The Conveyor - 2020 Winter Issue

A publication of the California Construction and Industrial Materials Association

TRANSPORTATION CALIFORNIA 2020 Priorities related to SB 1 funding Mark Watts, Legislative Advocate & Kiana Valentine, Executive Director of Transportation California.

SEE INSIDE: 6

TRANSPORTATION

14

LEGISLATIVE

16

ENVIRONMENTAL

Winter Issue

MOUNTAINS WILL CRUMBLE BEFORE OUR BELIEFS.

HitachiConstruction.com

COASTLINE Equipment

2020 WINTER ISSUE

TABLE of CONTENTS

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4 CHAIRMAN'S LETTER Optimism

6 TRANSPORTATION

Transportation California Speaks to 2020 Priorities as it Relates to SB 1 Funding

12 MEMBER NEWS

Dream It.

12 Plan It.

Build It.

Membership Matters

Dig It.

Highlights From a Decade of Progress

Pave It.

14 LEGISLATIVE Oh, What a Relief It Isn’t – AB 5 and the B2B Exemption

Reclaim It.

Move It.

18

16 ENVIRONMENTAL U.S. EPA Finalizes New Navigable Waters Protection Rule, Narrowing Scope of Waters of the United States

18 MEMBER PROFILE National Ready Mixed Concrete Company's New Vernon Ready Mixed Concrete Plant ON THE COVER:

Mark Watts, Legislative Advocate & Kiana Valentine, Executive Director of Transportation California.

The Conveyor is a publication of the California Construction and Industrial Materials Association.

The views expressed herein are fixed expressions of the contributing writers and not of CalCIMA. All rights reserved.

CalCIMA 1029 J Street, #420 Sacramento, CA 95814 (916) 554-1000 www.calcima.org www.distancematters.org

Published By Construction Marketing Services, LLC P.O. Box 892977 Temecula, CA 92589 (909) 772-3121 Publisher Kerry Hoover khoover@calcontractor.com

Editorial Contributors Brian Hoover, Editor, Construction Marketing Services, LLC. Laura Curtis, Policy Advocate, California Chamber of Commerce Michael N. Mills and Sarah M. Taylor, Stoel Rives LLP

Graphic Designer Aldo Myftari The Conveyor is published quarterly each year by Construction Marketing Services, LLC All rights reserved. Reproduction in whole or in part without permission is prohibited.

Editor Brian Hoover bhoover@ironads.com

The Conveyor • 2020 Winter Issue

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CHAIRMAN'S LETTER

OPTIMISM I begin this letter having just heard about the tragic death of Kobe Bryant, his daughter “Gigi” and seven others. I have been a lifetime Laker fan, being a huge fan of Kareem, Magic and Kobe over the years; I had some sad moments upon hearing the news. Reflecting on Kobe, during his time as a player, reminded me why I liked him so much as a fan. With him on the court, I felt an immense sense of optimism if a game was in the balance. If the Lakers had a chance to flip a loss to a win, and Kobe was involved, the odds were very high in the Lakers favor.

I mention this event as a reminder of how optimism is key to our industry’s successful progress going forward. The 2020’s have arrived and the outlook for California’s construction industry looks positive, for years to come. With the housing shortage, significant needs for new infrastructure along with needed updating of existing infrastructure, our future looks good.

Additionally, we are again hearing the rumblings of a possible federal infrastructure bill.

At the education conference in November, attending members heard Baron Worthington’s construction outlook presentation. Baron presented data showing indicators for a continued strong need for our industries’ products. Additionally, he said that one of the biggest challenges to fulfilling the state’s building requirements, will be the current labor shortage. If you missed this informative and interesting presentation, please contact the CalCIMA office to obtain an electronic copy.

There is certainly a lot to be optimistic about. From the Board of Director’s viewpoint, the process to identify the next CEO of CalCIMA has begun. It is our goal to have someone in place by the second quarter. The board has also started the process of creating the next five-year strategic plan. The implementation of a new strategic plan along with the simultaneous addition of a new CEO, adds to the broader spectrum of ideas and ideal outcomes. As I begin my final year as your chairman, I look to the future with anticipation and optimism.

