Appeals Court Invalidates Tulloch Rule Nationwide In a unanimous opinion, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia affirmed a District Court decision invalidating the Tulloch Rule nationwide. Through the rule, the Corps of Engineers attempted to require permits under Section 404 of the Clean Water Act for incidental fallback of material during dredging activities. "The straightforward statutory term 'addition'," said the appeals court, " cannot reasonably be said to encompass the situation in which material is removed from the waters of the United States and a small portion of it happens to fall back. Because incidental fallback represents a net withdrawal, not an addition, of material, it cannot be a discharge...If the agencies believe that the Clean Water Act inadequately protects wetlands and other natural resources by insisting upon the presence of an 'addition' to trigger permit requirements, the appropriate body to turn to is Congress. Without such an amendment, the act simply will not accommodate the Tulloch Rule."

Vulcan Buys Two Illinois Quarries Vulcan Materials Co. bought two quarries in southern Illinois from Columbia Quarry Co. and placed them under the management of its Reed Crushed Stone operation near Paducah, Ky. The acquired quarries are near Cypress and Jonesboro, Ill., about 30 and 45 miles northwest of Paducah, respectively. Both quarries ship aggregate into several counties in southern Illinois;the Jonesboro quarry also supplies high-calcium stone products to customers in Missouri, Arkansas, Kentucky and Tennessee. Columbia Quarry Co. retained ownership of operations near St. Louis in Dupo, Columbia and Waterloo, Ill.

CalMat Sells Tucson Operations CalMat Co. sold its aggregate operations in Tucson for $14 million, which will be used to acquire operations in markets offering greater financial returns. "It became clear to us that, despite the significant improvement we had made, the existing market environment [in Tucson] would prevent us from earning an adequate return," said Frederick Gerstell, chairman and CEO. CalMat said it is still "strongly committed to its remaining markets in Arizona."

Martin Marietta Buys Sand & Gravel, Sells Trucks Martin Marietta Materials expanded its presence in Ohio and Kentucky by buying two sand and gravel operations: one between Dayton and Cincinnati; the other near Petersburg, Ky, about 20 miles west of Cincinnati. The purchase price was not disclosed but included a swap of some of Martin Marietta's surplus real estate. The company also sold its aggregates trucking operation in Columbus, Ohio to a local trucking company.

Blue Circle America Offers to Buy Needler Group In a take-over bid, Blue Circle America offered to buy all the shares of the Needler Group for approximately $39 million and to assume the Group's debt of about $26 million. The Needler Group operates as TCG Materials and TCG/Permacon, producing aggregate, asphalt and concrete products and providing construction services in Ontario, Canada and New York.

Major Acquisitions Completed U.S. Aggregates completed its $57.6 million acquisition of Monroc... Lafarge Corp. finalized its $690 million purchase of Redland's North American assets... Giant Cement completed its acquisition of Solite Corp.... Southdown and Medusa shareholders approved the merger of the two companies, which was expected to close June 30.