www.sdchamber.org

Public Policy Update

By Debbie Day, Engineering & General Contractors Association, Chamber Public Policy Committee; and Crystal Howard, EnvironMine, CalCIMA, Chamber Transportation & Land Use Committee

The County of San Diego is experiencing a severe shortage of permitted construction aggregate reserves.  Construction aggregates are sand, gravel & crushed rock used to maintain and develop our infrastructure and to make concrete and asphalt products. The shortage is a result of existing sites running out of resources; and no new sites have been permitted.  At this rate, current estimates show San Diego County has less than 10 years of permitted aggregate reserves remaining. 

The shortage has resulted in the need to import half of the aggregate demand from outside the County, including Imperial County, Riverside County, San Bernardino County, Los Angeles County and Baja California.  Importing aggregate from such great distances has resulted in the material costing twice as much as the state average, and greenhouse gas emissions are three times what they should be.  San Diego County has abundant high quality aggregate resources that can be produced from local sources.  If these local resources are permitted for extraction, transportation costs and greenhouse gas emissions will be dramatically reduced. 

What is the impact to our region?

• Importing 50% of the County’s aggregate needs causes: High transportation costs, increased greenhouse gas emissions, higher road maintenance cost, and greater road congestion.

• The shortage is going to get worse with only nine sites expected to be operating by 2012, reducing to five by 2030

What are the challenges?

• The permitting process is time and cost prohibitive.  It took almost 20 years to get Rosemary’s Mountain, near Fallbrook permitted, which is the only new permitted site in San Diego County in the past 25 years.
• Mineral resources are not protected at the local level.
• While recycled aggregates can be used for base and sub-base materials, it cannot be used for all construction.  If all concrete and construction rubble were recycled, it would represent only 5% of total aggregates produced.

The Chamber has formed a coalition with the California Construction and Industrial Materials Association (CalCIMA), the Associated General Contractors (AGC), and the Engineering & General Contractors Association (EGCA), to educate local elected officials about the seriousness and economic impacts of this issue.  The Coalition is encouraging local governments to develop solutions to the aggregate crisis.  Solutions should include the identification of local mineral resource lands and designating these lands for aggregate development, as well as streamlining the permitting process to accommodate new facilities. 

Read the EGCA White Paper, "The Impending Asphalt Plant Crisis in North San Diego County."

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