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House Co-Sponsorship Memoranda
House of Representatives
Session of 2013 - 2014
Regular Session
MEMORANDUM
| Posted: | April 1, 2013 11:53 AM |
|---|---|
| From: | Representative Eli Evankovich and Rep. Ted Harhai |
| To: | All House members |
| Subject: | Beneficial Re-use of Steel and Blast Furnace Slag for Road Construction |
| We intend to introduce legislation in the near future that will encourage the beneficial re-use of steel and blast furnace slag and preserve its use as an aggregate in road construction projects throughout the Commonwealth. This legislation will not mandate the use of slag; it will merely require that PennDOT cannot exclude the use of slag from the procurement process. Slag has been a reliable, versatile, environmentally-friendly, and cost-effective road construction aggregate used by PennDOT engineering districts throughout the Commonwealth for over 50 years, as well as extensively throughout the United States and in several other countries with steel production. Despite its widespread use, in recent years some PennDOT districts have used the procurement process to exclude slag as a road construction aggregate. This effort has already triggered a large number of job losses, including a reduction of over 50% of the workforce at a steel service firm’s operations in Johnstown, PA and Belle Vernon, PA. Steel and blast furnace slag for road construction can generate significant cost savings to Pennsylvania taxpayers, and is an important reuse of a byproduct of Pennsylvania’s steel industry. As a recycled manufactured product that helps preserve natural resources, slag also supports environmental responsibility and stewardship for Pennsylvania by avoiding the need to landfill the product. In light of the increasing focus by the Governor and General Assembly on a transportation funding package, we believe this legislation serves as a logical complement to that effort. This legislation, which will simply restore the status quo throughout Pennsylvania and memorialize current policy, is supported by the Pennsylvania Steel Alliance and the National Slag Association. The Pennsylvania Steel Alliance is comprised of labor organizations and steel companies across the state, as well as organizations that support the steel industry. Please join us in co-sponsoring this important piece of legislation. |
Introduced as HB1527