At 11 a.m., Gov. Malloy & DOT Commissioner Redeker will host
a ceremony marking the opening of the newly replaced West River Bridge on I-95
at the parking area adjacent to 347 Kimberly Avenue in New Haven.
Michigan Legislature repeals state's prevailing wage law
David Eggert, Associated Press
LANSING, Mich. (AP) — The Republican-controlled Michigan Legislature on Wednesday rescinded the state's decades-old law that guarantees higher wages for construction workers on government projects, quickly enacting the repeal initiative rather than letting it go to a public vote.
Though Gov. Rick Snyder opposed the measure, it was veto-proof because it was initiated through a ballot drive by nonunion contractors. The prevailing wage law requires paying the local wage and benefit rate — usually union scale — on state-financed construction of schools, university dorms and other public works projects.
Michigan is the fifth conservative-led state to annul its prevailing wage law since 2015. The repeal will take effect immediately but not affect existing contracts.
"The time has come to eliminate this outdated law and save our taxpayers money," said Senate Majority Leader Arlan Meekhof, a West Olive Republican who has long pushed to repeal the measure that was enacted in 1965. Other GOP lawmakers called the law a government-mandated "carve-out" and a "price-fixing scheme."
Democrats voted against the legislation , saying it will result in lower paychecks and that it makes no sense as Michigan tries to address a shortage of tradespeople. They questioned whether it will save taxpayers money, warned it will be a boon to "cheap" out-of-state contractors with lesser-skilled employees and said angry construction workers watching in the legislative galleries should lash out in the fall election.
"It will only cost our state in the long run," said Sen. Curtis Hertel Jr. of East Lansing. mThe Senate voted 23-14, with four Republicans joining Democrats in opposition. More than 90 minutes later, the House narrowly supported the repeal 56-53, as seven Republicans voted no.
Outraged tradespeople, who unsuccessfully lobbied for the bill to proceed to the November ballot, then yelled at and cursed at legislators amid a stepped-up security presence at the Capitol. Twenty-two states do not have prevailing wage laws, according to the U.S. Department of Labor. Republican-led Arkansas and Kentucky repealed theirs in 2017, West Virginia in 2016 — when GOP lawmakers overrode a veto — and Indiana in 2015.
The ballot drive was funded primarily by the nonunion Associated Builders and Contractors of Michigan, which spent $1.3 million to collect voter signatures to bypass a veto from Snyder. After a court fight, the initiative was certified by the state elections board last week.
Critics say the prevailing wage mandate is a "red tape nightmare" that inflates costs and makes it harder for nonunion contractors to compete by making lower bids. Business groups such as the Michigan Chamber of Commerce and conservative organizations like Americans for Prosperity urged legislators to act, saying Michigan is among just six states to base prevailing wages solely on local union contracts.
Others in the business community and organized labor, however, rallied against the repeal measure. They said the law helps fund union training that is important from a business perspective and for the safety of 170,000 workers in the industry.
"Without prevailing wage, we wouldn't have the mission-driven and highly trained workers for the jobs. We'd have low quality cutting us out. ... Taxpayers, they're going to pay for the mistakes," said Jessica Knight, an apprentice with Operating Engineers 324 who serves in the Army Reserve.
The legislation is not expected to save much on road projects because most are at least partially funded with federal money and are subject to a U.S. prevailing wage law.
Michigan's law was intended to put union and nonunion labor on an equal footing in competing for state construction jobs. It was struck down in 1994 and reinstated by a federal appeals court in 1997.
The repeal law includes a $75,000 appropriation, making the measure immune from a voter referendum.
The Legislature's move was the latest blow to organized labor in a state where right-to-work laws were enacted in 2012. The last times that lawmakers enacted citizen-initiated laws rather than let them go to voters were in 2014 and 2013, when Republicans backed wolf hunt and abortion insurance measures.
New Haven Port Authority study improvements to port-rail connections
NEW HAVEN — The New Haven Port Authority announced Wednesday it received funding to study future connections between the Port of New Haven and regional freight rail service, which would potentially increase cargo transportation in the port.
