The Trump Administration has rescinded an Obama-era rule that required higher elevations on new buildings constructed in flood-prone areas.
The Obama executive order had required that new public infrastructure projects, including subsidized housing, hospitals, and fire departments, to be built a few feet above the 100-year floodplain. The requirement factored in future sea-level rise predicted by “the best-available and actionable science.”
Obama’s action is believed to be the first time the federal government took sea-level rise projections into account rather than relying only on historical data. The director of the Sierra Club reportedly slammed Trump’s decision as “climate science denial at its most dangerous,” adding that it would put vulnerable communities at risk and make infrastructure less safe.
Related Stories
| Aug 14, 2014
Mississippi county rejects adoption of state building code
The county board of supervisors voted unanimously to opt out of the state building code.
| Aug 14, 2014
Boards at odds over North Carolina county’s CM-at-Risk policy
Some local small contractors are not pleased with the school board’s CM-at-Risk policy that was instituted in 2007. The county’s board of commissioners has offered a sympathetic ear to their complaints
| Aug 14, 2014
2014 National Electrical Code now effective in 12 states; 11 more to come online by January
The National Fire Protection Association (NFPA) says that the 2014 edition of the National Electrical Code(NEC) is now effective in 12 states: Alabama, Colorado, Idaho, Maine, Massachusetts, Minnesota, New Mexico, Rhode Island, South Dakota, Vermont, Washington and Wyoming.
| Aug 14, 2014
CDC report highlights need for heat acclimatization to prevent worker deaths
CDC supports OSHA’s analysis suggesting that the primary risk factor for heat fatalities is the lack of acclimatization programs.
| Aug 8, 2014
California revives study of earthquake faults
California reinstituted an ambitious plan to study dangerous earthquake faults and create zoning maps that could restrict development.
| Aug 6, 2014
Loudoun County, Virginia may dump green building requirements
Loudoun County, Va., supervisors may do away with a county policy that requires LEED Silver certification on new county buildings.
| Aug 6, 2014
$300 million mixed-use project in Chicago’s medical district wins key approval
The Illinois Medical District Commission approved a 1.16 million-sf, $300 million mixed-use project in Chicago’s Illinois Medical District.
| Aug 4, 2014
Facebook’s prefab data center concept aims to slash construction time in half
Less than a year after opening its ultra-green, hydropowered data center facility in Luleå, Sweden, Facebook is back at it in Mother Svea with yet another novel approach to data center design.
| Jul 31, 2014
LEED Dynamic Plaque gives owners and tenants ability to monitor building performance
The LEED Dynamic Plaque could aid certified buildings in maintaining performance with up-to-date information about water and energy use, waste reduction efforts, occupant experience, and other green performance categories.
| Jul 31, 2014
Gypsum Association releases updates to wallboard repair standards
The Gypsum Association released updates to both GA-221 Repair of Joint Ridging and GA-222 Repairing Screw or Nail Pops standards publications.