John Schneidawind
ARTBA and 70 other industry, business, and labor organizations are urging President Donald Trump to push Congress for a multi-year highway, transit and safety program bill to “provide the road map to fulfill the infrastructure vision you have championed since the 2016 election.”
“With state and local transportation budgets reeling from COVID-19-releated travel reductions, increased federal surface transportation investment is needed now more than ever,” the May 1 letter says. The groups represent a wide swath of the U.S. economy, including construction, equipment manufacturers, material providers, retail, automotive, and local government.
Millstone security employees criticize COVID-19 safety efforts
Sten Spinella
-Waterford — In the midst of refueling one of its two active nuclear reactors, a process that has brought in 750 temporary workers, 10 employees at Millstone Power Station have tested positive for COVID-19.
The arrival of the new workers has caused concern among some current employees such as Millstone security officer Jim Foley, who is also the vice president of the United Government Security Officers of America’s local chapter.
Foley said security officers have had to "fight" for personal protective equipment as well as partitions at access points to separate staff from security.
"Speaking specifically for the guard force, there's a lot of frustration, there's a lot of concern, and I would say there's anger," Foley said. "We are essential employees; our plant produces electricity. The rank and file just don't feel like the company respects or appreciates the commitment and dedication that they're showing to this."
Victoria Robinson, the wife of another security officer, has also criticized Millstone's management of COVID-19.
“These security officers are interacting with every person that comes into that plant,” Robinson said. “Now they're preparing for the outage. That means hundreds of outside people in addition to regular plant staff.”
Other employees have reached out to The Day to discuss Millstone’s operations during the pandemic, but have not wanted to speak publicly because they are worried about their job security.
“[Millstone is] very tight-lipped. Part of the reason they're able to be is that there is a fear amongst the workforce that you have to be careful of what you say,” Foley said.
Millstone Spokesman Kenneth Holt said Millstone has not heard any criticism internally.
"We've actually gotten a lot of compliments from employees on the steps we've taken. We've stepped up communications with employees to let them know what's going on," he said.
"I am very proud of Dominion Energy's response to this virus, not only at Millstone but across the entire corporation," Holt added.
Robinson wondered if Millstone is saving its COVID-19 test kits, of which they have 500, according to Holt, for certain personnel rather than security officers. The first tests were given the week of April 20.
Holt did not specify who was tested, but he said “we identified the people at Millstone who were most critical to the safe operation of the plant.”
Robinson said she was recently exposed to someone who tested positive for coronavirus. Her husband called his supervisor and he was told to take six days off, but after that he should come to work. He told his supervisor he didn’t feel comfortable going to work, and he should self-quarantine for two weeks, which he has been doing.
Holt said the protocol for someone who tests positive is they self-quarantine for two weeks. Millstone determines who came into contact with the person and they are either quarantined as well or tested immediately. He said that at the beginning of the pandemic, staff who traveled internationally or in the New York City area were asked to quarantine for 14 days.
Cleaning and staffing
Foley said there was no scheduled cleaning activity on weekends from April 3 through April 19 despite Millstone’s round-the-clock operation. Foley also said some materials used by cleaning personnel to sanitize larger areas, such as access points, were not CDC/EPA-approved as effective against the virus.
Foley filed an Occupational Safety and Health Administration complaint on behalf of the union citing two violations: the lack of cleaning and sanitizing and using ineffective cleaning materials.
Holt said the number of employees is low on weekends, so the station typically wouldn’t have a cleaning staff. With the outage, though, and more people being on-site, there has been a recent increase in cleaning staff on weekends. Holt said Millstone tries to focus cleaning efforts on days that many people are at work, and that cleaning personnel work on doorknobs, stair rails and populated areas the most.
As for the cleaning products issue, Holt referenced one incident early on during the pandemic when personnel “had gone to Home Depot and gotten a bottle of disinfectant that wasn’t on the list, but by the next day, that had been replaced by disinfectant on the list.”
Foley said Millstone began working with the union in developing its pandemic plan in March. One aspect of that plan was having security officers and supervisors quarantining, essentially on standby in case they were needed to support shift operations. Within the last two weeks, Foley said, Millstone has brought back half the employees who were at home. He said he doesn’t know what prompted the move, considering the pandemic is ongoing.
Holt said he thought the company may discontinue the practice.
Out-of-state workers and labor issues
Another issue raised by Robinson, Foley and other employees is the influx of workers coming from out of state to work on the refueling.
