The city of Fair Oaks Ranch received confirmation on Wednesday from the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality and from representatives of Elm Creek Environmental and Bobcat Trucking Inc. that the company officially has withdrawn its application for an air quality standard permit.
A stop work order at the site on Dietz Elkhorn Road remains in place for Bobcat Trucking pending final resolution of the issue and coordination between the company and the city, information from Fair Oaks Ranch stated.
Bobcat Trucking was trying to obtain the permit to operate a permanent rock and concrete crusher on property on Dietz Elkhorn Road near the Ralph Fair Road intersection. The permit was needed for the crusher.
Information published in a legal notice appearing in The Boerne Star on February 8 gave notice of the permit application. Last Friday, Feb. 11, FOR’s permitting and development team met with the president of Bobcat Trucking. The meeting was scheduled because of the stop work order the city issued earlier that week.
“The purpose of the meeting was to vet the proposed use of the property, their TCEQ application and exchange information regarding the city’s development regulations,” Fair Oaks Ranch information stated. “As indicated in the city’s previous public service announcement, local municipal approvals and permits were never requested or obtained.”
Additional information from Fair Oaks Ranch stated that during the meeting Bobcat Trucking detailed its business model and operation, inclusive of its application for an air quality standard permit from TCEQ. City officials also detailed FOR’s development process as prescribed by the municipality’s Unified Development Code (UDC).
According to earlier information from FOR about its UDC, City Manager Tobin Maples can make a determination of use and zoning classification based on the interpretation of the intent and spirt of the zoning ordinance as adopted by the city council.
“Based on the information provided by Bobcat Trucking, the city manager issued a determination that the proposed permanent rock and concrete crusher operation is not an allowable use within the city limits, regardless of zoning district,” FOR stated late last week. “Bobcat Trucking has been notified accordingly and the stop work order remains in place.”
In the coming days, Fair Oaks Ranch officials said they expect some additional truck traffic because of coordinated efforts between the city and Bobcat Trucking to remove its equipment from the site.
“We are pleased to be nearing the end of this process,” Maples said. “We greatly appreciate the diligence of residents who communicated their concerns to TCEQ and to the city. I look forward to coordinating with Bobcat Trucking to assist with their prompt and amicable plan to transition out of Fair Oaks Ranch.”
The city has been notified that anyone who submitted comments through the TCEQ general comment webpage will receive a letter from TCEQ notifying them that the application has been withdrawn, the FOR information stated.
When the legal notice was published in The Star, information from the city stated it was continuing to use due diligence in investigating the TCEQ application and current use of the property. That same afternoon, the city issued the stop work order to the business owner as well as the owner of the property.
“The determination to issue the stop work order was based on the fact that proper local municipal approvals and permits have not been obtained,” the city stated.
The original FOR information stated the order was effective immediately.
The city’s information did state the application originally was submitted to TCEQ on January 13 by Elm Creek Environmental LLC on behalf of Bobcat Trucking Inc.
The city stated it will continue to share details with the community as final details emerge.
A rock crusher breaks larger rocks or concrete down into cobblestones, gravel or other smaller pieces, information on the TCEQ website states. Those smaller pieces are sorted by size so they can be used for pavement, construction and other uses.
The TCEQ information also states there are two types of authorizations for a rock-crushing plant. Large plants are authorized by New Source Review permits while smaller plants are authorized by a standard permit, which limits the size and operation of the rock-crushing plant.
“We receive the most questions about smaller plants,” TCEQ stated, adding a typical crusher authorized by a standard permit may have a primary crusher to break large rocks into chunks, a secondary crusher to break those chunks down into smaller pieces, two screening units to separate the crushed rock by size, conveyors to carry materials from stockpiles to the crushers, stockpiles of rock and crushed rock and diesel-powered generators.
The Star reached out to Elm Creek Environmental LLC for comment, but was unsuccessful.
Information from TCEQ stated rock and concrete crushers produce dust, “and blowing dust could be a nuisance.
“Also, the exhaust from diesel engines contains soot, which is a type of particulate matter small enough to get past the natural protection our bodies have for our airways and lungs. The emission controls required on all diesel engines provide substantial protection against this soot.
“Even so, to prevent the possible nuisance and exposure to soot from the diesel engines, plus that of blowing dust, we developed specific requirements for the operators of rock and concrete crushers to follow.”
“We are pleased to be nearing the end of this process. ... I look forward to coordinating with Bobcat Trucking to assist with their prompt and amicable plan to transition out of Fair Oaks Ranch.”
– Tobin Maples FOR City Manager
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