At its March 12 regular meeting, New Braunfels City Council approved a resolution that urges the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality to consider resident concerns when deliberating an air-quality permit that would authorize the construction and operation of a rock quarry at Hwy. 46 and FM 3009.

“I placed this on the agenda at the request of a number of individuals,” New Braunfels Mayor Barron Casteel said.

Casteel said that because the quarry would be located outside the city’s extraterritorial jurisdiction, the city has no authority over land use. Therefore he said the TCEQ is the regulatory arm that would have to approve the permit, and any requirement changes would have to be done through the state Legislature.

“We put in that we politely requested that our state Senator Donna Campbell, as well as our state Representative Kyle Biedermann, would heed the many comments of those who are concerned about this project and enact legislation appropriate to either increase those standards or to provide the county of Comal the authority to make rules and regulations that were consistent with what is being requested by the citizens of Comal County and the city of New Braunfels,” Casteel said.

The resolution comes after a Feb. 27 public meeting held by the TCEQ at which around 500 Comal County residents expressed what the resolution calls “valid concerns” surrounding a rock-crushing plant that could be constructed in a fast-growing residential area. The quarry would be operated by Vulcan Materials Co.

The resolution requests that the health, safety and welfare of all citizens be considered in all operations at the proposed site, “including but not limited to air emissions, water usage and water protection, water run-off and increased traffic.”