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Buildings
The Wildlife Habitat Council (WHC) is hosting a Webinar on Wednesday, September 25, for site conservation programs. Suitable for those who are either beginning a new program or improving a current one, this Webinar will discuss the keys to building a strong and successful corporate conservation program. From planning and design to implementation, monitoring, maintenance and evaluation, a variety of tools are available to help you meet biodiversity and community engagement goals. Click here to register for this WHC event.
Government Affairs
Earlier this year, NRMCA lobbied for the authorization and funding of the Defense Community Infrastructure Program (DCIP). The DCIP is a pilot program that would make DOD funds available for grants to localities to fund concrete intensive infrastructure like roads, bridges, and water and wastewater projects. Funded at $75 million in the Senate appropriations bill, the pilot project represents – between federal and locality funding – well over $100 million in infrastructure spending above and beyond what is funded through the Highway Trust Fund (HTF). In additon, as a Defense program it is guaranteed funding that does not rely on the HTF; it is reauthorized and appropriated to – likely at a higher level – every year. This program provides an additional pool of concrete intensive project funding. NRMCA conducted meetings and Hill outreach earlier this year, lobbying for the DCIP to be included in the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA). It was included in the House NDAA at $50 million and in the Senate NDAA at $100 million. While there was no direct funding for DCIP in the House defense appropriations, there is $30 million in unspecified community programs and NRMCA is lobbying for the House and Senate to fund the DCIP at $75 million or above. Both the House and Senate committee reports directed DOD to stand up this program. NRMCA will be following the program through the appropriation and implementation stages. For more information, contact Andrew Tyrrell at atyrrell@nrmca.org. The NRMCA Government Affairs staff needs to know which Members of Congress you have relationships with – whether you went to college with them, have a presence in their district, play golf together on occasion or contribute to their campaign. This knowledge will help us leverage the industry’s clout and guide us in setting up meetings with Members of Congress, allowing us to point to a strong district presence or personal relationship as we lobby their office. If you have a relationship or connection with a Member of Congress, please contact Andrew Tyrrell at atyrrell@nrmca.org and let him know. One of our industry’s structural advantages is that it has a presence in every state and every congressional district in the United States. This provides NRMCA with the ability leverage the employee base, economic activity, community relations and political relationships of NRMCA members to gain an audience and present the industry’s priorities to targeted Members of Congress. We need your help in keeping our database up to date. Please ensure that NRMCA has a complete and accurate listing of your facilities, complete with addresses. When we go to contact Members of Congress, we look in our database to see which of our member companies has facilities in or near the targeted district. If we do not have a current list of your facilities, we will be less effective in leveraging the industry’s presence to advocate for industry priorities. Please help NRMCA maximize its efforts by keeping us updated on your facilities lists and thank you for your commitment to the industry. For more information, contact Andrew Tyrrell at atyrrell@nrmca.org.
SEO
In another win for the ready mixed concrete industry, last week, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and the Army Corps of Engineers (Corps) formally announced the full withdrawal of the Obama Administration’s 2015 Waters of the US rule (WOTUS). Since its publication, the 2015 rule, which was ardently opposed by NRMCA, has been litigated in various federal courts across the nation, leading to stays of the rule in all but 22 states. This latest development is a welcome step toward finalizing a balanced, consistent and clear regulatory scheme for determining federal jurisdiction over WOTUS. The withdrawal is part of the Trump Administration’s two-step plan for repealing and revising WOTUS regulations. NRMCA and its industry partners continue to communicate with EPA to ensure any new revised rule is clear, concise and adheres to sound regulatory principles with equitable enforcement. The withdrawal becomes effective 60 days after its publication in the Federal Register. Click here for more information on WOTUS and here to review EPA’s formal withdrawal notice. You may also contact Kevin Walgenbach at kwalgenbach@nrmca.org. This past spring, the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) announced that employers with 100 or more employees will be required to report data on their employees, detailed by pay, hours, race, sex and ethnicity. The information reporting deadline was May 31, 2019 for demographics and then September 30, 2019 for the detailed pay and hours data. The pay/hours data due in September is required to cover both 2017 and 2018. The EEOC has announced that employers can start reporting this information as of July 15. The EEOC has also released filing support guidance materials. This spring’s development follows a ruling from the U.S. District Court for the District of Colombia that reinstated an Obama Administration rule, previously stayed by the Trump Administration in 2017. Specifically, this reporting requirement, referred to the EEOC as the EEO-1 report, is made up of two components, one of which requires employers to report their employee demographics (known as Component 1), and second requires those employers to break down those demographics with pay data and hours worked (known as Component 2). While the Component 1 portion has been a requirement for a number of years was due May 31, 2018, the Component 2 is the added portion promulgated by the Obama Administration, recently restored by the court, with a reporting deadline of September 30, 2019. While this reporting requirement and its deadlines represent a burden to industry, the Trump Administration has appealed the court’s decision and is working toward a reinstatement of its previous stay before the September 30 reporting deadline. NRMCA, from the beginning of this issue, has opposed the Obama Administration’s Component 2 addition. While the current scenario still applies to covered entities and the Administration’s appeal is working its way through the courts, the Administration has signaled that it will formally discontinue the Component 2 requirement for all future years. For more information on the EEO-1, how and when to report, please click here, here and here.You may also contact Kevin Walgenbach. 