The State Bond Commission allocated $500,000 to fund the study, which is the first step in plans to modernize connections between the port and inland distribution streams, such as freight trains and trucks. The study will analyze how to move cargo from ships in the port to trains and the cargo’s ultimate destination. “We’re determined to expand the use of this deep water harbor and transfer more cargo from ships directly onto freight trains,” Mayor Toni N. Harp said. “New Haven has been very fortunate as a commercial hub, a trading center throughout its history...The advantages to be realized are self evident.”
The grant will fund an analysis of existing rail infrastructure and provide a plan for future investment in rails.
Connecticut Port Authority Chairman Scott Bates said that with better connectivity between the port and the rail lines, more business will be attracted to taking advantage of deep water shipping. This would provide an economic boost to the city and region as more jobs are created to handle the volume and connect the city and state to commerce across the country.
“What we’ve been able to do with this grant is make a master plan of how freight rail will be used in this port district,” Bates said. “A port is nothing unless you can get the cargo moving back and forth. This is a supply chain that starts in New Haven and really connects Connecticut and New England with the world. That’s why this investment is so important. This city has tremendous potential.”
The study will evaluate the existing infrastructure and provide the New Haven Port Authority with an investment plan that identifies those improvements. It will largely look at how to improve both on-dock and near-dock staging areas. The goal is to maximize the safety, efficiency and competitiveness of all rail routes in New Haven, said Judi Sheiffele, executive director of the Port of New Haven.
After the rail study identifies the improvements, they can look for funding to move forward with a construction project.
The port is already working with the Army Corps of Engineers to determine whether the channel of the port should be deepened and the economic benefit that could be gained from such a change.
Beyond just economic growth, allowing more cargo to be loaded to freight trains means fewer trucks on city streets state roads and highways, Harp said, and it would in turn reduce wear and tear on the state’s infrastructure. Overall, when shiploads of freight cargo are removed from state highways the transportation system can be more efficient. “New Haven is the busiest port in Connecticut for a reason,” said Sen. Martin Looney, D-New Haven. “The port has the potential to be a significant economic driver for the city and the region and that potential has been recognized for a long time without being realized and our hope is that we are now moving closer to realization. Improved freight rail access to Connecticut will bring more business to the port and more jobs to our state. Expanding freight rail service will help get more trucks off our highways, leading toward something that can be a real economic engine not only for New Haven but for the entire state of Connecticut.”
The port mainly receives cargo such as alcohol, steel, salt, ash, scrap metal and petroleum, Sheiffele said. After the study analyzes what improvements to the existing infrastructure can be made, an estimate of the economic impact of the improvement can be determined, she said.
Eversource Energy on Tuesday balked at an attempt by Connecticut Water Service Inc. to lure new merger bids and asserted its commitment to their current offer.
The utility, which diversified into the water business last year with its $1.6 billion acquisition of Bridgeport's Aquarion Water Co., pushed back Tuesday after Connecticut Water last week announced it amended its $750 million merger with California's SJW Group in an effort to solicit other proposals for 45 days.
Connecticut Water had used a "go-shop" provision, which allows companies to seek competing bids without upending its current agreements, to reassure its shareholders of its pending agreement with SJW Group. The action allows them to review and negotiate bids through July 14.
The Clinton water utility had also invited Eversource to make a new acquisition offer after shooting down the utility's unsolicited April 5 bid of $63.50 per share in favor of SJW Group's offer now worth $64.72 per share -- based on its closing share price as of April 25 .
But Eversource officials said Connecticut Water's "severely limited" process "fails to reflect a sincere intention" as they have not provided access to necessary "due diligence" information and its senior management.
"Both of these actions would be standard practice in go-shop processes designed to solicit competitive bids on a level playing field," Eversource said in a statement.
Eversource says it will not participate in the flawed bidding process as it urges Connecticut Water shareholders to vote against SJW Group's "inferior" proposal.
Connecticut Water responded on Wednesday reaffirming its invitation for Eversource to participate in the "fair" public bidding process. But the water utility also slammed Eversource for its "pattern of seriously false" remarks made to "interfere" with its ability to receive the best deal possible.
Meanwhile, SJW Group is also fending off an unsolicited bid from California Water Service Group, which offered $68.25 a share, or approximately $1.9 billion, to purchase SJW Group.
Given the recent news, SJW Group's board of directors again pledged its unanimous support of the $750 million merger with Connecticut Water saying it will create "significant" value for its shareholders.