Sincerely,

Michael Toland President, Spragues' Ready Mix CalCIMA Chairman

4

www.Facebook.com/CalCIMA.org

The Conveyor • 2020 Winter Issue

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TRANSPORTATION

TRANSPORTATION CALIFORNIA SPEAKS TO 2020 PRIORITIES AS IT RELATES TO SB 1 FUNDING

By Brian Hoover, Construction Marketing Services, LLC

C

alifornia maintains almost 400,000 lanemiles of freeways, highways, local streets and roads, along with 25,000-plus bridges.

According to the 24th Annual Highway Report by Reason Foundation, the California highway system ranks 43rd in the nation in overall cost-effectiveness and condition. The Golden State is in the bottom 10 of all states in 7 of the 13 total metrics. This includes a ranking of 48th in traffic congestion, 47th in urban interstate pavement condition, 45th in rural interstate pavement condition, 49th in urban arterial pavement condition, and 40th in spending per mile.

These rankings are not surprising when you consider that vehicle travel has grown 10 times faster than lane capacity over the past 10 years. California’s roadways carry 1.3 billion tons of freight annually, while residents continue to drive more than 300 billion miles each year on these state roads. The lifeblood of California’s economy relies on the continued well-being of its transportation system, and that requires continued adequate investment. California Legislators signed Senate Bill 1 (SB 1) into law April 28, 2017, to repair roads and bridges, improve public safety, and to expand public transit systems. SB 1, also known as the Road Repair and Accountability Act of 2017, invests approximately $54 billion over the next decade, 6

but who is ensuring that SB 1 is honored and implemented as passed by Legislature and signed

by Governor Brown.

Transportation California was formed in 1990 as a not-for-profit 501 (c)(4) organization to support Propositions 108 and 111, which created the Transportation Blueprint for the last decade of the 20th century. For the past several decades, Transportation California has worked in concert with a broad coalition of labor, management, local governments, and others to address the need for greater investment in California’s transportation system. Transportation California is also now fully engaged in the implementation of SB 1 while defending and protecting the landmark legislation against attacks or misuse. They remain

vigilant and continually monitor legislative, budget, and regulatory proposals to ensure that they do not weaken SB 1 and its ability to deliver on the promises made to tax-payers and voters.

As the Executive Director of Transportation California, Kiana Valentine has more than 15 years of policy experience in transportation, housing, land use and local government issues.

With a deep understanding of transportation policy and funding, she has played a role in the passage and implementation of all major state transportation policy and funding decisions for more than a decade including Proposition 1B (2006, $19.9 billion transportation bond), the 2010 transportation fuel tax swap, and most recently the successful passage of SB 1 – the The Conveyor • 2020 Winter Issue

Above: Kiana Valentine, Executive Director of Transportation California.

Below: Mark Watts, Legislative Advocate of Transportation California.

The Conveyor • 2020 Winter Issue

Road Repair and Accountability Act of 2017 and the defeat of Proposition 6 on the November 2018 ballot.

“I think everyone is familiar with the history and amount of effort that has gone into advocating, negotiating, passing, and then protecting SB 1 here in California,” says Valentine. “SB 1 was more than just a financial package for transportation.

It was more than just fee and tax increases to fund our infrastructure. It also included historic, significant transparency and accountability provisions that have never been applied to transportation funding this broadly in the past.”

Valentine points out that SB 1 was also historic for other essential reasons. “Cities and counties are required to adopt local street and road plans to show how they intend to spend their share of SB 1 in a given fiscal year, every single year.

Then at the end of the fiscal year, they must come back and present an accurate report on how they spent that money. This is significant in that it should provide the public, the industry, and the elected officials with a way to hold local governments accountable to every single dollar of SB 1 funding,” says Valentine.