“There are plates for vehicles that came from New York, from all over the country,” Robinson said. “These people are staying in rental houses and hotels and eating out in the area.”
So how does Millstone account for activities of these contractors?
“We really can’t take account for what they’re doing outside of Millstone,” Holt said of the outage workers. “We’re focused on them when they’re at work.” He said a lot of the new on-site personnel live in the area.
While Millstone would normally bring in 1,000 outside people to work on the outage, that number has been reduced to 750, Holt said.
On April 23, Dominion Energy said the refueling outage would last about a month and told residents there would be increased activity at the station.
First Selectman Rob Brule said Millstone has been proactive in its response to COVID-19.
“They keep us informed of the actions they’re taking at Millstone to protect their workers and the public,” he said.
Millstone’s positive cases are not added to Waterford’s case count unless the employee lives in Waterford.
Meanwhile, Foley said his union has been negotiating with G4S, the security services company its members work for, since early April for hazard pay.
“While we were discussing hazard pay, at one point, the company made an offer,” Foley said. “We countered that offer, and then we were notified a couple days later that the company’s official stand was that they weren’t obligated to negotiate and weren’t interested in paying us hazard pay.”
G4S Spokesperson Sabrina Rios wrote in an email that there is a collective bargaining agreement in place between G4S and the union representing Millstone’s security officers.
“G4S did not initiate a discussion with the Local Union over the issue of hazard pay, and there have been no negotiations over that issue,” Rios wrote.
Foley called that characterization a “categorical lie.”
Millstone PPE and protective measures
Brule shared a press release from Dominion/Millstone that outlined the steps it was taking to lower risk, including social distancing and personal protective equipment such as masks, gloves and face shields.
Other precautions Holt highlighted include increased availability of hand sanitizer, plexiglass barriers erected in areas where people are processed before entering the plant and taking the temperature of people daily. If someone has a temperature of 99.6 degrees or higher, Holt said, they're told to stay home until their fever has subsided for more than three days.
In general, Foley said, Millstone/Dominion cites a “panel of experts” in its COVID-19 decision-making. Foley and his colleagues don’t know who these experts are nor what guidelines they’re working from.
Holt said the experts are medical professionals, but he declined to name them.
“As a corporation, we consult with medical professionals, and we’re making decisions based on their input, based on CDC guidelines, and ultimately the decision on what we do rests with our corporate management team,” Holt said.
While Foley further criticized Millstone/Dominion for being vague with the public, he tempered his condemnations with a recognition of the difficult situation all parties are in.
“I don't want to paint an unfair picture. The company does screen people coming in for the refueling; they're asking them about their recent travel plans, where they've come from, etcetera,” Foley said.
But Robinson said social distancing is “nearly impossible” because people who need to enter Millstone stand in line to get into work daily. She believes plant operators are being treated with more care than security officers even though the guards are exposed to more people. She said Millstone initially waited too long to require face masks at work, and at first they weren’t supplying security officers with enough PPE.
“And these are essential workers,” Robinson said. “I mean, if you don’t have security guards at your nuclear power plant, you’re going to have a bad situation.”
New London seeks $10 million for new pier development project
Greg Smith
Mohawk, a heavy civil construction and engineering company with a marine services division in Groton, last year purchased three acres of property on Eastern Drive, north of the Gold Star Memorial Bridge. The Plantsville-based company envisions a phased project to construct a new marine terminal with a 500-foot wide bulkhead extending 150 feet from the shore, a 400-foot-long by 100-foot-wide pier and railroad spur.
As part of a newly formed partnership, the city will seek $10 million through the federal Port Infrastructure Development Program to help move along those plans. Northeast will provide the 20 percent match requirement. Mohawk has said it has $15.6 million in private funds for the project - equal to more than 60 percent of the estimated cost.
“This is a huge development,” and will provide jobs at a time the local economy needs a boost, said Felix Reyes, director of New London’s Office of Development and Planning.
Reyes said the grant application, with the approval of the City Council, will be submitted later this month and letters of support are already coming in. City Grants Coordinator Elizabeth Nocera is leading the application process. Mohawk, with a fleet of barges, cranes and tug boats, had planned the facility in order to expand its growing marine operation in Groton. Its clients include the U.S. Navy, Coast Guard, Electric Boat, Amtrak and Connecticut Department of Transportation.
