Preserve our Hill Country Environment (PHCE) dba Friends of Dry Comal Creek and Stop 3009 Vulcan Quarry filed a petition for review with the Texas Supreme Court (TSC). We asked that the TSC review the Third Court of Appeals decision to reverse the trial court’s judgment remanding Vulcan Construction Materials air permit application back to the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality (TCEQ).
The court chose to ignore and dispose of our petition. We asked and were granted an Extension of Time to consider submitting a Motion for Rehearing. Our deadline for filing was November 13, 2023. The PHCE board of directors (BOD) voted unanimously to not pursue a “Motion for Rehearing” at the Texas Supreme Court.
After speaking with our attorneys, we felt it would be more prudent and beneficial to our cause to pursue different avenues. The time, money, and resources that PHCE and all of our affected parties, volunteers, supporters, and donors have invested should be spent tackling water issues, the WPAP, and perhaps following through at the federal level.
The most likely next step for Vulcan is to obtain a Water Pollution Abatement Plan (WPAP). Of the utmost concern, White Ranch sits entirely atop the Edwards Aquifer Recharge Zone (EARZ). Fortunately, Vulcan must prepare and apply for a WPAP under the TCEQ’s Edwards Aquifer Protection Plan (EAPP).
The EAPP outlines the best management practices that will be implemented and maintained to reduce the amount of contaminants reaching the Edwards Aquifer. The WPAP has numerous components and requirements that must be satisfied before TCEQ will deem the application administratively complete. Once complete, the TCEQ will start the technical review process.
This process kicks off notification to affected cities, counties, and groundwater conservation districts, and the 30-day public comment period begins. The process repeats itself . . .
We are now in a fight for water!
- Texas Supreme Court Petition for Review (July 31, 2023)
