Concerned property owners don't want cement batch plant as neighbor

Aug. 23—They came in numbers, they brought receipts and they had a united message — we don't want you here.

More than a hundred area property owners and a mix of nature and wildlife activists gathered in a crowded conference room at the SpringHill Suites on Monday, Aug. 21 to let representatives from the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality and petitioner Bell Concrete know how they felt about the prospect of a permanent concrete batch plant less than a mile south of the intersection of South Farm-to-Market Road 548 and State Highway 276.

The proposed site for the plant is in unincorporated Rockwall County but in the extraterritorial jurisdiction of the City of Rockwall. It would be the fifth such concrete batch plant in the county and is also within a mile from the announced future Royse City ISD High School No. 3. Another concrete batch plant — operated by JCK Concrete — is already in use across from the planned high school.

Concrete is the second-most-used substance in the world after water and is the most widely used building material. And with progress and growth continuing to spread eastward from Dallas and inner ring suburbs such as Garland and Mesquite comes the need for lots and lots of concrete.

But a small group of neighbors in the extended area around the proposed plant have organized — both on social media and through grassroots boots-on-the-ground efforts — to stop the project dead in its tracks before it even proceeds beyond this initial air quality permit. Monday's meeting was meant to address only that permit.

The project could have to undergo a similar process at the federal, state, county and city levels. Hearings before the TECQ commissioners and possible civil legal action as some speakers at Monday's meeting implied means any construction of the plant is likely months away.

The public notice period began on April 27, 2023. Throughout the comment period, comments, timely contested case hearing requests and public meeting requests were received.

"Staff is currently reviewing all the comments received during the public comment period," said TCEQ media representative Victoria Cann. "The executive director will respond to all comments received by filing a formal Response to Comments."

Cann added that since timely hearing requests were received on the application, once the RTC is filed, the Office of the Chief Clerk will schedule all timely hearing requests and any requests for reconsideration to be considered at a scheduled commission public meeting. If a request for a contested case hearing is granted, the commission will specify the number and scope of factual issues to be referred to the State Office of Administrative Hearings and specify the maximum duration of the hearing.

Texas Health and Safety Code §382.058 provides an opportunity for the public to request a contested case hearing on an application for an air quality standard permit for concrete batch plants and defines an "affected person" as only those persons actually residing in a permanent residence within 440 yards of the proposed plant may request a hearing under §382.056 as a person who may be affected.

But opponents would rather not go through that long process with most preferring that Bell Concrete simply withdraw their permit application and look for an alternate location that doesn't have the impacts they're facing.

Linda Huffstetler, one of those organizing the opposition said Monday's meeting "went better then we hoped for and I'm so proud of the hard work we did to get prepared for this. Now we're waiting to see what TCEQ's decision will be. Our hope is to hear four words from Bell Concrete — 'we withdraw our application.'

"To be clear, we understand how important concrete is but as we expressed last night, this location is the wrong location," Huffstetler said. "The proposed site sits on waterways and flood zone that will pollute all the streams running downstream. This location will affect many people with pre-existing health issues and the wildlife habitat. This will destroy the environment in this area."

She added, "With all the hard work and stress, I do see good coming from this. Our little community is something worth fighting for."

Those rallying against the plant point to several key factors of why they're opposed. Debbie Mechling, another organizer, penned a group statement that she shared at the meeting.

"We come before you today at this public meeting to protest, as a united community and individually, the proposed Bell Concrete batch plant in question," Mechling said. "The location hosts an abundant array of local and transitory wildlife year-round. Many of the residents have been living in this quiet rural area for well over 15 to 20 to even 40 years. We came to this location to enjoy the solitude of being in the country and to enjoy being outdoors in the natural surroundings, the wildlife and the agricultural living this area affords."

Mechling also noted health issues as a prevailing reason to deny the permit.

"In gathering data, we have discovered no less than 49 individual homes that have at least one person with some sort of medical issue that could be affected by the introduction of yet another concrete batch plant," she said. "Our most-beloved neighbor lives directly across the road from this proposed batch plant. His name is Darwin Whiteside ... he's 101 years old and is a proud World War II veteran. His intention is to be the oldest living World War II veteran. It would be a travesty for his health to deteriorate after all he has seen and done in his lifetime simply because Bell Concrete.

Mechling also pointed out there are no less than 18 certified wildlife habitats within the group totaling more than 151 acres. Several residents, she added, have home-based businesses selling products cultivated on their properties and said there are many honey bee apiaries as well. Several residents are also devoted landlords to established purple martin colonies.

"We have rare and endangered species using our lands as their breeding, roosting and hunting grounds," she said. "Both our national bird, the bald eagle and our state bird ,the northern mockingbird have taken up residence on our lands."

According to the EPA, another concern is the concrete washout water (or washwater), a caustic, corrosive slurry containing toxic metals and having a pH near 12.

In comparison, Liquid Drano drain cleaner has a pH of 13.5. Caustic washwater can harm fish gills and eyes and interfere with reproduction. Rainwater polluted with concrete washwater can percolate down through the soil and alter the soil chemistry, inhibit plant growth, and contaminate the groundwater. Its high pH can increase the toxicity of other substances in the surface waters and soils.

Mechling said she and her neighbors have already had to deal with the nearby JCK plant and don't want to exacerbate the environmental hazards. She and others also worry about the cumulative effect of multiple concrete batch plants.

"We were caught unaware of what was coming to our area the first time when JCK erected their plant. Over time, we have seen the unwelcome attributes that a single cement batch plant brings to a community. Now, Bell Concrete — from Sulphur Springs some 53 miles away — wants to come into our collective backyards just one mile down the road from JCK and erect their own competing plant."

Organizers also say they believe Bell Concrete is attempting to get the permit approval fast-tracked before new regulations take effect next year ... in particular, with regard to the cumulative effect neighboring plants and their vehicular emissions would have on any given area.

"Today, we can drive by JCK and see what is potentially coming even closer to our homes and none of it is welcome," Mechling said. "When we consider doubling everything with the introduction of a second plant within a mile, it is just too heartbreaking to bear. Just down the highway there are at least 2 more batch plants...how many do we need in a five-mile stretch within the smallest county in Texas before the TCEQ will put a stop to approving these permits?"

Mechling added, "There is no magic forcefield that will stop concrete plant contaminants and particulates from going any and everywhere the wind blows. Where is the scientific proof that we are going to be safe from the cumulative effects of just one of these plants, let alone all these plants in such proximity? Any time one must drive past this location they will be an 'affected person.' "

Westward Environmental of Boerne, Texas submitted the application in March for the permit on behalf of Bell Concrete, which while based in Sulphur Springs also operates similar concrete batch plants in Greenville and Mt. Pleasant. Monday's public meeting was also the final opportunity for those opposed to the plant to have their comments entered into the official record. The meeting was recorded and TCEQ commissioners will respond to all comments.

The plant would be limited to a maximum production rate of less than 300 cubic yards per hour of concrete, 6,000 cubic yards per day and 1.5 million cubic yards per year. Particulate matter would be emitted from the handling of aggregate, cement and fly ash. Roads would be paved and traffic areas would be watered to control dust, although a Bell representative said watering could happen just once a day.