TCEQ and Vulcan Construction Materials file appeal in bid to overturn ruling against air-quality permit for Comal County quarry

The ongoing legal battle surrounding a proposed 1,500-acre quarry owned by Vulcan Construction Materials, LLC has been taken to the 3rd Court of Appeals.

Vulcan and the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality filed an appeal on April 30 after a judge in the 459th District Court in Travis County called for the TCEQ’s approval of an air permit previously granted to Vulcan to be reversed.

On Dec. 8, Judge Maya Gamble heard a lawsuit filed by concerned citizens groups Friends of Dry Comal Creek and Stop 3009 Vulcan Quarry that aimed to reverse the November 2019 approval.

The citizen’s groups raised concerns that the new facility could increase air pollution, pose a threat to the Edwards Aquifer or lead to decreased property values in nearby neighborhoods, according to a press release from Stop 3009 Vulcan Quarry.

Gamble’s March 5 ruling stated the TCEQ’s determination that the proposed plant’s crystalline silica emissions would not negatively impact human health was not supported by substantial evidence.

Additionally, the judge ruled that Vulcan's air-dispersion modeling did not adequately account for cumulative affects of road emissions, and the company’s emissions calculations were not representative of the site.

According to the Texas Judicial Branch website, the appellants filed necessary docketing statements and submitted filing fees on May 10 and are required to submit an appellant brief to the court by June 14. A hearing date has not been set for the case.