New Braunfels Quarry Opponents Continue Fighting Company in Courts and Community
New Braunfels Herald-Zeitung
November 26, 2021
Longtime resident Helgard Hollis has lived in her home for decades and does not plan to go anywhere soon. Hollis, who immigrated from Germany, said she is concerned about a possible construction of a quarry near her home. She said the quarry would impact both nearby and surrounding areas, from air to water pollution. “I think everybody in New Braunfels should be concerned,” Hollis said. “I live a long way away but it affects us….”
The Cost of Hill Country Quarries: As Quarries Expand in the Hill Country, Landscapes and Homeowners Pay the Price
San Antonio Express-News
October 6, 2021
The Hill Country is considered a jewel of Texas—a landscape of rolling hills, creeks, rivers, natural springs and striking rock formations that spans 17 counties. Today, the region is under pressure as never before—from stone quarries. Quarry operators cut down trees and blast holes in the earth to dig up and crush rock for the construction of new roads and homes. The $10 billion industry thrives in the Hill Country because of its rich store of limestone and other resources. The region is home to 142 quarries. Bexar County has the most: 27. And they are taking a toll on the environment. Hill Country quarries have dumped sediment into waterways and sent plumes of potentially hazardous dust into neighborhoods, a San Antonio Express-News investigation found. The violations have spoiled pristine waterways and threatened the Edwards Aquifer, the region’s prime source of drinking water….
From Garden Ridge to New Braunfels, ‘Quarry Row’ Has Residents Demanding Stricter Regulation
San Antonio Express-News
October 6, 2021
Mark Friesenhahn, a former ExxonMobil adviser, inherited a slice of the Hill Country surrounded by “Quarry Row.” The proliferation of quarries has altered more than the landscape. It’s changed Friesenhahn’s worldview.
Quarry Should Be Opposed
New Braunfels Herald-Zeitung
September 25, 2021
Attention! Achtung! This concerns all residents of New Braunfels. The [Texas Commission on Environmental Quality] and Vulcan Materials filed their appellant briefs before the Third Court of Appeals, attempting to reverse the decision of District Court Judge Maya Guerra Gamble. We need to stop Vulcan Materials from building their Quarry on FM 3009. One hundred and fifty diesel trucks on Texas Highway 46 and FM 3009, will negatively affect traffic. The carcinogenic dust will be every where. The Quarry is close to the Edwards Aquifer. Vulcan would not only use millions of gallons of water in their daily rock operation, they could also pollute our water source….
TCEQ Seeks Extension to Appeal Air Permit Case
New Braunfels Herald-Zeitung
June 21, 2021
The Texas Commission on Environmental Quality is asking for an extension to appeal a decision blocking a quarry’s air permit. The Texas Commission on Environmental Quality did not file the appeal by the June 14 deadline, but the Third Court of Appeals granted its motion requesting a 39-day extension. Vulcan Materials, the company trying to build the quarry between New Braunfels and Bulverde at State Highway 46 and Farm-to-Market Road 3009, and TCEQ filed a notice of appeal on April 30 over a district court decision which struck down their air quality permit….
Quarry Lawsuit Set to Return to the Courtroom
New Braunfels Herald-Zeitung
May 31, 2021
A company trying to put a 1,500-acre limestone quarry between New Braunfels and Bulverde, and the state agency that granted them an air quality permit, plan to appeal a recent court decision that would block their progress. Vulcan Materials and the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality filed a notice of appeal on April 30 over a district court decision which struck down their air quality permit….
TCEQ and Vulcan Construction Materials File Appeal in Bid to Overturn Ruling Against Air-Quality Permit for Comal County Quarry
Community Impact Newspaper
May 26, 2021
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 December 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….
Vulcan Appealing Ruling that Blocked Quarry in Comal County
San Antonio Express-News
May 24, 2021
Alabama-based Vulcan Construction Materials LLC is appealing a Texas judge’s decision in March that blocked its proposed quarry north of San Antonio. The site in Comal County is near a number of new country subdivisions sprinkled among the rolling hills of live oak and ash juniper trees. It is less than 10 miles from the Bracken Bat Cave, home to the world’s largest colony of Mexican freetail bats, and about 3 miles from Natural Bridge Caverns. Neighbors say the quarry would harm the environment and their quality of life. They have have waged a legal battle for more than four years to stop it….