Under the "merger of equals", the combined company would be headquartered in California and be majority owned (60 percent) by SJW shareholders. Together they would serve more than 1.5 million customers, including more than 450,000 in Connecticut, and have over 700 employees.
A New England headquarters would also remain in Clinton, in addition to other offices in Connecticut and Maine.
Dominion makes push to prove Millstone ‘at risk’ of closure
By Benjamin Kail
Waterford — Dominion Energy claims it has opened its books in a recent filing seeking to prove to regulators that its Millstone Power Station faces closure unless the state fully considers the plant's environmental and electricity grid benefits.
Dominion on May 31 turned over audited financial statements, Millstone revenue and expense histories and forecasts, tax returns over the last several years and "proof of an unsustainable return on equity with a declining profile," the company said.
While competitors, environmental groups and consumer advocates say public data shows Millstone remains profitable, Dominion executives pointed to their 2012 decision to shutter the Kewaunee Power Station in Carlton, Wis., as an example of a "difficult decision based on operations but a prudent decision" for shareholders that could be replicated in Connecticut.
The confidential redacted documents are under a protective order and will be reviewed over the summer by the Public Utilities Regulatory Authority, the Office of the Consumer Counsel and the Department of Energy and Environmental Protection.
"We have opened our books," Millstone spokesman Ken Holt said. "The information we are providing Connecticut's energy regulators clearly shows that Millstone is an 'at risk' resource."
In February, regulators said nuclear plants can compete in an auction among new and existing solar, wind and hydropower energy producers for fixed-price contracts with state-regulated utilities.
But Millstone's bid will have an edge if PURA grants the plant "at-risk" status; only then can regulators weigh non-price benefits such as greenhouse gas avoidance, fuel diversity and grid reliability provided by the plant. Bids from energy producers that aren't considered in financial peril will be weighed on price alone, PURA says.
Dominion pushed for years to be included in a zero-emission auction along with wind, solar and hydropower, arguing Millstone's environmental and economic positives to the region essentially were being ignored in the existing wholesale market. Millstone faces stiff competition in the wholesale market from low-priced natural gas, much like other struggling nuclear plants in the U.S.
Regulators' review follows efforts in New York, Illinois and New Jersey to establish policies to compensate struggling nuclear plants for the economic and environmental benefits they provide.
It also comes as President Donald Trump is pushing the federal government to intervene in energy markets to prevent premature closure of unprofitable coal and nuclear plants.
DEEP spokesman Chris Collibee said Wednesday that the president's recent directive will have "no impact" on Connecticut's process.
Dominion executive: Can't invest given 'current New England public policy'
While Millstone has participated in ISO New England's Forward Capacity Market — selling energy capacity in advance over the next several years — Dominion says it only did so "in good faith while the process played out."
"We will not do that again without resolution," Dominion Executive Vice President Paul Koonce said in testimony submitted in the filing. Koonce urged DEEP and PURA to "entirely" complete their process by Feb. 1, 2019.
The decision facing Dominion is not whether Millstone remains "marginally profitable going forward," Koonce said, but whether or not "the needed investments in Millstone is the best use of our limited capital and operating resources. In the current New England public policy environment, I could not in good conscience recommend to our board that we continue to make these investments."
Dan Stoddard, Dominion's senior vice president and chief nuclear officer, said the company must invest $700 million into Millstone "now through 2025 to maintain excellent operations."
Costs also have risen, with Dominion saying it's invested more than $1.1 billion in capital into Millstone, a plant that has two dissimilar operating units requiring distinct staff, training and upkeep costs. Nuclear plants, Dominion wrote in its filing, require "safety, operational excellence and security, beyond what is expected of other generation sources."
"During the last few years, five nuclear units have retired, totaling almost 5 gigawatts of capacity," Dominion wrote. "The dim financial future for such facilities is further exacerbated by the increasing penetration of low- and no-carbon renewable facilities, which often benefit from state and federal incentives."
PURA to make at-risk decision in October
Environmental groups, utilities and competitors have challenged regulators' decision to include nuclear in Connecticut's zero-emission auction. They note that public data shows Millstone should remain substantially profitable for years.