The planned conversion of State Pier into an offshore wind facility now has industries looking to Mohawk's planned facility as an alternative port for bringing in items such as sand or stone. The newly purchased land in New London is also home to three industrial buildings being developed by Mohawk into steel fabrication and coating facilities. Once completed, the fabrication facility in Groton will be shifted to New London.
J. David Schill, Mohawk’s vice president of special projects and business development, said the new facility will generate 100 new jobs for the region. There is also excitement for the project to be completed quickly, he said, because of the regional impact and opportunity for other industries.
The fabrication shop and pier will have multiple loading bays at a site with easy access to Interstate 95 and is well-suited for both truck and rail freight. Portions of the freight line that runs from New London to the Canadian border were recently upgraded to allow for heavier cargo. U.S. Rep. Joe Courtney, D-2nd District, helped secure a federal loan that paid for about 66 percent of the $12.8 million rail project.
In a new development, the Connecticut Port Authority last month announced it was leasing property that adjoins Mohawk’s to Genesee & Wyoming Railroad to help facilitate use of the rail. Schill said that with the proper upgrades the rail line would greatly benefit the region. Mohawk has been in talks with Electric Boat, Connecticut Port Authority, U.S. Army Corps of Engineers and G&W Railroad.
Mohawk is seeking necessary permits for the pier project and estimates it would take about four years to complete in phases. Notification on the competitive federal grant is not expected until September or October. Schill said the lack of federal funding could serve to slow its plans since the additional rail line to the pier is such a significant investment.
Windsor Locks eyes $45M mixed-use development around planned train station
Greg Bordonaro
Use of public transportation has plummeted in the wake of the coronavirus pandemic, but that hasn’t stopped Windsor Locks officials from pinning their future economic-development hopes on a transit-oriented, mixed-use project.
While ridership on CTrail’s Hartford Line has slowed to a trickle in recent weeks, the town of Windsor Locks in April scored a major $45-million commitment from the state Bond Commission to fund construction of a new train station downtown on Main Street.
With $62.4 million in state and federal funding now approved for the project, town officials are eyeing a roughly $45-million mixed-use development around the station as part of a public-private partnership that would include construction of several properties housing new apartments, commercial space as well as an indoor public market.
The new station will be located in Windsor Locks’ downtown, about a mile north of a platform that currently serves as a stop on the Hartford rail line.
“The whole idea of this investment in our commuter-rail infrastructure is to stimulate transit-oriented development in the station areas, and before a shovel has even hit the ground, a viable plan to do just that has emerged in Windsor Locks,” said the town’s First Selectman Christopher Kervick.
Jennifer Rodriguez, Windsor Locks’ director of planning and development, said the already-allocated government funds will go toward building a 510-foot-long boarding platform, traffic improvements and station signalling.
The money will also help fund a reconfiguration of local streets and intersections, improvements to mainline rail track and construction of a new maintenance facility for Amtrak.
A request for proposals will be going out soon for a project contractor, Kervick said, but there is no construction timetable yet.
“The governor’s office is looking for projects that are shovel-ready to stimulate the economy,” after the pandemic passes, “and [the train station] fits the bill,” Kervick said.
The town completed a feasibility study for the public market in 2018 and is working on a formal business plan for it.
The vision is to create a “vibrant, safe and exciting new place” where residents and visitors could shop for fresh and locally produced meats, produce, dairy and baked goods as well as prepared foods and crafts, Kervick said.
Plans also call for a two-building complex that would house 200 or so apartments and ground-floor commercial space. That project would likely be led by a private developer and the town has already chosen Stamford-based JHM Group of Cos. as the preferred development partner.
[Read more: HBJ examines developments in CT towns, cities]
There’s already been development near the new station’s location. The $64-million, 160-unit Montgomery Mill apartment redevelopment on Canal Bank Road, debuted in August and is nearly fully occupied, Kervick said, signaling demand for more living units.
The Hartford Line currently has eight stops — seven in Connecticut, and one in Massachusetts — which have spurred various developments along the 62-mile Springfield-to-New Haven route.
Puzzle pieces
Financing the envisioned development around the new train station remains a big question, but the town is working with the Build America Bureau — part of the U.S. Department of Transportation — which has expressed interest in the project and has two low-interest loan programs to support transit-oriented development, Kervick said.
The first selectman said the main priority is to get the station platform built and he wants to make sure the town’s economic-development aspirations don’t interfere with that effort.
He’s also cognizant of the irony in the project going forward at a time when ridership on the Hartford Line has significantly diminished amid the pandemic.
