Aggregates Manager Digital Magazine
Issue link: https://read.dmtmag.com/i/85660
AGGBEAT TO GO To get daily news updates from AggBeat Online, scan this tag with your smart phone. implementation," John English, manager of Vulcan's public affairs, tells Aggregates Manager. "This would give the industry sufficient time to evaluate options for compliance. With respect to Vulcan's single cement production facility, we are in the process of evaluating our facility's status relative to the future compliance requirements." Source: U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. "Whether or not we like it, we'll end up having to import it from other countries," he points out. "In many cases, most countries don't have environmental standards we have or [the cement] would be produced in an inferior way. I don't think Americans want to be a party to that." Birmingham, Ala.-based Vulcan Materials Co., the largest provider of aggregates, has a single cement facility in Florida. "We believe it is appropriate that U.S. EPA's proposed amend- ments to air-quality rules include a two-year extension before For more information What are National Emission Standards for Hazardous Air Pollutants (NESHAPS) and Hazardous Air Pollutants (HAPs)? NESHAPS are stationary source standards for hazardous air pollutants. HAPs are pollutants that are known or suspected to cause cancer or other serious health effects, such as reproductive effects or birth defects, or adverse environmental effects, according to the EPA. For the NESHAPS Air Toxics Compliance Monitoring website, go to www.epa.gov/oecaerth/monitoring/programs/caa/neshaps.hmtl. ʻSTRATEGIC AND CRITICAL MINERALSʼ Legislation speeds development of fed land for The House of Representatives, on July 12, passed legislation 256 to 169 that would speed development on federal lands of strategic and critical minerals, including aggregates, by limiting review time for drilling permits and requiring concurrent rather than sequen- tial consideration, the National Stone, Sand & Gravel Association (NSSGA) reports. Rep. Mark Amodei (R-Nev.) introduced the bill, H.R. 4402, the National Strategic and Critical Minerals Production Act. The legislation requires the secretaries of agriculture and the interior to develop domestic sources of minerals of "strategic and critical importance," the NSSGA reports. According to the text of the bill, this would include "minerals that are necessary...to support domestic manufacturing, agricul- ture...and transportation infrastructure." The current average timeframe for acquiring permits for domestic mine development on federal lands is seven to 10 years, according to the text of the bill submitted by Doc Hastings, (R-Wash.), chairman of the Committee on Natural Resources, "This delay puts the United States at a competi- tive disadvantage with other mineral-rich countries and leaves 6 AGGREGATES MANAGER September 2012 it more dependent on foreign sources of minerals and mined materials, including rare earth elements." Hastings and his committee note in the bill's text that the United States is nearly 100-percent dependent on China for rare earth elements, even though the U.S. has economic deposits of these mineral resources and, at one time, had the largest market share in the world. "H.R. 4402 builds on successful highway legislation and Administrative guidance on permitting procedures for infrastruc- ture and renewable energy projects by requiring the lead agency to coordinate and effectively communicate with all cooperating agen- cies, project proponents, and other stakeholders. Furthermore, the bill eliminates duplicative analysis, provides for timely filings for litigants, and allows 30 months for the lead agency to prepare, consider, and reach a decision on permitting for mine develop- ment," according to the bill. For a downloadable PDF of the text of the National Strategic and Critical Minerals Act of 2012 (H.R. 4402) bill, go to http:// www.aggman.com/files/2012/07/National-Strategic-and-Critical- Minerals-Act-of-2012-H.R.-4402.pdf.