California asphalt industry news from CalAPA 👀

California Asphalt Pavement Association

Vol. 14, Issue 31 || Aug. 2, 2021

Greetings!

This weekly report contains news and information of interest to the asphalt pavement industry, customers and agency partners in California. Please feel free to distribute this newsletter to others who may be interested in asphalt pavements. To provide feedback or story ideas click HERE. Having difficulty viewing this newsletter? View as Webpage

Caltrans issues guidance to delay 'Buy Clean California Act' materials provisions

The California Department of Transportation (Caltrans) issued revised guidance on Friday to delay implementation on existing contracts of provisions related to "Buy Clean California Act" requirements for construction materials acquisition. Asphalt is not included in the guidance.

The "Construction Policy Directive" (CPD) comes in response to legislation that pushes back dates for implementation of the "Buy Clean California Act" of select construction materials and the related Environmental Product Declarations (EPDs) that are part of the reporting process. EPDs are technical reports that document the expected impact to the environment of various products utilized in the construction process.

The bill, AB137, was a so-called "budget trailer bill" drafted by the Assembly Appropriations Committee and signed by the governor July 16, made various technical changes to implement the state's 2021-22 budget. Language inserted into the bill also delayed the implementation of the existing Buy Clean California Act of 2017 that had required the state to publish, by Jan. 1, 2021, expected global warming impact data for various construction materials. That and other deadlines related to the Buy Clean California Act were pushed to Jan. 1, 2022.

The initial construction materials that have fallen under the requirements are carbon steel rebar, structural steel, flat glass, and mineral wool board insulation. Asphalt has not been part of the initial rollout of the Buy Clean California Act with the exception of report-only Environmental Product Declarations inserted into a few Caltrans projects on a pilot basis.

Nevertheless, the mechanics of how the Buy Clean California Act provisions are to be implemented are closely watched by the materials industry as materials producers gain a better understanding of how to determine Product Category Rules and gather information that is used to produce an Environmental Product Declaration. Some local jurisdictions in California have indicated a desire to base material procurement decisions on the GHG-generating potential of various materials.

In referencing the budget trailer bill, the Caltrans CPD stated, "Key among the amendments is a 1-year delay for implementation of the maximum allowable global warming limits on eligible materials." The guidance further states, "Caltrans intends to develop a future standards special provision that will support the amended Buy Clean California Act including an authorized vendor list for carbon steel rebar and structural steel." The CPD can be found HERE. The supporting documents can be found HERE. The Caltrans Environmental Product Declaration page can be found HERE.

The original Buy Clean California Act, AB262, authored by then-Assemblyman Rob Bonta, was signed into law by the governor in 2017. The text of the original legislation is HERE. Bonta was appointed earlier this year by Gov. Gavin Newsom as state Attorney General.

The legislation, which had a stated intention of reducing Greenhouse Gas Emissions (GHG) via construction materials procurement, has been controversial and complex from the start given the development of EPDs is still relatively new and evolving. A legislative analysis of the bill at the time predicted it would create "significant, ongoing costs, likely in the millions of dollars," for state agencies trying to implement the law. The analysis further states, "This has the potential to reduce the pool of eligible materials for these projects which could lead to an increase in bid price thereby increasing project costs."

CalAPA has published numerous articles and produced webinars and other knowledge-sharing tools for the asphalt industry to understand and prepare for EPDs. An in-depth examination of EPDs for asphalt will be published later this month in a special environment-themed issue of CalAPA's association magazine, California Asphalt. A previous California Asphalt magazine story on the topic that was published last year is HERE. The National Asphalt Pavement Association, a CalAPA partner, has developed an EPD tool, the "Emerald Eco-Label," and has other information and resources on the topic HERE.

CalAPA EPD webinar

CalAPA teamed up with Caltrans and the University of California Pavement Research Center to produce a webinar on EPDs broadcast from CalAPA's offices in 2019. An article on EPDs that appeared in CalAPA's "California Asphalt" magazine in 2020 can be found HERE.

Federal infrastructure bill passes key vote test in the U.S. Senate, moving steadily forward

The U.S. Senate worked through the weekend on a bipartisan infrastructure package even as lawmakers haggled over the final wording for the massive bill that weighs in at thousands of pages.

Key test votes last week in the evenly-divided Senate indicated there was enough support of Democrats and some Republicans to eventually advance the bill, which could generate more than $500 billion in new funding for transportation above current levels, including billions for California above what the state receives now. A White House fact sheet about the measure as it stands now is HERE.

CalAPA and other like-minded transportation advocates, meanwhile, continued to keep the pressure on elected officials and others through persistent advocacy efforts. CalAPA was prominently featured in a Friday story in the Sacramento Bee newspaper that sought to quantify what a historic infrastructure deal could look like for the state.

And an coalition of construction industry and labor union interests that successfully backed SB1, the Road Repair & Accountability Act of 2017 that passed the California Legislature, issued a new report showing how infrastructure funding could boost California's economy as it struggles to recover from the COVID-19 pandemic. The infrastructure spending is projected to generate nearly $200 billion in economic activity in California a year over the next decade, supporting 700,000 jobs per year, the report found. A press release that accompanied the report is HERE. The full report can be downloaded HERE.

