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News and Views Keeping Our Industry
Essential, Beneficial and Sustainable.
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Legislative Proposals for 2020 Requested.
CalCIMA members wishing to propose ideas for legislation are asked to submit ideas by
August 9
.
The CalCIMA Government Affairs committee will consider at its August 22 meeting all ideas of interest to aggregate, ready mixed concrete, and industrial mineral producers. Please submit on this
form
by
Friday, August 9
to
ghambly@calcima.org
.
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Wildfire Smoke Workplace Rule Adopted.
CalOSHA recently adopted an emergency regulation to protect outdoor workers from
wildfire smoke
. The regulation is effective immediately. The
rule
affects workers who are outside for even one hour in a day. Employers will need to monitor the air quality index (AQI) when particulate matter is above 151, or where there is a reasonable chance of exposure to wildfire smoke. Employers will need to prepare plans and train employees, and, if there is wildfire smoke, either move or equip employees.
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SB 50 Regaining Momentum.
The year’s most hyped housing bill--SB 50 (Weiner)--may re-emerge after receiving endorsements from Lieutenant Governor Eleni Kounalakis, Controller Betty Yett, and Insurance Commissioner Ricardo Lara. The bill would require local governments to make zoning changes to allow taller buildings near transit centers.
“This bill is the most impactful attempt to date to deliver more homes to Californians while ensuring that every jurisdiction across the state absorbs a fair share of the burden,” said Kounalakis...A new
report
documents how housing permits are currently 60% less than they were prior to the Great Recession. One reason is strict zoning laws on where multi-family housing can be built.
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California, Auto Makers Agree on Emissions.
Governor Newsom recently
announced
an agreement with automakers on a voluntary framework to reduce emissions. The agreement is in response to the federal government’s proposal to scale back car emission standards, which could have made California out of compliance with air quality goals, and potentially threaten highway funds. The agreement should help protect the state.
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ARB Proposes to Scale Back Plant Emissions Rule.
The latest version of the Air Resources Board’s proposed AB 617
criteria pollutant reporting rule
for stationary sources appears to significantly reduce the number of plants required to report. In essence, what had been a rule to broadly require reporting by over 60,000 plants appears now to be scaled back to about 1,400 plants. CalCIMA’s Environment Committee held several meetings with the Air Resources Board and submitted several comment letters. The most recent proposal was issued July 17. CalCIMA has filed a joint letter with CalAPA supporting the proposed changes. For more information, contact
aharper@calcima.org
ARB, DMV Coordinating on Truck Rule Compliance
. The Air Resources Board recently
reminded
that beginning January 1, 2020 that the Division of Motor Vehicles will be enforcing compliance with the Truck and Bus Diesel Regulation when vehicles renew their registration. The ARB reports that you can either make an appointment, or wait in line with everyone else....In case you missed ARB’s July meeting on a Heavy-Duty Truck Inspection and Maintenance Program, the meeting materials are now available
online
.
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California Roars
. The CA Fish and Game Commission has published the recent petition to list
coastal mountain lions
as an endangered species. The mountain lion, or
Puma concolor
, will be discussed at the Commission’s Aug. 7 & 8 meetings in Sacramento.
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U.S. Senate Committee Passes Highway Bill
. Earlier this week, the Senate Committee on Environment & Public Works passed a federal highway reauthorization bill. It is called the
America’s Transportation Infrastructure Act (ATIA)
. The bill would authorize $287 billion in highway and bridge construction over five years, a 27% increase over the last authorization bill. The comprehensive bill includes provisions to speedup project delivery, too. Further consideration will likely await the return of Congress from a summer break...The CA High Speed Rail Authority has received
approval
from the U.S. DOT to conduct federal environmental review. This will help expedite environmental review for the entire length of the rail route from San Francisco to Los Angeles...A July update
video
from the High Speed Rail Authority documents a dozen current construction projects in the San Joaquin Valley, including pouring of 300 yards of concrete per wall section...Meanwhile, it looks like more
High Speed Rail funding
will be steered towards major urban areas...A Brookings Institution paper looks at the reasons for cost increases in
highway construction
from the 1960’s to 1980’s. Environmental reviews, high income communities, and level of coordination are among the factors... If you are searching to see whether a Caltrans project requires an EPD, the new
EPD website
has the list... If you can’t find the website for Caltrans’ 2018 specifications, try this
one
...The State Architect recently issued updates to its
information bulletins
...The 2019 CA Building Standards Codes, effective Jan. 1, 2020, are now available
online
...Here’s the latest research by
UCLA’s Laboratory for the Chemistry of Construction Materials
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Court Punts on
Dynamex
Retroactivity
. Recently, the federal 9
th
Circuit Court of Appeals depublished a decision (
Vazquez
) where it had ruled that the State of California’s Supreme Court’s ruling in
Dynamex
applied retroactively. While this is
good news
, it may be short-lived. The federal court has asked the State Supreme Court to rule on retroactivity. The
Dynamex
decision limits use of independent contractors.
