Concrete Products

JUL 2012

Concrete Products covers the issues that attract producers of ready mixed and manufactured concrete focusing on equipment and material technology, market development and management topics.

Issue link: http://concrete.epubxp.com/i/75186

Contents of this Issue

Navigation

Page 5 of 83

EDITORIAL DON MARSH, EDITOR Concrete products Fly ash, chemical interests hold their ground in highway bill, LEED debates Leading up to the MAP-21 legislation that will stabilize fed- eral highway and bridge funding through fall 2014 (note page 8), Capitol Hill saw another sound challenge to the languishing coal ash rule the Environmental Protection Agency proposed two years ago. As concrete producers and allies know all too well, the agency's "Identification and Listing of Special Wastes: Disposal of Coal Combustion Residuals (CCR) from Electric Utilities" includes an option that would classify impoundment- or landfill-bound coal ash as hazardous waste. Opponents correctly point to the highly negative effect that would have on market prospects for recyclable coal ash products, especially fly ash. An amendment to the House bill behind MAP-21, "Surface Transportation Extension Act of 2012, Part II," curtailed EPA authority from regulating fly ash. It was based on the "Coal Residuals Reuse and Management Act," spon- sored by Rep. David McKinley (R-WV) and approved last October in a bipartisan 267–144 vote. The amendment was dropped late in House and Senate negoti- ations; still, the MAP-21 crafting brought lawmakers with coal and roadbuild- ing constituents a fitting opportunity to rein in EPA regulatory ambitions. The American Road & Transportation Builders Association's fall 2011 study, "The Economic Impacts of Prohibiting Coal Fly Ash Use in Transportation In- frastructure Construction," concludes that the absence of fly ash as a supple- mental binding agent in concrete stands to cost taxpayers $100 billion over the next 20 years. Considering the federal budget deficit and limited Highway Trust Fund solvency, it made perfect sense that lawmakers scrambling for road and bridge dollars clear obstacles jeopardizing construction economy. Looking beyond MAP-21, the American Coal Ash Association plans to join other "Coal Residuals Reuse" proponents in seeking Senate passage. ACAA strengthened the bill's case early last month with the release of "Coal Ash Ma- terial Safety – A Health Risk-Based Evaluation of USGS Coal Ash Data from Five U.S. Power Plants" (note pages 14-15). Using EPA and U.S. Geological Sur- vey data, the study's author closes the case on the question of whether coal ash and hazardous waste belong in the same sentence. Unfolding last month along side the new highway bill was a debate with strong parallels to the EPA-proposed rule, where raw material interests have to defend their products in the face of stigmas emanating from federal gov- ernment-sanctioned rules or standards affecting building procurement. The U.S. Green Building Council announced a delay of its LEED 2012 green building rating system until next year, allowing time to address stakeholder concerns with the current draft, and a rebranding to LEED v4 (note page 19). The draft includes a section detailing voluntary credits, hence LEED rating points, under the Avoidance of Chemicals of Concern heading. That could eliminate the use of dozens of approved materials and hundreds of proven products specified for energy efficiency in LEED certification candidate projects, contends the American Chemistry Council. "I am dismayed by com- ments USGBC already made that it intends to steadfastly retain ill-conceived measures to force builders and architects away from proven building products," said ACC President Cal Dooley. "ACC and its members have considerable technical and practical expertise, and we are prepared to engage constructively to help USGBC develop science- and consensus-based performance standards that will advance the energy efficiency and sustainability of buildings." Chemical interests countering LEED v4's inclusion of Avoidance of Chemicals of Concern might look to the ARTBA and ACAA model of spelling out the costs of needlessly hindering trade in a safe and widely used building material. dmarsh@concreteproducts.com 4 | JULY 2012 WWW.CONCRETEPRODUCTS.COM mining media international editorial office 11555 Central Parkway, Suite 401 Jacksonville, Florida 32224 U.S.A. P: +1.904.721.2925 F: +1.904.721.2930 EDITOR Don Marsh, dmarsh@mining-media.com MANAGING EDITOR Steve Prokopy, sprokopy@mining-media.com ASSISTANT EDITOR Josephine Smith, jsmith@mining-media.com GRAPHIC DESIGNER Christine Hensley, chensley@mining-media.com EDITORIAL DIRECTOR Steve Fiscor, sfiscor@mining-media.com Mining Media International corporate office 8751 East Hampden Avenue, Suite B-1 Denver, Colorado 80231 U.S.A. P: +1-303-283-0640 F: +1-303-283-0641 PRESIDENT/PUBLISHER Peter Johnson, pjohnson@mining-media.com VP-SALES & MARKETING John Bold, jbold@mining-media.com U.S., CANADA SALES Bill Green, bgreen@mining-media.com GERMANY SALES Gerd Strasmann, strasmannmedia@t-online.de SHOW MANAGER Tanna Holzer, tholzer@mining-media.com AD TRAFFIC MANAGER Erica Freeman, efreeman@mining-media.com Concrete Products, Volume 115, Issue 7 (ISSN 0010-5368 USPS 128-180) is published monthly by Mining Media Inc., 10 Sedgwick Drive, Englewood, Colorado 80113 (mining-media.com). Periodicals postage paid at Engle- wood, CO, and additional mailing offices. Canada Post Publications Mail Agreement No. 40845540. Canada return address: Station A, PO Box 54, Windsor ON N9A 6J5, Email: circulation@mining-media.com. Current and back issues and additional resources, including subscription request forms and an editorial calander, are available online at www.concreteproducts.com. SUBSCRIPTION RATES: Free and controlled ciruclation to qualified sub- scribers. Non-qualified persons may subscribe at the following rates: USA and Canada, 1 year $72.00, 2 year $119.00, 3 year $161.00. For subscriber services or to order single copies, write to Concrete Products, 8751 East Hampden, Suite B1, Denver, CO 80231 USA; call +1.303.283.0640 (USA) or visit www.mining-media.com. ARCHIVES AND MICROFORM: This magazine is available for research and retreival of selected archived articles from leading electronic databases and online search services, including Factiva, LexisNexis, and ProQuest. For mi- croform availability, contact ProQuest at 800-521-0600 or +1.734.761.4700, or search the Serials in Microform listings at www.proquest.com. POSTMASTER: Send address changes to Concrete Products, P.O. Box 1337, Skokie, IL 60076. REPRINTS: Mining Media Inc, 8751 East Hampden Avenue, Suite B1, Denver, CO 80231 USA; P: +1.303.283.0640, F: 1+303.283.0641, www.mining- media.com. PHOTOCOPIES: Authorization to photocopy articles for internal corporate, personal, or instructional use may be obtained from the Copyright Clearance Center (CCC) at +1.978.750.8400. To obtain further information, visit www.copyright.com COPYRIGHT 2012: Concrete Products ALL RIGHTS RESERVED

Articles in this issue

Links on this page

Archives of this issue

view archives of Concrete Products - JUL 2012