The White House has announced a sweeping new effort, the "Federal Buy Clean Initiative," which aims to prioritize the purchase of low-carbon construction materials made in America, including asphalt. As with many aspirational goals, there are many details to work out.

The Sept. 15 announcement fact sheet, which is HERE, draws upon elements of recent bills passed by Congress, including the $1 trillion Infrastructure Investment & Jobs Act (IIJA) and the misnamed Inflation Reduction Act that includes many climate-change provisions. The Federal Buy Clean Initiative web page is HERE.

The National Asphalt Pavement Association (NAPA), a CalAPA partner, has been working closely with the Biden administration on the specifics of the sweeping new initiative, leveraging asphalt's many sustainable attributes.

The federal government is the largest direct purchaser in the world and a major funder of infrastructure improvements. Many state highway projects in California, for example, include federal funding and federal oversight.

Of particular interest to the asphalt industry, the Inflation Reduction Act provides a boost for the Federal Buy Clean Initiative with $4.5 billion for the General Services Administration, the U.S. Department of Transportation and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency to designate and use construction materials to lower greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions. Asphalt is one of the construction materials identified in the initiative, as well as steel, concrete and flat glass. The U.S. Department of Energy will also be provided with billions in funding to be made available to retrofit industrial facilities to lower GHG emissions, and there will also be tax credits for so-called clean technology manufacturing.

The initiative places the use of Environmental Product Declarations (EPDs) squarely at the forefront of this effort. A previously announced initiative, the "Lower Carbon Procurement Pilot, seeks to increase the utilization of EPDs and encourage the purchase of materials with low embodied carbon emissions. CalAPA members should consult a recently updated fact sheet on EPDs that accompanied a "Member Alert" focusing on the California impact of EPDs. The topic has also been extensively covered in the CalAPA magazine, California Asphalt, including last year's environmental-themed issue, which is on-line HERE. The Caltrans EPD page is HERE. Another CalAPA partner, the Asphalt Institute, which represents liquid asphalt manufacturers, is also working on technical aspects of EPDs and Product Declarations to ensure they are accurate representations of what ultimately ends up in asphalt products.

The California Department of Transportation (Caltrans) has created a multi-division team to assess the impacts of the IIJA and various Buy America and Buy Clean initiatives, attempting to chart a path to implementation, according to Caltrans State Materials Engineer Tim Greutert. Issues such as availability, applicability, compliance with other laws and other issues are being examined.

"Its moving fast and Caltrans is coordinating heavily with AASHTO as well as the FHWA," Greutert said in a written response to an Asphalt insider inquiry. AASHTO stands for the American Association of State Highway & Transportation Officials, which includes all other state DOTs.

CalAPA, led by its Environmental Committee continues to gather information and insight to see how the various climate and Buy America provisions intersect, and what that means for the asphalt pavement industry in California.

Various fact sheets and analysis of the IIJA and other federal initiatives may be found on the NAPA advocacy page HERE. The recently announced "The Road Forward," the asphalt industry's net-zero carbon initiative, is detailed HERE. How these various initiatives intersect will be examined at the CalAPA Fall Asphalt Pavement Conference Oct. 26-28 in Sacramento. Details on the conference can be found HERE. Meanwhile, NAPA is working closely with the Federal Highway Administration on an upcoming "Asphalt Industry Carbon Footprint Workshop" that will take place on Oct. 26-27 in Chicago (Rosemont, Ill.)

In what is shaping up to be another unpredictable year, there's one thing that's constant: the good times enjoyed by all at CalAPA events. Last week was another prime example, as CalAPA members and friends attended a gourmet food and wine networking event Wednesday at the Pechanga Resort and Casino in Temecula, followed by a golf event the next day at the Journey, Pechanga's fabulous championship-caliber golf course in Temecula.

Glorious sunny skies and pleasant weather greeted participants to both events, which are organized by the CalAPA Paving Contractors' Committee. An informal "Women of Asphalt California Branch" meet-up also took place at the food and wine event. The many prizes and solid-gold networking made for a memorable two days in Temecula.

For more photos of the food-and-wine event, click HERE to visit the CalAPA Facebook page. Golf event photos can be found HERE. Special thanks to the event "Pebble Beach" sponsors: Butler-Justice Inc., Ergon Asphalt & Emulsions, Inc., Pacific Geosource, Pavement Recycling Systems, Quinn-CAT, the R.J. Noble Co,, and Sully-Miller Contracting Co./ Blue Diamond Materials, a Colas Company; The "Pinehurst" sponsors were: Ingevity and Valero. The "Beverage Station" sponsors were Cargill and Valero. The Hole-in-One contest sponsor was Diversified Asphalt Products. the Tee-Sign sponsor was Arkema. The poster listing all the sponsors is HERE. Our apologies, but an impromptu "Lemon Drop" sponsorship by Mike Butler of Butler-Justice Inc. did not make it on the poster.