“Additionally, at the state level, the California Transportation Commission has to adopt guidelines and hold workshops and implement programs in a public setting so that all stakeholders have the opportunity to provide input into how SB 1 funding is spent. In my experience since SB 1 was passed, we have had significant transparency and accountability across all of the individual programs.”

Mark Watts is the legislative advocate for Transportation California, as well as a partner at

Smith, Watts & Hartmann, an advocacy and consulting firm that specializes in transportation project funding and implementation. “In the past year and a half, Mark and I have realized that Senate Bill 1 does not require the state or any entity for that matter to perform a comprehensive report on the impact of SB 1 across all modes, across all programs, at any given point and time,” says Valentine.

“We think it is imperative that someone or something be in place to answer a question from the media, an elective official, or an active member within this industry.” Valentine points to a hypothetical situation of where 500 projects have gone out to bid, and 340 have been awarded.

Additionally, $5 billion has been expended, and another $300 million are in progress. These are milestones that Valentine says the public should have access to and not just markers that are announced from program to program.

Mark Watts further defines this idea of specific and allencompassing accountability. “I think it is more of a refinement of the approach. I don’t think we are being critical of what is currently offered, but I do think they have missed the mark in terms of the accessibility of overall gross data. It is coming in stovepipe after stovepipe, and we would like to see the data go into one big chamber.” So, according to Valentine, this full accountability approach is one of their priorities for the 2020 legislative year. “We learn lessons as we go along on how to improve on SB 1 transparency and accountability, continues Valentine. “We want this information to be easily accessible and easy to understand by a wide variety of audiences.”

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TRANSPORTATION Figure 3

State Transportation Revenues Have Increased (In Billions) $14

SB 1 in Effect

Road Improvement Fee Transportation Improvement Fee

12

Diesel Sales Tax Diesel Excise Tax

10

Gasoline Excise Tax Weight Fees

8

6

4

2

2011-12

2012-13

2013-14

2014-15

2015-16

2016-17

2017-18

2018-19

2019-20 2020-21 (Estimated) (Proposed)

SB = Senate Bill.

The 2020-21 State Budget and “From my perspective, it is a Figure 4 the Further Implementation of clean budget. So, it is business as SB 1 usual as far as implementing SB SB 1 Revenues Mostly Support Governor Gavin Newsom 1 as adopted by the Legislature State Highways and Roads submitted his 2020-21 and State Local Budget Streets and protected by the voters,” 2020-21to the Legislature Jan. 10, continues Valentine. “I think this proposal 2020. For transportation programs, year’s budget may look like this Other the budget reflects a continuing for a couple of reasons.” Valentine Trade and a adherence to the programmatic points to the fact that the Congested Corridors focus within the programs funded transportation industry, in general, through SB 1 of 2017. Valentine pushed back hard on proposals State Highways says that protecting SB 1 every that could potentially take away or single year going forward is divert SB 1 funds. She also sees another top priority for the appointment of a new Caltrans Transit Transportation California, as they Director and a new California continue to serve a variety of Transportation Agency Secretary as stakeholders like CalCIMA and a positive move toward continued their members. “Last year, we transportation advancement saw the Governor’s January methods and sustainability.

Total = $5 Billion budget proposal want to leverage Toks Omishakin was appointed or link SB 1 funding to housing the 33rd Director of the California production. This year’s Department of Transportation Localbudget Streets and Roads proposal had none of those types (Caltrans) by Governor Gavin Newsom a can involve a combination of state highway, local street and road, and transit programs. of Programs proposals,” says Valentine. and sworn in October 2019.

SB = Senate Bill.

8

David S. Kim became the third Secretary of the California State Transportation Agency (CalSTA) July 1, 2019, following his appointment by Governor Newsom April 2019.

Toks came to Caltrans following eight years with the Tennessee Department of Transportation (TDOT), where he successfully established environmental, multimodal, and planning policies to make TDOT one of the best DOTs in the country. Kim is a longtime transportation leader with experience in the private sector as well as all three levels of government. He served as vice president, Government Affairs for Hyundai Motor Company from 2017-2019, and spent nearly eight years in senior-level roles at the U.S. Department of Transportation.

