Federal and State Regulators respond to air quality hearing location complaints

Federal and State regulators responded Thursday to complaints over the location of a public hearing over a southern Dallas concrete mixing plant.

Community leader Temeckia Derrough said the location of the meeting at a downtown Dallas hotel is a slap in the face to the people who live near the plant in the Joppa neighborhood.

It costs $20 to park at the Crowne Plaza Hotel on Elm Street, which only has a parking garage for visitors.

That’s the location the current owner of Texas Star Ready Mix selected for the August 17 public meeting for an air quality permit for the plant on Loop 12 Great Trinity Forest Way near Joppa.

Residents there have complained for years about industrial pollution around them.

Derrough is a member of the City of Dallas Environmental Commission.

“It is not fair to the residents of Joppa to have to pay $20 to speak on behalf of their health in their community,” she said.

Kathryn Bazan is the chairperson of the Dallas Environmental Commission.

“These facilities were intentionally placed in our Black and Brown communities and it’s taken decades for municipalities to undo the harm that’s been done,” Bazan said. “These facilities don’t have to be located in residential communities where they are going to negatively impact air quality.”

In June, operators of an asphalt mixing plan on the north side of Joppa agreed to shut down.

Bazan said the Texas Star Concrete Plant on the south side of Joppa never had a proper state air quality permit and new ownership of that plant helped trigger this pending application.

“Our residents deserve to have their voices heard on this permit that’s going to affect the air quality in this neighborhood,” Bazan said.

A letter obtained Thursday from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency to the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality asked the state agency to find a better location for the meeting.

TCEQ spokesperson Victoria Cann replied by email:

“While the applicant’s selected venue for this meeting complies with all state requirements, we are requesting that they evaluate potential options to address those concerns better ensuring open public participation,” Cann said.

Derrough said neighbors want the meeting held closer to their homes at one of many southern Dallas locations with free parking, such as city recreation centers.

But she said the Sierra Club has also offered to help provide a bus if the meeting remains at the Crowne Plaza.

“The Joppa community is fed up. So, we’re going to show up on August 17, as many as we can,” she said.

A voicemail message left at the phone number for Texas Star Ready Mix was returned by a man who said the company declines comment on the meeting location or permit application.