DENISON, Texas (KXII) - After months in protest, Denison residents finally secured a hearing with the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality to discuss concerns about a proposed concrete and rock crushing plant.
The public hearing is scheduled for 7 p.m. on August 1, 2024, at the Kidd-Key Auditorium in Sherman.
Earlier this spring, North Texas Natural Select Materials LLC applied for permission from the TCEQ to build the plant in a mostly residential area near the intersection of Cleve Cole Road and Fannin Avenue in Denison, Texas.
“There’s a need for these facilities anywhere you have the massive growth that Grayson County is seeing,” Art Arthur,
Grayson County Commissioner, Precinct 2, said. “The problem with this one is that it’s in an extremely populated, residential area.”
When the plan was originally proposed months ago, residents spoke out with concerns about dust and pollution in the air; trucks and noise; and a possible change in property values.
When residents and local leaders met on Saturday morning to
strategize for the hearing, many of the same concerns were shared.
“We keep moving farther away from the city to supposedly live a healthier lifestyle,” Norman, a local resident, said. “I’m surrounded by cows, I love the scenery around my house, but it is currently being threatened by this concrete crushing plant.”
The hearing on August 1 gives the public a chance to speak
directly with staff from the TCEQ.
“We don’t want to live by that,” Michele Sprenger, a local resident and the organizer of Saturday’s meeting, said. “No one wants to live by that, so we met today to try and develop a way that we can try and stop this from happening.”