“Both of these veteran transportation [ Continued on page 11 ]

The Conveyor • 2020 Winter Issue

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SB = Senate Bill.

[ Continued from page 8 ]

officials are committed to transportation infrastructure investments, and I think that under their leadership, we are going to see great things happen going forward,” says Valentine.

How Has SB 1 Revenue Been Spent to Date and How Will California See it Roll Out in the Future?

Valentine says that SB 1 generated approximately $2.8 billion in 2018 and that the forecast for 2020 is $4.7 billion.

“At the end of fiscal year 2026-27, that number should rise to more than $7 billion, continues Valentine. “It is my guess that during this fiscal year and the next fiscal year, we are going to be able to see whether agencies are implementing at their full capacity. If we generate $5.4 billion, is $5.4 billion going out the door? We will have some better metrics by then.” Watts reminds us that there is always a lag with these big capital projects because the money is spent over two, three, or even four years.

“We will see the dollar amounts contracted and the personnel directed, but the cash flow will not quite match up,” says Watts.

“The key metric going forward will be the released contracts and the direction of personnel.”

Watts thinks it is important that we remember that initially, the SB 1 programs were focused on Fix-It-First. “Admittedly, some of the revenue has gone to rail, transit, and the Complete Streets program, but the bulk was dedicated to the Fix-It-First initiative on the state and local level. Now those funds are going out the door per the statute, as is the remainder of the money. So, it is not as if the road maintenance The Conveyor • 2020 Winter Issue

Figure 4

SB 1 Revenues Mostly Support State Highways and Local Streets and Roads 2020-21

Other Trade and Congested Corridorsa State Highways

Transit

Total = $5 Billion

Local Streets and Roads a Programs can involve a combination of state highway, local street and road, and transit programs.

SB = Senate Bill.

repair money can go to some other new or diverse program,” says Watts. “These funds are going toward fixing our state highways and local roads by and large. I think we are settled into these programs going forward that will continue to meet the SB 1 challenges.”

Valentine points to the fact that the first year of SB 1 implementation was only half of a fiscal year. “During this time, various taxes and fees were phased in, so we won’t even realize full funding until July 1 of this year when we see the zeroemission vehicle fee attached to registrations going forward,” says Valentine. “So, we are not even at full implementation as we speak.

The 2020-21 budget fiscal year is going to be the first full year of implementation, and we should look 10 years out from this point to get to a number of $54 billion.”

Transportation California is uniquely positioned in the State Capitol to lead the industry in the ongoing task of ensuring SB 1.

They hold firmly to their mission to develop adequate, dedicated, and sustainable funding to properly maintain California’s transportation infrastructure and build the transportation system of the future.

For more information on Transportation California, please visit their website at www.transportationca.com or call their Sacramento offices at (916) 446-1280. For a link to Governor Newsom’s 2020-21 State Budget Proposal, please visit https://www.gov.ca.gov/2020/ 01/10/governor-newsomproposes-2020-21-state-budget/ n

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MEMBER NEWS

MEMBERSHIP MATTERS

Highlights From a Decade of Progress

C

alCIMA has led the way to many significant and successful legislative changes over the last 10 years, sponsoring eleven legislative bills signed into law by Governor Jerry Brown (2011-2018). Their campaign, Distance Matters, delivered a strong message and raised awareness toward the essential nature and significant benefits of having local aggregate resources. Through this particular platform, the CalCIMA legislative team worked hard to establish and build relationships, educate policymakers and advocate for member needs.

Additionally, association-initiated legislation has helped to modernize the Surface Mining and Reclamation

Act (SMARA), while encouraging the use of recycled concrete, and allowing for automation at plants.

Legislative efforts have also served to promote safety features on customer delivery trucks, assisted with compliance relief, strengthened protections for mineral resources, and provided enhanced nuisance protection. These changes delivered not only a win for the industry, but also every CalCIMA member, and the regulatory environment in California.

