TCEQ hearing held on proposed concrete batch plant

TCEQ (Texas Commission on Environmental Quality) held an air permit hearing on the proposed concrete batch plant, by Lauren Concrete, at 4901 Hwy 290 (just West of Dripping Springs by Dos Lagos), on Monday evening at Dripping Springs Ranch Park.

Lauren Concrete CEO Ryan Bartholomew represented the company at the public comment hearing and took questions from meeting attendees, all of which were opposed to the plant.

TCEQ was represented by Don Nelon, from the Air Permits Division Office of Air, who is processing the plant permit; Colleen Ford, a TCEQ attorney; and Christopher Keffer, a TCEQ environmental investigator.

The meeting was split into two parts. In the first part, audience members were allowed to pose questions directly to Bartholomew and the TCEQ panel. In the second part, audience members were allowed to make oral comments which were recorded and will be added to the public record for the permit. People making a comment for record, will receive written acknowledgements of their public comments, as well as answers to any questions they posed for TCEQ in their comment. During the second portion, panel members listened only, and did not respond to comments.

Despite the hearing being an air permit event, attendees expressed concerned across multiple areas. The bulk of the questions and objections dealt with concerns over air quality, water usage (from wells the company intends to drill), noise form the plant, dark sky lighting concerns, and added traffic to 290.

There was also consistent concern about the lack of air monitors to monitor possible contaminants from the plant.

Bartholomew addressed the concerns by saying that the plant would not be doing any mining on the property, or crushing cement for recycle. Instead the material used on site would “only see the light of day” while being loaded onto trucks, and that various processes would be in place for preventing particles from becoming airborne and leaving he property.

On the issue of noise, the back alarms for their trucks would be replaced with “white noise” alarms, for which the sound should not carry.

On traffic, he estimated daily trucks to range from 5 to 12.

Local resident Tim Cooper raised concerns about his asthma, and possible aggravation from the plant’s dust. He also expressed concern on how particles from the plant could affect his rainwater collection system.

Another resident Martha Eberle expressed concern about the amount of water the facility would be extracting from the aquifer. “There’s only so much water available, and people’s wells are going dry,” Eberle said.

Lynn Sherman, who claimed to be an attorney representing several land owners affected by the application, added to the public comment that Bartholomew had made verbal representations to the audience which should now effectively amend the application. Specifically dealing with limiting the hours of operation from 6 a.m. to 4 p.m., limiting the number of trucks, and agreeing not to mine or develop additional properties around the area.

With the ending of the meeting, so did the period for public comment on the TCEQ air permit application.