TCEQ overturns executive director's approval of Jewelpitt concrete-crusher permit, remands for review

The Texas Commission on Environmental Quality voted Jan. 16 to grant Fort Bend County's motion to overturn the executive director's issuance of air quality Standard Permit Registration No. 174419 to Jewelpitt, Inc., remanding the application to the executive director for further review.

Fort Bend County Attorney Bridal Smith Lawson urged the commission to overturn the permit, saying the application lacked sufficient information to show compliance with the 440-yard setback in Texas Health and Safety Code section 382.065 and that the public had not received adequate, updated location information. "Jewelpit has not provided a survey, a map, or a plot to substantiate this important requirement on the 440-yard setback for our public review or our comment," Lawson said.

Paul Sarahan, counsel for Jewelpitt Inc., told commissioners the company corrected inconsistencies in the applicant name and provided coordinates and emission-point information required by TCEQ rules. "The public has had adequate notice and opportunity to comment," Sarahan said, adding that TCEQ regional staff investigated and confirmed there are no residences within 440 yards of the nearest authorized emission point.

Catherine Keithley, representing the executive director, said the applicant's materials satisfied the standard-permit requirements and that regional staff recorded the nearest off-property receptor as approximately 1,900 feet from the facility during a site visit. "The executive director properly reviewed the permit application and determined that it met all applicable state and federal rules and regulations," she said.

Office of Public Interest Counsel attorney Elon Martinez recommended granting Fort Bend's motion, saying the public was not given access to updated information the applicant had submitted. "Meaningful public participation requires that the public have notice of changes to the application and its representations, access to that information, and a reasonable period of time to review the information," Martinez said.

Several commissioners said Fort Bend County raised a legitimate question about whether measurements had been taken from the closest point on the facility's equipment rather than from the facility's center or a single coordinate. The commission's motion directed the executive director to review compliance with the 440-yard setback requirement, to confirm the legal name of the applicant in agency records, and to provide additional opportunity for public comment. The motion passed on an affirmative voice vote.

The action returns the file to the executive director for further factual development and public notice; commissioners did not set a new disposition or deny the permit on the merits. The commission's decision cited Texas Health and Safety Code section 382.065 and the procedural requirement that the public have access to updated application representations during the comment period.