Texas bill intended to stop Burnet-area rock crusher rolls forward

A bill aimed at protecting Longhorn Cavern State Park, Inks Lake State Park, and Camp Longhorn from nearby aggregate mining has moved to the Texas House of Representatives for debate.

House Bill 5151, authored by Rep. Terry Wilson, was passed out of the House Environmental Regulation Committee on May 1 with a unanimous 9-0 vote following an April 24 public hearing that drew passionate testimony from Burnet County residents, summer campers, and conservation advocates. 

Introduced in March of this year, HB 5151 would prohibit rock-crushing and other aggregate production operations within 4 miles of state parks and lakes managed by a Texas river authority and within 2 miles of licensed youth camps—restrictions designed specifically to block a proposed Asphalt Inc. facility off of Hoover Valley Road in Burnet County.

Wilson, who previously represented Burnet County before redistricting in 2022, described the measure as a narrowly focused effort to protect a uniquely sensitive area.

“We need concrete. We need stone to build our roads and homes,” Wilson told the committee during the April 24 hearing. “But while we build and dig, we cannot lose sight of why folks from all over the world visit this location.”

With committee approval secured, HB 5151 goes to the full Texas House for consideration during the 2025 legislative session. If it passes there, it will proceed to the state Senate, where it must be assigned to a committee, receive a public hearing, and secure majority approval. If passed by both chambers, it will be sent to Gov. Greg Abbott’s desk for his signature to become law.

You can view the May 1 committee meeting on the Texas House website.

elizabeth@thepicayune.com