Aggregates Manager Digital Magazine
Issue link: http://read.dmtmag.com/i/120734
by Therese Dunphy, Editor-in-Chief tdunphy@randallreilly.com April 2013 Vol. 18, No. 4 aggman.com /AggregatesManager @AggMan_editor Editorial Editor-in-Chief: Therese Dunphy Editorial Director: Marcia Gruver Doyle Senior Editor: Kerry Clines News and Digital Editor: Tina Grady Barbaccia Online Managing Editor: Amanda Bayhi editorial@aggman.com Design & Production Art Director: Sandy Turner, Jr. Graphic Designer: Kristen Chapman Advertising Production Manager: Linda Hapner production@aggman.com Construction Media Senior VP, Construction Media: Dan Tidwell VP of Sales, Construction Media: Joe Donald sales@randallreillyconstruction.com 3200 Rice Mine Rd NE Tuscaloosa, AL 35406 800-633-5953 randallreilly.com Corporate Chairman/CEO: Mike Reilly President: Brent Reilly Chief Process Officer: Shane Elmore Chief Administration Officer: David Wright Senior Vice President, Sales: Scott Miller Senior Vice President, Editorial and Research: Linda Longton Vice President of Events: Alan Sims Vice President, Audience Development: Stacy McCants Vice President, Digital Services: Nick Reid Director of Marketing: Julie Arsenault For change of address and other subscription inquiries, please contact: aggregatesmanager@halldata.com. Aggregates Manager TM magazine (ISSN 1552-3071) is published monthly by Randall-Reilly Publishing Company copyright 2013. Executive and Administrative offices, 3200 Rice Mine Rd. N.E., Tuscaloosa, AL 35406. Subscription rates: $24 annually, Non-domestic $125 annually. Single copies: $7. We assume no responsibility for the validity of claims of manufacturers in any advertisement or editorial product information or literature offered by them. Publisher reserves the right to refuse non-qualified subscriptions. Periodical circulation postage paid at Tuscaloosa, Alabama and additional entries. All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or by an information storage retrieval system, without written permission of the copyright owner. POSTMASTER: Send all UAA to CFS. (See DMM 707.4.12.5); NON-POSTAL AND MILITARY FACILITIES: send address corrections to Aggregates Manager, 3200 Rice Mine Road N.E., Tuscaloosa, AL 35406. AN EXPLOSIVE SITUATION I n what can only be categorized as a mistake of monumental proportions, a former Kansas assistant attorney general deleted all the rules and regulations covering explosives permits from the state records. To remedy this error, State Fire Marshal Doug Jorgensen wants the state to pass Senate Bill 227, which would give him the authority for writing rules and regulations — including provisions for fixing, charging, and collecting license fees and penalties — after the bill is passed. I'm not sure about all of you, but I like to know what I'm agreeing to before I put pen to paper. Adding insult to injury, Sen. Tom Holland quipped to The Topeka Capital-Journal, "Did people in the industry kind of take a holiday?" No, they did not. Even in the absence of true regulatory authority, the state's three manufacturers, 1,412 blasters, 201 storage sites, and 178 users of explosives followed what they believed to be the law regarding the safe storage and use of the 60 million pounds of explosives detonated while the state was the one taking a leave of absence from its governance duties. Edward Moses, managing director of the Kansas Aggregate Producers Association, correctly argues that a state error doesn't justify allowing the fire marshal's office to develop a whole new set of rules and regulations. The existing governance was developed over many years with the involvement of numerous parties. "We haven't been on a regulatory holiday for the past three years," he told the newspaper. "The reality is that we already have a finely tuned system of explosives safety and regulation, which more than adequately promotes the public safety and allows for the safe development of our natural resources." Operators didn't have anything nice to say about the bill either. Kelly Briggs, president and chief operations officer of Bayer Construction Co. — which has five portable limestone crushing plants in Kansas and storage permits for explosives in five counties — talked to the newspaper about Senate Bill 227. "As a small business owner, whose company will be directly affected by this proposed legislation, I stand opposed," he said. In the midst of a mistake of its own creation, the state's knee-jerk response has been to make a bad situation even worse. Instead, it should restore — and recreate, if necessary — the deleted regulations and put an end to its regulatory leave-of-absence. 3 things I learned from this issue: 1 Coarse material falls to the toe and front of stockpiles, while finer material falls near the conveyor, page 20. 2 Cemex's Balcones Quarry (featured in our February issue) is the second largest crushed stone operation, according to the USGS, page 25. 3 Screw washers require about 50 gallons of water per minute for every short ton per hour of minus 200-mesh material in the feed, page 28. AGGREGATES MANAGER April 2013 5