But regulators, whose consultants found Millstone would be profitable through 2035, said premature Millstone closure risked too many jobs and would create burdens on the environment and regional grid that would hurt ratepayers. Millstone Unit 2 is licensed until 2035, while Unit 3 until 2045. Unit 1 shut down in 1995.
Power company NRG remains unconvinced that Millstone faces risk of closure, with spokesman David Gaier noting "a number of third-party studies show instead that Millstone is among the most profitable — if not the most profitable nuclear plant — in the United States."
"Offering an above-market contract to a clearly profitable plant on the pretext of poverty simply means even higher energy prices for Connecticut ratepayers, who are already paying among the highest prices in the nation," Gaier said Tuesday.
Eversource in April pushed for annual disclosures of financial data, along with disclosures of steps potential at-risk energy producers have taken to seek compensation from the federal government or ISO New England to mitigate impact on ratepayers.
"We look forward to PURA's careful review of the issue," Mitch Gross, Eversource spokesman, said Wednesday.
Lawmakers and Gov. Dannel Malloy prompted DEEP's review of whether to include nuclear in the zero-emission auction. Almost 60 General Assembly members wrote in support of Millstone in January.
PURA expects to issue at-risk determinations in October, and DEEP says it will select winning bidders in the auction in late 2018 or early 2019.
19 Year-Old Worker Killed in Baltimore Trench
Nineteen years is a short life, but that’s all that Kyle Hancock of Glen Burnie, Maryland will get.
Hancock died, buried alive earlier this week in a 15-foot unshored trench. Rescuers worked almost 12 hours through a long, rainy night trying to recover his body.
The trench that killed Hancock was between 15 and 20 feet deep according to news reports, and had not been properly shored to prevent its collapse. OSHA has a good trenching and excavation standard that requires all trenches over 5 feet deep to be shored.
The OSHA website also has good information on trench safety, and OSHA’s onsite Consultation Program provides free onsite health and safety help to small and medium size employers. Some jurisdictions have aggressively pursued criminal prosecutions, but they keep happening.
In other words, there’s no excuse for a worker to die in an unprotected trench. And this wasn’t just two guys in a pickup truck. Hancock’s employer, R.F. Warder, has been around long enough to know better: “R.F. Warder has been building, renovating and maintaining these mechanical systems in the Mid-Atlantic region for almost two decades.”
Kyle Hancock isn’t the first worker to die in a trench in Maryland recently. A construction worker died when a trench collapsed at a Prince George’s County work site in July 2017 and another was killed in Severn, Maryland a 7-foot deep trench last August. A very lucky worker was rescued from a 16 foot deep trench in Cumberland, MD in 2016.
Most workers trapped in trench collapse don’t make it out alive. A cubic meter of dirt weighs around 3,000 pounds, as much as an automobile. Not only can it take hours to dig someone out without rescuers becoming trapped, but the weight of the soil can kill a person even if their head isn’t covered. For example, in 2014, Robert Matthew Craig, 26, of Myersville, MD, was rescued after being buried from his waist down in about 10 feet of rock and dirt, but later died. Many workers rescued alive from trench collapses later die of crush syndrome, a medical condition that results in a major shock to the organs and kidney failure.
Between 2011 and 2015, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, 94 American workers were killed in trench collapses. In 2016, 23 U.S. workers died in trench collapses and 15 died in the first five months of 2017.
I write a lot about trench collapses (Most recently here, here, here and here.) They make me mad, because they’re so preventable.
I don’t want to write about them any more.
The utility, which diversified into the water business last year with its $1.6 billion acquisition of Bridgeport's Aquarion Water Co., pushed back Tuesday after Connecticut Water last week announced it amended its $750 million merger with California's SJW Group in an effort to solicit other proposals for 45 days.
Connecticut Water had used a "go-shop" provision, which allows companies to seek competing bids without upending its current agreements, to reassure its shareholders of its pending agreement with SJW Group. The action allows them to review and negotiate bids through July 14.
The Clinton water utility had also invited Eversource to make a new acquisition offer after shooting down the utility's unsolicited April 5 bid of $63.50 per share in favor of SJW Group's offer now worth $64.72 per share -- based on its closing share price as of April 25 .
But Eversource officials said Connecticut Water's "severely limited" process "fails to reflect a sincere intention" as they have not provided access to necessary "due diligence" information and its senior management.
