December 9, 2003

Construction Industry Advancement Fund and CDTOA

Dear Trustees and CDTOA EC:

Following are some of the major issues your Industry Transportation Consultant has been dealing with to date.

Assembly Bill No. 939

AB 939 approved by the Governor September 29, 1989. Solid waste management, source reduction, recycling, composting, and market development. The bill would provide for permit fees, disposal fees, and other charges levied by the board and the State Board of Equalization, and the bill would require that revenue be deposited in the Solid Waste Management Fund, which would be created by the bill, to pay, upon appropriation by the Legislature, for the regulation of solid waste facilities, as defined.
Cities and Counties were mandated to reduce the solid waste currently disposed into landfills. In 1990, the municipalities had to report their current consumption into the landfills and then they had until 1995 to reduce the waste by 25% and then by 2000, to be reduced 50%. There are administrative civil penalties of not more than ten thousand dollars ($10,000) per day on any city or county, which fails to submit an adequate plan in accordance to the planning requirements.

Our Construction Industry falls under this Solid Waste Management Program. The following Construction and Demolition materials were classified in the waste character study, Concrete, Asphalt paving, Asphalt roofing, Lumber, Gypsum wallboard, Rock, Soil, Fines, Composite C & D.

This problem is not just the Demolition Contractors, but any contractor with debris that is generated from their jobsite will have to follow these guidelines.

There are some cities that are taking it a step further and have contracted Franchise Haulers for their cities. Some cities allow you to use your own trucks, but then some do not. Some cities charge a percentage surcharge on top of the dump fees and some do not.

AB 939 is 14 years old but has not been enforced up until recently and is now part of the CA. Public Resources Code Division 30.

1. Waste Management Code. C. Waste Management, Part 2. Integrated Waste Management, Chapter 8. Local Fee Authority, Section 41900-41904. This Part was created as a result of AB 939, which passed in 1989 (City & County Demonstration of Funding Sources) This section specifically states:
41902. A local agency may directly collect the fees authorized by this chapter or may, by agreement, arrange for the fees to be collected by a solid waste hauler providing solid waste collection for the city or county.

Political subdivisions have too much latitude on how they want fees to be collected, even by a waste hauler. We believe that legally licensed motor carriers should be an exempt type of hauler because, 1.) They are part of the motor carrier permit program and already taxed. 2.) They contribute significantly to the recycling program outlined within this Part and 3.) They have no origination interest in the recycled demolition construction materials. Due to these factors these types of carriers should be exempted from these fees or the collection of fees. All fee burdens should fall solely on property owners.

The City of Los Angeles has put the burden on the Trucking Industry to collect a 10% surcharge on gross receipts and submit an annual report. On December 2nd, I attended a Stakeholders meeting at the City Hall regarding Waste Haulers Recycling Requirements. The City currently has no plans for Franchise Haulers, but all trucking companies doing business within the City must be permitted. The City currently has a recycling rate of 59% and a goal of 70% reduction in solid waste by the year 2020.

The City of Industry has a contract with Franchise Haulers and only one that is contracted to transport C&D materials. This particular hauler doesn't have trucks but rather roll off bins and happens to be owned by the Mayor. You are at the mercy of the franchise hauler, due to no competition and no reason to have to give you reasonable service. If your doing a job in the City of Industry and you have curb and gutter to be sent to the recycler, you may not get the number of roll offs to export the material the way the job was bid. You are going to experience delays and loss of revenue to your equipment to be standing by for the next roll off.
The City is obligated to protect the public health and safety of the residents and business owners of the City and any arrangements made by Solid Waste Collectors and recyclers for the collection of commercial solid Wastes should be made in a manner consistent with the exercise of the City's police power for the protection of the public health and safety. The City is very aggressive regarding enforcement and arrests have been made for hauling illegally, whether it's your own truck or a rental.

If you're going to be a Waste Hauler within the City of Industry, you have to be on the approved certified franchise haulers list. If you're a contractor bidding or doing work in the City and you have materials that can be recycled, broken concrete, asphalt, wood, debris, etc, you will need to use the City's Franchise Hauler. The Franchise Hauler may or may not have trucks but rather roll offs. So if you have a time line to meet, you may have a problem because contractors have experienced operating at the mercy of the Franchise Haulers. You may get 1 or 2 bins a day, what ever they have available. People have been arrested and jailed for not complying and using their own trucks.

