With comment period over, LCRA considers Burnet quarry permit

At 5 p.m. May 13, the Lower Colorado River Authority closed public comments on a Highland Lakes Watershed Ordinance permit application for a proposed rock quarry in Burnet County, just southwest of the city of Burnet. The LCRA will now decide whether to grant the permit, taking into account the thoughts and concerns of residents who attended a public meeting in Burnet on Tuesday.

Several LCRA representatives were at the Burnet Community Center to record in-person comments that will be added to the ones submitted online.

“(Local) input is important to us, and we want to make sure that we are respectful of that and provide an ample opportunity for them to provide their comment,” LCRA Executive Vice President of Water John Hofmann told DailyTrib.com at the meeting. 

With residents’ concerns in hand, the LCRA will determine if the quarry permit application requires more scrutiny.

“We don’t have the market cornered on intelligence or information,” Hofmann continued. “Somebody might come in with (an issue) that we haven’t anticipated or something that we haven’t seen.”

The LCRA is specifically focused on regulating water quality as it pertains to the Highland Lakes Watershed Ordinance. This policy is primarily related to stormwater runoff, which the LCRA considers the largest source of pollution in the Highland Lakes. The ordinance requires proper management of erosion, buffer zones to impede run-off, and permanent systems to minimize sediment migration from the site.

The permit applicant, Asphalt Inc. (which does business as Lone Star Paving in the greater Austin area) has gone back and forth with the LCRA on its permit application since Jan. 2 when it first applied. As part of the process, LCRA staff review applications and raise concerns that must be addressed before a permit can be approved. 

The public correspondence between the LCRA and Asphalt Inc. can be found here.

According to a May 2 letter from the LCRA to the company, the application is mostly complete, save for questions about water storage, sediment control, and management of a proposed 40-acre processing facility on the property.

The proposed quarry in question would be built on about 700 acres at 3221 FM 3509, better known as Hoover Valley Road. The project first reared its head for Burnet County residents in September 2024 when Asphalt Inc. applied for an air-quality permit with the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality. Despite heavy public protest, the TCEQ approved that permit on May 7.

RESIDENTS’ CONCERNS

Several members of the grassroots environmental activist organization Save Burnet were at the LCRA open meeting to offer information and context for attendees and voice their own concerns about the proposed rock-crushing facility.

“I won’t be able to sit on my porch and drink a coffee or have a cold beer in the evening, and my wife is highly allergic to dust,” said Save Burnet member John Braun, a potential neighbor to the quarry. “It’s important that people understand that it’s not just affecting the neighbors exactly by it. It’s going to affect the Longhorn Caverns, Inks lake, and it’s also going to affect Camp Longhorn.”

Braun, who lives a quarter-mile from the proposed quarry site, was referring to the close proximity of Longhorn Cavern State Park, Inks Lake State Park, and Camp Longhorn, which are all within 5 miles of 3221 FM 3509.

“This is our last opportunity to voice our concerns to the LCRA,” said Save Burnet member Fermin Ortiz. “We can’t replace these treasured sites. There will not be a second Longhorn Caverns if this blasting above the caverns drops them in.”

Protests extended beyond the Save Burnet members. While the Burnet County Commissioners Court has little to no say on the quarry, the court unanimously filed a resolution asking the LCRA to deny Asphalt Inc.’s permit application during its regular meeting Tuesday.

dakota@thepicayune.com