Save Burnet goes public 

A massive rock quarry is still in the works just outside of Burnet, and a local group is still fighting it every step of the way. Now, Save Burnet is inviting the public to participate in the battle, kicking off a series of monthly open meetings.

The inaugural Save Burnet open meeting is slated for 6 p.m. on Wednesday, March 18, at the Texas A&M AgriLife Extension Office, 607 N. Vanderveer Street in Burnet. 

Save Burnet has been meeting for over 18 months, organizing an ongoing defense against the proposed 715-acre Asphalt Inc. rock quarry on Hoover Valley Road, about 6.5 miles southwest of Burnet. The quarry has drawn considerable community backlash due to its potential impacts on air quality, groundwater, and local traffic, and its close proximity to children’s summer camp Camp Longhorn, Longhorn Cavern State Park, and Inks Lake State Park, which are all within 3 miles of the proposed quarry site.  

“There are a lot of people out there saying ‘it’s a done deal’ and ‘you can’t fight back,’” Save Burnet founder Randy Printz told DailyTrib. “That is not true. It is not over. It is far from over.”

Printz explained that this inaugural meeting would focus on bringing the public up to speed on what has happened with the quarry so far, what is happening now, and what to look out for in the future. 

Representatives are expected to attend the meeting from the offices of Texas District 24 Senator Pete Flores and Texas House District 19 Representative Ellen Troxclair. Burnet Mayor Gary Wideman, Burnet County Precinct 1 Commissioner Jim Luther, and Burnet County Judge Bryan Wilson are all also expected to attend.

Future meetings will likely feature guest speakers, specific calls to action, and strategy sessions on how to move forward in opposition to the quarry. 

Printz noted that one of his primary concerns about the project was that it was backed by Alabama-based corporation Construction Partners Inc., which owns Asphalt Inc., a company that does business in Central Texas as Lone Star Paving.

“It’s not right to have an outside company come out here and take advantage,” he said.

Keep up with Save Burnet through its Facebook page and its website.

Background

Asphalt Inc.’s rock quarry has been on the public radar since the summer of 2024, when hundreds of local residents gathered for an official protest at the Hill Country Fellowship church in Burnet.

Resistance remained steady as Asphalt Inc. pursued, and eventually acquired, an air quality permit from the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality in February 2025 and a water quality permit from the Lower Colorado River Authority in June 2025.

Now, one of the final steps remaining in the quarry’s path to approval is a groundwater-use permit from the Central Texas Groundwater Conservation District. As of this article’s publication, Asphalt Inc. has not filed its official application to acquire a permit, but they are in discussions with the district.

Local and state representatives have expressed their opposition to the quarry, but met with their own resistance in some cases. HD 19 Rep. Troxclair attempted to pass legislation in May 2025 that would have hindered or stopped the quarry, but she was shot down by an especially tenacious South Texas representative, Terry Canales, who repeatedly challenged Troxclair’s bill and delayed its passage, causing it to miss a crucial deadline. 

According to Transparency USA, Canales had received about 17.93 percent of his campaign donations, or $61,000, from the Associated General Contractors of Texas PAC, which is dedicated to advocating for the highway construction industry. 

dakota@thepicayune.com