Texas Commission on Environmental Quality

By Connie Swinney
Staff Writer

When Burnet County Sheriff's Office Deputy Jason Jewett arrives on the site of a public nuisance and illegal dumping case, he continues to be shocked at the level of potential violations involved.

“Somebody was living there,” he said of an abandoned RV surrounded by strewn garbage on Corner Street. “If you drive down the street, it's scary.” …

Special to The Highlander

The Texas Commission on Environmental Quality has approved an updated Water Management Plan that governs how the Lower Colorado River Authority manages lakes Buchanan and Travis.

By Phil Reynolds
Contributing Writer

Llano County commissioners tabled a request to drill monitor wells on a potential pollution site in Kingsland, expressing concerns over whether the wells might spread the pollution, and whether the county had authority to allow drilling on land it doesn’t own. …

UPDATE: As of 2:45 p.m. on Thursday, Nov. 21, the boil water notice has been lifted, according to a statement by the city of Cottonwood Shores.

UPDATE: As of 1:30 p.m. on Wednesday, Nov. 20, crews completed repair of the water main, city officials said. Residents should boil water for the next 24 to 48 hours as the city has water samples sent for testing.

By Connie Swinney
Staff Writer

Knife River, Lhoist, Oldcastle expanding operations on US 281

By Lew K. Cohn and Connie Swinney
The Highlander

By Connie Swinney
Staff Writer

An upcoming public forum will feature a debate among group representatives at odds over the impact and proliferation of the mining industry in the Hill Country.

The event – sponsored by the Austin American Statesman (AAS) and KVUE TV Austin – is scheduled from 6:30 to 8:30 p.m. on Monday, Oct. 7 at the Riverbend Conference Center, 708 1st St. in Marble Falls.

By Connie Swinney
Staff Writer

As authorities closed a portion of Lake LBJ at the 1431 Bridge Aug. 14, Kingsland Municipal Utility District crews installed several hundred feet of new wastewater line which was pummeled by debris and buried under at least 8 feet of sand during the October flood.

“We were doing an emergency wastewater line replacement,” said Anita LaBier, general manager of Kingsland Municipal Utility District (KMUD). “We've had a couple of issues.”

By Lew K. Cohn

Managing Editor

The Highlander

Texas Commission on Environmental Quality officials do not believe a rock-crushing plant south of Marble Falls would have an impact on air quality at Baylor Scott & White Medical Center, according to a letter sent to state Sen. Dawn Buckingham Thursday.

However, the letter also states the TCEQ “does not operate an air quality monitor in the immediate area of the proposed facility” with the closest particulate monitoring station some 25 miles east of the proposed plant site.

Earlier this month, Buckingham, R-Austin, had sent a list of questions to TCEQ executive director Richard A. Hyde PE about the impact the proposed Asphalt Inc. facility would have on air and water quality and how its permit would be enforced prior to a scheduled 7 p.m. Oct. 26 informational meeting about the permit at Lakeside Pavilion in Marble Falls.

Glynis Crawford Smith

The Highlander

According to a notice published in The Highlander Friday, Sept. 1, the southernmost edge of the City of Marble Falls is to be the site of a new rock and concrete crushing plant.

Asphalt, Inc., the company against which the Spicewood Community was unsuccessful in its attempts to block a hot mix plant, has applied for an air permit from the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality (TCEQ). Citizens have just 30 days to submit comments in the process.

The notice comes just as Central Texas-Gateway to the Hill Country Beautification Project has set Saturday, Sept. 9 as the seeding of the intersection of US 281 and Texas 71. Members of that non-profit organization have been working closely with the new Gregg Ranch development.

Both of them are expressing concern already.