Comment Log Display

Gentlemen,

	The National Demolition Association is the trade organization for
the Demolition Industry in the United States and Canada. With over
1,100 member companies representing firms involved in every aspect
of the demolition process from structural dismantlement and
implosions to facilities decontamination and asset recovery, the
members of the National Demolition Association pride themselves on
their commitment to environmental stewardship. The Industry
generates approximately $6 billion in sales in the two countries
and employs over 30,000 people. 

The Association has over 140 members in the state of California
providing demolition, manufacturing and other services. In
addition to being an active participant in the continued growth
and renewal of the state, the industry generates considerable
amounts of revenue used to fund state, county and municipal
programs. Demolition contractors play a major role in the success
of California’s county recycling program contributing a
substantial portion of recyclables to each county’s total volume.
Our Southern California Chapter represents over 60 companies
working in the southern part of the state.

	The members of the National Demolition Association pride
themselves on their commitment to a clean environment. At the same
time it is essential that environment stewardship go hand in hand
with the economic realities of the marketplace. 

	With this in mind the National Demolition Association is deeply
concerned about the implementation of the proposed In-Use Off-Road
Diesel Vehicles and Engines Pollution Control Devices rules. We
believe that the proposed rules will have a significant impact on
the economic well-being of the construction economy in California
and have real concerns about the feasibility of implementing
elements of the proposed enforcement strategy.

	The National Demolition Association’s major concerns are these:

1)	As with any construction subcontracting, the Demolition
Industry uses equipment specific to its own needs. Cranes with
wrecking balls, clamshell buckets, grapples and other tools are
used by many demolition contractors. While large excavators that
can be used with a wide array of attachments and extended boom
arms are certainly new elements of many demolition fleets, the
older reliable cranes still play a major role in the demolition
process.

Most of these cranes represent a relatively small portion of a
demolition company’s fleet, albeit a vital part. Considering the
age of these units it seems that compliance with the proposed CARB
rules by retrofitting or upgrading would be impractical from a
technological and economic point of view. While Tier IV engines
will be available on newer excavators, the cost of upgrading the
essential specialty equipment like older cranes would be
prohibitive for the industry. The impact of bringing these
specialty units into compliance would be significant for the small
businesses involved with demolition that won’t be able to “average”
their crane’s emissions across a larger fleet in order to be
bringing their firms into compliance.

This item is practically important to the Demolition Industry as
the crane and wrecking ball are still an important tool that the
industry relies on to perform its work. Most of these units, vital
to demolition operations, are not easily “repowerable” or would be
very difficult to retrofit with a diesel particulate filter
considering the environment in which they are used. In demolition
situations, you have to consider the impact of failing debris on a
piece of equipment and its pollution control devices. CARB should
exempt these types of specialty equipment from the proposed rule
or characterize them as falling under your “specialty vehicle
provisions” as their emissions are likely to relatively low and
the economic impact of retrofitting or upgrading this equipment
would be too great for the industry to bear.

The Demolition Industry believes that is essential for CARB to
understand the conditions in which this specialty equipment is
likely to be used, e.g. falling debris and damaged structures in
your DPF requirement appeal process.


2)	We believe that the economic impact of the proposed rule on the
demolition industry and the construction industry in general in
California is woefully understated. CARB estimates that the total
cost of implementation of the proposed rule will cost in the range
of $3 billion dollars. Considering the wide-ranging impact of the
proposed regulations on the fleets of the many businesses involved
in demolition in California, a considerable number of which are
small business entities, this estimate appears incredibly low.
Estimates developed by other interested parties predict an impact
over five times greater than CARB’s estimates.

Considering the sweeping nature of the rules and their impact on
fleet management, compliance will have a substantial impact on the
ability of demolition companies in California to stay in business,
especially those many firms that are small businesses. It is
important to remember that demolition is very equipment intensive.
Modern demolition operations maintain a diverse fleet of equipment
to accomplish their tasks in a timely, economic manner. The entire
industry across the United States employs less than 22,000 people
that means its success is tied to its ability to utilize a variety
of equipment. Any regulation that increases the cost of maintaining
and replacing this equipment is going to have a substantial
economic on the industry.


3)	The National Demolition Association is also concerned about the
ability to comply with certain elements of the proposed rule.
Beyond the overall impact on fleet management and equipment
replacement, we feel that it may be technologically impossible to
even measure, let alone bring equipment into compliance with some
of the proposed rule’s standards.

In the out-years of the rules’ implementation CARB is proposing
emission levels from equipment that may not even be measurerable.
The industry has real concerns that the levels proposed for
certain Tier IV equipment are so low as to be non-detectable and
will, therefore, be impossible to measure to assure compliance.

Certainly, new technologies will greatly decrease the emissions
from all vehicles in the future and our Associate members who
produce the industry’s fleets are making great strides to develop
equipment that meet the industry’s needs with minimal impact on
our environment. Realizing this, it is important to develop
standards that can be met by the regulated communities. The
Demolition Industry has real concerns that some of the proposed
requirements will be impossible to accurately measure and comply
with.

4)	The success of any regulatory effort is always tied to its
equity. One of the major concerns that the Demolition Industry has
with the CARB proposed rules are how will be it be enforced.
Considering the limit resources that the state of California has
to manage any enforcement program over such a large geographical
area, it appears as if CARB is going to rely, to some extent, on
policing by non-traditional methods such as having one’s
competitors monitor compliance with the law.

While not specifically defined in the proposed rule, depending
upon the enforcement of any rule, environmental or otherwise, by
using the general public or members of a regulated industry seems
somehow “un-American” and not likely to stand the rigors of legal
scrutiny. The Demolition Industry understands the compliance
requirements that CARB must follow to meet the mandates set by the
California legislature. The development of a fair and practical
enforcement strategy is essential for compliance to be
successful.


While there are a number of other major questions that the
Demolition Industry has with the proposed In-Use Off-Road Diesel
Vehicles and Engines Pollution Control Devices proposal, these are
the major concerns that the industry has right now. We think it
prudent for CARB to work with the demolition and construction
industry to develop rules that meet the goals set by the
California legislature while assuring fairness, practicality and
economic viability.

We appreciate the opportunity to present the views of California’s
demolition contractors to CARB and look forward to working with you
to develop rules that help protect the state’s public health,
environment and economic well-being.




					Very truly yours,




					Michael R. Taylor, CAE
					Executive Director