CalCIMA has also been successful in influencing policy changes and amendments. By continually monitoring legislation and regulatory activity, CalCIMA was successful in implementing

As a respected organization, CalCIMA is proud to have worked with Legislators developing 11 bills signed by Governor Jerry Brown. No other organization can claim such a victory.

• AB 221 (Quirk-Silva) Recycling – Concrete • AB 566 (Galgiani) Aggregate and Mineral Resources • AB 812 (Ma) Recycling – Reclaimed Asphalt Pavement (RAP) • AB 1142 (Gray) SMARA Modernization • AB 1518 (Perea) Plants – Automated Weigh Tickets • AB 2355 (Levine) Recycling – Local Agencies • SB 108 (Rubio) – Idle Mines • SB 110 (Rubio) Mines – Nuisance Protection • SB 341 (Lowenthal) Safety – Back-up Alarms • SB 447 (Lara) Aggregate – Approved Material List • SB 792 (Steinberg) Mineral Resource Management Policies

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change within SB 375 (Steinberg), the comprehensive land-use planning bill. The CalCIMA legislative team added a provision to require sustainable community strategy (SCS) plans to incorporate designated mineral resources into their planning requirements. While not all of CalCIMA's legislation efforts make it to the Governor's desk, their work continues to influence and effectuate change in policy to the benefit of every member.

• AB 2433 (Salas) and SB 389 (Roth) Materials – PreQualification Testing • SB 41 (Galgiani) Amends the Truck and Bus Regulation • AB 1910 (Ma) Portable Equipment • CalCIMA pursued two bills SB 1048 (Roth) and SB 649 (Roth) and negotiated with Caltrans and CHP to allow increased weight for mixer trucks due to air pollution control devices.

This led the way for the adoption of AB 2061 (Frazier) to allow increased weight for vehicles powered by natural gas.

CalCIMA also continues its efforts to reduce regulatory burdens and provide compliance assistance and training. This has been accomplished by mobilizing their member network to work proactively on state and local levels to help eliminate and/or reduce impacts due to onerous regulations. Their accomplishments include negotiations to remove, reduce, and modify potentially unworkable regulations while clarifying unique impacts to the materials industry that ultimately make many regulations more achievable. CalCIMA's list of accomplishments are noteworthy The Conveyor • 2020 Winter Issue

Dream It.

Plan It.

Build It. Dig It.

Pave It.

Reclaim It.

and impressive and include success in a variety of topical concerns, including air, water, land use, fish and wildlife, materials, business and labor, safety and health, federal funding, legal, education and training.

CalCIMA's advocacy and policy team has positioned itself to have a seat at the table with powerful interest groups where they can collectively engage in activities that protect their member's interests.

Their relationship with groups, such as the California State Association of Counties, for example, has positioned the Association to prepare for and adequately respond to challenges facing the industry. CalCIMA continues to work alongside a strong coalition of transportation partners and association members to secure and preserve sustainable infrastructure investments such as The Road Repair and Accountability Act (SB 1). CalCIMA was also there to The Conveyor • 2020 Winter Issue

Move It.

answer the threat to repeal SB 1, helping to raise funds for the No on Proposition 6 Campaign. They had a seat at the table with Coalition to Protect Local Transportation Infrastructure and worked long and hard to spread the message that Prop 6 was bad for public safety, jobs and the economy.

Over the last year, CalCIMA has significantly increased and enhanced platforms, tools, and resources for communications and begun expanding capacity and expertise.

In 2017, they launched a new memberwebsite with online event registration, integrated list management and enhanced member communication resources.

Job postings are also available on the website. The CalCIMA member content hub features access to technical research and reports, including updated economic impact reports and analysis of industry air quality improvements over the last 20 years.

Additionally, their quarterly publication, Conveyor Magazine, offers content such as member profiles as well as features highlighting safety, regulatory, technical and legal issues. There is also a CalCIMA YouTube channel and Facebook social media presence to further spread the industry message as well as echoing and amplifying member and industry news. CalCIMA is also taking on skilled labor force challenges by partnering with the California Community College System. This partnership is designed to increase the number of prepared students for entrylevel employment in the growing construction materials industry.

