecosystem.

The proposed water bond by Governor Schwarzenegger and Senator Feinstein at this time does not include language for a Peripheral Canal, but you never know what the final draft will look like.

The SF Chronicle and the Sacramento Bee both published stories about the report.

The actual report can be found here.

Photo by naotakem

The List of Ballot Measures in California Will Not Stop Growing

California's November ballot will have many issues for voters to approve or reject. The LA Times Opinion page recently noted that the general election will have at least 12 statewide initiatives in addition to local measures.

Hopefully voters will not got confused by a long ballot that will have the presidential race, local congressional races, state legislative and local races in addition to the ballot measures. The initiatives will cover a broad range of subjects that will be on the ballot through out the state. Some deal with social issues, others are requirements for solar usage and others are bond.

Below is a list of the ballot measures that will impact public works in California. This from another LA Times article.

California ballot measures:

Proposition 1: "Safe, Reliable High-Speed Passenger Train Bond Act for the 21st Century." Authorizes issuance of $9.95 billion of general obligation bonds to create a high-speed passenger train network beginning with a line between San Francisco and Los Angeles.

Proposition 3: "Children's Hospital Bond Act." Authorizes issuance of $980 million in bonds to build, renovate and equip children's hospitals.

Proposition 7: "The Solar and Clean Energy Act of 2008." Establishes mandatory renewable energy threshold for the L.A. Department of Water and Power and other government utilities.

Local Measures

There will also be local measures that will be on the November Ballot. We will not know what the final list will look like until Friday, August 08.

LA County: Sales Tax to improve public transportation

San Diego City Schools: $1 Billion+ School Bond

The big question is if the presidential election gets called early, who will vote on these measures? Usually when the winner of the presidential election is called in an eastern and earlier timezone, many voters on the west coast believe that they don't have to vote. Their absence really hurts the chances of other local issues passing.

Airport commission extends labor agreement coverage to new projects

Last week I posted a blog entry about airports cutting back on capital improvement projects because of slowing air traffic. Los Angeles International Airport (LAX) is bucking the trend and continuing to grow. This new work, worth $1.8 billion, will be covered by a project labor agreement.

The press release from LAX is below:

(Los Angeles, California – July 7, 2008) Los Angeles Board of Airport Commissioners today approved the coverage of an estimated $1.8 billion of certain upcoming projects in the first phase of Los Angeles International Airport's (LAX's) Capital Improvement Program under Los Angeles World Airports’ (LAWA's) established Project Labor Agreement (PLA).

"This agreement will ensure that construction projects can proceed quickly using a highly qualified workforce," said Los Angeles Mayor Antonio R. Villaraigosa. "The agreement will also make sure that our multi-billion-dollar construction program at LAX will provide high-quality job opportunities for local residents."

Richard Slawson, executive secretary of the Los Angeles/Orange County Building & Construction Trades Council, said, ”Today’s Board action to cover LAX modernization projects under the long-standing LAWA Project Labor Agreement is a huge step toward continuing the partnership for growth, economy and quality. Area craft union officers and workers, contractors' representatives, the City of Los Angeles and LAWA have seen the successful completion of various projects under the excellent labor relations policy contained in the PLA. The citizens of Los Angeles will gain tremendously from good jobs and successful projects that will be completed under this program.”

Airport Commissioner Joseph Aredas, who participated in the negotiations, said, "Today's action by the Board of Airport Commissioners will ensure a stable workforce, fair wages and working conditions, and employment of affected local residents during the upcoming construction of public works projects vital to the future of LAX and our region's economy."

The project labor agreement was negotiated with the Los Angeles/Orange County Building and Construction Trades Council and their affiliated local unions, the Building and Construction Trades Department of the AFL-CIO (American Federation of Labor and Congress of Industrial Organizations), the Building and Construction Trades Council of California, and signatory craft unions.

The agreement currently covers the on-going $723-million Tom Bradley International Terminal (TBIT) Interior Renovation Program. Today’s Board action will extend PLA coverage to certain LAX development projects, including two related crossfield taxiway projects (Taxiway C-13 construction with bridge and Taxiway D extension west to Taxiway C-13) and six related gate projects on the west side of the Tom Bradley terminal (south four gates, aprons/tarmac for these south gates, pedestrian tunnel structure, north three gates, aprons/tarmac for these north gates, and a terminal core addition).

