KODI SAWIN – CANDIDATE FOR STATE REPRESENTATIVE HOUSE DISTRICT 19 – AGGREGATE MINING OPERATIONS

The Texas Hill Country and the people in Texas House District 19 need elected officials at the Texas Capitol to set up on aggregate mining operations. Legislative session after legislative session, we hear the same miserable, shell-game line, “We think next session it will pass.”

The Texas aggregate industry is vital to the Texas economy and is a big job provider in communities with operations. The following policy priorities outlined below take this into account.

However, while the industry must be able to operate, the Legislature also needs to hold bad actors to account and protect Texas Hill Country communities. Many of the priorities outlined are based on the Texas Legislature’s 2021 House Interim Committee on Aggregate Production Operations (APOs).

(NOTE: As a former member of the Texans for Responsible Aggregate Mining (TRAM) Legislative Committee, I credit TRAM and their members for their leadership in this area—all of my priority issues are based on their research and comprehensive stakeholder work.)

APO POLICY PRIORITIES

Air Quality

The Texas Commission on Environmental Quality (TCEQ) is not required by state law to track real-time air quality data nor maintain fence-line monitors. Because the Texas Legislature neither funds nor requires fence-line monitors, the staff of the TCEQ cannot truly monitor the source or quantity of air pollutants.

Water Use & Availability

Incentivize water usage practices within the aggregates and concrete industry that result in efficient water management strategies to minimize consumption and protect water resources for both industrial and community needs.

The potential for surface and groundwater contamination is real and abundantly evidenced. Seek to implement best management practices to protect all water resources.

Inadequate Planning & Oversight

The Texas Legislature does not require, unlike most states, that APOs to submit Environmental Impact Assessments, mine plans, or reclamation plans. This is weak and unacceptable when protecting communities and our natural resources. Aggregate operations no longer exist in exclusively distant locations removed from population centers. These operations are encroaching on cities and towns. The Texas Legislature must look to best management practices to protect the health and safety of local communities.

Nuisance Issues

Be a good neighbor shouldn’t be too high of a bar for the Texas Legislature. Here are some fixes:  

• Reduce excessive outdoor lighting by installing timers and motion sensor lights, as well as installing shields on all lights to ensure any light emitted is directed downward
• Reduce nuisance noise of backup beepers by using “duck quack” or “white noise” beepers.
• Reduce blasting noise and seismic energy by deploying computer-controlled blasting in quarries to minimize seismic forces leaving their property. The technology (or its equivalent) should be a required best management practice in all APO mines.