Joseph Shacat became the reluctant face last week, at least for the asphalt industry, of the Trump administration's determined campaign to trim the federal budget, and bureaucracy, by slashing the federal workforce by whatever means available.

An estimated 200,000 federal employees with probationary status were notified via e-mail on Valentine's Day that they were no longer employed, creating shockwaves throughout the government and also the many industries they touch, including the asphalt pavement industry. Many of those fired are mid-career professionals.

Shacat, a former National Asphalt Pavement Association environmental specialist who went to work for the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency last June, got one of those notifications Friday, and joined many other newly jobless former federal workers to post on the professional networking site LInkedIn that he was now looking for work.

Shacat is familiar to many in the asphalt pavement industry and was at the forefront of many environmental-related initiatives during his time at NAPA, including the deployment of Environmental Product Declarations, the rollout of the asphalt industry's "The Road Forward" climate initiative and numerous other high-profile projects.

Shacat was a featured presenter in 2019 when CalAPA produced an educational webinar on Environmental Product Declarations that also featured representatives from Calrans, industry and the University of California Pavement Research Center. NAPA developed an EPD tool to help asphalt producers quantify how much Greenhouse Gas (GHG) impacts are produced in the asphalt production process. He also has been quoted extensively in CalAPA publications.

In his LinkedIn post on Saturday, Shacat wrote: "Last year, I joined EPA to help implement the C-MORE embodied carbon program. This was an exciting career move, putting me at the forefront of embodied carbon analysis and policy development, working with an amazing team of talented and dedicated professionals, and collaborating with new colleagues across the federal government and in the private sector.

"Yesterday, my work at EPA came to an end, receiving an email at 4:25 pm that I was to be terminated effective 5:00 pm. I am but one of the tens of thousands of recently hired federal employees who were fired this week due to our unfortunate situation of being on probationary status. My heart goes out to all those whose lives and careers have been affected by this callous set of actions. But I stand strong, knowing that the work we've done as civil servants matters and the next opportunity is just around the corner.

"Suffice it to say that I am now open to work, looking for positions that intersect with sustainability, GHG emissions accounting, embodied carbon, energy management, policy, environmental compliance, and software product management."

Shacat thanked his many friends and colleagues who have already reached out to him, and asked others to help spread the word that he is now in the job market. "I am grateful for the support you've been able to provide."

NAPA CEO Audrey Copeland was one of many of those colleagues who posted words of encouragement, saying, "Joseph is one of the foremost national experts in pavement sustainability, quantifying emissions, lowering energy use in operations, and environmental compliance. Plus, he's thoughtful and fun."

The U.S. EPA has been a favorite target of the president, who has said cutting burdensome regulations is one of his top priorities, but axing the probationary employees cut across numerous agencies, including the Federal Highway Administration. In addition to mid-career professionals, the cuts took out those who wanted to serve their country and highlighted how some professionals move between industry, agencies and academia, which helps cross-pollinate expertise among many stakeholders in developing transportation policy and standards.

Asphalt Insider's informal survey of government officials and regulators at the local, state and federal level revealed widespread anxiety and uncertainty about the president's various executive actions and what they could ultimately mean. A previous report on this topic is HERE.

Court challenges have already been mounted to several of Trump's executive actions, so it remains unclear what long-term impacts will be, but if Friday's layoffs are any indication, it's going to be a bumpy ride.

At a transportation policy forum held last week in Sacramento, funding was very much at the top of the list of concerns by numerous subject-matter experts.

The Thursday forum, put on by the California Transportation Foundation, featured a diverse array of speakers, including Caltrans Director Tony Tavares and Assembly Transportation Committee Chair Lori Wilson, D-Suisun City (pictured), and transit experts. CalAPA was a sponsor of the event.

WIlson echoed remarks she made last month at CalAPA's Annual Awards Dinner at the Jonathan Club in Los Angeles, saying transportation funding was "at a crossroads" due to declining revenue from taxes on gasoline and diesel fuel. She expressed hope that upcoming legislative hearings on the subject will help raise awareness of the looming crisis and build support for a new road-funding model. Pilot projects to test a road-user charge based on mileage, rather than an excise tax collected at the pump, is in the evaluation stage. "We need to address it head-on," Wilson said.