Fitch lowers outlook on Bradley’s $210M transportation center project
Matt Pilon
Citing “severe declines” in passenger traffic due to COVID-19, Fitch Ratings has lowered its outlook on the debt that’s financing Bradley International Airport’s $210 million transportation center project.
The Connecticut Airport Authority issued approximately $151 million in customer facility charge revenue bonds last year to help finance the Windsor Locks ground transportation center project, which is meant to bring rental car operations within walking distance of passenger terminals.
Fitch on Friday affirmed its ‘BBB’ ratings on those bonds, but lowered the outlook to negative, indicating that the rating could be lowered over the next two years. It took similar action on eight other airports, including Boston’s Logan International.
For those airports facilities, Fitch said falling traffic volumes and operating revenues due to the ongoing pandemic will have the greatest impacts from April to June, but that the effects could extend beyond that.
Fitch took a similar action last month on Bradley’s own revenue bonds, affirming their “A” rating but making the outlook negative.
Four other airports in the region were also subject to that April action.
Builders' Union Floats Detailed COVID-19 Safety Measures
Law360 (April 28, 2020, 5:57 PM EDT) -- A building trades union issued its own guidelines for worker safety during the COVID-19 pandemic that include on-site screening and staggering crew shifts, citing a lack of decisive action from federal regulators.
North America's Building Trades Unions and its affiliated research organization, The Center for Construction Research and Training, urged employers on Monday to develop a "comprehensive COVID-19 exposure control plan" with temperature checks and designated COVID-19 officers at job sites.
NABTU, which is an alliance of 14 unions representing building and construction workers, said the national framework is meant to provide a coherent and more proactive standard for worker safety.
"These guidelines aim to prevent disease, disability and death caused by infectious disease exposure in lieu of federal action by [Occupational Safety and Health Administration]," the statement said.
OSHA is the subagency within the Department of Labor that sets and enforces workplace safety rules. The regulator issued guidelines last week suggesting construction workers wear masks and stay 6 feet apart in work trailers, but so far it has declined to issue emergency rules that require employers to adopt infectious disease plans for the workplace.
That stance has drawn fire from some observers, including Democratic lawmakers and labor advocates. NABTU said Monday that it hopes its framework can provide more comprehensive guidance.
"The COVID-19 pandemic clearly underscores the need for and value of a strong, adaptable and multi-purpose exposure control standard to prevent the spread of infectious diseases on U.S. construction sites," NABTU president Sean McGarvey said in a statement. "The industry has been calling for a single national standard, and this is a product we highly recommend for owners, contractors, union members and all of our industry."
While the guidance was prompted by the current pandemic, the measures are meant to be adaptable for other outbreaks of infectious disease, NABTU said.
The suggested measures include worker training on the latest disease control measures, designating a COVID-19 officer for every job site, and screening all workers for fever at the beginning of shifts or if they show signs of illness.
If a worker does become infected, they should be put on sick leave along with any co-workers with whom they've had close contact, NABTU said. Local health departments should be notified, and the area should be disinfected, the policy said. Sick leave should be paid, per the Families First Coronavirus Response Act, the group noted.
The measures also include detailed guidance for social distancing in the construction context, such as staggering crew shifts, identifying high-density areas and navigating elevators and personnel hoists.
"In many places across the country, our unions, contractors, and project owners have already implemented these protocols," McGarvey said. "We hope these guidelines will raise the bar to prevent and control infectious threats and improve safety and health management practices for not just construction, but all industries."
A Department of Labor spokesperson on Thursday pushed back on suggestions that OSHA hasn't taken enough action to protect workers and combat the pandemic's spread.
"OSHA has been acting to protect America's workers by providing extensive guidance to employers and workers on COVID-19 response," the spokesperson told Law360. "The agency continues to field and respond to complaints, and will take the steps needed to address unsafe workplaces, including enforcement action, as warranted."
Existing labor laws require employers to provide a workspace that's free from known hazards, and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has issued guidelines about COVID-19 safety, the spokesperson noted. Together, those standards give OSHA room to carry out its obligations, the spokesperson said.
"Because of the enforcement authorities already available to it and the fluid nature of this health crisis, OSHA does not believe that a new regulation, or standard, is appropriate at this time," the spokesperson said.
Representatives for NABTU did not immediately respond to requests for further comment on Tuesday.
--Additional reporting by Kevin Stawicki and Stephen Cooper. Editing by Amy Rowe.
Update: this story has been updated with a response from the Department of Labor.