from the Stephenville paper

The irate citizens of Bluffdale contested what Liberty Pumping was trying to do re: permit for bulk sand hauling and thought, for a while, they were making some progress. Article says that TCEQ gave Liberty Pumping a chance to fix their air quality problems and has refused to give the citizens a contested hearing.

While the TCEQ has not honored a request for a contested case hearing, which would allow residents to publicly voice their concerns on the official record, the agency has once again extended the comment period for the permit application to Nov. 9.

“The TCEQ has not responded to State Representative (Sid) Miller and State Senator (Troy) Fraser’s letters of concern supporting the Bluff Dale citizen’s rights to ‘public participation’ in the above Air Quality Analysis issues or any other health issue,” Gillespie said. “But, the TCEQ has continued to extend the comment period, which only continues to draw out the process rather than grant the Bluff Dale citizens the contested case hearing they have been requesting for a year now. The TCEQ has reviewed several letters from Bluff Dale citizens that could be considered effected parties and have sent letters stating as much but still hasn’t granted a contested case hearing.”

Gillespie said the only option is to continue to fight. She encouraged residents to become involved and to continue writing letters to the TCEQ. For more information on the issue, contact Gillespie via e-mail at savebluffdale@rocketmail.com.

“When Liberty Pressure Pumping decided to set up shop in our unincorporated town thinking no one would raise an eyebrow, they were wrong,” Gillespie said. “We do not want Liberty in our community and I don’t know how to say it much plainer than that.”