Calendar
*Please note that e-mail and direct links to each event listed below can be accessed from NRMCA's Web site. October 3 – 7, Kissimmee, FL October 22 – 24, Irving, TX October 22 – 25, Dallas October 24, Gambrills, MD November 7, Antioch, TN November 11 – 15, Baltimore November 19 – 21, Orlando, FL November 20, Little Rock, AR December 10 – 13, Orlando, FL December 17 – 19, Dallas 
Business Advancement
If recruitment and retention remain challenges in your company, please mark your calendar to participate in four important sessions at ConcreteWorks: • October 6 at 2 p.m./Session 1: Recruiting mixer drivers is NOT our problem – Retaining drivers is our challenge. What do we do? Industry HR experts talked to over 1,000 mixer drivers to understand what typical policies hinder retention efforts as well as those that help. They learned one size does not fit all. With 60% of producers reporting they lost business due to the driver shortage, you can't afford to miss this session. • October 6 at 3:15 p.m./Session 2: Leadership skill building is for everyone on staff. Why and what does that look like? – Please participate in a frank roundtable discussion about launching an industrywide, forward-thinking initiative that can shape employees on all levels into great leaders. • October 7 at 9:45 p.m./Session 3: Secrets to hiring a transition vet – Studies show it is good business to hire veterans in that they are more productive, understand job expectations and follow through and as a result have a higher retention rates. Nevertheless, it’s a real challenge to navigate a military pre-release hiring progress. Hear how to navigate the system and make it a successful strategy in your company. • October 7 at 11 a.m./Session 4: Bringing clarity to the 2019 U.S. Department of Labor overtime regulation – Littler Mendelsohn employment law attorney Theresa Waugh will dive into the 2019 federal wage and hour/overtime law. Do you know to calculate overtime based on the recently released law? On March 7, 2019, the Department of Labor announced this rule would make more than one million people qualified for overtime. Are your employees classified corrected, including those who are salaried? This is a revised version of the law that was stopped just before it went into effect in December 2016. You cannot afford to miss Counselor Waugh’s detailed explanation of the twists and turns of the final rule. The Workforce Development Committee invites you and your colleagues for frank discussion and content. It is NOT necessarily geared for HR executives but for all who have direct reports. The full schedule and other information for ConcreteWorks can be found here. For more information, please contact Eileen Dickson at edickson@nrmca.org. 2020 January 14 – 16, Des Moines, IA January 21 – 24, Cincinnati January 28 – 30, Orlando, FL January 28 – 30, Dallas February 25 – 28, Miami March 7 – 9, Las Vegas March 10 – 14, Las Vegas March 17 – 19, Dallas September 27 – 29, Aurora, CO Engineering
The September 2019 NCC E-News is issued by the National Concrete Pavement Technology Center and is now available online. The following are covered in more detail with links to research and other reports. • The September 2019 MAP Brief, “Overview of the Guide for Concrete Pavement Distress Assessments and Solutions,” summarizes concrete pavement distress, why the guide was developed, organization and scope of the guide, who the guide was developed for and how to use the guide. • A report from the National Research Foundation of Korea examined the feasibility of applying a shrinkage reducing agent to latex-modified concrete to reduce shrinkage cracking. • A project led by the FHWA in partnership with the French Roads and Bridges Research Agency developed a material-scale direct-tension test for UHPC that can be completed on cast or extracted specimens. • Research sponsored by the Iowa DOT developed a specification detailing the proper materials, equipment and procedures for bridge deck epoxy injection. • A project sponsored by the FHWA aimed to identify and quantify the effects of environmental factors and pavement design on pavement performance in the absence of heavy loads. • Research sponsored by the Colorado DOT developed a UHPC mixture using locally available materials, with a cost analysis showing that the prototype UHPC is up to 74% less expensive than commercial products. Click here for the newsletter. The following Technical Track sessions are scheduled for NRMCA ConcreteWorks: Sunday, October 6, 2 to 3 p.m. - 3D Construction Printing | Ready-Mix to Ready Buildings (Pt.1); Additive Concrete Construction: The Scale Factor (Pt.2) Sunday, October 6, 3:15 to 4:15 p.m. - Cost of Poor Quality Monday, October 7, 9:45 to 10:45 a.m. - Electronic Ticketing Systems – Technology is Changing the Game (Pt.1); A Producer’s Experience: E-Tickets to Save Time, Money & Lives (Pt.2) Monday, October 7, 9:45 to 10:45 a.m. - Technology Innovations: Real-Time Concrete Quality Measurement from Batch Plant to Job Site (Pt.1); Maintaining Consistency of Slump and Air with An Innovative Admixture (Pt.2) The NRMCA Research, Engineering and Standards (RES) Committee meets on Friday, October 4, from 8:30 a.m. through noon. The Excellence in Quality Awards will be presented to more than 40 entities at the Awards Lunch on Monday, October 7. Click here for more information on the events at NRMCA ConcreteWorks. The NRMCA Annual Concrete Technologist Training and Certification program (Short Course) is scheduled for November 11-15 at the Hilton Baltimore BWI Airport Hotel in Maryland. The number of registrants is limited to 55. Interested persons are encouraged to register early. The Technical Short Course provides a fundamental understanding of concrete, aggregates and concrete making materials; requirements in industry codes and standards and proportioning concrete mixtures. Attendees have the opportunity to obtain industry-recognized NRMCA certifications: NRMCA Level 2 and 3 Concrete Technologist certification and an optional NRMCA Grade II Field Testing Technician certification. The NRMCA Short Course is intended for quality, sales and other personnel with a technical role with ready mixed concrete companies and suppliers to the industry. New hires in these roles can also benefit from attending. A significant amount of technical content is covered in four days that requires the attendees to have a basic concrete technology background and at least a high-school level of math. Click here for more information, registration options and staff contact. 
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