Discover the unlimited benefits of being a CalCIMA member. For more information on how CalCIMA membership can benefit your company, please log on to www.calcima.org or call (916) 554-1000. n 13

LEGISLATIVE

OH, WHAT A RELIEF IT ISN’T – AB 5 AND THE B2B EXEMPTION Reprinted with permission of Laura Curtis, Policy Advocate, California Chamber of Commerce

T

he new law governing independent contracting, AB 5, includes what can be described as a businessto-business (B2B) exemption.

But a close examination of the actual language shows that the B2B exemption is virtually inoperable.

The author of AB 5 consistently states that the B2B carve-out provides relief to freelancers and sole proprietors to continue operating in the state and not be subject to AB 5’s ABC test.

However, even if a service provider can establish that it meets all of the factors, misclassification liability on the hiring entity is so great that no one wants to take the risk (misclassification liability may include unpaid minimum wage, overtime, meal and rest breaks, unpaid Federal, State and local income tax, Private Attorneys General Act penalties, unpaid sick time, unpaid work related expenses, workers’ compensation 14

premiums, and unemployment compensation, just to name a few).

To qualify for the B2B exemption, the contracting business must show that it meets all of the 12 requirements of this exemption. Thus, failing to meet just one of the 12 factors means the business entity does not qualify for the exemption. Businesses must keep in mind that, even if the B2B exemption does apply, businesses still need to satisfy the Borello test which is a demanding standard in and of itself.

While many of the factors are problematic, the following 4 factors make it nearly impossible for businesses to benefit from this ABC test exemption: (B). The business service provider is providing services directly to the contracting business rather than to customers of the contracting business.

(G). The business service provider actually contracts with other businesses to provide the

same or similar services and maintains a clientele without restrictions from the hiring entity.

(H). The business service provider advertises and holds itself out to the public as available to provide the same or similar services.

(K). Consistent with the nature of the work, the business service provider can set its own hours and location of work.

Factor (B) creates significant impediments for businesses in a B2B relationship. Many service providers are hired for the specific purpose of providing services directly to the hiring entity’s clients, customers or patients.

That is the entire purpose of being able to contract out work. For example, a hospital may keep a Spanish translator on staff fulltime, but not a Dutch translator because the need for such a service is rare. However, when needed, the Dutch translator is providing translation services to The Conveyor • 2020 Winter Issue

the patients of the hospital, not to the hospital itself.

Factor (G) is problematic because, while a service provider should be free to contract with other entities, the requirement is that it “actually contracts” with other entities.

What exactly does this mean?

Does there need to be multiple contracts through the duration of the contractual relationship for the B2B exemption to apply? What happens if at the time of forming the contractual relationship, the service provider has 5 other contracts, but it eventually stops renewing the other contracts, does the B2B exemption still apply?

Does the hiring entity have to sever the relationship when the service provider stops contracting with others? If so, what breach of contract concerns will arise?

(H) presents similar concerns.

“Advertise” is not defined in AB 5,

creating uncertainty. Does “advertise” mean that the service provider simply needs to tell people that it provides these services? What about social media postings, do those count?

Or, does it need to place ads in the local paper? Also, what happens if the service provider only advertises one time, does that count for the duration of the contractual relationship? The burden should not fall on the hiring entity to keep checking in to see if the service provider is still advertising. Again, if it is not, is the hiring entity expected to sever the relationship and be liable for breach of contract?

Finally, (K) creates a number of concerns because the service provider will not always be able to set its own hours or location of work. Again, using the translator as an example, the translator will

need to work while the patient is in the hospital and need to provide services at the hospital itself, not at a location of its choosing.

Clearly, the current B2B exemption language is not workable and needs significant cleanup to allow entrepreneurs in this State to continue providing services.

Failing to further amend AB 5 to broaden the B2B exemption has the potential to eliminate the vast majority of independent contractors in California.

