Public meeting Dec. 10 over proposed Burnet rock crusher
Save Burnet posted a sign near Walgreens in protest of a rock-crushing facility proposed for a site just southwest of the city. A public meeting regarding the project’s air-quality permit application is Dec. 10 at Hill Country Fellowship. Staff photo by Elizabeth De Los Santos
People can ask questions and voice opinions over a rock-crushing facility proposed for a site just southwest of Burnet during a public meeting at 7 p.m. Dec. 10 at Hill Country Fellowship, 200 Houston Clinton Drive in Burnet.
The Texas Commission on Environmental Quality is holding the event to collect formal comments before the state agency makes a final decision on an air-quality permit application from Asphalt Inc., which hopes to build a 715-acre plant at 3221 FM 3509 to extract materials for road base and concrete.
The Burnet-area site is near Camp Longhorn, Delaware Springs Golf Course, and Longhorn Cavern and Inks Lake state parks.
Save Burnet, a group formed to fight the project, is holding a public meeting from 4-7 p.m. Dec. 3 in the Reed Building, 402 E. Jackson St. in Burnet, to help people draft their statements to the TCEQ and practice public speaking.
The Dec. 10 meeting will be attended by representatives from TCEQ, Asphalt Inc., and Westward Environmental Inc. The latter is an environmental consultant group that works with Construction Partners Inc., the company that purchased Asphalt Inc. on Nov. 1. Westward was also the company that wrote the applications for permits for Collier Materials to install two sand plants and two dredging operations in Lake LBJ. Those applications were withdrawn from consideration in October 2023.
The public meeting will be divided into two parts:
- Informal discussion period—People may ask questions to TCEQ staff and Asphalt Inc. representatives. Comments will not be formally recorded.
- Formal comment period—Attendees may submit official statements for public record. Each speaker will have two to three minutes to voice their opinions, which will be reviewed by the TCEQ before a final decision on the air-quality permit.
The public comment period on the pending permit closes the day of the meeting, Dec. 10. Comments may also be made online or delivered by mail, in person, or by fax via information found at the link. When submitting a comment, use permit number 176835.
The rock crusher has had local pushback since plans were announced, including from Save Burnet. The group argues the plant would threaten the area’s economic and cultural integrity as well as cause air, water, and noise pollution.
Save Burnet spokesperson Fermin Ortiz urged residents to attend the Dec. 10 meeting in an emailed reply to DailyTrib.com questions.
“Do you want to be part of a historic pushback against the continued industrialization of our precious Texas Hill Country?” he asked. “Please let your voice be heard. This might be our last chance to save our way of life.”
RECENT ASPHALT INC. PURCHASE
On Nov. 1, Alabama-based firm Construction Partners Inc. acquired Asphalt Inc. for approximately $654 million. In an email that was shared with DailyTrib.com by Save Burnet’s legal representation, Larry Black, CPI wrote a letter stating its presence at the public meeting is unnecessary because Asphalt Inc. is the permit applicant.
“The purpose of the public meeting is to allow for public inquiry and clarification of the details of the application by those directly responsible for it. CPI was not involved in the submission of the application,” said Emlyn Lucas, deputy counsel for CPI.
Lucas added that Asphalt Inc. will operate as a locally managed entity.
“The result of the acquisition transaction is that Asphalt Inc. is now a wholly owned subsidiary and operating company of CPI and is, in fact, our sole platform for serving the state of Texas,” Lucas wrote. “If the Application is approved, Asphalt Inc. will operate the contemplated quarry and plant… .”
However, Black believes a CPI represenative should attend the meeting.
“I have invited them to come tour the site and surrounding area where the plant is proposed and they have declined,” he told DailyTrib.com. “I think if they saw the site on the ground, they would have the same doubts all those around them have.”