ACEC Defeats Government Competition Threat In WRDA Bill Senator Jim Inhofe (R-OK) stood firm against competition threat. ACEC worked closely with Senator Jim Inhofe (R-OK) to turn back a last-minute effort to diminish protections against unfair government competition in the Water Resources Development Act (WRDA). During the closing days of House-Senate negotiations over the final version of WRDA, Senator Daniel Inouye (D-HI) offered a proposal to amend the Thomas Amendment, which ACEC had secured in 2000 to curb the ability of the Corps to provide services to state and local governments in competition with the private sector. June Nakamura, president of Engineering Solutions in Hawaii. The Thomas Amendment permits the Corps to provide commercially available engineering services only if these are "not reasonably and quickly available through ordinary business channels" and that the Corps is "uniquely equipped to perform such services." Senator Inouye had proposed to dispense with the Thomas protections as they applied to contract management services for state and local governments, despite the fact that firms routinely provide these services to public clients. Inhofe, the senior Republican on the Senate Environment and Public Works Committee and a strong proponent of the private sector, played a critical role to block the Inouye amendment. In addition, members of ACEC/Hawaii mobilized quickly to brief Senator Inouye on the adverse impact of the proposal. "I think we made a strong case to the Senator’s staff that the proposal was not in the best interests of either the industry or our government clients," said June Nakamura of Engineering Solutions in Hawaii. "They were very receptive and open to our concerns—I think we made a real difference."

Owner Presentations Highlight Exceptional Fall Conference Education Lineup An outstanding lineup of education sessions moderated by owners and practitioners await attendees of the upcoming ACEC Fall Conference: The National Conference on the Built Environment, September 20-26 in Maui. Education sessions to be presented include: What Municipal Owners Really Want from the Engineering Advisors, with Kurt Corey, public works director, City of Eugene, Oregon; and Improving the Quality of Environmental Documents, featuring Carol Lee Roalkvam, of the Washington State Department of Transportation and Hal Kassoff, of Parsons Brinckerhoff. The Conference also features exceptional general session speakers, an expanded trade show and a full complement of tours, social events and networking opportunities. Organizations co-sponsoring the Fall Conference are: the American Public Works Association (APWA), American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials (AASHTO), Council of American Mechanical and Electrical Engineers (CAMEE), Council of Professional Surveyors (COPS), National Association of Clean Water Agencies (NACWA), National Association of State Facilities Administrators (NASFA) and the Council of American Structural Engineers (CASE), which is celebrating its 20th anniversary with a special convocation at the Conference. ACEC's room block at the Grand Wailea Resort is filling up fast, but additional rooms have been reserved at The Fairmont Kea Lani, another outstanding hotel, which is a short beach walk from the Grand Wailea. For more information and to register, click here. Early Bird registration discount ends on August 25.

Save $180 With Same Office Employee Registration Discount At Conference When one member firm employee pays the full Fall Conference registration price, each additional employee from the same office attending the Conference will save $180 off the cost to register. There is no limit on the number of office employees eligible for this discount. If more than one person from the same office has already registered at the full rate, a refund will be issued. The registration discount special will remain in effect until the start of the Conference. For more information and to register, click here. Early Bird registration discount ends on August 25.

Latest Update on ACEC Life/Health Insurance Trust Transition to UnitedHealthcare The following is a statement from ACEC/Life Health Insurance Trust: The ACEC Life/Health Insurance Trust (L/HIT) has worked with UnitedHealthcare to make sure that members are now covered. Below is an update of the transition. We expect that employers, and brokers on behalf of employers, will have updates to eligibility in the form of adds, deletions and changes. Changes retroactive to 8/1/07 are expected and allowed. We are encouraging brokers and employers to use the electronic portals or 800 numbers to confirm eligibility or to make changes. Employers can also print member ID cards if they desire. Employers and Brokers can make real-time changes two different ways: EmployerEServices—Using your own ID and password, you can update changes-online that are immediately effective (feeds to printing the cards take 24 hours). To access this site, go to www.employereservices.com. Brokers can also choose to access this site through UeS if they prefer that method. Where we have had Employer and Broker email addresses, we have attempted to proactively establish the accounts and ID and have emailed them to the broker or employer. Employer Services—You can contact Employer Services Eligibility at 888-842-4571 and following the prompt. Membership IDs and Member Eligibility Self-Verification — Members can confirm their eligibility two different ways: If they have UHC, they can use www.myuhc.com. Using either their membership number or SSN, they can print a paper copy of the membership card. Physicians, pharmacists and hospitals accept the paper copy of the membership card. Members can call the ACEC designated membership line. For UHC, it is 800-996-6596. The service representative will confirm their enrollment and provide them a policy number. If the member needs help accessing myuhc.com, the service representative will be willing to walk the member through how to print their own ID card. Emergency Eligibility Updates — If you have a member that needs emergency eligibility enrollment and the above method didn't work, you can contact your designated Service Manager for assistance, based on the appropriate platform: Oxford—Stephanie Upton, 603-629-7215 Pacificare—Misty Earl, 210-474-5024 UHC Medical, Dental, Vision—Wendy Wampach 952-277-5676, Group Size 1 - 50 UHC Medical, Dental, Vision—Tracy Mootz Valentine 414-443-4729, All Brokers and Groups 51+ Emergency Case Installation — If you have a group where the case wasn't installed by 8/1 and your member has a medical emergency. UnitedHealthcare will verify medical coverage. Please contact your designated service representative, as noted above, for assistance in confirming medical coverage or escalation of case installation. Residual cases should be installed by 8/3. Ancillary Coverage — Ancillary coverage is being completed through August 10. Members with ancillary coverage will be covered with an August 1 effective date. Pharmacy Coverage — If an individual needs to have pharmacy coverage and it is denied, they can confirm eligibility using the above procedure. The Pharmacy can also use the network provider line for verifying eligibility. If a pharmacy co-pay is denied, we can verify coverage. Usually, the pharmacy will allow it to be reprocessed or co-pays repaid when the coverage is confirmed. If there is an urgent escalation, use the designated service manager.

NACWA's Kirk; New Mexico Energy Leaders Brief ACEC Environment & Energy Committee Joanna Prukop, New Mexico's Secretary of Energy, Minerals, and Natural Resources, addresses ACEC's Environment & Energy Committee. Ken Kirk, executive director of the National Association of Clean Water Agencies (NACWA), and Joanna Prukop, New Mexico's Secretary of Energy, Minerals, and Natural Resources, briefed members of ACEC's Environment & Energy Committee on important water and energy infrastructure issues during a recent meeting in Santa Fe. Kirk, who also is a founder of the Water Infrastructure Network (WIN) coalition, provided an overview of the importance of a long-term funding source for water infrastructure projects and highlighted the importance of on-going federal support for local projects. Prukop and her staff highlighted the wide range of mandatory and non-mandatory approaches to climate change and alternative energy that New Mexico has undertaken, including a renewable portfolio standard and several tax incentives. Committee Chairman Paul Grosser, said that the meeting was "extremely successful, and will help guide our legislative advocacy strategy as well as set the stage for development of our policy positions." Experts from the Sandia National Laboratory in Albuquerque also provided presentations on large-scale solar thermal technology, in addition to the critical relationship between water supply and the production of electricity and alternative energy sources.