In addition to previous communications with California's Congressional Delegation, CalAPA joined a letter by the 39 State Asphalt Pavement Associations to all U.S. Senators urging swift action on the infrastructure legislation.

"Members of the 39 State Asphalt Pavement Associations (SAPAs) across the United States include asphalt producers, asphalt refiners, paving contractors, testing labs, consulting engineers, and product suppliers – representing hundreds of thousands of jobs around the country," the letter stated. "We are writing to urge every Senator to support the bipartisan Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act."

With infrastructure talks reaching a critical stage, transportation advocates stress it is essential for elected officials to hear from their constituents. NAPA has created a simple web form to help you identify your member of Congress and send them a sample letter. The entire process takes about a minute. Agency personnel, who are also constituents, are also encouraged to make their views known via the portal. You can view the page HERE.

The CalAPA Legislative Committee, in coordination with the NAPA Legislative Committee, continues to monitor the federal infrastructure talks closely, and the association has sent numerous letters, fact sheets and other communications to members of California's Congressional delegation on infrastructure issues. Contributions by state asphalt associations, including CalAPA, to pooled funds help underwrite the national advocacy efforts.

For more information on this topic, contact CalAPA at (916) 791-5044. More information about CalAPA's advocacy efforts on behalf of the asphalt pavement industry can be found on the association's website HERE.

Welcome aboard: Murphy Pavement Technology

CalAPA is pleased to welcome its newest associate member, Murphy Pavement Technology, Inc.

Tim Murphy is the president of Murphy Pavement Technology, Inc., which promotes best practices within the asphalt industry on local, regional, and national levels. He specializes in forensic engineering as it relates to asphalt design, production, and construction for roadways, runways, and commercial / industrial facilities.

He works collaboratively with academia, agencies, associations, consultants, contractors, and material suppliers, to ensure asphalt quality at the most economical means possible. Murphy co-authored "MS-22 Construction of Hot Mix Asphalt Pavements" for the Asphalt Institute and currently travels the country training asphalt professionals and practitioners for the National Highway Institute on asphalt plant production and workmanship. Most recently he served as an outside author and editor of the recently updated Manual Series No. 2, Asphalt Mix Design Methods, for the Asphalt Institute.

Murphy conducted an "Asphalt Pavement Forensics" webinar for CalAPA in June that was well-attended by industry and agency personnel and received high marks by webinar participants. For more information about Murphy Pavement Technology, Inc., visit the company website HERE, or contact Murphy directly at (773) 874-9800.

'Day at the Races' photos

If you need a break from dreary news headlines, CalAPA has just the antidote: Photos from the association's gala "Day at the Races" event in Del Mar are now posted on the association's Facebook page HERE. Pictured are Scott Cohen (left) and his brother, Brandon.

Tech Term of the Week

Each week we highlight a word, acronym or other term commonly used in the asphalt pavement industry in California.

REQUEST FOR INFORMATION (RFI): An inquiry a contractor makes to a project owner, typically in writing, prior to submitting a bid on a project. The RFI generally seeks additional information or clarification on a specific aspect of the contract documents, plans or specifications.

Paving Pointer of the Week

Each week we highlight a key point or best practice of interest to asphalt paving crews, inspectors and others working in the field. We welcome suggestions. More tips can be found in our Asphalt Parking Lot Construction Checklist HERE.

COMPACTION: Check pavement temperature before compaction begins. Don't rely solely on an infrared temperature gauge. Have a probe thermometer on hand to check the internal temperature of the mat. The ability to achieve proper compaction requires a mat temperature of 175 degrees or greater. Do not let roller operators park equipment on the fresh mat while compaction is ongoing.

Quote of the Week

"Done is better than perfect."

-- Sheryl Sandberg

There's never been a better time to join the California Asphalt Pavement Association. Members receive insight and advanced notice on critical issues that impact every company's bottom line. CalAPA members also receive invitations to exclusive member-only events, in-depth "Member Alerts," discounts and industry-specific networking opportunities not available anywhere else. CalAPA's new searchable on-line membership directory helps connect CalAPA members to potential customers. Click HERE to download our Member Service brochure. Click HERE to view some recent testimonials. Click HERE to send us an e-mail inquiry, or contact Bill Knopf with CalAPA at (442) 400-9697.

We hope you enjoy CalAPA's Asphalt Insider newsletter. We are committed to providing you with the most up-to-date information on technical issues, regulation, news, analysis, events and trends in California that is of interest to the asphalt pavement industry and our various agency partners. Click HERE to contact us with any comments or suggestions.

Sincerely,

Russell W. Snyder, CAE

Executive Director

California Asphalt Pavement Association (CalAPA)®

The "Asphalt Insider" is an official publication of the California Asphalt Pavement Association. For more information or to inquire about membership, call (916) 791-5044, or click HERE to contact us. Copyright © 2021 California Asphalt Pavement Association -- All Rights Reserved. The CalAPA name (No. 5,621,794) and logo (No. 5,621,795) are registered trademarks with the U.S. Patent & Trademark Office.

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