Bill Text: TX HCR70 | 2013-2014 | 83rd Legislature | Introduced
Bill Title: Urging the Texas Department of Transportation to permit the use of electric arc furnace steel slag in road construction projects.
Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Republican 1-0)
Status: (Introduced - Dead) 2013-03-11 - Referred to Transportation [HCR70 Detail]
Download: Texas-2013-HCR70-Introduced.html
| 83R4095 BPG-D | ||
| By: Kuempel | H.C.R. No. 70 | |
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| WHEREAS, The use of electric arc furnace steel slag offers | ||
| significant benefits in terms of price, performance, and the | ||
| conservation of natural resources, but to date, the steel industry | ||
| has been unsuccessful in its efforts to work with the Texas | ||
| Department of Transportation to enable the use of EAF slag in road | ||
| construction; and | ||
| WHEREAS, A coproduct of the steelmaking process, EAF slag is | ||
| environmentally safe, as demonstrated in 1998 risk assessments | ||
| conducted by the Steel Slag Coalition; steelmaking slag has been | ||
| used commercially since at least the middle of the 19th century, and | ||
| it is currently used in all industrialized countries; and | ||
| WHEREAS, The physical shape of slag particles allows them to | ||
| interlock, making EAF slag more stable in formation than other | ||
| aggregates; slag is found to outperform natural materials in many | ||
| applications, providing excellent adhesion in asphaltic concrete | ||
| and dramatically improving skid resistance in road materials; | ||
| moreover, slag is highly stable when wet, prevents the formation of | ||
| ice, is easily compacted, and is free from the problematic surface | ||
| irregularities common to other aggregates; and | ||
| WHEREAS, Because EAF slag is a renewable mineral resource, | ||
| its use reduces the consumption of natural resources by the | ||
| construction industry; it is also more cost-effective than other | ||
| products; and | ||
| WHEREAS, The Texas Department of Transportation already | ||
| recognizes ground and granulated blast furnace slag, a similar | ||
| steelmaking coproduct, as an established nonhazardous recycled | ||
| material suitable for use in road projects; across the country, | ||
| steelmaking slag generally is either specifically exempted from | ||
| state definitions of "solid waste" or labeled as a "coproduct" that | ||
| is not waste; the Texas Natural Resource Conservation Commission, | ||
| now the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality, made a | ||
| case-specific regulatory determination in 1997 that EAF slag, as a | ||
| coproduct, was not subject to solid waste regulations when used in a | ||
| variety of applications, including raw material in cement, in road | ||
| banks and stabilized shoulders, and in select material surfacing; | ||
| and | ||
| WHEREAS, The use of EAF slag in the construction of Texas | ||
| highways would save tax dollars while enhancing performance and | ||
| helping conserve natural resources; now, therefore, be it | ||
| RESOLVED, That the 83rd Legislature of the State of Texas | ||
| hereby urge the Texas Department of Transportation to amend its | ||
| procurement guidelines to permit and encourage the use of electric | ||
| arc furnace steel slag in road construction projects; and, be it | ||
| further | ||
| RESOLVED, That the secretary of state forward an official | ||
| copy of this resolution to the director of the Texas Department of | ||
| Transportation. | ||
