Cheryl and I went to the TCEQ meeting in Liberty Hill on Tuesday, Aug. 29. The (good sized) room was pretty well packed, and there was additional seating outside with a good sound system and comfy folding chairs set up.

The TCEQ folks were there, as well as the owner of the rock crushing operation, Wilco Agregates. The meeting was divided into two parts, first, questions, and then formal comments which were read into the record. The permit under consideration dealt strictly with AIR quality, and the TCEQ folks who were there were from the air quality division. Water was only dealt with in passing, noting that the several proposed wells could only provide a fraction of the water required for keeping dust down. Water issues were, nonetheless, the 500 lb gorilla in the room, and the water issue was brought up several times. The crushing operation intends to get most of its water from ponds, and several people pointed out that no one has any ponds with water in them this time of year.

Among the strongest points made by attendees brought up the observation that the request for “expedited” consideration of the permit smelled decidedly fishy. The law requires that public notice be given via local public libraries and in general circulation publications. One participant, who worked at a local library, noted that they’d been given a “packet” of information, with no instructions as to what to do with it except “hang on to it”, and when asked for it by interested citizens, couldn’t find it. Another person noted that he’d gone to a local publication, which was supposed to have published the requisite information, and asked where their distribution points for the publication were. The publication folks had no idea! The bottom line is that the whole concept of “public notice” relies on concepts of information distribution that are 50 or more years old, and totally predate the digital revolution. Small-town print newspapers are in general struggling and dying as the public moves toward getting its news digitally. Nextdoor, while far from perfect, would be an appropriate place to publish such public notice, even though it might still only reach a subset of our citizens – those who have Internet and are subscribed to ND – probably far better than many hard-copy local print media.

So there were a number of formal requests that the “expedited permit” request be denied, and that a more formal contested approval process be started instead, and that appropriate public notice of meetings be given sufficiently in advance to enable robust public participation. A number of people who live near existing rock crushing facilities spoke up saying that dust-suppression operations are woefully inadequate with them, and that trees, houses, vehicles, etc. are often covered in dust. Others pointed out that the proximity of the proposed facility, Wilco Aggregates, near Liberty Hill will be adjacent to the Balcones Canyonlands National Wildlife Refuge, and the welfare of trees and wildlife in this area may well be impacted, given the likelihood that this operation will indeed produce copious amounts of airborne dust.

There was a general sentiment in questions and comments toward an attitude of “hold on, let’s step back and take a closer look at this, and do it RIGHT”. And there was much applause for the people who expressed this, many of whom were well versed professional folks and well educated on the subject.

TCEQ has extended the date for public comments until Sept. 23rd. Please check the TCEQ website and note permit #169044L001,

I should note that unlike many parts of Texas, our areas of Travis and Williamson counties have no formal groundwater conservation district organization (thank you! Texas state legislature!). These organizations, where they’re established, have teeth in them and can enforce regulations regarding well drilling and the use of water from them.

So here’s a link to an article on the subject: https://www.kxan.com/investigations/williamson-county-homeowners-concerned-about-growing-rock-crushing-operations/

And for those of you who want it, the TCEQ WATER Division can be reached at 512-239-6696.