Two more prime asphalt industry networking opportunities are coming up in Northern California next month: The Topgolf social event Oct. 26 at the Topgolf sports and entertainment venue in Roseville. Information on that event is HERE. The event is being held to coincide with the Fall Asphalt Pavement Conference, which will take place Oct. 26-28 in Sacramento. Details on that event can be found on the event information and registration page HERE.

Mojibi was struck by a vehicle in downtown Bakersfield Sept. 17 as he was walking from his parked car. He was rushed to a local hospital, but succumbed to his injuries the following day. The Bakersfield Police Department is investigating the death and has interviewed the motorist who struck Mojibi, according to news reports. The Bakersfield Police Department has not responded to an inquiry from Asphalt Insider.

"Bakersfield lost a great man last weekend and he will be missed by many," wrote Michael Hunt in the local newspaper, the Bakersfield Californian. "Majid (Mo) Mojibi was a well-respected family man, businessman and philanthropist. He and his family have made enormous contributions to our local community of the past 40-plus years and his legacy will remain for years to come." A local radio station also set aside part of its regular programming to recall Mojibi's legacy. That broadcast can be accessed on-line HERE. A local TV report that aired on KGET News can be viewed HERE.

San Joaquin Refining Co. is a longtime CalAPA member, and one company employee echoed the sentiments of many when he told Asphalt Insider the news came as a shock to everyone who knew Mojibi and was "very sad."

In the Legislature, the complex evaluation process that bills must go through before they become law is designed to ensure they are highly scrutinized and all stakeholders have an opportunity to weigh in. Most of the thousands of bills introduced in the Legislature never make it through this process to become law, and countless more that do bear no resemblance to what they looked like when first introduced thanks to scrutiny by lobbyists and interest groups, which results in many revisions to the bill language known as amendments.

When the governor vetoes a bill that makes to his desk, he explains to the bill author and Legislature his reasoning in a letter known as a veto message. A more rare event, however, is when the governor signs a bill into law but also issues a formal letter expressing concerns about the bill. Such was the case with a bill we highlighted in last week's Asphalt Insider ("Requiem for the lowly parking space," which you can read HERE), Assembly Bill 2097 by Assemblywoman Laura Friedman, D-Glendale. The bill proposed to eliminate minimum parking requirements for homes and commercial buildings near transit or in developments with a minimum number of units set aside for low-income residents. CalAPA determined that no amount of amendments could improve a bad idea, so the association requested that the governor veto the bill. Information on AB2097 is HERE. The CalAPA opposition letter is HERE.

Although the governor ultimately signed the bill on Thursday, he did echo some of CalAPA's concerns in a letter that accompanied the action. "We must be vigilant in guarding against earnestly unintended consequences," the governor said in his letter, in which he also said he was directing the Department of Housing & Community Development to closely monitor the implementation of the new law, and if problems, arise, future legislation would be required. That letter is HERE. The governor also deemed it necessary to record a video message about the bill, during which he did not mention the concerns or actions specified in his letter. That brief video message is HERE.

It is an unusual bit of political contortionism in an election year for the governor, and a rare acknowledgement of the potential for problems in his administration's sweeping climate agenda. It's also something to mull on the next time you're driving around searching in vain for that elusive parking space.

For an insightful perspective on the transit vs. highways transportation debate, click HERE to read an exclusive Q&A with noted transportation expert and USC Professor Dr. James E. Moore III that appeared in a recent issue of CalAPA's association magazine, California Asphalt. You'll have plenty of time for reading while riding public transportation.

PROFILE: A longitudinal section of highway, drainage course, etc.

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. Information on the CalAPA "Quality Paving Certificate" program is HERE.

AFTER PROJECT COMPLETION: When working on a parking lot, if scheduling permits, allow the pavement 2-3 weeks to cure before final parking lot striping is added. Schedule a walkthrough with the owner on the completed project to ensure satisfaction with the workmanship and finished product.

Each week we highlight a term that is specific to climate-change issues related to the asphalt pavement industry. This feature is intended to raise awareness of the asphalt industry's climate-change initiatives and the specialized terminology that goes with them. More information on "The Road Forward" asphalt industry climate initiative can be found HERE.

INTERNATIONAL ROUGHNESS INDEX: Mathematical measurement of road's smoothness 1997 treaty where nations detailed emission reduction targets for first time.

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– Ayn Rand

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,

Executive Director

California Asphalt Pavement Association (CalAPA)®