San Bernardino County: Currently the County issues a 5 axle (65') green weight annual permits, we requested that the County of San Bernardino allow 16' 0" in height, 14' 6" in width, 110' in length and Caltrans purple weight, as does the County of Riverside.

Results: The County authorized no height, 12' 0" in width, up to 9-axle (110' in length) and Caltrans purple weight.

Currently the County requires a pilot car on all loads that are overweight, and will require a pilot car for all night moves. We requested that pilot cars not be required for weight, but rather if they exceed 12' in width.

Results: The County will not require a pilot car for weight, only if the load exceeds 12' in width and 100' in length.

Currently the County requires the license number of either the Tractor or the Trailer on the face of the permit. We are requesting that it shouldn't be required, as Caltrans doesn't require it.

Results: The County no longer requires License numbers on the permit. This will allow companies that have numerous trucks and are not from the local area to allow the particular truck that happens to be going to the San Bernardino County area to use the permit or any other truck that maybe carrying it at the time. The permit is issued to the company.

U. S. Department of Transportation Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration

We are currently working with the U. S. Department of Transportation Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration regarding regulating legal and extra-legal trucking and the role of local government in regulating our industry.
On September 18, 2003, Greg Smith from American Road & Transportation Builders Association and I met with Warren Hoemann, Deputy Administrator and John Hill, Assistant Administrator / Chief Safety Officer of FMCSA.
We discussed the case of the City of Columbus vs. Ours Garage and Wrecker Service. The case addresses whether the state can grant to a municipality the authority to regulate trucking.
The answer-a state can grant authority to a municipality only if refers to "SAFETY", not because a Mayor or City Council member lives on the corner. They cannot control "prices, routes, or services".

There are numerous examples of the problems we're having in Southern California and how the increased cost is affecting our Industry daily. When a city regulates truck routes, means that our Industry is traveling further than we need to be at substantial increase in cost. The issue below happens to be something that goes on everywhere.

The Coachella Valley has a problem that is not unique to the Southern California, but we have the attention of local politicians. We have been speaking with Senator Jim Battin and Assemblywoman Bonnie Garcia, with their assistance a meeting has been schedule with the Director of Caltrans San Bernardino and Riverside County. The Mayors from all 10 Cities in the Coachella Valley will be in attendance. We are addressing the problem with Truck Routing and the inconsistency from one jurisdiction into another. We have approached the City of Indio to work with them on their truck routing using the Supreme Court ruling regarding regulating legal trucks. We have explained to the City, that they now have a tool when resident calls in complain regarding truck traffic. They now can explain that due to the Supreme Court ruling that unless it is a safety issue, that can't just post a "No Trucks Sign". When they calls the Politicians and complain, they can also refer them to the Supreme Court decision and now they still stay on good terms with their constituents. We believe that we have the answer to the Truck routing problem now that they can't just post signs as they did in the past. The Thomas Guide, which is a tool that everyone is using daily, has primary streets and secondary streets. We are asking the Cities to post their Primary routes as they are listed in the Thomas Guide, which is information that is supplied by the Counties annually. The Thomas Guide doesn't recognize boundaries or jurisdiction as the individual cities do. This would allow commerce to flow from one jurisdiction into the next and the Truck Route continues. If this can be accepted in the Coachella Valley as a pilot program and we can extend it throughout southern California and then the entire state. We have had a tool all along but until the Supreme Court decision, the municipalities had no control in changing.

The changes that have been made and those that we are expecting to make will benefit our Industry and significantly ease operation and reduce costs. The benefits will continue to accrue in months and years to come.

Sincerely,

Gregory D. Dineen
Industry Transportation Consultant

Cc: John Hakel, AGC; Seth Hammond, MCOG;
Barbara Cunningham, ECA; Lee Brown, CDTOA;
Richard Lambros, BIA; Jim Burton, SCCA