Midnight deadline to comment on TCEQ standards for aggregate mining

The Texas Commission on Environmental Quality is accepting public comments until 11:59 p.m. Friday, Jan. 24, on a proposed list of “best management practices” for Texas-based aggregate production operations to follow.
The practices will not be mandatory. They are recommended state standards that would set the bar for responsible operations for mining companies across Texas, if approved.
Best management practices focus on how aggregate production operations, including rock quarries, sand plants, and gravel pits, can reduce dust, waterborne sediment, and pollutants as well as preserve air and water quality around their facilities.
Comments may be made online through the TCEQ comment portal.
The proposed practices can be found on TCEQ’s website, along with reference material for the laws, policies, and regulations that govern aggregate production operations in the state, like Title 30, Chapter 342 of the Texas Administrative Code.
Among TCEQ’s proposed best management practices are recommendations to:
- wet down or cover aggregate material to reduce dust
- stay organized and tidy
- use fuel-efficient equipment
- conduct regular street cleaning
- create buffer zones and setback distances to reduce dust impacts on neighbors
- protect groundwater conditions
Burnet and Llano counties are home to several aggregate production operations, but both have seen staunch, grassroots opposition to adding more in recent years. Permits for a sand plant on Lake LBJ near Kingsland were withdrawn in 2023 after local pushback, and many Burnet County residents are currently battling against a proposed rock crushing facility near Burnet.