Advocacy for Infra Members
Infra works to encourage the formulation of government policies that support investment in the sustainable development of Missouri’s crushed stone resources. This includes communicating the economic importance and environmentally-responsible nature of the crushed stone industry to the public and to the government.
monitoring legislation
working with legislators, public officials and other industry trade associations to engage on specific pieces of legislation – both for and against
provide expert testimony and current information to lawmakers and regulatory authorities
Infra Committees
Infra maintains several committees that actively work with federal and state regulatory authorities to further the interests of our industry and members.
Safety Committee
Works with MSHA officials and the Missouri Department of Labor on issues revolving around safety and inspections.
Environmental Committee
Works directly with the Missouri Department of Natural Resources on issues dealing with land reclamation, permitting and environmental standards.
MoDOT Highway Cooperative Committee
Works with the Missouri Department of Transportation on issues dealing with aggregate specifications, road materials and road construction plans.
A Track Record of Legislative Success
Infra is actively engaged in traditional mining issue legislation/regulation in addition to significant tort reform and worker’s compensation issues. Here’s a look at some of our successful outcomes:
Not In My Backyard
Led a coalition effort to defeat HB 982. This bill would have allowed county governments to supersede the Land Reclamation Office’s authority to issue mine permits.
Election 2024
Infra was the second trade association in Missouri to endorse Mike Kehoe for Governor. This was the first formal endorsement in association history and Mike Kehoe was ultimately elected the state’s 58th governor.
Gubernatorial Appointments
IMAC
Pushed a statutory change that allowed the DNR to more easily appoint miners to the Industrial Minerals Advisory Commission. Governor Parson signed this bill into law as part of a larger natural resources package.
Regulatory Affairs
Gubernatorial Appointments
Successfully advocated for a producer member to be appointed by Governor Parson to the Missouri Air Conservation Commission.
Mining Property Tax Assessment
Transportation Infrastructure
Business Premises Liability
Supported SB608, the Business Premises Liability Act under which a business can also claim as affirmative defense that it had implemented reasonable security measures, the incident occurred when the business was closed, or that the claimant was a trespasser or committing a felony.
Blasting Safety and Operation Fees
Responsible for passing updates to the Missouri Blasting Safety Act, which involved raising the fees placed on explosives for the purposes of funding state inspections. State inspections often provide information from a third party that is used in defense of complaints and lawsuits by adjoining landowners.
MSHA Reform
Our Safety Committee compiled comments from its members in response to President Trump’s Executive Order 13777, which called for a review of federal regulations.
E-Permitting
Infra was the sole Association invited to participate in the development and testing of a new E-Permitting process specific to the Land Reclamation Program.
Stormwater Permits
Elimination of Permits
Filed several comments with DNR regarding the Red Tape Reduction Act, Missouri’s efforts to reduce unnecessary and burdensome regulations. In response to our comments, the Missouri DNR has filed rulemaking changes eliminating the Basic Operation Permit and has agreed to address the outfall signs when it revises the Storm Water Discharge permit in the near future.
Mining Property Tax Assessment
Led the lobbying effort to pass legislation that provides fairness to mining and quarry operations in the appraisal/assessment of taxes on real property. This was in response to assessors in several counties that hired an out-of-state consultant who used an inappropriate method of appraisal to increase property taxes by 1,000% or more.
DNR Fees
Participated in a successful effort to stop legislation that would have transferred DNR permit fees held in a temporary reserve account to the state’s general revenue account.
DNR Fee Structures
Cutting Permit Time Down
The DNR’s Air Pollution Control Program agreed to a major improvement in obtaining permits for quarry operations, which also applies to sand/gravel plants, asphalt plants and concrete plants. This is a direct result of an earlier letter written by Infra expressing frustration with aspects of obtaining permits for our industry.