Austin, Texas — On September 17, the Senate Committee on Natural Resources met to hear public testimony on cement production plants (hearing recording). This was in response to Lt. Governor Dan Patrick’s moratorium on all cement permits after a proposed 600-acre cement plant and limestone quarry proposed by Black Mountain Cement threatened the GlobalWafers semiconductor chip manufacturing plant near Sherman, Texas. During the hearing, the Committee, chaired by Senator Birdwell, heard testimony from state agencies, community advocates, industry representatives, and environmental organizations.
Early in the hearing, Texas Commission on Environmental Quality (TCEQ) Chair Jon Neirmann testified that “TCEQ does not regulate quarries,” which appeared to come as a surprise to the Senators on the dais, although members of Texans for Responsible Aggregate Mining (TRAM), a coalition of groups that are impacted by quarries in their communities, have long known this to be the case. While the TCEQ does regulate rock crushers, a specific piece of machinery which are often found at quarries, the quarry operations themselves—blasting bedrock with explosives and moving rock and dirt around the site—are not regulated, with a few exceptions along sections of the Brazos and South Llano Rivers, areas known as “Scenic Riverways.”
At the hearing, TRAM members and others from across the state testified on the impacts of the aggregates industry, specifically cement plants and rock quarries, and made suggestions for improvements.
The impacts of aggregate mining
The impacts of quarries and other aggregate production operations (APOs) fall across seven key issues: Air quality; water use and availability; surface and groundwater contamination; inadequate planning and oversight, which leads to abandoned open pits, among other problems; truck traffic and road safety; nuisance issues like noise, light, and odor; and economic impacts on local communities.
Legislative solutions
TRAM offers reasonable and achievable solutions to these issues and points out that most states have put solutions into place by extending the U.S. Surface Mining Control and Reclamation Act (SMCRA), to the aggregates industry. Congress passed SMCRA in 1977 to regulate surface mining for fuel minerals like coal and uranium. Since then, most states have applied the same rules to mining for non-fuel minerals, like limestone in quarries. Texas is one of the few states that has not, although the Texas Railroad Commission does enforce SMCRA for coal and uranium. As Senator Blanco (District 29) commented, seemingly taken aback during the hearing, “There is no state agency that regulates non-fuel mineral resources. We are extremely non-fuel mineral-rich, but there is currently no agency that regulates that.”
Besides extending SMCRA to apply to aggregate mining, TRAM identifies other worthy ways to address the impacts of the industry’s activities. The Legislature has already directed the TCEQ to develop a list of best practices for quarries, and the agency reports that they are currently working on that. But, according to the current laws, quarry operators will not be required or incentivized to adopt the best practices TCEQ identifies. The Legislature should direct the TCEQ to require the adoption of some or all of those practices.
Towards the end of the hearing, TRAM’s Secretary Cliff Kaplan proposed one solution that had not yet been suggested to the Senators on the Committee but that would have potentially resolved the land use conflict between the microchip manufacturer and the cement plant and associated quarry near Sherman, TX: “Counties have input on the siting of landfills. Of course, every community needs a landfill, and nobody wants it in their backyard so counties have a role to play there. And maybe they [should] have a similar role to play when it comes to quarries.” Had counties had the ability to indicate where quarries should be located within their jurisdictions, perhaps Black Mountain Cement, Lt. Governor Patrick, and the local community in and around Sherman would have been spared a great deal of money, energy, and concern.
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Note: Additional key quotes from the Senate hearing below.
CONTACT: Cliff Kaplan, Secretary, Texans for Responsible Aggregate Mining (TRAM)
cliff@hillcountryalliance.org, 512-387-3097
Texans for Responsible Aggregate Mining (TRAM), a coalition composed of member groups across the state, seeks to work with lawmakers, state agencies, and good-faith industry operators to create state standards for best management practices in the aggregates and concrete industries. TRAM’s 24 member organizations represent 40 counties where the aggregates and concrete industries have dramatically expanded to meet the state’s rapid growth. Learn more at www.tramtexas.org.