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Standard Permit for Rock and Concrete Crushers: Learning More

Learn more about following our progress and your options for participating as we review applications for plants authorized under the Air Quality Standard Permit for rock and concrete crushers. Find out how these plants operate and how this permit calls for the plant's operators to keep dust and soot under control.

What is a rock crusher?

A rock crusher breaks larger rocks or concrete down into cobblestones, gravel, or other smaller pieces. Those smaller pieces are sorted by size so they can be used for pavement, construction, and other uses.

There are two types of authorizations for a rock crushing plant. Large plants are authorized by New Source Review (NSR) 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. A typical crusher authorized by this Standard Permit might have these components:

  • 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
  • diesel-powered generators

Concrete crushers are similar to rock crushers but are built specifically to deal with slabs of broken pavement and other types of concrete.

What will this permit do?

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.

For example, the permit requires stationary diesel-powered equipment to be 200 feet from the nearest property line—far enough to ensure that the level of soot and blowing dust will dissipate before reaching the nearest neighboring property. When operators apply for an air standard permit for permanent rock and concrete crushers they agree to follow these requirements.

Rock and concrete crushing plants can cause other kinds of nuisances, too. For example, they might be noisy or increase traffic. If you are concerned about these issues, please contact your city, county, or other local authority.

Who is applying?

When you see a public notice about a permit application, look at the first paragraph to find the name of the applicant.

If you do not see the notice published in a newspaper, you can find public notices on our website:

What else can I learn about the applicant?

You can learn about this applicant and their plans by contacting them directly. The last paragraph in the public notice will tell you how to contact the applicant.

We also have ways you can learn about this applicant's history with us — for example:

  • Other facilities they have permits for
  • Other businesses they are related to
  • Their environmental track record

How can I learn what other people think about this?

On our website you can search for information about comments others have made about this application. Under Step Three be sure to choose "Include all correspondence...".

What if I have more questions?

Our Public Education Program can help you find the status of applications and tell you more about our permitting processes.


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How can I follow the progress of an application for this permit?

Below is the basic process for an application for a standard permit for a rock and concrete crusher.

Please note that due to the great number of different scenarios possible, we cannot cover all the details that could potentially apply. Here we give a basic description of your rights and responsibilities if you wish to become involved—just be aware that variations can occur.

  • Notice: Publication of the Notice of Application for an Air Quality Standard Permit for Permanent Rock and Concrete Crusher. We call this notice a "notice of application." The applicant is required to publish this notice when they submit their application to us, and once they do, you may start giving us your comments.

    The public comment period typically ends 30 days from the publication date of the notice. The publication date is significant because we only consider timely filed comments. For assistance in determining the extent of the comment period, call 800-687-4040.

  • Making public comments. If you make a comment, you will get a response from us. Here's how it works:
    1. We gather all the comments given to us by the end of the public comment period and respond to all timely and relevant comments.
    2. When two or more people make the same comment, we put their comments together and make one response to that group of comments.
    3. When we have responded to all comments, we put all comments and our responses in a document called our "response to comments."
    4. We send this document to everyone who submitted a comment or requested to be put on the mailing list for future mailings.

    See more details on this part of the process, including how to make a comment.
    See how to get added to the mailing list.

How can I learn when these events happen?

Search: Commissioners' Integrated Database
Call: 800-687-4040
E-mail: pep@tceq.texas.gov


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