FORT WORTH (Fort Worth Star-Telegram) Brandon McElroy and his neighbors have spent the past two months organizing a campaign by selling T-shirts, having fundraising dinners and holding meetings to fight a proposed concrete batch plant near their homes in Rendon.
McElroy, 34, who owns several businesses, said he is devoting as much time as he can to oppose the air quality permit application from J7 Ready Mix. The company, based in Alvarado, wants to build a concrete batch plant at 5428 East FM 1187 between Mansfield and Burleson in unincorporated Tarrant County.
The proposed location is 600 feet from a future intermediate school and 2,600 feet from a future high school in the Mansfield school district.
McElroy is concerned how pollutants and particulates will affect health and safety.
“We don’t mind growth. We don’t mind certain things coming in, but don’t kill us by doing this,” said McElroy, whose home is on Oak Trail Drive, a quiet culdesac are near the proposed site.
Concrete batch plants play a key role in the region’s growth. They combine the cement, water, sand and rocks to create the concrete used for roads and buildings. Because the mixture hardens quickly, the plants must be close to construction projects, according to the Texas Aggregates & Concrete Association.
Residents will have a chance to voice their opinions during a public hearing at 7 p.m. Monday at the Anchora Events Center, 403 E. Broad St. in Mansfield.
During the hearing, people can ask questions and provide comments to the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality and the company that wants to build the plant. No decisions will be made at the meeting.
Asked about the concerns regarding the harmful effects of a concrete plant close to homes and schools, Chad Nerrenn, project manager for the J7 Ready Mix plant said, “We have no comment other than what is in the permit application.”
McElroy, a single father, is devoting as much time as he can to the Stop J7campaign. He formed the nonprofit Green Air Solutions to oppose the plant
McElroy said he found out about the proposed concrete plant on Sept. 11 when he grew curious about a building under construction near his backyard. He went onto the property and was told to leave, McElroy said.
He described seeing a truck with “J7 Ready Mix” written on it. That led him to continue digging for information.
He learned the company didn’t follow the proper procedures for publishing public notices and for providing a copy of the permit application for the public to see.
The notice of deficiency from the TCEQ stated J7 Ready Mix had to file an amended public notice because it published one in the Fort Worth Weekly, which is not considered a general circulation publication by the TCEQ. The notice also stated the permit was available for inspection at the Burleson Public Library, which is in Johnson County, not Tarrant.
A public notice from J7 Ready Mix appeared in the Fort Worth Star-Telegram on Monday.
Tarrant County fire marshal Randy Renois said J7 Ready Mix also did not obtain the necessary building permits before construction started, and that he ordered a stop to the construction of the facility.
“We don’t have anything to do with the controversy between the citizens and the TCEQ,” he said.
“Our deal is that we have a fire code in an unincorporated area,” he said. “You come to us first, get your permit and show us plans and go down the road. They went backwards and started building without a permit.” https://ca7d4fe771a0e03dfb611f93011f02b5.safeframe.googlesyndication.com/safeframe/1-0-40/html/container.html?n=0
McElroy and his neighbors have hired Austin-based attorney Adam Friedman, who was successful in stopping the Bosque Solutions concrete batch plant from being built near Mansfield in 2021. A judge ruled that the company failed to prove it would meet emissions limits set by the TCEQ, particularly when it came to crystalline silica.
Crystallline silica can cause serious respiratory problems, including COPD and lung cancer, according to the National Institutes of Health.
The Environmental Protection Agency states that the air and water pollution from concrete batching plants can have “significant” effects on human and environmental health.
The Mansfield school board will consider a resolution opposing the concrete plant during its meeting at 6 p.m. Tuesday.
“MISD believes manufacturing concrete this close to campuses poses an unnecessary risk to public school students in the community,” the district said in an emailed statement to the Star-Telegram.
State Rep. David Cook, who represents the area where the concrete plant is proposed, said he credits the neighbors for getting involved and organized to oppose the plant.
He was mayor of Mansfield when Bosque Solutions wanted to build a plant outside of the city.
Now, the residents in unincorporated Tarrant County are hoping for the same outcome.
David Smith, 77, who lives next door to McElroy, said he is also worried about the pollution and the potential health risks from living near a concrete batch plant.
“We are only two football fields away from where the company started to build without a permit. It is literally in our backyard,” Smith said.
In order to contest the plant, residents have to be within 440 yards from it, he said.
Smith said he was the first to build his home on Oak Trail over 40 years ago.
“I know this street inside out. I’ve been 42 years here, and I don’t want to be run out,” he said.
Source: https://amp.star-telegram.com/news/local/article282725743.html