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Today's guest post is courtesy of Andrew Brought, a partner with Spencer Fane Britt & Browne, LLP's Environmental Group.

If you manage or perform renovations, repairs, or painting activities on the exterior or interior of public building or commercial buildings, you should be aware that EPA is currently evaluating whether and how to regulate such activities in public buildings or commercial buildings constructed before 1978 that pose lead-based paint hazards. On Monday, May 13, 2013, EPA issued a notice in the Federal Register that it is seeking public comment on this topic until July 12, 2013, and will host a public meeting at EPA’s headquarters on June 26, 2013.

As a construction professional, it's likely you've had your fair share of experience with bonds (such as payment bonds, performance bonds, contract bonds and contractor license bonds), but understanding the purpose of surety bonds can sometimes be difficult to grasp for even the most experienced contractor.

Today's guest post is courtesy of Sara Eisenberg, Director of Educational Outreach at SuretyBonds.com. Sara will explain why it is so important for construction professionals to understand the bonding process and how you can become more established in the industry by making sure you know the bond that's required for projects before you even submit a bid.

The key to any good public-private partnership (P3) is having the vision and commitment to succeed. For all those interested in growing a community through economic development, what occurred in Riverside, Missouri, this morning is a great example of the public and private sector working together to accomplish more than they could individually.

Kansas has not had a state-wide prevailing wage requirement for public projects since 1987, but individual localities could require prevailing wage if they thought it was good public policy. That all changed this week with the passage of House Bill 2069, which bans a political subdivision from requiring the payment of prevailing wage on public projects.

I'm currently wrapping up a great weekend at the American Planning Association’s (APA) National Planning Conference in Chicago, Illinois. For the MCL Blog readers unfamiliar with this event, the APA hosts an annual development conference for planning professionals and representatives from communities all over the United States. The five-day conference offers seminars on a broad range of topics, from common planning problems like the use of economic development incentives, to some unique regional issues, such as whether roosters and goats should be allowed under a city's urban agriculture ordinance. (Think Portland!)

I am frequently asked this question by both contractors and commercial property owners. Generally, owners of commercial property (at least in Missouri and Kansas) will not be liable for contracts entered into by their tenants unless the tenant is acting as an agent of the owner, or the lease requires the tenant to make certain improvements that enhance the value of the property.

One of the key issues a buyer should consider before purchasing property is whether or not to order a Phase I Environmental Site Assessment. The purpose of the Phase I is to evaluate a property’s environmental conditions and assess the likelihood of any contamination being present onsite. From a buyer’s perspective, the Phase I is used to identify possible contamination on the property and to provide some protection from liability should environmental hazards later be discovered.

It’s that time of year again: the legislature is back in session, and a host of bills are moving through the Kansas House and Senate. Recently, I received a legislative update from the Kansas Society of Professional Engineers concerning Senate Bill No. 54. Given the content of the bill, I was surprised to learn there are two proposed amendments currently being discussed in the capital.

This is the best time of the year for sports. March Madness is approaching and my Kansas Jayhawks are preparing for another run at the Big 12 Championship. Opening Day for the Kansas City Royals is a few months away and they are going to break 500 this year.*  The Kansas City Chiefs have the number one pick in the NFL draft and are sure to take the next Tom Brady.  

Given all these great sports diversions, why am I thinking about San Francisco’s new stadium?  In short, because it sounds like a great place to watch a football game, and also because it will be one of the first NFL stadiums to achieve LEED Certification.