The Biden-Harris administration released a new Permitting Action Plan to strengthen and accelerate federal permitting and environmental reviews by fully leveraging existing permitting authorities, as well as new provisions in the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law. The action plan outlines the administration’s strategy for ensuring that federal environmental reviews and permitting processes are effective, efficient and transparent, guided by the best available…
Read MoreYear: 2022
PERMITTING – June 2022
Reports from Maine, Canada, Utah According to the Mount Desert Islander, Harold MacQuinn Inc. and Freshwater Stone have appealed the Mount Desert, Maine, planning board’s denial of their application for a license to resume quarrying in Hall Quarry. The town’s Zoning Board of Appeals has not yet scheduled a hearing on the appeal. Meanwhile, a number of quarry opponents have…
Read MoreTotal Construction Starts Inch Higher in April; Highways Down
Total construction starts rose 3% in April to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of $945.8 billion, according to the Dodge Construction Network. Nonresidential building and residential starts rose 6%, and residential starts increased by 4%, while nonbuilding starts fell 4%. Starts for highway and bridge projects fell 14%. Total construction was 6% higher in the first four months of 2022…
Read MoreConstruction Spending Up Double Digits Year-Over-Year
Construction spending during April 2022 was estimated at a seasonally adjusted annual rate of $1,744.8 billion, 0.2% (±0.8%) above the revised March estimate of $1,740.6 billion, according to the U.S. Census Bureau. The April figure is 12.3% (±1.3%) above the April 2021 estimate of $1,553.5 billion. During the first four months of this year, construction spending amounted to $520.8 billion,…
Read MoreIllinois Picks a State Rock
June 10, 2022 – It only took 400 million years, but dolostone has been named Illinois’ official state rock. Gov. J.B. Pritzker signed the declaration into law earlier this week, crediting a group of suburban Chicago elementary and middle school students for pushing the legislation through Springfield, according to WTTW. “You couldn’t have picked a rock that better represents Illinois,” Pritzker said.…
Read MoreMastering Stratification to Increase Productivity
Increased Stratification Leads To A Greater Quantity Of Fine Material Passing Through The Open Area Of The Screen Media, Increasing The Effective Capacity Of The Machine. By Matthew Armstrong Aggregate and mining producers are likely familiar with the concept of stratification, a natural phenomenon vital to their material screening productivity. Stratification is the process by which vibration in a bed…
Read MoreRecycling Asphalt Waste A Solution To Material Shortages
Managing And Procuring Materials In The Construction Industry Is Rapidly Becoming A Concern, Due To Material Shortages And Rising Costs. The tasks behind maintaining roads involve removing the old asphalt and laying down a new layer. Recycling old materials requires time to crush everything down to usable size. Now, the question is: how do you speed up this process? In…
Read MoreMcLanahan Builds Its Largest Primary Impact Crusher
The New Holland Style Impactor Weighs More Than 200,000 lb. and Can Handle Up To 3,500 TPH Of Quarry Shot Rock. McLanahan Corp. has built and shipped the largest primary impact crusher it has ever manufactured – a New Holland style impactor weighing more than 200,000 lb. The impactor has a 74-in. wide by 125-ft. tall feed opening and can…
Read MoreThe Labor Shortage
Examining The What, Why And How Behind An Ever-Growing Problem. By the Association of Equipment Manufacturers “It feels like a perfect storm… A hurricane and a tornado, all rolled up into one.” Dr. Rachel Sederberg didn’t mince words when describing the seriousness of the labor shortage in the United States. It’s long been a problem, and now it’s getting (much)…
Read MoreStock Market Trips, But Fundamentals Remain Strong
I want to continue my thoughts from last month’s column, particularly against the backdrop of a stock market that is in full retreat since then. For all of us who watch our 401K and other non-retirement investment accounts, the last few weeks have been a nail-biter for some. Not me … I am not one to take retreats like the…
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