TCEQ has scheduled a public meeting on Enron Oil & Gas Resources, Inc.'s application for air quality permit # 95412.
The public meeting will be held on Tuesday, August 23, at 7:00 P.M. in the Muenster ISD cafetorium (135 E. 7th Street).
The official notice on TCEQ's online calendar contains details about the format of the public meeting.
Please plan to attend and make your voice heard.
It is my understanding that the only thing that will stop this sand mine is that TCEQ refuses a permit.Based on past response of TCEQ,I think they will issue the permit regardless of any opposition.I strongly suggest that those individuals and organizations think in terms of legal action if TCEQ issues the permit.
ReplyDeleteYoung people are leaving our rural areas in search of jobs. This company is creating jobs and is apparently a reputible Texas company that has operated in similar fashion elsewhere without issue. I don't understand why we should oppose and block a project that will create numerous jobs and provide much needed tax revenue.
ReplyDeleteGiven EOG's track record, it's hard to know what you mean when you call it a "reputable" company. As several area residents pointed out in the Aug. 23 public meeting in Muenster, EOG has 42 complaints registered against it in TCEQ's online public compliance database. TCEQ has cited the company for ten separate violations at its frac sand mine and processing facility in Hood County alone.
ReplyDeleteOn the subject of jobs, it seems likely that the facility would destroy at least as many jobs as it would create. At the public meeting, more than 40 people stood up and explained how the project would threaten their livelihoods.
As to taxes, as one questioner at the Aug. 23 public meeting pointed out, EOG wouldn't be paying any state sales taxes on sand hauled from the mine, and trucks from its proposed facility would end up traveling on county roads. EOG's presentation projected that its facility would add $400,000 to Cooke County's tax revenues - which could sound like a lot of money, until you consider that the county budgeted 15 times that amount for its road and bridge fund in 2009-10.
EOG's Curt Parsons commented in a recent local newspaper article that the "beautiful system" of fuel taxes makes the trucks pay for using state farm-to-market roads as they go. It must look like a beautiful system to EOG, because the company pays less than it costs the system. According to TXDOT, “there is not one road in Texas that pays for itself based on the tax system of today.” For most roads, fuel taxes cover much less than half of the cost.
As Muenster alderman and street commissioner Greg Bohl pointed out at the Aug. 23 public meeting, EOG will not be paying any upkeep on the city streets its trucks will be tearing up if they detour to avoid school zones.
So, as with jobs, EOG's facility would cost local governments, and the state, more in taxes than it would generate.
Hmm - contrary to EOG's hired economist's claims, its facility could well end up eliminating jobs and costing area and state residents more in taxes. On top of that, there are all the accompanying risks to water, air, health, safety, and quality of life - for the people who live near the mine, for the people who live near the frac wells, and the people who live along the roads and in the towns in between. Do you *really* not understand why so many people oppose this project?