TCEQ, Vulcan Appeal Judge’s Decision To Vacate Air-Quality Permit for Quarry
myCanyonLake.com
May 20, 2021
The Texas Commission on Environmental Quality (TCEQ) and Alabama-based Vulcan Materials are appealing a district court judge’s ruling that remands and vacates the air-quality permit Vulcan needs to turn a former ranch in central Comal County into a 1,500-acre open-pit limestone quarry and rock-crushing plant….
Environmental Groups Celebrate Judge’s Final Order Vacating Quarry Air-Quality Permit
myCanyonLake.com
April 5, 2021
Community activist groups last week thanked Travis County Court Judge Maya Guerra Gamble for remanding and vacating an air-quality permit the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality (TCEQ) granted to Vulcan Materials in 2019….
Approval of Air-Quality Permit for Vulcan Quarry in Comal County Reversed in District Court
Community Impact Newspaper
April 1, 2021
Progress on a proposed quarry owned by Vulcan Construction Materials, LLC has stalled after a judge in the 459th District Court in Travis County ruled in favor of concerned Comal County citizen groups. The lawsuit, filed Feb. 14, 2020, by Friends of Dry Comal Creek and Stop 3009 Vulcan Quarry against the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality, aimed to reverse the TCEQ’s November 2019 approval of air-quality permits submitted by Vulcan for its proposed rock-crushing facility. Plaintiffs and area residents raised concerns the new facility could increase area air pollution, pose a threat to the Edwards Aquifer or lead to decreased property values in nearby neighborhoods….
Texas Environmental Agency Waits After Vulcan Quarry Opponents Win Court Battle
New Braunfels Herald-Zeitung
March 18, 2021
The Texas Commission on Environmental Quality says it can’t say anything about a recent district court ruling that handed opponents to Vulcan Quarry a rare victory against the agency tasked with protecting the state’s land and water. The nonprofit Stop 3009 Vulcan Quarry and the Friends of Dry Comal Creek sued the agency in December after it granted Vulcan Materials an air quality permit to operate the proposed 1,500-acre limestone quarry at State Highway 46 and Farm-to-Market Road 3009 between New Braunfels and Bulverde….
Judge Stops Planned 1,500-Acre Quarry Near Bracken Bat Cave
San Antonio Express-News
March 16, 2021
A group of Comal County residents has won a big battle in a four-year legal fight to stop a proposed quarry north of San Antonio that they say will harm the environment and their quality of life. State District Judge Maya Guerra Gamble of Travis County earlier this month threw out a prior decision by the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality, saying the regulatory agency acted arbitrarily or capriciously in granting an air quality permit to Alabama-based Vulcan Construction Materials LLC….
Court Decision Puts Damper on Hill Country Quarry
San Antonio Business Journal
March 16, 2021
Some Comal County citizens won a ruling that a proposed limestone quarry be given a second look by the state’s environmental regulator. A Travis County judge revoked a permit this month that would have put Vulcan Materials Co. closer to placing a limestone quarry north of San Antonio. Judge Maya Guerra Gamble ruled against the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality on March 5, telling the agency it made several mistakes in granting an air quality permit to Vulcan. The company is seeking to dig up limestone on a 1,500-acre site in the Hill Country between New Braunfels and Bulverde. It is also proposing to crush the limestone on-site, which can be used as a construction material….
Opinion: Rep. Biedermann Praises Judge for Reversing and Vacating Vulcan’s Air-Quality Permit
myCanyonLake.com
March 11, 2021
Judge Maya Gamble, of the 459th District Court, ruled on Friday, March 5, to reverse and vacate the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality (TCEQ) granting of an air quality permit for Vulcan Materials is substantial and critical to the citizens of Comal County and other areas around the State of Texas….
Approval of Air-Quality Permit for Comal County’s Vulcan Quarry Reversed in District Court
Community Impact Newspaper
March 9, 2021
A judge in the 459th District Court in Travis County has ruled in favor of concerned citizen groups more than one year after filing a lawsuit opposing a proposed quarry owned by Vulcan Construction Materials LLC. The lawsuit, filed Feb. 14, 2020, by Friends of Dry Comal Creek and Stop 3009 Vulcan Quarry against the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality, aimed to reverse the TCEQ’s November 2019 approval of air-quality permits submitted by Vulcan for its proposed rock-crushing facility….
Judge Strikes Down Air Quality Permit for Proposed 1,500-Acre Limestone Quarry in Comal County
myCanyonLake.com
March 6, 2021
Opponents of a proposed 1,500-acre open-pit limestone quarry between New Braunfels and Bulverde scored a “monumental” victory on Friday when an Austin judge struck down an air-quality permit Alabama-based Vulcan Construction Materials needed to proceed with the controversial project….
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