EPA

CalPortland named Energy Star Partner 16th time

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CalPortland announced that it has once again been awarded the 2020 Energy Star Partner of the Year Sustained Excellence Award for continued leadership and superior contributions to Energy Star by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and the U.S. Department of Energy.

“CalPortland is proud to receive the 2020 Energy Star Partner of the Year Sustained Excellence Award,” said CalPortland President/CEO Allen Hamblen in a press release. The award is the highest honor among Energy Star awards.

“Finding new and innovative solutions to create energy efficiencies has become an integral part of our company culture, and we are honored to celebrate our employees’ ongoing efforts by achieving this tremendous award for the 16th consecutive year,” Hamblen added. “CalPortland remains committed to reducing emissions and reducing our company’s environmental footprint by contributing to the circular economy.”

CalPortland has been an Energy Star Partner since 1996 and says it remains dedicated to demonstrating and promoting energy efficiency within the company and to other companies in the construction materials industry. The 2020 national award is the sixteenth consecutive Energy Star Partner of the Year Award for CalPortland; a feat that has never been matched by any other industrial company.

Since 2003, CalPortland’s energy management efforts have reduced the company’s overall energy intensity by 16.5 percent, avoiding $135 million in unnecessary energy costs. Key 2019 accomplishments include:

  • Reducing the carbon footprint and embodied energy of its cement products by developing for the market blended cements.
  • Advancing energy efficiency and emission reductions through extensive upgrades to the company’s mobile fleet, rail operations, and cement plants, amounting to significant expenditures in capital efficiency projects.
  • Working with the leadership of the national cement, concrete, and asphalt trade associations to increase industry involvement in energy management and Energy Star.
  • Earning Energy Star certification for the eighth consecutive time for the Rillito Cement Plant.
  • Incorporating strategic elements in the corporate energy program by using Energy Star’s cement plant certification, Challenge for Industry, and Treasure Hunt campaign.
  • Focusing on community engagement and in-person education by reaching more than 136,000 individuals on good energy management best practices and Energy Star.
  • Incorporating energy management and Energy Star into the company’s corporate-wide professional development training program through videos, an intranet site, new employee orientation, and regular employee engagements.

“I salute the 2020 Energy Star award winners,” said Anne Idsal, EPA principal deputy assistant administrator for air and radiation. “These leaders demonstrate how energy efficiency drives economic competitiveness in tandem with environmental protection.”

EPA’s WOTUS replacement rule is finalized

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The 2019 proposed Waters of the United States (WOTUS) rule has now been finalized. “All states have their own protections for waters within their borders, and many regulate more broadly than the federal government,” said EPA Administrator Andrew Wheeler, according to an NPR report. “Our new rule recognizes this relationship and strikes the proper balance between Washington, D.C., and the states. And it clearly details which waters are subject to federal control under the Clean Water Act (CWA) and, importantly, which waters fall solely under the states’ jurisdiction.”

“For small businesses like mine, regulatory uncertainty and inconsistency result in real costs,” said Alan Parks, vice president of Memphis Stone & Gravel, in an NSSGA news release.  “The new WOTUS definition continues to protect our nation’s water and provides clarity on several key exclusions such as ponds built on dry land, pits, and basins associated with mining, and streams that only convey water after storm events. Knowing that our gravel pits and water treatment basins won’t carry an additional federal regulatory burden is very helpful. These changes will allow us to be even better stewards of our local natural resources, which results in a positive benefit to our community.”

The revised WOTUS rule replaces the 2015 WOTUS rule, which led to widespread confusion, delays and increased costs for aggregates producers, NSSGA reports.

When the earlier law was introduced, 27 states sued to block it. The revised rule clarifies that ephemeral waters are not subject to federal control. Rather, four categories of water are subject to federal control under the CWA: large navigable waters, tributaries, lakes and ponds, and major wetlands.

“The scope of federal jurisdiction over waters has been confusing for years, causing permitting delays.  The implementation of the 2015 WOTUS rule made matters worse,” said Mark Williams, environmental manager, Luck Companies, and chairman of NSSGA’s environmental committee. “We are pleased that the new rule provides important environmental protection of waters that need it most, while ensuring clarity to aggregates producers like Luck.  It’s important that both the regulators and NSSGA members are able to understand when a federal permit is required, so we can continue to provide materials for vital infrastructure projects.”

“NSSGA members have worked for years to get a WOTUS rule that aligns with congressional intent by providing necessary protections while allowing aggregates producers the regulatory certainty by which to plan and operate their businesses and provide the necessary infrastructure projects America needs,” added NSSGA President and CEO Michael W. Johnson.