[INDUSTRY NEWS]

CALIFORNIA EYES CCA-TREATED WOOD

The state of California has introduced a bill that addresses the handling of wood treated with chromated copper arsenate (CCA).

According to Construction Materials Recycling Association (CMRA) Executive Director William Turley, California Assembly Bill 1367 is legislation to reauthorize a waiver process whereby the state’s Department of Toxics can grant waivers for certain types of low-level hazardous waste, such as pressure-treated wood, to be disposed of in Class 3 lined waste dumps rather than Class 1 hazardous waste facilities.

The department long had the ability to grant such waivers (and did so), but when its authority to do so ran out last year, it needed to be renewed. But the bill has been amended to limit applicability to waivers of household hazardous waste only, according to Turley.

Hence, he says, if passed, no waiver is possible and pressure treated/chemically-treated wood will have to be separated from all scrap wood and handled like hazardous waste by contractors and recyclers. It also will require that this type of wood be dumped only at Class 1 facilities, of which there are only three in the state, all in Southern California, says Turley.

It costs on average $300 per ton to dump at Class 1 facilities, compared to $40 per ton at Class 3 facilities, according to the CMRA. This figure doesn’t include the extra hauling costs.

Veit Cos., Minneapolis, has received two awards for safety, including its second consecutive Governor’s Safety Award from the Minnesota Safety Council.

The construction, demolition, excavating and recycling firm, which is a member of the Construction Materials Recycling Association, also received the Commander’s Safety & Occupational Health Award from the Omaha Division of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers.

Veit Cos. received that award for its safe handling of the closure and demolition of 14 U.S. Army missile launch control facilities in North Dakota.

"Veit Cos. achieved an exemplary safety record because of its project health and safety plans," wrote U.S. Army Colonel Kurt Ubbelohde in notifying Veit Cos. of its award.

The colonel noted that Veit employees, "worked in excess of 91,000 man-hours without any type of reportable or lost time accidents—a significant accomplishment."

The Westin Los Angeles Airport hotel will host this fall’s National Association of Demolition Contractors (NADC) Safety Summit.

The ninth annual version of the Safety Summit will take place Oct. 23-24.

Speakers from several safety segments will offer presentations (and some demonstrations) on personal protection equipment; electrical safety; fall protection and rigging; fireproof clothing; toxic mold; and safety training for Spanish-speaking workers.

Those interested in the event can contact the NADC at its Doylestown, Pa., headquarters at (800) 541-2412.

HEAT IS ON LAS VEGAS C&D RECYCLERS

Three handlers of C&D debris in the Las Vegas area are being sued in federal court by Republic Silver State Disposal, which is the franchised hauler for much of Clark County, Nev.

The lawsuit claims that Nevada Construction Clean Up and Lunas Construction are operating two illegal dumps in Clark County, as is Western Elite, which is also charged with an illegal landfill in Lincoln County.

The Las Vegas Review-Journal has reported that the lawsuit claims the defendants fraudulently posed as legitimate haulers of construction and demolition waste and as recyclers.

The document claims Nevada Construction and Lunas "provide virtually no recycling" and that the waste they haul is "not properly disposed of under federal, state and local law."

Under franchising restrictions, Republic is the only company allowed to collect and dispose of C&D materials generated in the area, although local ordinances do allow a commercial recycler to transport recyclable material.

What is recyclable is defined under regulations approved by the Clark County Board of Health late last year (see "Mixed C&D Markets Pinched in Vegas," C&D Recycler, pg. 6, Jan./Feb. 2003). Those regulations identify source-separated loads as recyclable, but label mixed debris as waste that must go to Republic’s landfill. Critics contend the regulations were developed by a committee made up of board members and representatives of Republic, with input from no other haulers or recyclers.

Republic’s lawsuit claims the defendants were engaged in a racketeering activity and also accuses them of interfering with franchise agreements between Republic and Clark County, Las Vegas, North Las Vegas and Henderson. The suit seeks unspecified damages and seeks an injunction to stop the defendants from accepting any more mixed material at their sites. It also asks the defendants to clean up their sites.

The Review-Journal quotes Norberto Madrigal, part owner of Lunas Construction, saying he disagrees with the allegations in the suit. "They want to shut us down because they’re not getting money from the materials that we’re recycling," Madrigal tells the paper.

Other recyclers in the area not named in the suit say that despite Republic having the current regulations written in their favor for more than six months, the company has laid low until now that the state legislature is out of session for at least a year. (The Nevada legislature meets every two years.)

With the lack of sessions in Carson City depriving critics of podium time, Republic has started up surveillance on recyclers to monitor their activities and report any perceived violations.