Collier seeks air permit for Sunrise Beach plant
By Lew K. Cohn
Managing Editor
The Highlander
A Llano County commissioner is holding a town hall meeting Tuesday, June 19, at the Kingsland Library to discuss a possible new portable rock crushing operation at Sunrise Beach Village off Texas 71.
The meeting will be held from 5:30 p.m. to 7:30 p.m. at the library, 125 Polk Street, Kingsland. All interested residents are invited to attend this event, which is being hosted by Precinct 3 Commissioner Mike Sandoval.
The newly proposed Llano County operation would be located 1.3 miles east of the intersection of Texas 71 and Ranch Road 2233, near the Sandy Creek Bridge, Sandoval said. The company already has another similar rock crusher in Llano County.
The initial request for a 10-year air quality permit, number 152092L001, was submitted to the TCEQ on May 25 and was found to be “administratively complete” on May 30. A public notice was filed in a Llano County newspaper on June 6 and a 30-day public comment period began June 6.
“In my opinion this is not good for the environments of Sandy Creek, Sunrise Beach Village, and the Kingsland area,” Sandoval said.
The rock crushing operation also will be similar to one built north of Marble Falls by Collier Materials. Earlier this year, the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality gave final approval to an air quality permit for a 300-ton enclosed rock crusher in Tobyville.
In a response to public comments about the Tobyville site, TCEQ executive director Richard Hyde said his agency found “adverse short-or long-term health effects for the general public, including sensitive subgroups such as children, the elderly, or persons with preexisting medical conditions; animal life; crops; vegetation; or buildings are not expected as a result of exposure to the proposed emissions. In addition, adverse health effects are not expected for persons living on or visiting nearby properties.
"As part of the permit evaluation process, the permit reviewer audits all sources of air contaminants at the proposed facility, assures that the facility will be using the best available control technology (BACT) applicable for the sources and types of contaminants emitted, and determines that no adverse effects to public health, general welfare, or physical property are expected to result from a facility's proposed emissions," Hyde wrote.
"The TCEQ cannot deny a permit if the applicant demonstrates that all applicable statutes, rules, and regulations will be met."
During an Oct. 24, 2017, informational meeting on the Tobyville plant, CollierMaterials Inc. vice president Kevin Colliersaid his company could be finished working their 4601 Ranch-to-Market Road 1980 site "within two to three years" if their air quality permit for the crusher was approved and 10 years if it was not.
It is unclear how long Collier would operate this new crushing plant in Sunrise Beach if approved for an air quality permit.