"Both of these actions would be standard practice in go-shop processes designed to solicit competitive bids on a level playing field," Eversource said in a statement.
Eversource says it will not participate in the flawed bidding process as it urges Connecticut Water shareholders to vote against SJW Group's "inferior" proposal.
Connecticut Water responded on Wednesday reaffirming its invitation for Eversource to participate in the "fair" public bidding process. But the water utility also slammed Eversource for its "pattern of seriously false" remarks made to "interfere" with its ability to receive the best deal possible.
Meanwhile, SJW Group is also fending off an unsolicited bid from California Water Service Group, which offered $68.25 a share, or approximately $1.9 billion, to purchase SJW Group.
Given the recent news, SJW Group's board of directors again pledged its unanimous support of the $750 million merger with Connecticut Water saying it will create "significant" value for its shareholders.
Under the "merger of equals", the combined company would be headquartered in California and be majority owned (60 percent) by SJW shareholders. Together they would serve more than 1.5 million customers, including more than 450,000 in Connecticut, and have over 700 employees.
A New England headquarters would also remain in Clinton, in addition to other offices in Connecticut and Maine.
Dominion makes push to prove Millstone ‘at risk’ of closure
By Benjamin Kail
Waterford — Dominion Energy claims it has opened its books in a recent filing seeking to prove to regulators that its Millstone Power Station faces closure unless the state fully considers the plant's environmental and electricity grid benefits.
Dominion on May 31 turned over audited financial statements, Millstone revenue and expense histories and forecasts, tax returns over the last several years and "proof of an unsustainable return on equity with a declining profile," the company said.
While competitors, environmental groups and consumer advocates say public data shows Millstone remains profitable, Dominion executives pointed to their 2012 decision to shutter the Kewaunee Power Station in Carlton, Wis., as an example of a "difficult decision based on operations but a prudent decision" for shareholders that could be replicated in Connecticut.
The confidential redacted documents are under a protective order and will be reviewed over the summer by the Public Utilities Regulatory Authority, the Office of the Consumer Counsel and the Department of Energy and Environmental Protection.
"We have opened our books," Millstone spokesman Ken Holt said. "The information we are providing Connecticut's energy regulators clearly shows that Millstone is an 'at risk' resource."
In February, regulators said nuclear plants can compete in an auction among new and existing solar, wind and hydropower energy producers for fixed-price contracts with state-regulated utilities.
But Millstone's bid will have an edge if PURA grants the plant "at-risk" status; only then can regulators weigh non-price benefits such as greenhouse gas avoidance, fuel diversity and grid reliability provided by the plant. Bids from energy producers that aren't considered in financial peril will be weighed on price alone, PURA says.
Dominion pushed for years to be included in a zero-emission auction along with wind, solar and hydropower, arguing Millstone's environmental and economic positives to the region essentially were being ignored in the existing wholesale market. Millstone faces stiff competition in the wholesale market from low-priced natural gas, much like other struggling nuclear plants in the U.S.
Regulators' review follows efforts in New York, Illinois and New Jersey to establish policies to compensate struggling nuclear plants for the economic and environmental benefits they provide.
It also comes as President Donald Trump is pushing the federal government to intervene in energy markets to prevent premature closure of unprofitable coal and nuclear plants.
DEEP spokesman Chris Collibee said Wednesday that the president's recent directive will have "no impact" on Connecticut's process.
Dominion executive: Can't invest given 'current New England public policy'
While Millstone has participated in ISO New England's Forward Capacity Market — selling energy capacity in advance over the next several years — Dominion says it only did so "in good faith while the process played out."
"We will not do that again without resolution," Dominion Executive Vice President Paul Koonce said in testimony submitted in the filing. Koonce urged DEEP and PURA to "entirely" complete their process by Feb. 1, 2019.
The decision facing Dominion is not whether Millstone remains "marginally profitable going forward," Koonce said, but whether or not "the needed investments in Millstone is the best use of our limited capital and operating resources. In the current New England public policy environment, I could not in good conscience recommend to our board that we continue to make these investments."
Dan Stoddard, Dominion's senior vice president and chief nuclear officer, said the company must invest $700 million into Millstone "now through 2025 to maintain excellent operations."
