Red tape ties up Calif. road materials recycling plan.

* The California Department of Conservation has rejected a recycling plan proposed by Granite Construction, Watsonville, Calif., because the plan conflicts with the state's Williamson Act agricultural tax break program, according to a report in the Lompoc Record (Lompoc, Calif.).

Granite had planned to crush and recycle used road materials at its Buellton, Calif., facility to generate asphalt for repairs to roads damaged in the recent winter storms.

But since the Facility sits on land enrolled in the Williamson Act, recycling road materials there is not allowed, according to the report.

The Lompoc Record reports that Granite actually receives no tax breaks on the land, since it is not in active agricultural use, but it is subject to the act's restrictions. The company removed the land from the Williamson Act contract seven years ago, but the process takes a decade to complete.

Brian Baca, county engineering geologist and Solvang, Calif., city councilman, tells the Lompoc Record that Granite could recycle as much as 50,000 tons of concrete and other used road materials per year if permitted.

Unless the Department of Conservation makes an exception, the company will not be allowed to recycle used road material at the Buellton plant until the contract ends in 2007, according to the report.