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SMARA, Workshops, Permits, & Minerals
. The law firm of
Harrison, Temblador, Hungerford & Johnson
will be conducting two
Surface Mining & Reclamation Act (SMARA) seminars
this fall. The fast paced, half day seminars will cover everything from the 3098 list and financial assurance to the latest updates. The courses will be Oct. 1 in Riverside and Oct. 3 in Sacramento....For those interested in participating in a Division of Mine Reclamation
workshop
on inspector training per SMARA, the next ones will be Sept. 17 & 18 in Sacramento and November 13 & 14 in Riverside....The Bureau of Land Management is seeking comment on a proposed expansion of the
U.S. Gypsum Mine
in Imperial County. “The project represents an investment of over $110 million, and would support 400 existing jobs and up to 140 new jobs over the life of the project,” says a BLM news release. The BLM will review details of the proposal at an Aug. 7 meeting in El Centro....The U.S. Air Force Research Laboratory recently issued a request for information on U.S. capabilities for mining and processing
rare earth elements
.
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Labor & Workforce Agency Filling Vacancies.
The Governor recently made several
appointments
at the Workforce and Development Agency. These include Stewart Knox to be the undersecretary, Yungsuhn Park to be the chief deputy director for strategic development and initiatives, and Marc Pilotin to be general counsel. Earlier, the Governor appointed Lilia Garcia-Brower to lead the Division of Labor Standards Enforcement (i.e., the Labor Commissioner). The agency still awaits appointments for a DIR director and CalOSHA Chief...In an unrelated matter, members looking for
safety training videos
may want to try these from the National Institute for Occupational Safety & Health (NIOSH). They address new-miner, annual refresher, hazard recognition, arc flash, fly rock, and high walls.
Governor Signs Legislation
. A few of the bills recently signed into law by Governor Newsom include
AB 252
(Daly) which will allow California to administer indefinitely federal environment review for transportation projects; and
SB 339
(Jones), which says that regardless of whether a geologist is acting as an expert witness they are still required to report violations of practices.
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Wanted: Ready Mix Plants Near Military Bases
. Is your ready mixed concrete plant near a military base? If so, you will be interested to know there is Defense Department program to develop local infrastructure. The only problem is it needs to be funded. If you have a plant near a base, please let the National Ready Mixed Concrete Association know. It will be helpful in their advocacy meetings with congressional offices. Please contact
atyrrell@nrmca.org
for more information.
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Member News.
Heidelberg Cement
announced ambitious emission reduction goals in its recently published 10
th
annual
Sustainability Report
.
“The company has set itself the target of a 30% reduction in its specific net CO2 emissions per tonne of cement by 2030, compared with 1990. HeidelbergCement intends to realise its visions of CO2-neutral concrete by 2050 at the latest,” says a company press release.
Safety Award Applications Open.
Members are reminded to
submit safety award applications by
Sept. 13
. Information and submittal can be done
online
. Please contact
crea@calcima.org
if questions.
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What topics to you need to hear?
CalCIMA's 2019 Education Conference “Essential, Beneficial, Sustainable” is scheduled for November 17-20 at the
Silverado Hotel & Spa
in Napa, California. We have solicited our standard call for papers to give everyone an opportunity to speak, but we would also like to gather suggestions of topic ideas. If you’re not interested in speaking, but have ideas of how to improve our program and make it more valuable to you and your colleagues,
we want to hear from you
. Talk suggestions to match our theme; “Essential, Beneficial, Sustainable” would be welcome, but any other talk ideas will also be considered. You give us the topic and we’ll find the speaker.
Please click
here
to submit your ideas or simply reply to this email. The deadline to submit your suggestions is August 17
th
.
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Your Name Here
. CalCIMA is now accepting sponsorship. The earlier you sign up, the more recognition you will receive. Go to
www.calcima.org/edconf_sponsor
to find out what's available.
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CalCIMA Conveyor Magazine - Latest Issue May 2019
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August 8
Environmental & Natural Resources Committee Meeting
Ontario, CA
August 13
Technical Committee Meeting
Fairfield, CA
August 20
Bendix Training
Los Banos, CA
August 22
Governmental & Legislative Affairs Committee Meeting
Sacramento, CA
September 10
Board of Directors
Sacramento, CA
September 10
Bridgestone - Bandag Tire Seminar
Stockton, CA
September 18
Safety & Health Committee Meeting
San Diego, CA
October 23
Con-Tech Manufacturing-Mixer Maintenance Seminar
San Bernardino, CA
Nov 17-20
CalCIMA Education Conference
Napa, CA
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For training classes and industry meetings, check out our website at:
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Bookmark CalCIMA's website to post and search for industry jobs.
New job(s)
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