In a 7-0 vote at Comal ISD’s June 26 meeting, the school board passed a resolution opposing the construction of Vulcan Quarry, a rock-crushing plant that is being planned near a rapidly growing residential area at Hwy. 46 and FM 3009 in New Braunfels. By taking such action, the school district joins forces with the New Braunfels City Council and the Comal County Commissioners Court, which passed similar resolutions earlier this year.

Last December, the board failed to pass a resolution opposing the quarry on a 3-3 vote, with one abstention.

Comal ISD trustee Cody Mueller said that although the school board does not typically reconsider agenda items, the election of two new trustees, new information received on the issue and the request by two board members put the issue back on the agenda.

“Essentially the board agreed that we supported our community in their concerns about the impact the quarry could potentially have on quality of life, air quality, water quality and traffic conditions/safety,” Mueller said.

“We have two schools that are less than 5 miles away from the proposed quarry. CISD also owns another piece of property in the Vintage Oaks subdivision for a potential future campus.”

Hearing requests from affected parties such as residents, landowners, organizations, counties, cities and school districts will be considered during a 30-day window that will begin a er the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality issues its response to comments, or RTC, on an air quality permit application that was submitted by Vulcan Quarry.

The RTC is a formal process where TCEQ addresses citizen concerns in writing. The RTC could be released by the end of the summer. In a statement, Steve Stanford, executive director of Communications and Governmental Relations for CISD, said the resolution directs the administration to file for a contested case hearing at the appropriate time.