Construction & Building Materials Industry

The leader in the industry

JMBM has a dominant position among California law firms in the building materials industry. We advise materials suppliers (including sand, gravel and cement companies) and manufacturers, as well as contractors and other industry players on their integrated corporate, regulatory and dispute-resolution issues. Our lawyers bring their contract, transaction and financing experience to each client project, and work in collaboration with lawyers from the firm’s practices in tax, litigation, regulatory and many other areas. If you are involved in the building materials industry, expect seamless service to meet any need.

Providing a special industry focus

Few California law firms can match JMBM’s representation of mining and natural resource companies in environmental matters. Our clients include rock, sand and gravel quarry operations, aggregate mining companies, and producers of cement and ready-mix concrete. We advise them on compliance with all relevant environmental laws—from the Endangered Species Act to the Clean Air and Water Acts. Working closely with the firm’s real estate, environmental and land use lawyers, our team also helps clients negotiate approvals with land use and environmental authorities for reclamation of mining properties, including the creation of California’s first joint powers authority for quarry reclamation.

Getting Results – A big litigation win

JMBM scored a significant victory for the firm's client, CEMEX, Inc., when the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals issued a published opinion in Center for Biological Diversity, et al. v. U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service, and CEMEX, Inc. The Center's lawsuit challenged authorizations by the Service in favor of the Soledad Canyon Sand and Gravel Mining Project, a project proposed by CEMEX, Inc. in Los Angeles County, which was also approved by the U.S. Bureau of Land Management. The underlying action concerned claims relating to alleged failures on the part of the Service in administering the Endangered Species Act (ESA). The Court’s ruling effectively rejected the efforts of the Center to interpret the ESA in a way that would require federal agencies to comply with state law requirements — in this instance, a California law designating certain species as “fully protected” beyond the ESA.

Demonstrating regulatory knowledge

We provide building material clients with an exceptional combination of regulatory, business and litigation experience, applied to a full range of permitting and compliance issues. This not only includes environmental compliance, but also a variety of taxation, zoning and economic-development issues that require negotiation with state and federal agencies. The results of such negotiation can often extend the life of an aggregates or quarrying operation by 30 to 40 years.

We regularly assist building materials companies that have construction operations, particularly those focusing on public highway infrastructure. This experience allows us to provide expert advice on such issues as public contract bids and compliance. We negotiate on behalf of these clients with the California Department of Transportation on everything from project contracting to the regulations that govern ready-mix cement trucks. No matter what your regulatory need, we will represent your interests before administrative agencies throughout the complete permitting and compliance process.

Getting Results – Prevailing against the regulators

JMBM lawyers, acting on behalf of the California Mining Association (CMA), filed suit against the South Coast Air Quality Management District (SCAQMD), challenging its adoption of a new regulation. As part of the settlement, the SCAQMD was required to amend the regulation and allow a high-wind exemption—critical to CMA members and large construction projects throughout Southern California. The change allows facilities to load and transport materials to job sites during rare high-wind events, as long as all other production operations cease and required dust controls are in place.

Property redevelopment

One of our most specialized areas of counsel to the building materials industry is on property reclamation. We have a special focus on properties involved in rock, sand and gravel quarry operations, and aggregate mining. Our work in this area is not typical environmental remediation and cleanup. Rather, it is transaction-oriented, and aimed at positioning properties for useful second lives once their original production activity is complete. If you own such land, you can rely on our help with everything from securing permits and approvals to identifying sources of public and private development financing.

Getting Results – An unprecedented development agreement

After precedent-breaking litigation, JMBM client United Rock Products Corporation and the city of Irwindale, California reached an agreement to extend the life of the Irwindale quarries for 25 years. The transaction is most notable for the creation of a joint powers authority between the city of Irwindale and the Irwindale Reclamation Authority, the first such arrangement ever created in California. Under the arrangement, the joint powers authority contributes millions of public dollars to a fund that is set aside for the eventual reclamation and development of United Rock's (and other operators') quarries in the city.

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