The legislation under consideration
would grant the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and the Army
Corps of Engineers (Corps), for the
first time ever, jurisdiction over all
“intrastate waters,” which essentially
includes all wet areas within a state,
including ditches, ground water, pipes
and drains. The EPA and Corps also
would have authority over all “activities
affecting these waters,” whether public
or private, and regardless of whether
the activity is occurring in water or
whether the activity actually adds a
pollutant to the water.
IMA-NA is committed to the protection and restoration of America’s wetland
resources, but we disagree with the scope
and breadth of the current legislation.
While we’re on the subject of unfinished legislative business, the U.S.
continues to lack a comprehensive
and coherent national energy policy.
This clearly meets the definition of
unfinished business. While energy
prices have moderated in the near term
because of reduced demand owing to
the global recession, our nation faces
a continuing crisis as a result of the
energy issue. Escalation in the price of
energy has a significant impact on our
industry, particularly because of the
energy intensity of the production of
industrial minerals, and the reliance of
our industry upon transportation.
The energy issue is bigger than the
industrial minerals sector. It is a national and economic security issue and
might best be addressed in that context.
I know that IMA-NA members believe
that we need to promote expansion
of domestic supplies of all sources of
energy in an environmentally responsible manner, including conventional
and unconventional sources. We also
need to encourage energy efficiency to
reduce energy costs, consumption and
negative environmental impact. And
finally, we need to incentivize private
enterprise to invest in the creation of
affordable alternative energy sources,
such as hydropower, solar and wind.
Pit & Quarry: What advocacy activi-
ties will the association undertake
this year in order to move the associ-
ation’s/industry’s legislative agenda?
In spite of the current recession and
massive government spending to jump
start the economy, the current Congress
seems intent on enacting climate change
legislation. Ensuring that the industrial
minerals industry is treated appropriately in any legislation that subsequently
becomes law is an IMA-NA priority.
IMA-NA succeeded in getting non-fuel
mineral processing recognized as an
energy-intensive sector meriting carbon
credit offsets. We also will be working
to ensure that process emissions, as opposed to combustion emissions, are not
And it’s leaking more than just water. Those dollars you see are going
right down the drain. "Garden hose" dust control just makes a wet
mess. A couple hours a day cleaning screens and shoveling mud eats
up a lot of manpower and means lost production.
Anyone can dump enough water onto stone and control dust. The trick
is to do it without sacrificing production and that means making an
investment in the right kind of dust control equipment.
Do the right thing. Control dust and keep water consumption down with
a NESCO spray system that includes a guaranteed compliance Emissions
Control Warranty.
Put lost dollars back in your pocket and more trucks across your
scales.
