Spicewood Crushed Stone inches closer to quarry in Double Horn
Spicewood Crushed Stone wants to build a quarry on Texas 71 in Double Horn between Doublehorn Estates and Spicewood Trails. Staff photo by Nathan Bush
After nearly four years of quarreling with residents, Spicewood Crushed Stone LLC is once again officially seeking permission to build a 281-acre rock quarry at 5550 Texas 71 between Doublehorn Estates and Spicewood Trails. It originally applied for a permit to build a permanent rock crusher in 2018. It recently applied for issuance of a proposed air quality permit from the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality.
The notice was published June 27. The acceptance of this permit would authorize the construction of the rock crushing plant.
“As far as the county is concerned, we’d prefer rock quarries not be built between subdivisions,” Burnet County Precinct 4 Commissioner Joe Don Dockery said. “Unfortunately, the (Texas) Legislature doesn’t give us much of a say.”
Neighbors of the proposed plant have long complained about possible negative environmental effects, the amount of noise the quarry will generate, and the impact the plant could have on property values. Residents also fear the quarry could have a negative impact on the water supply.
Opposition to the quarry led the Double Horn subdivision to incorporate into a city in 2018 as a means of regulating and hopefully preventing the quarry from being built. The state of Texas sued the newly formed municipality stating that subdivisions could not incorporate.
After bouncing between district court and the Third Court of Appeals, the city entered into an “assurance of voluntary compliance” requiring it to give Attorney General Ken Paxton quarterly reports that it is following state law. Fourteen action items are listed in the assurance of voluntary compliance, including maintaining a physical location for a city hall within the city’s boundaries, undertaking good faith efforts to provide public amenities, sharing road maintenance costs, and generating plans for water and wastewater.
The final quarterly report is due on Aug. 2 when the year-long AVC is scheduled to end.
To make a public comment or request a public hearing, residents must submit requests electronically on the TCEQ public comment online portal or in writing to the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality, Office of the Chief Clerk, MC-105, P.O. Box 13087, Austin, TX 78711-3087. You must use the official permit number 168889L001 when commenting.
“The notification provides residents the opportunity to provide input,” Dockery said. “In the end, the outcome is pretty limited.”