Infra Insight Blog from Nossaman LLP

Small Modular Reactors and Colorado’s Infrastructure Future

Molly Mattison — Thu, 21 May 2026 09:00:01 -0400

Small modular reactors (SMRs), a type of advanced nuclear reactor, are gaining renewed attention for their ability to deliver firm, dispatchable power with a smaller footprint and potentially shorter construction timelines than traditional nuclear plants. While SMRs are still in the early stages of commercial deployment in the United States, recent policy developments in Colorado and the greater Mountain West indicate a growing interest among major infrastructure operators in the possibility that advanced nuclear technologies may play a role in the region’s long-term energy infrastructure planning ...

America’s P3 Pulse Check

Aswini Endlur, Lolly Enriquez — Wed, 13 May 2026 09:00:02 -0400

The Global Infrastructure Investor Association (GIIA), together with the P3 Bulletin, has recently published its “P3 Report Card,” which grades the readiness of each state of the United States to improve its infrastructure using the public-private partnership (P3) model.

The report card aims to increase conversation among state officials about the use of the P3 model and showcase the role the private sector can play in creating new and improved infrastructure. It arrives at a pivotal moment for American infrastructure. Across the United States, aging transportation ...

Supreme Court Puts Brakes On Interstate Sovereign Immunity For State-Created Corporations

Josh Burke — Fri, 10 Apr 2026 09:00:03 -0400

In Galette v. New Jersey Transit Corporation, 146 S. Ct. 854 (2026), the United States Supreme Court held that New Jersey Transit Corporation (NJ Transit) is not an arm of the state of New Jersey and is therefore not entitled to New Jersey’s interstate sovereign immunity. This decision may have implications for how states structure and utilize state-created corporate entities going forward ...

IEEPA Tariff Refunds: Who Really Owns the Money?

Carol Sigmond — Tue, 07 Apr 2026 09:00:04 -0400

Since the Supreme Court invalidated the International Economic Emergency Powers Act (“IEEPA”) tariffs, refunds are on everyone’s mind. Learning Resources, Inc. v. Trump, 607 U.S. ___, No. 24-1287 (2026). Recent estimates are that Customs and Border Protection (“CPB”) collected between $166 billion and $182 billion in IEEPA (“reciprocal”) tariffs. Public officials at all levels of government are demanding refunds be distributed to consumers who ultimately bore these costs ...

GAO’s 2025 Bid Protest Annual Report: Prevalent Reasons for Sustained Bid Protests and How to Avoid Them

Josh Burke — Thu, 19 Feb 2026 09:00:05 -0500

The Government Accountability Office’s (GAO) annual report on federal bid protests includes useful insights into federal procurement trends that can help state and local government agencies mitigate bid protest risks. Among other findings, the GAO’s 2025 fiscal year report identified unreasonable technical evaluation, unreasonable cost or price evaluation, and unreasonable rejection of proposal as the three most prevalent reasons for sustained protests. Examining the cases identified by the GAO as exemplars for each of those reasons can help public owners understand procurement practice pitfalls that could expose them to protest ...

UPDATED: States File New Lawsuit Challenging U.S. DOT Suspension of Electric Vehicle Charging Funding Programs

Ann-Therese Schmid — Thu, 29 Jan 2026 09:00:06 -0500

The United States District Court for the Western District of Washington on January 23, 2026, granted a motion for summary judgment to 20 states and the District of Columbia (the “Named Plaintiffs”) related to the United States Department of Transportation’s (U.S. DOT) and Federal Highway Administration’s (FHWA) (collectively, the “Defendants”) suspension of the National Electric Vehicle Infrastructure Formula Program (the “NEVI Program”) funding and revocation of FHWA-approved State Electric Vehicle Infrastructure Deployment Plans (the “State Deployment Plans”), required as a prerequisite for obligation of NEVI Program funds ...

UPDATED: United States Department of Transportation Issues Long-Awaited Disadvantaged Business Enterprise Program Interim Final Rule

Ann-Therese Schmid, Adeyemi Ojudun — Fri, 12 Dec 2025 09:00:07 -0500

On December 1, 2025, the United States Department of Transportation (U.S. DOT) published an updated frequently asked questions (FAQs) on the October 3, 2025 Interim Final Rule (IFR) for the Disadvantaged Business Enterprise (DBE) program, which eliminates the race- and gender-based presumption of disadvantage for businesses applying for DBE certification …

FHWA Issues New Guidance on NEVI Program

Ann-Therese Schmid, Erin Lee — Fri, 22 Aug 2025 09:00:08 -0400

The National Electric Vehicle Infrastructure (NEVI) Formula Program (the “NEVI Program”) was established by the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act (IIJA), Public Law 117-58 and was authorized under paragraph (2) under the Highway Infrastructure Program heading in title VIII of division J of the IIJA. The NEVI Program provides $5 billion of funding to States to deploy electric vehicle (EV) charging infrastructure and establish an interconnected network to facilitate data collection, access, and reliability. Although States are required to prioritize the allocated funding to infrastructure acquired or installed along designated EV Alternative Fuel Corridors (AFCs), any remaining funding may be used for EV charging infrastructure on any public road or in other publicly accessible locations when the State determines and the Secretary certifies that AFCs in a State are fully built out ...

EPA Updates WIFIA Program Requirements

Kyle Howe — Wed, 20 Aug 2025 09:00:09 -0400

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has updated the federal requirements for the Water Infrastructure Finance and Innovation Act (WIFIA) Program through more than a dozen changes to the WIFIA Borrower Guide to Federal Requirements (Borrower Guide) and the WIFIA Specification Package and Bid Contract Language (Bid Contract Language). While some changes are minor, others will likely have major impacts on project owners and developers ...

Tariffs and Their Impacts on the Life Cycle of Construction Contracts

Jill Jaffe, Natalie Cuadros — Tue, 01 Jul 2025 09:00:10 -0400

In light of recent Executive Orders issued by President Trump concerning tariffs, countries around the world—including the United States—have been forced to reassess existing trade and contractual frameworks. The construction industry in particular faces heightened uncertainty due to the risk of disruption of project timelines and budgets.

In an article for Nossaman’s California Water Views – 2025 Outlook, we examine how construction contracts should proactively address tariff-related risks, especially through the careful drafting of force majeure provisions ...