Balderson’s ROCKS Act promotes use of local raw materials in construction projects

In an effort to reduce costs for local aggregate producers of resources such as gravel, stone and sand, U.S. Rep. Troy Balderson (R-OH) last week reintroduced a bipartisan bill to promote the use of their raw materials in construction projects. 

“Ohio’s land is rich with the raw materials used in building and construction projects,” Rep. Balderson said. “Encouraging the use of these aggregates… in local projects benefits both sides: the buyer is able to more efficiently obtain the materials through reduced transportation time and costs, and the supplier’s business growth benefits the local economy and jobs market.”

The congressman on Jan. 28 cosponsored the Rebuilding Our Communities by Keeping Aggregates Sustainable (ROCKS) Act, H.R. 611, with bill sponsor U.S. Rep. Greg Stanton (D-AZ), which would direct the U.S. Transportation Secretary to establish a working group to conduct a study on access to certain resources for infrastructure projects, according to the congressional record bill summary. The members previously introduced the same-named bill, H.R. 5117, in January 2019 during the 116th Congress, but it stalled in committee.

If enacted, H.R. 611 also would require the Transportation Secretary to examine the use of aggregates in federally funded transportation and construction projects and how the proximity of aggregate resources impact cost and the environment, as well as how state and local transportation and planning agencies might consider aggregates when developing projects, according to a bill summary provided by Rep. Balderson’s office.

The information would inform the development of a federal framework to ensure continued access to these resources, the summary states.

The Ohio Aggregates and Industrial Minerals Association and National Stone, Sand and Gravel Association support the bill.