By host on
11/29/2011
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IA Call to Support EPA's Decision to Remove Turfgrass Restriction
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Call to Support WaterSense Notification of Intent
On Oct. 25, WaterSense released a notification of intent announcing proposed changes to the single-family new home specification -- including the proposed removal of the 40 percent turfgrass restriction as an option for landscape design.
The Irrigation Association fully supports this decision and we look forward to working with WaterSense on the use of the Water Budget Tool and other recommended changes outlined in the notification of intent.
The notification of intent is currently open for public comment. We urge all members to submit comments to the EPA regarding the proposed changes to the WaterSense single-family new home specification.
Please click here for IA-developed suggested comments and directions on how to submit comments to the EPA by Dec. 21.
Thanks for your help in supporting the landscape irrigation industry. If you have any questions regarding the WaterSense notification of intent or the IA comments, please contact IA Federal Affairs John Farner at johnfarner@irrigation.org.
For more information on recent IA activity regarding the WaterSense EPA new homes specification, click here.
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6540 Arlington Blvd. | Falls Church, VA 22042-6638 | Tel: 703.536.7080 | Fax: 703.536.7019 | www.irrigation.org
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By host on
11/9/2011
FALLS CHURCH, VA. (Oct. 25, 2011) – The Irrigation Association applauds the recent
announcement of the WaterSense program’s intent to remove the 40 percent turfgrass
restriction from the single-family new home specification. WaterSense’s announcement
culminates three years of the Irrigation Association’s efforts to remove this option from
the new homes specification.
Released in December 2009, the final specification of the WaterSense single-family new
home labeling program that enabled a new home to qualify for a WaterSense label
contained two options for landscape design: 1) adhere to a water budget tool, or 2)
restrict the use of turfgrass to 40 percent of the landscapable area. With the recent
announcement by WaterSense, the only requirement for builders wishing to be eligible
for this labeling would be to adhere to the water budget tool.
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By host on
11/9/2011
A request from Tom Delaney, Director of Government Affairs at PLANET.
Hi All
I am asking you to consider contacting key legislators to urge your support of important policy provisions contained within the draft bill funding the Labor Department for the next fiscal year.
Your Help Needed:
While we are pleased that these priorities, described below, have been included within the bill, this is just the first step toward enacting any of them. For such a provision to be adopted, ultimately both the House and Senate will need to approve them in legislation that is sent to the President. Obviously, this will be an uphill battle and, while not impossible, the window of opportunity is now small. The likelihood of any of these provisions making it into final legislation will be strengthened if the Subcommittee meets and approves the draft legislation. Consequently, we encourage you to communicate your support for these provisions to all Members of Congress, but in particular to the Republicans on the House Labor-HHS Appropriation Subcommittee.
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By host on
11/9/2011
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For Immediate Release September 14, 2011
For additional information contact:
Jonathan Bardzik, Director of Marketing and Industry Relations
202-789-2900
E-Verify to Be Taken Up
in House Committee This Week
Washington, D.C.— On September 15, the House Judiciary Committee will take up and consider Chairman Lamar Smith’s Legal Workforce Act legislation (H.R.2164) mandating that all U.S. employers use the E-Verify system within three years. E-Verify is the electronic system for verifying whether a prospective hire is legally authorized to work in the U.S. It is currently voluntary.
The American Nursery & Landscape Association, along with partner seasonal and agricultural employer organizations, have sounded the alarm over the impact of E-Verify without labor supply solutions for U.S. agriculture and seasonal employers. Government and private estimates suggest that upwards of 75 percent of hired farm workers lack proper work authorization, and would be screened out by E-Verify, leading to a national crisis much like that experienced in the state of Georgia when a state-level immigration bill was passed there earlier this year. Georgia growers have already estimated labor shortages as high as 30 to 50 percent, and crop losses that could exceed $300 million in 2011 alone.
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By host on
11/9/2011
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Help Save the H-2B Program
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Take Action!
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As you know, two pending Department of Labor (DOL) regulations will make the H-2B program virtually unusable. Several Senators and Members of Congress are aware of the harm that the rules will pose for small businesses and plan to send a letter to DOL asking the Department to rescind both the final H-2B wage rule and the March 18 H-2B proposed rule! Please call your Senators and Member of Congress today and ask them to sign the below letter that is being circulated by Rep. Rob Wittman (R-VA).
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