John MacCormack Dec. 12, 2018 Updated: Dec. 12, 2018 8:46 p.m.
As expected, the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality on Wednesday granted numerous requests for a contested hearing on an application by Vulcan Construction Materials for an air permit to operate a limestone quarry in Comal County.
If approved, the project would be developed on a 1,500-acre site at the intersection of Texas 46 and FM 3009. It could be operational for 80 years.
The commission also designated 12 people and two organizations as “affected parties,” giving them standing to have their individual concerns addressed in the hearing. It rejected numerous other requests, including those from the Comal Independent School District and the cities of Bulverde and New Braunfels.
“Often the requests were based on issues outside the TCEQ’s jurisdiction, such as concerns about property rights or traffic,” commission Chair Jon Niermann said when explaining some of the rejections.
Other requests for “affected party” status were refused because the issues raised were not distinct from those affecting the general public, he noted.
The opposition group, Friends of Dry Comal Creek, was one of those granted “affected party” status.
“It entitles us to be represented at the table” during the hearings, said Sabrina Houser Amaya, spokesperson for the opposition group.
Both the TCEQ’s executive director and its Office of Public Interest had recommended the application be referred to the State Office of Administrative Hearings.
In granting the requests, the commission on Wednesday gave an administrative judge 180 days to hear evidence to decide nearly 20 specific issues related to the permit application.
They ranged from whether emissions from a large rock crusher that would operate at the site will harm wildlife and humans to the validity of air modeling studies done by Vulcan to whether Vulcan’s compliance history should preclude it from receiving a permit.
No public comment was allowed at Wednesday’s hearing, which was attended by a contingent of about 30 concerned Comal residents. It took only about 10 minutes for the commission to deal with the Vulcan permit application, the first item on the agenda.
At a public hearing in February, which drew nearly 500 people, dozens spoke out against the project. About 600 comments were also made on the TCEQ website.
After Wednesday’s hearing, Amaya said she was disappointed that the commission used only a 1-mile radius around the proposed quarry to determine who got “affected party” status.
She was pleased, however, that Vulcan’s compliance history was added as one of the criteria to be considered by the administrative judge.
“We’re a heavily regulated industry and Vulcan is committed to meeting or exceeding all local, state and federal guidelines and regulations,” he added.
John MacCormack has been covering South Texas and the Mexican border for the past 27 years, first for the Dallas Times Herald and since 1992 for the Express-News.