Costs also have risen, with Dominion saying it's invested more than $1.1 billion in capital into Millstone, a plant that has two dissimilar operating units requiring distinct staff, training and upkeep costs. Nuclear plants, Dominion wrote in its filing, require "safety, operational excellence and security, beyond what is expected of other generation sources."
"During the last few years, five nuclear units have retired, totaling almost 5 gigawatts of capacity," Dominion wrote. "The dim financial future for such facilities is further exacerbated by the increasing penetration of low- and no-carbon renewable facilities, which often benefit from state and federal incentives."
PURA to make at-risk decision in October
Environmental groups, utilities and competitors have challenged regulators' decision to include nuclear in Connecticut's zero-emission auction. They note that public data shows Millstone should remain substantially profitable for years.
But regulators, whose consultants found Millstone would be profitable through 2035, said premature Millstone closure risked too many jobs and would create burdens on the environment and regional grid that would hurt ratepayers. Millstone Unit 2 is licensed until 2035, while Unit 3 until 2045. Unit 1 shut down in 1995.
Power company NRG remains unconvinced that Millstone faces risk of closure, with spokesman David Gaier noting "a number of third-party studies show instead that Millstone is among the most profitable — if not the most profitable nuclear plant — in the United States."
"Offering an above-market contract to a clearly profitable plant on the pretext of poverty simply means even higher energy prices for Connecticut ratepayers, who are already paying among the highest prices in the nation," Gaier said Tuesday.
Eversource in April pushed for annual disclosures of financial data, along with disclosures of steps potential at-risk energy producers have taken to seek compensation from the federal government or ISO New England to mitigate impact on ratepayers.
"We look forward to PURA's careful review of the issue," Mitch Gross, Eversource spokesman, said Wednesday.
Lawmakers and Gov. Dannel Malloy prompted DEEP's review of whether to include nuclear in the zero-emission auction. Almost 60 General Assembly members wrote in support of Millstone in January.
PURA expects to issue at-risk determinations in October, and DEEP says it will select winning bidders in the auction in late 2018 or early 2019.
19 Year-Old Worker Killed in Baltimore Trench
Nineteen years is a short life, but that’s all that Kyle Hancock of Glen Burnie, Maryland will get.
Hancock died, buried alive earlier this week in a 15-foot unshored trench. Rescuers worked almost 12 hours through a long, rainy night trying to recover his body.
The trench that killed Hancock was between 15 and 20 feet deep according to news reports, and had not been properly shored to prevent its collapse. OSHA has a good trenching and excavation standard that requires all trenches over 5 feet deep to be shored.
The OSHA website also has good information on trench safety, and OSHA’s onsite Consultation Program provides free onsite health and safety help to small and medium size employers. Some jurisdictions have aggressively pursued criminal prosecutions, but they keep happening.
In other words, there’s no excuse for a worker to die in an unprotected trench. And this wasn’t just two guys in a pickup truck. Hancock’s employer, R.F. Warder, has been around long enough to know better: “R.F. Warder has been building, renovating and maintaining these mechanical systems in the Mid-Atlantic region for almost two decades.”
Kyle Hancock isn’t the first worker to die in a trench in Maryland recently. A construction worker died when a trench collapsed at a Prince George’s County work site in July 2017 and another was killed in Severn, Maryland a 7-foot deep trench last August. A very lucky worker was rescued from a 16 foot deep trench in Cumberland, MD in 2016.
Most workers trapped in trench collapse don’t make it out alive. A cubic meter of dirt weighs around 3,000 pounds, as much as an automobile. Not only can it take hours to dig someone out without rescuers becoming trapped, but the weight of the soil can kill a person even if their head isn’t covered. For example, in 2014, Robert Matthew Craig, 26, of Myersville, MD, was rescued after being buried from his waist down in about 10 feet of rock and dirt, but later died. Many workers rescued alive from trench collapses later die of crush syndrome, a medical condition that results in a major shock to the organs and kidney failure.
Between 2011 and 2015, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, 94 American workers were killed in trench collapses. In 2016, 23 U.S. workers died in trench collapses and 15 died in the first five months of 2017.
I write a lot about trench collapses (Most recently here, here, here and here.) They make me mad, because they’re so preventable.
I don’t want to write about them any more.