The Legislature should amend the law further to provide a holistic approach to the application of the ABC test that reflects today’s modern workforce. n Laura Curtis is an Attorney and Policy Advocate at the California Chamber of Commerce.

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ENVIRONMENTAL

U.S. EPA FINALIZES NEW NAVIGABLE WATERS PROTECTION RULE, NARROWING SCOPE OF WATERS OF THE UNITED STATES

O

By Michael N. Mills and Sarah M. Taylor, Stoel Rives LLP

n January 23, 2020, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (“EPA”) and the Department of the Army (“Army”) finalized the Navigable Waters Protection Rule to define “waters of the United States” (“WOTUS”). EPA and the Army were directed by President Trump in Executive Order 13788 to review the Clean Water Rule: Definition of ‘Waters of the United States’ promulgated in 2015 during the Obama administration, and to consider interpreting the term “navigable waters” in a manner consistent with Justice Scalia’s opinion in Rapanos v.

United States, 547 U.S. 715 (2006).

EPA and the Army published a proposed Navigable Waters Protection Rule on December 11, 2018.

Public comment on the proposed rule closed on April 15, 2019. As expected, this final rule scales back the enforcement and regulatory reach of the federal government by adopting a narrower interpretation of which bodies of water are subject to federal regulation under the Clean Water Act. Essentially, the final rule “recognizes that waters of the United States are waters within the ordinary meaning of the term, such as oceans, rivers, streams, lakes, ponds, and wetlands, and that not all waters are waters of the United States.” (See The Navigable Waters Protection Rule: Definition of “Waters of the United States”, Pre-Publication Notice, page 6.) The final rule outlines four clear categories of waters that are federally regulated: (1) the territorial seas and traditional navigable waters; 16

(2) perennial and intermittent tributaries to those waters; (3) certain lakes, ponds, and impoundments; and (4) wetlands adjacent to jurisdictional waters.

The final rule also delineates categories of waters that are not to be considered “waters of the United States.” These include: • Waterbodies that are not included in the four categories listed above; • Groundwater; • Ephemeral features; • Diffuse stormwater run-off and directional sheet flow over upland; • Many roadside and farm ditches; • Prior converted cropland; • Artificially irrigated areas, including fields flooded for agricultural production; • Artificial lakes and ponds, including water storage reservoirs; • Water-filled depressions constructed or excavated in upland or in nonjurisdictional waters incidental to mining or construction activity, and pits excavated in upland or non-jurisdictional waters for the purpose of obtaining fill, sand, or gravel; • Stormwater control features excavated or constructed in upland or in non-jurisdictional waters to convey, treat, infiltrate, or store stormwater run-off; • Groundwater recharge, water reuse, and wastewater recycling structures, including detention, retention, and infiltration basins and ponds that are constructed in upland or in non-jurisdictional waters; and • Waste treatment systems.

The final rule becomes effective 60 days after publication in the Federal Register. Notably, the final rule does not undermine the existing permitting and regulatory system, and permits and 401 Water Quality Certifications issued under the prior rules will continue as is unless the permitting agency chooses to revisit them.

Importantly, this new federal rule does not affect California’s ability to define and regulate waters of the state. This final federal rule takes a narrower scope of what water is subject to regulation than does the California State Water Resources Control Board in the State Wetland Definition and Procedures for Dredged or Fill Materials to Waters of the State adopted in April 2019.

Though the final federal WOTUS rule could reduce the number of permits required, particularly for projects concerning isolated wetlands, practically speaking, because California projects will still be subject to California state regulations, the new federal rule is not expected to have a significant effect in California. n The Conveyor • 2020 Winter Issue

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MEMBER PROFILE

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By Brian Hoover, Construction Marketing Services, LLC

N

ational Ready Mixed Concrete Company is one of the largest ready-mix concrete suppliers in the Southern California market, with 11 concrete plants that serve a variety of client needs. As a longtime producer of ready-mix concrete, they deliver to everyone from the homeowner to large highway, highrise and other heavy commercial end-users.