LAWA's Project Labor Agreement provides for the following:

• Establishment of uniform working rules and conditions for all major construction projects, including uniform enforcement of safety regulations; central oversight of non-discriminatory employment practices; and consistent application of fair working conditions;
• Labor stability through prompt and effective dispute resolution and prohibition on strikes, work stoppages, other labor disruptions and contractor lock-outs;
• Hiring of qualified construction personnel through employment processes established by local contractors and union hiring halls;
• Participation of local residents in employment and training programs, such as pre-apprenticeship programs and priority entrance of local residents into the state-certified apprenticeship programs jointly administered by contractors and labor unions;
• Participation by all qualified contractors and construction employees, including those who have not traditionally worked under project labor agreements or who are non-union members;
• Establishment of fair wages and working conditions through enforcement of state prevailing wages; and
• Establishment of joint labor-management committees to encourage communications among stakeholders, including officials and residents of local communities impacted by the construction program.

LAWA's existing 10-year project labor agreement was signed in November 1999 and extends through Dec. 31, 2010. There is a provision for a one-time extension not to exceed 10 years, which must be approved by the end of next year. Parsons Constructors, Inc., administers the agreement on behalf of LAWA.

New Study Shows Prevailing Wage Does Not Increase Construction Cost

A new study by the Economic Policy Institute released the results of a study that they recently finished that found that prevailing wages do not create increased costs on government contracts. Nooshin Mahalia, the author of the study, also concluded that the most of the studies against prevailing wages against prevailing wages are flawed. This is because the studies start with the assumption that prevailing wages increase costs instead of testing if there are or nor not actual impacts to contract costs. The full research paper can be found here.

Here are a few quotes from the press release that I thought summarized the
The idea behind the prevailing wage is simple: a wage floor keeps big government projects from damaging the local economy by driving down wages and undermining living standards. A counter-argument has been raised, however, which claims that requiring contractors to pay the prevailing wage drives up the cost of the projects – a cost ultimately borne by the taxpayers. This claim, with its ring of plausibility, has already been used as grounds for repealing the prevailing wage requirements in some states.

There were five specific points mentioned how contractors manage projects that would not increase contract costs.

1. Prevailing wage regulations do not always increase wages, as some public contractors may pay at those rates without the regulation.
2. Labor costs, including benefits and payroll taxes, add up to about one-quarter of construction costs. Thus even a wage raise of 10%, for example, would only affect overall costs about 2.5%, making its impact small.
3. Improved productivity can offset higher wages. The better-skilled workers attracted by these wages might complete the job in less time, or the firms that hire them might introduce labor-saving technologies for the express purpose of offsetting higher labor costs.
4. Higher wages might be offset through other means, such as using lower-cost materials.
5. Contractors might offset higher wages by reducing their profits slightly.

In San Diego County, the City of Vista sought to avoid paying workers prevailing wages by becoming charter city. It will be interesting to see if Vista's race to the wage floor will provide them with the quality facilities and community benefits they are seeking.

Revised $9.3 Billion Dollar Water Bond Headed to November Ballot in California?

Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger and Senator Diane Feinstein have come together to propose a bond to help solve the state's water infrastructure issues. They hope that the legislature will put the measure on the November ballot.

Last month the Governor declared a drought emergency. As he made the declaration, he also advocated for a proposed $11.9 billion dollar bond. This bond proposal was controversial because it proposed projects that environmentalists feel would harm the environment. Those two were a peripheral canal around the Bay Area Delta and three dams.

Fast forward one month and those dams and $2 billion disappear. The business community, Republicans and moderate Democrats are likely to get behind the measure. Details that were reported in the SF Chronicle are listed below.

The new plan includes money for water storage, but the amount is $3 billion rather than the $5.1 billion the governor had in his earlier plan. And the money wouldn't necessarily be used for dam projects - it could be spent for other projects, including groundwater storage.

The plan also includes funds to help preserve the Sacramento-San Joaquin River Delta by fixing levees; to make seismic retrofits of the water infrastructure; to protect and restore native fish and wildlife in the area; and to pay for projects to cut greenhouse gas emissions from exposed delta soils.

Schwarzenegger and Feinstein's proposal would spend the $9.3 billion in six areas:

-- $3 billion on water-storage projects.

-- $2 billion for regional water supply and conservation projects.

-- $1.9 billion for Sacramento-San Joaquin River Delta sustainability projects, such as levee repair, as well as improving the ecosystem.

-- $1.3 billion to protect ecosystems and watersheds, to remove invasive species and to restore watersheds damaged by fire. Funds also would be used to remove dams, including one on the Klamath River.

-- $800 million to improve water quality, groundwater protection and small-community wastewater treatment.

-- $250 million for grants and loans for water recycling projects.

Nothing is guaranteed for the measure though. Legislative Democrats are questioning the need for the bond when there are are funds that voters authorized in 2006 that they have not spent and that the $17 billion dollar budget gap should be dealt with before they start working on this program.

Environmentalists question the timing since the November ballot is going to be crowded with other ballot measures.

Photo by: by cplbasilisk