May 16, 2024 by Ashley Norris
Lone Star Legal Aid Files Joint Petition Over Concrete Plant Near LBJ Hospital
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Thursday, May 16, 2024
Houston, Texas — Lone Star Legal Aid (LSLA), representing Kashmere Gardens Super Neighborhood Council 52 (SN52) and Trinity / Houston Gardens Super Neighborhood 48, has joined forces with Harris County Attorney Christian D. Menefee on behalf of Harris Health System in filing a lawsuit against the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality (TCEQ). The lawsuit opposes the construction of a new concrete crushing facility across the street from Lyndon B. Johnson (LBJ) Hospital.
The petition seeks to reverse and remand the Executive Director’s decision from January 11, 2024 to approve Texas Coastal Materials, LLC’s application to operate a permanent rock and concrete crusher under Air Quality Standard Permit Registration No. 173296. The lawsuit argues that the permit approval was invalid, arbitrary, and unreasonable, as the facility’s safety and compliance with regulatory distance limitations have not been adequately proven.
The lawsuit highlights significant concerns:
- The TCEQ’s Protectiveness Review, used to justify the permit, is outdated, having been conducted in 2008. Air quality standards have since evolved, making the review obsolete.
- Texas Coastal’s proposed crusher fails to meet distance limitations from two nearby places of worship, one of which also functions as a school. LBJ Hospital, a Level III trauma center, is also closer to the proposed facility than the required 440-yard setback.
Keith Downey, representing SN52, emphasized the adverse effects the facility would have on the community’s health and environment. “It’s time for the TCEQ to prioritize the well-being of our residents over industrial interests. We stand united against this decision to protect our community’s health and rights,” Downey stated.
Christian D. Menefee, Harris County Attorney, stated, “Pollutants from such facilities pose serious health risks, particularly for patients and medical staff at LBJ Hospital. Legal action is necessary to ensure their safety.”
Dr. Esmail Porsa, President and CEO of Harris Health System, added, “The proximity of this proposed plant is alarming, especially for patients with respiratory conditions. We cannot allow increased pollution near a healthcare facility.”
To help track the impacts from facilities in neighborhoods like the concrete crusher near LBJ, the Equitable Development Initiative’s Environmental Justice Team at LSLA has introduced a Community Pollution Reporting Tool. This tool enables residents in 72 counties in the eastern and Gulf Coast regions of Texas to report pollution incidents that they see in their neighborhoods from rock crushers or other industry. LSLA urges community members to use this tool to help combat pollution and support initiatives like this lawsuit.
Attachment: Plaintiff’s Petition for Judicial Review
Lone Star Legal Aid (LSLA) is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit law firm focused on advocacy for low-income and underserved populations by providing free legal education, advice, and representation. LSLA serves millions of people at 125% of federal poverty guidelines, who live in 72 counties in the eastern and Gulf Coast regions of Texas, and 4 counties in Southwest Arkansas. LSLA focuses its resources on maintaining, enhancing, and protecting income and economic stability; preserving housing; improving outcomes for children; establishing and sustaining family safety, stability, health, and wellbeing; and assisting populations with special vulnerabilities, like those with disabilities, the aging, survivors of crime and disasters, the unemployed and underemployed, the unhoused, those with limited English language skills, and the LGBTQIA+ community. To learn more about Lone Star Legal Aid, visit our website at www.LoneStarLegal.org.
Media contact: media@lonestarlegal.org