National opened its flagship operation in October 2018 in Vernon, an industrial city only a few miles southeast of downtown Los Angeles

construction sites. The state-ofthe-art twin alley plant operation is built for 500-plus yard per hour output with extraordinary storage and transfer capacity. The new plant is capable of storing 1,100 tons of cementitious materials in two, five-compartment silos and up to 5,000 tons of aggregate in three conveyor and tunnel fed bins.

Steve Lode, president of National Ready Mix, continues to be excited about the expanded production capacity and environmental sustainability their new Vernon plant provides.

“We can recharge materials at rates faster than we can batch them and run at full production for multiple days or finish a major pour with the plant full of materials, ready for the next day,” says Lode.

“This plant gives us the ability to deliver large volumes of high-quality concrete at a rate most ready mixed producers are not able to achieve. We can handle the one-off specialty aggregates, specialty cementitious material orders without having to shut down and drain bins to resume normal production.”

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A general view of the truck slump adjust area and the three-lane drive over grizzlies for delivery of bulk materials.

Lode also notes the Vernon operation can handle multiple materials at full production capacity. “This is a significant improvement over other traditional plants,” says Lode. “Very often they can only batch a limited number of select materials, requiring them to drain and refill bins. The Vernon plant offers 10 individual cementitious storage silos that stand overtop of two batching alleys. The dual alley plant can batch more than 500 yards an hour, with the unique capacity to house and batch 10 different aggregate materials at any one time. That means we can load a 6,000 psi mix order side by side with a mix requiring 10,000 psi design strength without missing a beat.”

National Ready Mix maintains a firm commitment to the environment. The Vernon batch plant was built on a former brownfield site and designed to have zero water runoff. No water goes to waste: every drop is incorporated back into the batching process.

The next environmental advancement for Vernon: the addition of Compressed Natural The Conveyor • 2020 Winter Issue

Gas (CNG) infrastructure. “We will be replacing the primary delivery fleet at the Vernon plant this year with fifty new Near Zero (NZ) NOx Compressed Natural Gas fueled mixer trucks.

We intend to operate using the lowest carbon intensity fuel, a renewable natural gas originating primarily from dairies,” says Lode.

Because many of today’s construction projects are sensitive to overall embodied carbon, National worked to become the first and only ready-mix concrete supplier in the Los Angeles market with the capability to produce instant on-demand digital Environmental Product Declarations (EPDs) for all of their existing and newly created mix designs.

Known as the CarbonClarity™ Suite, this software allows the experts at National’s Technical Services Department to instantly provide precise environmental metrics along with mix performance data to specifiers, simplifying what used to be a lengthy process.

“National enjoys a reputation as a solutions provider and these tools will assist in designing and

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building with lower embodied carbon mix designs,” says Lode.

“We want to provide options to help specifiers reach goals of reducing overall global warming potential.”

Another component of the environmental software is known as ProjectBuilderTM and is available for designers to explore on their own.

“If a customer is looking to design a project with a reduced carbon impact under certain mix performance optimization criteria, they could log on to our website (nrmcc.com) and utilize our tools to make trade-offs for different types of mixes for a variety of performances,” continues Lode.

As an example, imagine a large concrete project designed around

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a foundation pour of 10,000 yards with a strength requirement of 6,000 psi. National has several mixes that can achieve that specification, but now the end-user can select the mix that best suits their overall performance requirements and accurately identifies the embodied carbon impact of each choice.

“Put your information into our online ProjectBuilder app, and the supporting documentation will provide you with the ability to look at what the overall embodied carbon would be with several options available. You can begin trading off to achieve your specified requirements. This precise, accurate data is instantly available through a third-party verified process.

Architects and Engineers can visit our website, create a username, and put in their specific project requirements to see just how useful this new tool can be when designing with known parameters.”

National Ready Mix has a long history of enduring quality and unparalleled customer service, and now leads the way in Southern California with unprecedented capacity and industry-leading environmental sustainability practices. For more information on National or their flagship Vernon plant, please visit NRMCC.com or call their sales and technical services division at (909) 657-4000. n The Conveyor • 2020 Winter Issue

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