MD Drops Sealant Ban After Industry Bluster
The State of Maryland’s coal tar sealant ban effort ended quietly after less than a month of its introduction. The end began at a public hearing by the Environmental Subcommittee with overwhelming representation by industry making some wild claims and 3 attendees who spoke in favor of the legislation. Needless to say the industry flexed […]
“Eliminate the Threat” to People and Environment is Goal of Proposed California Sealant Ban
Parking lot showing aged coal tar and loose, toxic material. Earlier today Assembly Member Jared Huffman of California sent out a press release of his environmental initiatives for this upcoming legislative session. Among his top three priorities is a ban of coal tar pavement sealant! His press release stated: The second bill, AB 1704, Coal […]
Support a National Coal Tar Sealant Ban with a Letter to the EPA
I must confess I work in an industry of sheep that rarely say a peep.Recently someone started an online petition drive to support a nationwide ban of coal tar pavement sealants. I am not sure what the current tally is, but I would encourage anyone who understands this issue to go to this link and […]
Coal Tar Free Nation? Doggett Introduces Bill for 2.5 Year Phase Out of Coal Tar Sealants
Last week, Congressman Lloyd Doggett of Texas with the support of legislators from Washington, Minnesota, Illinois, and Massachusetts as well as the nation’s major environmental advocacy groups, introduced a bill (H.R. 4166 The Coal Tar Sealant Reduction Act of 2012) to end the use of coal tar sealants in the US in the next few years! Citing […]
Cannon Falls Out of Love with Coal Tar Sealant
Cannon Falls, Minnesota is now the 14th community in the state to pass a coal tar sealcoat ban. This suburban Minneapolis-St. Paul city of over 4,000, passed this ban a while back, but had not been included in my tally or the Minnesota Pollution Control Agency’s.
Illinois Initiates Move to Allow Local Sealant Bans
After robust media and USGS attention, McHenry County government discovered last year that they do not have the constitutional authority to pass a coal tar sealant ban. In May 2011, the Assistant State’s Attorney, Ms. Jamie Rein, said that a written opinion had been developed which denied the County’s authority to pass a local ban. […]
California Introduces Legislation to Ban Toxic Pavement Sealcoats
In a state where applicators still boast of the “harmless” and “environmentally-friendly” aspects of coal tar sealants and nearly 1 in 4 applicators prefer to use coal tar, legislation has now been introduced which will eliminate their use. If successful, California would become the largest and second state to pass a ban. It would more than triple […]
Chicago Area Watershed Group Adds Another Million Citizens Under Government Use Restrictions
**Editor’s Note: See Chicagoland: Home to the Most Toxic Creeks in the US? for an update on this story. In an unprecedented move, a consortium of Chicagoland suburban communities, representing all or part of 39 municipalities, more than 350 square miles and about 1,000,000 citizens, have agree to end the governmental use of coal tar pavement sealants. Organized as part of […]
California on the Road to Being Coal Tar Free
The transportation agency for the State of California, CalTrans, has committed to be coal tar free! Some have said that coal tar sealants aren’t really used on the West Coast, but there is a fair bit of evidence to the contrary. Several months ago I wrote a piece about a poll of 1000 sealant applicators across […]
Prominent Industry Group Changes Position on Bans
According to the publication, Inside EPA, the National Pavement Contractors’ Association (NPCA) will no longer oppose coal tar sealant bans. The NPCA manages a discussion forum that is probably the most robust discussion of pavement topics on the internet. The most prolific section of discussion is on sealcoating. To say that the group historically is pro-coal tar is an understatement. […]