With regard to climate-change policy, she took it a step further, saying that instead of a legislative "stick," the Legislature and policy-makers will need to adopt "a different way" to make progress on the state's climate goals. "We're going to have to find a way to use incentives to meet those goals," she declared.

Responding to a question posted by CalAPA, Tavares said stakeholder input will be essential in securing support for changing a system to pay for roads that has been in place for a century. "Most people don't like change," he said. "A big part of it is going to be the education component. How do we educate everyone, across the board, all the stakeholders out there?"

Transportation California, a federation of pro-transportation infrastructure advocates, including CalAPA, has been developing an educational campaign about the challenges ahead for transportation funding, which will start ramping up later this year. The campaign is aimed at tackling the very real concerns by the public about cost, complexity and privacy that have yet to be fully addressed in a substantive way.

A previous Asphalt Insider report on Wilson's remarks to the CalAPA Annual Dinner can be found HERE.

CalAPA is pleased to welcome its newest associate member, ABT Group, Inc.

Based in Santa Clara in the San Francisco Bay Area, ABT Group provides unbiased, independent AASHTO-accredited asphalt binder testing and pavement engineering services. The company's goal to to help clients ensure material compliance, optimize costs, prevent disputes and avoid project delays.

Company President Frank Farshidi, Ph.D., P.E., formerly worked for the City of San Jose and has been a presenter at CalAPA technical conferences. He brings unique insight into how to supply not only accurate test results but also expert guidance and insights to avoid costly problems.

For more information, contact Farshidi at (949) 690-1411, or visit the company

Seats are still available for the CalAPA Spring Asphalt Pavement Conference & Equipment Expo, to be held Feb. 25-26 at the Sheraton Fairplex Suites & Conference Center in Pomona. At the event you can network with peers, and have fun at the same time. The event web page with all the details, including a timed agenda of presenters and topics, is HERE. A brief promotional video about the conference is HERE. There is special discounted pricing for public agency personnel.

The 11th annual event features subject-matter experts covering all aspects of asphalt pavement, from recycling and sustainability, technician training, local agency resources, pavement preservation, Environmental Product Declarations, Women of Asphalt activities, the use of rubber in asphalt mixes, and cold-in-place recycling.

The gala conference reception, free for all attendees, will take place at the famed Wally Parks NHRA Motorsports museum, will feature live entertainment from "Shakedown -- a Bob Seger Experience," a noted Southern California classic rock tribute band. You can check out a fun preview video featuring the group HERE.

An optional day of technical training, combining two of CalAPA's most popular classes, will take place at the same location in Pomona on Monday, Feb. 24. The classes are "Asphalt Pavement 101," taught by Roger Smith, and "Asphalt Forensics," taught by Tim Murphy. Lunch, refreshments, a reference book and certificate of completion are included in the registration fee. For more information, visit the event web page HERE.

For information on vendor booths and sponsorships, contact CalAPA conference manager and rock empresario Sophie You at (916) 791-5044. For more information, click HERE.

CalAPA offices will be closed on Monday, Feb. 17 in observance of the Presidents Day holiday. The offices will reopen during normal business hours on Tuesday, Feb. 18.

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

ASPHALT CEMENT (AC): Asphalt that is refined to meet specifications for paving, industrial, and special purposes. Its penetration is usually between 40 and 300.

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.

TONNAGE CALCULATION: Are there enough trucks on the run to haul the mix needed to complete the job? If you have five trucks on the round each carrying 25 tons = 125 tons per round. If each round takes one hour to make, then the production rate is 125 tons per hour. If the job requires

1,000 tons at 125 tons per hour = eight hours to get the mix to the job.

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. A recent CalAPA magazine story on the topic is HERE.

SLAG: Stony ore waste, a byproduct of smelting.

"Things do not change; we change."



– Henry David Thoreau

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, people, events and trends in California that is of interest to the asphalt pavement industry and our various agency partners. To subscribe to the newsletter, click HERE. For comments, questions or to suggest a story idea, click HERE. We are committed to promptly notifying our readers of any errors in this publication. Please click on the comment link above to alert the editor of any errors or omissions.

Sincerely,

Russell W. Snyder, CAE

Executive Director

The California Asphalt Pavement Association (CalAPA)®